Minato Namikaze was currently in the command room, reporting his mission to Orochimaru.
"Lord Orochimaru, because Kumogakure gathered their forces to encircle and annihilate us, we ended our mission. However, Kumogakure doesn't seem to have any immediate plans to send more Ninja to the Land of Hot Springs. We attacked their supply transports twice, and since we couldn't take the goods with us, we destroyed them on the spot."
Orochimaru nodded. "It seems Kumogakure isn't that impulsive; they don't plan to continue retaliating against us. It looks like we should have a brief period of rest for now."
The fact that Kumogakure gathered their forces to encircle Minato Namikaze indicated that Kumogakure had no other urgent matters, which was why they wanted to deal with Minato Namikaze, who had been constantly harassing them.
The deaths of nearly a hundred Kumogakure Ninja were already a big blow to them, and there wouldn't be any intense clashes with them in the short term.
After Minato Namikaze finished his report, he withdrew.
After leaving the command room, Minato Namikaze happened to run into Lady Tsunade, who was looking for him.
"Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade said hurriedly, "Minato, you're back just in time. Hiruzen Sarutobi sent an urgent letter for you."
Tsunade handed the letter to Minato Namikaze.
Minato Namikaze immediately opened the letter and began to read.
Upon seeing the contents of the letter, Minato Namikaze's expression instantly became very serious.
Seeing Minato Namikaze's serious expression, Tsunade also frowned and asked worriedly, "Did something happen to Konoha?"
Minato Namikaze nodded. "This isn't the place to talk, Lady Tsunade. Where is Jiraiya Sensei?"
"Uh..." Tsunade replied somewhat awkwardly, "Jiraiya is currently unconscious. Medical Ninja are treating him."
Minato Namikaze asked incredulously, "Ah? Treatment? Jiraiya Sensei is injured? Who did it? But those famous Kumogakure Ninja are all at their base. Did Kumogakure send powerful Ninja to the Land of Hot Springs again?"
Tsunade guiltily turned her head. "Minato, I did it. Don't ask too many questions about the specific reason. Now, come with me to see Jiraiya. Since it's urgent, I'll personally treat him to wake him up quickly."
Minato Namikaze:???
Did Jiraiya peek at girls bathing again and get caught red-handed by Tsunade?
Seriously, has he forgotten about the time Tsunade broke six of his ribs?
Minato Namikaze reluctantly followed Tsunade to see Jiraiya.
Inside Jiraiya's tent, Minato Namikaze was startled to see Jiraiya, who looked pale.
It seemed that this injury was as severe as the time his ribs were broken.
Did Jiraiya peek at not just one girl bathing this time, but a whole group?
Tsunade said to the Medical Ninja who were treating Jiraiya, "Alright, you can rest. I'll take over the treatment now."
"Yes."
The Medical Ninja stopped, and Tsunade rolled up her sleeves, directly using Mystical Palm Technique to treat Jiraiya.
Mystical Palm Technique was not a simple Ninjutsu; it was an advanced Medical Ninjutsu that could achieve astonishing healing speeds for both internal and external injuries by releasing chakra.
After more than half an hour, Tsunade stopped the technique.
Minato Namikaze asked, "Lady Tsunade, how is Jiraiya Sensei?"
"Don't worry, he'll wake up soon."
No sooner had Tsunade finished speaking than she slapped Jiraiya across the face.
"Hiss~"
Minato Namikaze involuntarily gasped, and his own cheek twitched, as if he were the one who had been hit.
Under Tsunade's slap, Jiraiya woke up, gradually opened his eyelids, and upon seeing Tsunade in front of him, Jiraiya immediately became alert.
Jiraiya instinctively tried to dodge, but it pulled at his wounds, causing him to grimace in pain.
Tsunade snorted coldly, then said to Minato Namikaze, "He's awake. You can talk to him now."
Jiraiya looked at Minato Namikaze, surprised. "Oh, Minato, you're back?"
Minato Namikaze said helplessly, "Jiraiya Sensei, you're old enough now, shouldn't you be more serious? Stop peeking at girls bathing!"
Jiraiya asked, confused, "Peeking at girls bathing? Which time are you talking about? I didn't do it this time!"
"If you didn't, then Lady Tsunade would have..."
Minato Namikaze's voice trailed off, and he looked at Tsunade somewhat awkwardly.
Jiraiya immediately understood that Minato Namikaze had misunderstood, but Jiraiya couldn't explain.
Because peeking at girls bathing sounded much better than getting intimate with a puppet that looked very much like Tsunade.
Tsunade glared at Jiraiya, then said to Minato Namikaze, "I'll leave first then."
Minato Namikaze stopped Tsunade. "Lady Tsunade, you should stay and listen too."
Minato Namikaze said seriously, "The Sandaime sent a letter. Iwagakure is now pressuring Konoha, either to hand over Shindai or declare war on Konoha..."
Hearing Minato Namikaze's words, Jiraiya and Tsunade's expressions also became serious.
Jiraiya said gravely, "If Iwagakure also enters the fray, then the Third Shinobi World War will practically officially begin."
Minato Namikaze nodded. "Exactly. The Sandaime said in the letter that Shindai cannot be handed over, but we also cannot let Iwagakure declare war on us. If Iwagakure also declares war on us, then Konoha will be attacked by Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, the three great Ninja Villages. Our pressure will be immense, and the key to stopping it..."
Jiraiya took over Minato Namikaze's sentence. "The key is Shindai, right?"
Tsunade asked, puzzled, "That perverted brat is the key? What influence can he have on Iwagakure's decision while he's here?"
Minato Namikaze raised an eyebrow.
Perverted brat? Shindai?
How did Shindai become a perverted brat to Tsunade after he left for a mission?
Jiraiya explained to Tsunade, "Shindai has a Shinobi Hawk. That Shinobi Hawk can directly contact the Third Kazekage, Kuto, of Sunagakure. I think Hiruzen Sarutobi's idea is to use Shindai's Shinobi Hawk to transmit false information to Kuto, to have Kuto help us resolve this crisis."
After saying that, Jiraiya asked Minato Namikaze, "Minato, am I right?"
Minato Namikaze nodded. "Yes, that's right. That's what the Sandaime means. The Sandaime also said we have one month. If it doesn't work, we'll have no choice but to give up on Shindai."
Jiraiya said, troubled, "One month. This is the Land of Hot Springs, with the Land of Fire in between. To get to Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, even a Shinobi Hawk would take many days to fly. And we also have to subtract the time it took for the letter to arrive from Konoha. We don't have much time left."
Minato Namikaze agreed. "Exactly. I just calculated it. Within a week, we need to get Shindai to summon his Shinobi Hawk, then we intercept the Shinobi Hawk and switch out the false information."
Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya thought for a moment, recalling Shindai's actions all this time...
This mission should be quite simple.