Kushina was relieved to confirm Minato Namikaze's safety.
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado said no more and left together.
Upon receiving this news, they weren't the only ones who became agitated.
Minato Namikaze's master — Jiraiya — was also furious.
"Minato!"
Jiraiya found it hard to believe.
Just a few days ago, Minato had confidently told him that if he defeated the Hidden Cloud Village, he would finally have a chance to compete for the Hokage position.
That confident smile — so bright, so sure of himself — had even moved Jiraiya at the time.
But now, after only a few days, that same student had become Konoha's sinner.
The change was unimaginably swift.
"No! I must go see Minato!"
Jiraiya knew that Minato was still just a young man. His smooth sailing since childhood meant he had rarely encountered true setbacks.
He feared Minato would be completely crushed by this blow.
"Wait! Lord Jiraiya!"
If it were just worry, no one would have objected.
But the moment Jiraiya announced his intent to head to the battlefield near the Hidden Cloud Village to find Minato Namikaze, several Ninja immediately stepped forward to stop him.
"Lord Jiraiya, we are still in the middle of a war! The Iwagakure front line needs you!"
"Are we just going to give up on the Hidden Cloud Village side? Don't forget — there are no Ninja left defending that front!"
"This…"
It was a very real problem.
There were only a little over a hundred Konoha Ninja left at the Hidden Cloud Village battlefield.
Even if the Iwagakure front held, if the Hidden Cloud Village front collapsed, Konoha would still lose this war.
Thinking of this, the surrounding Ninja began to mutter complaints about Minato Namikaze.
"You weren't strong enough, so why show off? Look what's happened now!"
"Liu Yun!"
Ignoring the voices around him, Jiraiya's gaze snapped toward Aoyama Ryuyun — the Golden Lion — who sat not far away, calm and relaxed.
From the moment the news broke, Ryuyun's expression hadn't changed once.
After all, what was there to be surprised about when it was something he had already anticipated?
"Hm?"
Hearing Jiraiya call his name, Aoyama Ryuyun raised an eyebrow slightly and looked at him.
"The Iwagakure battlefield will be entrusted to you!"
"So?"
Shrugging, Ryuyun's face remained indifferent.
"Not only that," Jiraiya continued, "I also need to dispatch a thousand Ninja to accompany me to the Hidden Cloud Village battlefield!"
This was unavoidable. The Ninja stationed there had been wiped out — reinforcements were needed.
Originally, there had only been about three thousand Ninja on the Iwagakure front when the general offensive began.
After a year of war, barely two thousand remained.
If another thousand were withdrawn, it would be near impossible to hold against Iwagakure.
Jiraiya knew this was difficult for Ryuyun, but there was no other choice now.
"Liu Yun, I know this is a heavy request, but I—"
"Take them."
"Huh?"
Caught off guard, Jiraiya hadn't expected Aoyama Ryuyun's response to come so quickly.
He blinked, almost disbelieving.
"I said, take them."
"Really? Thank you so much, Liu Yun!"
Jiraiya didn't hesitate. As soon as Aoyama Ryuyun finished speaking, he turned and left to begin mobilizing the Ninja.
Once Jiraiya was gone, everyone else in the conference room turned toward Aoyama Ryuyun.
After all, he was now the overall commander of the Iwagakure battlefield.
"Lord Liu Yun! After Lord Jiraiya takes a thousand Ninja, our defenses here will be stretched thin!"
"Let me teach you a principle."
Glancing at Hyūga Hiashi beside him, Aoyama Ryuyun slowly stood, stretching his legs before speaking.
"In this world of Ninja, sometimes absolute strength matters more than numbers."
Human-wave tactics might be effective — but only against those weaker than you.
"Hiashi! Clan elders!"
"Yes!"
Those who had been worried moments ago immediately straightened, voices serious.
"After Jiraiya leaves," Ryuyun ordered, "gather the remaining Ninja and launch an attack against Iwagakure!"
"What?!"
The officers around him looked stunned, some even horrified.
Wasn't this suicide?
"Don't worry."
Ryuyun waved his hand casually. Since he dared to give such an order, he naturally wouldn't send them to their deaths.
"The longer we drag this out, the lower our morale will sink. Instead of letting it rot, it's better to strike first.
I'll achieve a crushing victory — and show every Konoha Ninja that as long as I, Aoyama Ryuyun, still stand, Konoha will never fall!"
"Yes!"
Since the overall commander had spoken, there was no point arguing further.
The command was acknowledged in unison.
The troops began their preparations, gathering all the remaining Konoha forces still stationed on the Iwagakure front.
Aoyama Ryuyun, meanwhile, sat back down in the conference hall, quietly waiting.
His hand rested on the hilt of his sword.
Panic? Sorry — Aoyama Ryuyun had never known such a thing.
If anything, he felt anticipation.
After he defeated Iwagakure, what would the people of Konoha say about Minato Namikaze then?
With his own brilliance as a backdrop, the more dazzling his performance, the more it would expose Minato Namikaze's incompetence.
"Liu Yun–elder brother!"
The silence of the conference room was broken by a bright, youthful voice.
Kurenai Yūhi burst in, followed by a girl about the same age.
"Hm?"
Ryuyun looked over, somewhat puzzled.
"This is Nohara Rin — a good sister I met during my Academy days!"
Kurenai Yūhi had met many people during her time at the Ninja Academy. She was warm and friendly by nature, so she got along well with most of her classmates.
"Lord Liu Yun!"
Nohara Rin, unlike Kurenai, couldn't act so naturally in front of the legendary Golden Lion.
Still, she looked at Aoyama Ryuyun with open curiosity.
She wanted to know — what kind of person was this man whose name echoed across the entire Ninja World?
"Hm."
Ryuyun gave a faint, acknowledging nod.
Visit patreon.com/Akeyno to get 30+ chapters