Nine days had passed since the last battle.
Rakuyō City, a city on the southwestern frontier of the Land of Fire, was now filled with the smoke of war.
The army of 1,400 ninja that had once been sent to recapture the southwestern canyon had returned with fewer than 500 survivors, suffering devastating losses.
Another tragic piece of news was that the original commander of that force, Fukada Yuto, and the deputy commander, Kojima Tetsuya, had both unfortunately died on the battlefield.
As a result, after a vote among the various authority figures, Minato was appointed the temporary commander of Rakuyō City, responsible for directing the defense of the entire military stronghold.
For Minato, this was also the heaviest defensive responsibility he had ever faced, because it concerned the lives of 496 Konoha ninja inside the military town.
Although Minato had never commanded an army of this scale before, he still arranged the ninja responsible for defense and patrol in an orderly and well-organized manner.
Not long ago, they had discovered a small group of Sunagakure (Sand Village) ninja attempting to sneak through a weak point in the defenses toward the fortress gate—and they had successfully thwarted their plan.
"That was close. If those guys had really slipped inside, the consequences would have been unimaginable," Yoshimaru said, still shaken.
Among the enemy ninja they killed, one of the Sand ninja was found carrying hundreds of explosive tags.
With that many explosive tags, any gate could have been blown apart.
Moreover, the defensive structures of Rakuyō City were not as strong or tall as those of Kikyō Castle. If hundreds of tags had been detonated…
The entire defensive structure might have been completely destroyed.
And at that point…
"If they had managed to place all those explosive tags and detonated them, we really would have had no choice but to fight a desperate battle… And now the Sand Village has already completely surrounded us. I'm afraid a fierce battle is coming," Okita said, still feeling how close the situation had been.
"Have Squad 4 strengthen their patrols. The Sand Village will probably make their move soon. They can't wait any longer," Minato ordered.
"Yes!" A Konoha ninja accepted the command and left.
"The Sand Village has currently stationed three corps near us, totaling over a thousand ninja, completely surrounding us," Minato summarized slowly. "Their numbers are now twice ours, yet they are surrounding us without attacking…"
"What are they waiting for?" Okita asked quietly. After a moment he answered his own question. "Maybe they're waiting for more troops, then they'll launch a full assault with overwhelming numbers…"
"But if they keep waiting, the reinforcements from Konoha might arrive first. At that point, maybe we'll be the ones surrounding them. Are the Sand ninja really that stupid?" Yoshimaru wondered.
"Precisely because they don't have enough time, if they want to capture Rakuyō City quickly, they can only launch their attack today," Minato said, realizing he should gather all available strength to face this crisis.
Minato suddenly asked again, "By the way, where is Hyuga Satomi?"
"Lying down. I think I told you yesterday… Her chakra was severely depleted to the point of collapse, and she's also badly injured. She probably won't be able to get up for a while," Yoshimaru replied.
"Ah, my memory is terrible—I actually forgot…" Minato said, patting his head.
"That's what pressure does to you… But speaking of it, this is the first time I've seen someone as young as Captain Minato serving as a commander. As expected of the leading figure among Konoha's younger generation," Okita said.
"You flatter me, Captain Okita. I'm only acting as a temporary commander. I'm not some leading figure either. If we're talking about that, Shimizu Uzuki would be the one," Minato replied.
"Shimizu Uzuki ? The elite jōnin who was on the same team as you during the last mission?" Okita asked.
"Yes. The reason nearly 500 of us were able to escape this time was entirely because of him."
In Minato's eyes, Shimizu's contribution was unquestionably the greatest in that battle.
If it hadn't been for him, not a single one of the 1,400 people might have escaped.
The Sand Village ninjas had actually already set up a perfect trap, waiting for Konoha to walk straight into it.
"A man like that truly deserves to be called a hero…" Captain Okita praised. But then he changed the subject. "But I heard he's currently missing during the mission?"
"He was probably buried under the mudslide… We couldn't rescue him…" Yoshimaru said shamefully.
He had only arrived at the battlefield at the very last moment. All he managed to bring back were Hyuga Satomi and Minato…
As for Shimizu, he simply didn't have enough time to dig him out.
Besides, the situation back then had been extremely urgent, and even Satomi had been seriously injured.
If they hadn't retreated immediately…
They might have all been permanently buried there.
"Under normal circumstances, being buried under a mudslide like that leaves almost no chance of survival… And now that so many days have passed… the outcome can only be the worst one," Yoshimaru said with regret.
"…Indeed, under normal circumstances that would be the result. But… he's Shimizu. Maybe there will still be a miracle," Minato said.
Yoshimaru looked at him and replied,
"Minato, your confidence in Shimizu is really mysterious… In that kind of situation, how could he possibly escape?"
"It's not confidence… it's just a feeling. I feel that Shimizu is still alive."
"Should we send out a search and rescue team?" Okita could tell that Minato cared deeply about the life of that Konoha comrade.
"No… The difficulties we face right now are far greater. We can't waste manpower and resources on other matters anymore," Minato hesitated for a few seconds before refusing.
Several days had already passed since the battle.
If Shimizu had somehow survived and escaped, he was probably already on his way back to Rakuyō City.
"…That's true."
To send a rescue team to that battlefield, they would first have to break through the enemy blockade, which meant they would need to dispatch elite forces.
But the defending forces of Rakuyō City were already severely weakened, barely able to protect themselves.
Realistically speaking, Rakuyō City simply could not afford the luxury of sending an elite squad to rescue Shimizu.
"Our top priority right now is resolving the crisis of Rakuyō City," Minato said firmly, steadying his resolve.
He understood clearly the heavy burden he now carried—a responsibility that weighed heavily on his shoulders.
The lives of everyone in Rakuyō City were now in his hands. He could not allow the slightest carelessness.
Any wrong decision could lead to complete disaster for their already disadvantaged forces.
"Yoshimaru, take Squad 5 and be ready to support Squad 4 at any time," Minato instructed.
"Understood." Yoshimaru accepted the new task and immediately left.
"Captain Okita, help count how many seriously wounded Konoha ninjas we currently have here. We need to send them back to Konoha first…"
"Transfer them now?" Okita asked in surprise. The battle hadn't even begun yet—why was the supreme commander already preparing to withdraw?
"Yes. If they don't leave now, they may never be able to leave again. While the Sand Village hasn't fully tightened the encirclement yet, we should send our injured comrades back to Konoha first."
...
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