As time flowed by, the once frostbitten world was now blanketed beneath layers of pristine snow.
Winter had arrived...
The Second Great Ninja War had raged on for over a year now. Half a year had passed since Tsunade led the Konoha forces from the Land of Rain to the Land of Wind.
Within those six months, the Konoha ninja endured relentless battles one after another. Finally, they had reached the decisive moment of this war.
Less than three days remained before the one-month deadline Tsunade set with Chiyo would expire.
In the Land of Wind, beneath a mountain range stretching for dozens of miles, the Konoha army had set up camp.
The entire mountainside and the ground below lay buried under thick layers of snow.
Ever since Konoha repelled Chiyo's Suna forces in their last battle, the Leaf shinobi no longer made any effort to conceal their movements.
There was no need anymore. Both sides were building up strength, and every trick in the book had already been played throughout this war.
Suna launched surprise attacks against Konoha's reinforcement units, while Konoha responded by infiltrating Sunagakure and reclaiming [Desert's Sorrow].
Both sides held nothing back. In the end, however, everything would be settled face-to-face on the battlefield.
Whichever side emerged victorious would decide the final outcome!
...
At the foot of the mountains, inside one of the tents.
A few figures sat together, exhaling visible clouds of breath as they discussed matters. The cold of winter meant little to these seasoned ninja.
Though the final confrontation between Konoha and Suna would be fought openly, without further schemes or tricks, caution was still necessary—no matter how the war ended, intelligence on the enemy must always be gathered.
Tsunade's and Orochimaru's faces were still somewhat pale. A month ago, they'd taken some serious wounds fighting Chiyo. Most of their injuries had healed, but Tsunade had drained her lifespan, and Orochimaru had been struck directly by Chiyo's Wind Spear.
And with the harsh conditions of war, even Tsunade's medical ninjutsu couldn't fully restore them.
But then again, Chiyo herself wasn't faring much better either.
"It seems that old hag Chiyo really has decided to play it safe," Hiashi Hyuga murmured lightly after listening to several reports about Suna's troop activity.
Getting that wily veteran to stay still was no small feat.
But then he smiled faintly again—Chiyo's newfound caution was probably a result of what Tsunade and Orochimaru had shown her.
Even their leaders—Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru—were barely in their early twenties. To Chiyo, a seasoned powerhouse of the ninja world, they had once seemed like mere children.
Even though Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru had gone head-to-head with Hanzo, and Sakumo Hatake had slain Tsuchigawa, such deeply ingrained perceptions are not easily shaken.
"But she hasn't backed down yet," Tsunade said, her lips tightly pursed. "This final battle won't be easy." Her own defiance toward Chiyo was slowly fading away.
After fighting Chiyo, she now understood that the title "Elder Chiyo of Sunagakure" wasn't just for show.
Glancing toward Sakumo Hatake beside her, Tsunade gave a faint smile and said, "But this battle looks like it won't need Orochimaru or me. The entire burden rests on Sakumo now."
Everyone nodded slightly in agreement—Chiyo, Orochimaru, and Tsunade were all still nursing wounds that hadn't fully healed, while Hiashi and Kouhi had fought multiple times, with neither gaining a clear upper hand.
The only thing left was to hope that Sakumo could defeat Liufei.
In terms of sheer strength, Sakumo Hatake was the strongest within Konoha's forces, practically second only to the Third Hokage himself as the most powerful ninja in Konoha today.
Liufei naturally fell short of his level, yet the metallic puppet she controlled was the culmination of over a decade of Suna's most devoted efforts, which is why she repeatedly troubled him.
But Konoha now had the key to turning the tide against her.
Sakumo smiled lightly under the gaze of everyone and said, "Rather than placing the burden on me, it would be more accurate to say it rests on Minato's shoulders. Without that kid, I might have been at a loss this time."
"There are less than three days left. Can he really finish it?" Fumiro voiced slight doubt since what Minato was attempting seemed utterly unthinkable.
Developing an S-rank Ninja Technique isn't something that can be completed overnight—and Minato himself was barely an eleven-year-old boy.
His question made Hiashi Hyuga's eyes flicker slightly.
But the expressions of Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Sakumo remained mostly unchanged.
They'd already seen more than enough miracles from Minato to know better.
And this time around, they all firmly believed Minato wouldn't let them down.
With these thoughts swirling, the three exchanged smiles—but even before their smiles could fade, a tremendous boom echoed from atop the mountain range, reverberating across Konoha's camp.
Boom!
The resonant boom seemed to pulse violently through the air, vibrating in their very bones.
Across Konoha's base camp, shadows burst forth from over a hundred tents, each person lifting their head toward the source of the noise.
This sound was far more intense than anything heard before!
Heads raised skyward, they almost seemed able to see the invisible air trembling with subtle ripples.
Tsunade and the others also rushed out from their tent, gazing toward that direction.
At the edge of the mountain range, several piles of snow tumbled downward, disturbed by the vibrations.
Tsunade and Sakumo exchanged glances with the others, stunned for a moment before, almost simultaneously, ecstatic joy spread across their faces.
"Did he do it!?" Tsunade gasped quietly, uncertainty lingering in her voice due to not having seen it firsthand.
"Was it Minato pulling off something impossible again?"
"The tremor today feels stronger than usual... and somehow different."
"Hehe, the young ninjas these days can't be underestimated."
Outside the tent, people turned their gazes toward the mountain peak, murmuring among themselves.
Smiling faintly, Mikoto fixed her black eyes on the edge of the summit. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared there.
Against the snow-covered peak, his golden hair gleamed brightly.
Who else could it be if not Minato?
Minato reached the mountain's edge and leapt down, sliding along the rim as he kicked aside snow from both sides.
It wasn't a tall mountain—barely over two hundred meters high. Had Minato not been physically drained, jumping straight down wouldn't have posed any problem for someone of his strength.
Even so, his speed remained impressive. Within ten seconds, he had already reached the foot of the mountain.
Using the trees at the mountain's base for cover, he zipped straight into the camp.
The guarding ninja were long accustomed to his movements and naturally raised no suspicion, though their gazes held a slight difference.
Minato ignored everything else and made his way directly toward Tsunade's tent, where several others were already waiting.
Whoosh!
He appeared before them but hadn't even spoken when Tsunade eagerly asked, "H-have you... completed it?"
Her voice trembled slightly. Minato paused, surprised—but a flicker of joy lit up his deep-blue eyes.
"Got it done… mostly."
...
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