To be honest, looking at the shocking wounds on Minato and Kushina, Shizune was a bit dumbfounded.
She found it somewhat hard to comprehend because both Kushina and Minato were the village's top-tier Ninjas. To injure both of them to this extent, just how terrifying must the enemy be!!!
After a long silence, Minato finally shook his head and said with a bitter smile: "It was the Kirigakure's Ninja, Yuki Sora. Fortunately, luck was on our side, otherwise we might not have made it back."
"?????"
'Yuki Sora…'
'It's him again!?'
Just as Shizune was both stunned and bewildered, an anxious shout suddenly came from outside the medical tent.
"Minato!"
"How are you, Minato!"
Jiraiya rushed into the medical tent in a frantic hurry. He had heard the news of Minato and Kushina returning injured and immediately dropped what he was doing to come.
But the moment he entered,
Bang!
A careless Jiraiya tripped over the step at the entrance, falling flat on his face in front of everyone in a classic 'pointing the sky with his bottom'. His large face even left a visible drag mark on the ground.
Shizune: "..."
Minato: "..."
Other Medical-Nin: "..."
"Sensei, you need to be more careful…"
Minato, holding his painfully injured kidney, tried to get up to help the ridiculously fallen Jiraiya.
"Hahaha…"
Unexpectedly, Jiraiya bounced up from the ground with a nimble flip. Indifferently brushing the dirt off his face, he laughed heartlessly: "This little bit of pain can't trouble the Great Toad Sage!"
"Sensei…"
"That's so like you!"
An awkward smile appeared on Minato's face.
Indeed, expecting his naturally thick-skinned teacher to be serious was an impossible task from the start.
Fortunately, after Jiraiya's entrance antics, the oppressive atmosphere in the room eased up a bit.
Pretending nothing had happened, Jiraiya pulled over a stool. Since everyone present was part of his circle, he didn't feel awkward and got straight to the point: "Minato, did you also run into that Yuki Sora?"
"Yes."
Minato nodded.
"As I thought."
Jiraiya said with a grave expression: "When I heard the news earlier, I estimated that in the entire Kirigakure, only that guy has the ability to injure you and Kushina like this."
Minato glanced at the still unconscious Kushina on the sickbed, then sighed, his voice slightly subdued: "Sensei, he is indeed an extremely troublesome opponent. He has Chakra as bottomless as a Tailed Beast's, the special ability of seal-less Ninjutsu, plus the Yuki Clan's Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, making his attack methods extremely varied and very unpredictable. The most troublesome thing is…"
"Speed!"
"During the battle, the speed Yuki Sora displayed was definitely not inferior to my Flying Thunder God Technique. Add to that his ice-cold, absolutely calm combat judgment and battlefield analysis ability... If a Ninja like that appears on the front lines, I'm afraid he would become a monster even more fearsome than the Third Raikage."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed tightly, his tone also turning solemn: "That guy's combat power truly far exceeds the level of an ordinary Ninja. I even saw a shadow of Hanzo in him."
"Then…"
"He might be a terrifying enemy that simply cannot be handled by one person alone!"
During the Second Great Ninja War, Jiraiya had once joined forces with Tsunade and Orochimaru to fight the leader of Amegakure, the [Demigod] Hanzo. It was that earth-shattering battle that earned him the title [Konoha's Sannin] from Hanzo's mouth.
This was actually a title of disgrace.
Because in that battle, the Sannin were undoubtedly the losers. If not for the immense pressure from Konoha, they might have already become casualties under Hanzo's blade.
As soon as the words fell, Minato's expression changed drastically. He looked solemnly at Jiraiya, remained silent for a long moment, then slowly said: "Jiraiya-sensei, are you saying…"
"Let's join forces!"
"With Kushina, let's join forces!"
Jiraiya took a deep breath, then said firmly: "To deal with a monster like Yuki Sora, no one has a chance fighting alone. To defeat him, to win this war against Kirigakure, only by the three of us joining forces do we have our only chance of victory!"
Join forces!
A righteous three-on-one!
For a powerhouse like Jiraiya, who stands at the pinnacle of the Ninja World, this was an incredibly difficult decision.
Because out of a strong person's dignity, he disdains and even scorns ganging up on a sixteen-year-old youth.
But for the sake of this war's victory, for the village's future, he could only burn his so-called strong person's dignity as fuel, to let the Will of Fire continue to be passed down.
