Just as Hoshiyomi took the initiative to tell Tsunade he was going to the Iwagakure front, a major event that took Hoshiyomi by surprise occurred on the Kumogakure front.
In a clearing near the front lines, Minato Namikaze stood concentrating intently, gathering chakra in his hand.
In just the blink of an eye, a high-speed spinning sphere of chakra formed in his palm — the Rasengan, his most proficient jutsu.
Watching the swirling chakra sphere, Minato smiled faintly and began to cautiously infuse it with Wind Release nature transformation.
As he carefully adjusted the chakra flow, the Rasengan began to distort and change shape — from a perfect sphere into the form of a high-speed rotating shuriken.
Feeling the strain of the Wind Release chakra coursing through his arm's pathways, Minato frowned slightly, but then his lips curved into a satisfied grin.
"It still puts a bit of strain on the arm's chakra pathways," he murmured, "but I've already reached the level sensei once spoke of!"
Taking a deep breath, Minato hurled the newly formed Rasenshuriken forward with all his might.
Whirrrr— BOOM!
A massive explosion tore through the clearing. Seeing the devastating aftermath, Minato clenched his fist in exhilaration.
"I did it! It finally worked!"
That's right — inspired by Hoshiyomi's casual display of power during their last encounter, Minato had managed to develop the Rasenshuriken ahead of its original time.
Without Hoshiyomi's breathtaking "show-off" moment, Minato might never have discovered the key to this technique until the Nine-Tails incident. But Hoshiyomi's demonstration had directly handed him the spark of insight he needed.
Creating a forbidden jutsu like this normally required a rare flash of inspiration — something unpredictable and fleeting. Hoshiyomi, however, had gifted that very spark to Minato on a silver platter.
As a result, the Rasenshuriken's difficulty had dropped from "build a rocket from scratch" to "assemble it from blueprints."
With Minato's exceptional intellect — the same young genius who had independently refined the Flying Thunder God Technique: Level Two— and his near-superhuman chakra control, developing the Rasenshuriken early was no longer an impossible feat.
Looking over the devastation his jutsu had caused, Minato couldn't help but mutter in awe:
"To think such a terrifying forbidden jutsu could be created so effortlessly… Hoshiyomi-sensei really is a man worth following for life.
With a mind like that, he might not be any less brilliant than the Second Hokage himself."
After that moment of private admiration, Minato glanced around to ensure no one had witnessed the explosion. Satisfied, he erased all traces of the jutsu's impact and used the Flying Thunder God to teleport back to the Konoha camp.
As soon as he returned, someone ran up to him in a hurry.
"Lord Minato! You're finally back! Lord Orochimaru has been waiting for you — he says he has an important mission to assign."
"Sorry to keep him waiting. I'll head there right away."
Smiling politely, Minato activated his teleportation jutsu again, vanishing from sight and reappearing outside Orochimaru's tent.
Pulling open the flap, he stepped inside. Orochimaru glanced at him, his tongue subconsciously brushing across his lips.
"You always appear so suddenly… the Flying Thunder God truly is a convenient jutsu. A pity I never mastered space-time ninjutsu well enough to appreciate its wonders firsthand.
Ah, forgive me — I've gone off-topic again. Hoshiyomi would probably call this a… 'professional habit.'"
Orochimaru's golden eyes gleamed.
"Anyway, this isn't the time for idle talk. I have an important mission that only you can handle."
Standing, he motioned Minato over to a large war map and pointed to it.
"Look here — in our current war against Kumogakure, aside from the front where the Two-Tails Jinchūriki is stationed, we've already gained absolute advantage on every other battlefield."
Hearing those words, Minato's eyes lit up — he instantly understood what Orochimaru meant.
"Orochimaru-senspai, you mean Kumogakure won't be able to hold out much longer? If we just apply a bit more pressure, they'll collapse soon, right?"
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"It's always pleasant talking with someone smart like you. If it were Jiraiya or Nawaki standing here instead, I'd probably have to waste half a day explaining it."
"When Hoshiyomi said earlier that he wanted you to succeed as the Fifth Hokage after the war, I thought he was being too hasty. But after working with you for a while, I've realized—he's still as farsighted as ever."
"Right now, there's no one in Konoha more fitting to be the Fifth Hokage than you."
Minato scratched his head a little awkwardly.
"Please don't say that, Orochimaru-senpai. I still have a long way to go before I'm worthy of becoming Hokage."
Orochimaru chuckled, shaking his head.
"That modest personality of yours—I don't know who you picked it up from. Hoshiyomi certainly isn't so polite. But fine, if you don't want to dwell on that, let's move on to the main issue—your mission."
His tone shifted, becoming more serious.
"To force Kumogakure to withdraw from the war early, I've decided to send a special assault unit to infiltrate and strike inside the village of Kumogakure itself.
Your objective is to cause as much chaos as possible — something big, something explosive.
Ideally, something on the same scale as when I made the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki lose control."
Orochimaru's expression darkened slightly as he continued.
"At the same time, we'll launch a major offensive on this front.
If the disturbance you cause is large enough, and combined with the pressure from our side, the Third Raikage will have no choice but to retreat.
Once that happens, our front line here will be completely freed.
Then, once our forces regroup and turn to face Iwagakure, this entire war can finally be brought to an end."
After hearing Orochimaru's explanation, Minato immediately realized how important this mission was.
If he succeeded, this operation could directly end the Third Great Ninja War itself.
Thinking of the possibility—and of finally returning home to live a peaceful, shamelessly happy life with Kushina—Minato's determination blazed brighter than ever.
"Please leave it to me, Orochimaru-senpai. I'll make sure the mission succeeds!"
Orochimaru, who had great faith in Minato's Flying Thunder God technique, didn't bother with formalities. After reminding him to be cautious, he gave his orders decisively.
"Since this is a dangerous mission, take the team you're most familiar with.
How about Akimichi Dōtō, Inuzuka Gaku, and Yamanaka Inoichi? They'll accompany you."
Minato nodded immediately.
"As expected of you, Orochimaru-senpai — that's the perfect lineup.
With Dōtō's destructive power, Gaku's control abilities, and Inoichi's reconnaissance skills, they'll complement my fighting style perfectly.
With them at my side, I'll make sure this mission succeeds flawlessly!"
After leaving Orochimaru's tent, Minato gathered the three men.
All of them were still young, passionate, and brimming with energy. When they heard that this mission could potentially end the war, they didn't hesitate for even a second before agreeing.
That very night, under the cover of the night raid Orochimaru had orchestrated, Minato and his team slipped quietly beyond the Fire Country's border, heading toward their target — the Kumogakure.