After spending half a day in Sunagakure, Anya rode on an eagle—or rather, a newly upgraded Warhawk Puppet—heading toward the Iwagakure battlefield.
Sasori's puppet craftsmanship, now enhanced with Ryumyaku energy, had surpassed even his own earlier works. Originally already top-notch, the Hawk Puppet underwent significant transformations under Sasori's hands. It was no longer just a flyer; it now possessed both offensive and defensive capabilities.
The new Warhawk included a cockpit where Anya could sit and control its speed and direction with ease. Additionally, an outer protective shield had been added to its structure. Just this single upgrade completely revitalized the puppet, not to mention the various long-range ninja techniques Sasori equipped it with for high-altitude bombing attacks—it was truly a masterpiece.
Sometimes Anya couldn't help but wonder—if things kept going like this, maybe the future of the Ninja World really would become a world full of Transmorphers.
As for Chiyo's request to join the Organization, Anya had Sasori agree temporarily just to keep her satisfied, revealing only partial information about the group. There would be fewer concerns later after the Third Battle ended and Rasa was eliminated.
Overall, this trip to Sunagakure had gone quite smoothly. Anya took out the scroll gifted by Ebizō, opened it, and quietly read through it for a while. Her expression grew complicated, almost touched, as emotions welled up inside her.
This was a Space–Time Ninjutsu unique to Ebizō, specially designed to store large numbers of puppets within a hidden spatial realm—an idea inspired by Summoning jutsu and further refined from it. The usefulness of this technique went without saying. That he trusted her with such a valuable scroll meant he truly saw her as his apprentice.
"Ha! Trading a bunch of fishing gear for something like this—I really lucked out," Anya chuckled to herself before diving headfirst into studying the secret technique.
The new Warhawk flew at least twice as fast as the original Hawk Puppet, although it naturally consumed far more chakra. Fortunately, this was something Anya could easily handle at her current level. After a long flight, she successfully arrived at Konoha's temporary stronghold. Upon landing, she performed several hand seals and muttered, "Hide."
A light puff of smoke arose, and the Warhawk Puppet vanished into thin air.
She had mostly mastered Ebizō's space-time technique. All that was left was consistent practice to gradually expand its storage capacity and hold more puppets.
Minato, known for his powerful sensing ability, arrived almost immediately. His handsome face wore a bright smile as he greeted her, "Anya, you're here."
"Just call me Night. After all, I'm wearing a mask," Night exchanged pleasantries with Minato before getting straight to the point. "What's the current situation on the battlefield?"
"Iwagakure started off with the advantage in numbers, launching relentless attacks. Especially when they learned Sunagakure had attacked Konoha Village those few days ago, the battles never stopped. After intense fighting during this period, our forces have essentially become mortal enemies with Iwagakure. Right now, they're likely the village most hostile toward Konoha. Adding to the difficulty, Tsuchikage has hired ninja from smaller nations as reinforcements. The situation isn't looking good," Minato frowned slightly, his expression heavy.
"What if we replicate that mission from the Second Battle? Let's pull off the [Intercept] and take out Iwagakure's reinforcements."
Anya gave her opinion first.
"That's right. I had a similar idea beforehand, and after some calculations with Jiraiya-sensei, we reached a conclusion: Iwagakure village's reinforcements and supplies must pass through a crucial location, and that position is here." Saying this, Minato took out a map showing the battlefield where both sides' forces intersected, solemnly pointing at a red dot marked on the map with his finger.
"This is... the Kannabi Bridge," Anya slowly stated the name of the location.
"Yes. I've already formulated a battle plan to destroy this place. In today's climate, with wars raging all over, we can only dispatch a small group of elite ninja to complete this mission. Now with your joining us, I believe we will definitely accomplish this task." Minato looked a bit more at ease — but in truth, Konoha's ninja ranks had thinned out a lot after so much prolonged fighting. With battlefields spread out and too few ninja to go around, they were stretched thin. Even he himself didn't have absolute confidence in completing the mission — but now that Anya had arrived, the situation was entirely different.
Anya seriously looked at Minato for a moment, then nodded and agreed, "Alright."
Minato smiled at Anya. "I knew you'd say yes. I've been looking forward to the day we could fight together."
Anya gave a half-smile. "I do like having you around — if it weren't for that Little Pepper, it'd be even better."
Minato gave a bitter smile, showing a hint of weariness that his youth usually hid. "Enough joking about me, Ya. You know? Truthfully, sometimes I really feel my powers are insufficient. That's why I need your help so much. I want this war to end now. Right now, I hate war more than ever before. The flames of the Third Battle have spread throughout the Ninja World. Wherever I go during my missions, I see nothing but corpses and bloodbaths. The number of orphans like me has grown — kids who've lost everything, living in misery. Every time I see those kids' blank, hopeless eyes, my heart is pierced with pain. To tell you the truth, I'm feeling really tired and drained."
"Ah, Minato, this personality trait of yours might get you killed," Anya understood Minato's feelings but couldn't fully agree. "No wonder I sensed that your power growth has slowed down recently. War isn't your or my fault — don't take too much blame onto yourself. You just mentioned feeling inadequate in strength yourself — then work hard to improve during the war. To be honest, I'm different from you. From the very beginning of this war, I've prepared myself mentally. This war serves as training for self-improvement. Each time my power grows, it brings me a joy and satisfaction I've never felt before. So I've established a firm belief within myself — I'll march toward my goals with no regrets. Doing so makes me feel my heartbeat, my worth, my existence. If one day I succeed, I can proudly say that I've lived my life to its fullest."
Minato stared at Anya, deeply shaken internally, softly murmuring four words, "You're stronger than me."
Seeing Minato looking somewhat dispirited, Anya asked somewhat disappointedly, "Tell me first, what do you think the purpose of war is?"
"Of course it's for peace," Minato answered without hesitation, then a sudden thought struck him, sending a jolt through his heart.
Anya sneered, "Yeah, you should've realized it long ago. War exists for peace. Peace requires bloodshed and sacrifice. If you don't want rivers of blood, if you don't want orphans losing their homes, then you should strive harder to improve yourself. Use all your might to eliminate the enemy—crush them so thoroughly they'll never dare wage war again. That's how you secure true and lasting peace, instead of wallowing in grief here."
Minato's eyes sparkled with realization, and the gratitude he felt toward Anya was plainly visible.
His once distant blue eyes now shone brightly, like stars. When Anya looked into them, he felt almost unable to meet their brilliance. In this moment, Anya knew—Minato's mental state had changed. From now on, he would become even stronger...
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