"Join forces?"
Minato's gaze stalled for a moment, then quickly became resolute as well.
Join forces is probably the most rational choice right now!
Because Minato truly couldn't imagine the immense casualties the village's Ninjas would suffer when Sora can no longer be suppressed.
Perhaps,
They really would be wiped out!
No matter what, such a thing is absolutely unacceptable!!!
…
On the other side.
The news of Minato and Kushina's injuries quickly spread within Konoha's upper echelons.
A top candidate for the Fourth Hokage, and Konoha's Jinchuriki… these two individuals carried countless spotlights, so naturally, their every move couldn't be hidden.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was also taken aback for a long time after receiving the news, but he quickly issued orders to classify the news of Minato and Kushina's injuries as confidential and completely seal it off.
The relevant informed Ninjas were also controlled by the Anbu and directly given gag orders.
This was also very normal. Konoha was in the midst of a stalemated war, and no front was going smoothly. Morale was especially important at this time.
News like ace Ninjas being defeated and injured naturally couldn't be spread freely, otherwise it would definitely deal a great blow to Konoha's Ninjas' morale.
Therefore,
Compared to the stormy waves in Konoha's upper echelons, the middle and lower ranks were somewhat calm and unruffled.
This was, of course, also because they simply hadn't received the news about Minato and Kushina's injuries.
…
North of the Land of Fire, within the scenic Land of Hot Water.
"Danzo-sama, intelligence from the Kirigakure front."
In a secret room hidden beneath a magnificent statue, a Ninja wearing a white fox mask knelt on one knee, presenting a sealed intelligence scroll.
Before him, a man sitting on a wooden chair, eye closed, didn't look up. He simply extended a hand from his black-and-white patterned kimono and slowly took the scroll offered by his subordinate.
After unrolling it, the man opened his eye, revealing that sinister and ruthless pupil, then used the dim candlelight in the secret room to examine the written intelligence on the scroll.
The candle flame flickered.
No one knew how much time had passed before the man finally put the scroll away.
"It's him again…"
"Yuki Sora."
The man's fingers lightly tapped on the armrest of the wooden chair. His expression was as cold as ice, completely devoid of any discernible emotion.
Shimura Danzo.
The leader of the Root. He held a vast number of intelligence channels. Even within Kirigakure, and even around Minato, there were nails he had personally placed.
The existence of these spies allowed Danzo to always obtain many precious pieces of intelligence that others couldn't know about in the first instance.
Soon, that Root's member withdrew.
From the shadows, a voice as cold and sharp as a snake's suddenly sounded.
"Yuki Sora?"
"He seems to be a rather good specimen!"
Footsteps sounded lightly. A man with black hair reaching his waist, wearing a standard Konoha's Jonin flak jacket, his face extremely pale, slowly walked out from the shadows.
This person was none other than Orochimaru, known alongside Jiraiya as one of Konoha's Sannin!
At this point in time, Orochimaru was still ostensibly a member of the Root, his duty being to act as Danzo's bodyguard.
"Orochimaru…"
"Are you also very interested in this person?"
Danzo's single visible eye didn't move, only his voice echoed quietly.
"Khu khu…"
"Of course!"
Orochimaru stuck out his snake-like tongue, licking his lips before saying with bright eyes: "Both you and I should know that the so-called Ice Release of the Yuki Clan shouldn't possess such power. The Ice Release in the usual sense is nothing but a clown's trick."
"But Yuki Sora…"
"He is completely different. A powerful individual existing independently above his clan's Kekkei Genkai. On him, there might be the key to unlock the ultimate power of the Ninja World."
Hearing this, Danzo opened his eye. He looked at Orochimaru and said with interest: "You mean, his Kekkei Genkai might possess potential similar to Hashirama-sama's?"
"Naturally so."
Orochimaru smiled sinisterly: "Otherwise, besides the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, what other power could suppress the Nine-Tails' power?"
"I am very interested in this Yuki Sora. He might be a better experimental subject than anyone else. If we can obtain some of his flesh and blood tissue, it might be of great assistance to the research on the First Hokage's cells."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, Danzo-sama, when have I ever deceived you?"
"Good, Orochimaru. Before you ascend to the Hokage's seat, I will find a way to get you some of Yuki Sora's flesh and blood tissue. In exchange, you must share with me the latest results of your research on Hashirama-sama's cells."
"With pleasure…"