Chapter 57: The Movements of the Hidden Mist Village (Kirigakure)

"Is Yahiko feeling troubled?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present showed a bit more interest in Byakuya, turning their heads to look at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya did not hide anything and began to talk about the contents of the letter.

After hearing the contents of the letter, Kakashi's and Rin's expressions became somewhat peculiar. Yahiko seemed to like Byakuya a lot; he couldn't go three sentences without mentioning Byakuya, appearing quite frequently.

However, recalling their previous encounters with Byakuya, the two understood. Apart from looking somewhat young, Byakuya was indeed a very reliable ninja.

Minato's focus was not on this.

In the letter, Yahiko mentioned the difficulties Akatsuki faced during its development and the solutions they employed. These issues piqued Minato's interest, and he pondered potential solutions.

Eventually, he realized that the solutions he thought of were not as good as the ones proposed by Byakuya.

This realization caused Minato to feel a slight sense of defeat.

After all, although he was currently only a Jonin of Konoha, he aspired to run for the Fourth Hokage. He consistently tried to solve problems with the mindset of a Hokage, only to find himself outmatched by a boy roughly the same age as Kakashi.

Nevertheless, he would not be discouraged by such a minor setback.

Admitting his shortcomings and striving to improve was the path to becoming stronger. Neither the Third Hokage nor Jiraiya-sensei was revered by their comrades from the beginning.

After reading the entire letter, Jiraiya gazed in the direction of the Land of Rain and mused to himself, "I really want to see Yahiko and the Akatsuki organization they've established with my own eyes..."

Minato heard Jiraiya's sigh and understood that Jiraiya wanted to go out and find Yahiko and his companions.

However, Jiraiya was the top commander on the Iwagakure front lines. It would be reckless to abandon his troops and contact an underground organization in another country's territory.

Thinking of this, Minato reminded him, "Jiraiya-sensei, if you miss Yahiko and his group, you can write them a letter. Didn't the previous communication frog get lost? You can send a new one this time."

Thanks to Minato's reminder, Jiraiya gradually came to his senses.

It is true that, with his current status, he couldn't appear in the Land of Rain. Doing so would not only alert Hanzo the Salamander but also implicate the Akatsuki organization.

However, just receiving news from Yahiko and the others already made Jiraiya very satisfied.

After politely seeing off Minato and the others, Jiraiya began to write a reply. As he wrote, memories of the past surfaced, bringing a faint smile to his lips.

After some contemplation, Jiraiya erased the criticisms of Akatsuki from the letter.

He simply expressed his concern with a few greetings, avoiding topics related to ninja villages or countries.

Once the letter was finished, Jiraiya summoned a toad from Mount Myoboku. Watching the toad swallow the reply, he continued handling the military affairs on his desk.

Jiraiya was very content with his current life.

Both of the prophesied children he had been looking for had become capable ninjas. Perhaps in a few more years, peace would finally come to the ninja world. He just wasn't sure if he would live to see that day.

Jiraiya's good mood didn't last long, as it was interrupted by Minato, who had returned with a grave expression.

Seeing Minato's serious demeanor, Jiraiya had a foreboding feeling but remained calm.

"Minato, what's the matter?"

"It's information from the village. Kirigakure of the Land of Water has launched a large-scale invasion of the Land of Fire!"

"Kirigakure has invaded!"

Jiraiya was struck as if by lightning, his expression turning extremely grim.

The invasion by the Hidden Mist Village was certainly not good news for Konoha. In this ninja war, Kirigakure had been the only village that hadn't attacked Konoha. Now they had launched an invasion.

This meant that Konoha faced attacks from every direction except from Sunagakure, with whom they had signed a treaty.

The once quieting conflict on the Iwagakure front could flare up again at any moment.

After some contemplation, Jiraiya asked Minato.

"Have we found out why the Kirigakure launched the war? Who did the village send to counter the invasion?"

"The reason for the war is still unclear, but the village sent the Hyuga and Uchiha clans to deal with the Kirigakure."

Jiraiya frowned before asking again.

"The Hyuga and Uchiha clan ninjas? Aren't they both particularly vulnerable to the Hidden Mist Village's water-style techniques?"

"This is the Third Hokage's order. Besides the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, the village doesn't have other military forces available. Only the Hyuga and Uchiha can counter the Hidden Mist Village's Kekkei Genkai..."

After a brief pause, Minato continued.

"I've already requested to be transferred to the Hidden Mist front. I'll leave the Iwagakure front to you, sensei. Please be careful."

Jiraiya, looking at his proud student, smiled.

"Don't worry about me. I'm the renowned Toad Sage. Handling two Jinchuriki is no problem for me."

"Then I'm relieved."

Without wasting any time, Minato left the command room.

Watching Minato's back, Jiraiya sighed softly. He had thought peace was on the horizon, but now everything was uncertain again. Even he couldn't predict the future.

Outside the command room, Kakashi and Rin had been waiting for a while.

Minato, looking at his last two students with a complex expression, said, "I'm sorry, but I have to take you on another mission. This time, we are heading east to eliminate the Hidden Mist ninjas who have invaded the Land of Fire."

"Rin, after this war is over, I will find a way to let you retire."

Rin's eyes sparkled with determination as she shook her head. "No, Minato-sensei, I've given up on retiring."

"Obito died for me and Kakashi. If I choose to run away now, it would be an insult to Obito's sacrifice."

Hearing this, Minato's expression became even more complicated.

Kakashi and Rin hadn't yet escaped the shadow of Obito's death, but the war wouldn't give them much time to process it. If they couldn't grow from this, they wouldn't get another chance.

Kakashi and Rin had learned to grow, but Obito no longer had that opportunity.

After a brief conversation, Minato, Kakashi, and Rin set off toward the eastern part of the Land of Fire, disappearing into the dense forest.

Along the way, a small toad dispatched by Jiraiya carried the letter.

The toad's mission was to find the Akatsuki ninjas and deliver a summoning contract, allowing Jiraiya to maintain contact with Yahiko and the others.

However, as it passed by a pond, a giant tongue shot out from the water and swallowed the toad whole, pulling it to the pond's bottom.

Strangely, the small toad, being a summoning beast, did not resist at all.

(AN: The author was using an English name for Kirigakure so don't be confused.)