Chapter 32: The Completely Changed Kamnobi Bridge Mission (New Book, Please Collect and Recommend~)
"We can't stay here. The Stone Ninja might react very quickly."
Imai Kenta hid the three Stone Ninja corpses in the bushes, then spoke to Uchiha启 and Minato Namikaze.
Just a moment ago, Imai Kenta suddenly sensed another squad approaching their location, heading directly for the cave they were in. So Imai Kenta chose to attack directly.
Having the super powerful Minato Namikaze behind him gave him a great sense of security, which is why he acted as 'proactively' as possible.
Imai Kenta's swordsmanship was incredibly formidable. In just one encounter, he easily took down the leading Ninja through a sneak attack.
Then, as the remaining three Stone Ninja attempted to scatter and escape to transmit intelligence, he dispatched two of them almost instantly, one with each strike.
As for the last one, Minato Namikaze caught up to him and easily eliminated him.
It could be said that this was the easiest time yet. After all, with Minato Namikaze present, this level of difficulty was truly not hard for them.
"It is indeed time to go; we've rested for almost seven hours," Minato Namikaze said, looking at the sky. "But I have to say, what you've done has exceeded everyone's expectations. Especially you two; it's precisely because of you that the battle has become so clear. However, our mission isn't over, so we must continue."
Uchiha启 and Imai Kenta both nodded. Although both of them really wanted to shake their heads, they wouldn't do such a foolish thing.
After all, they still had to make a living in Konoha. Truly offending the captain of the Konoha Jonin class and Jiraiya's disciple would truly not be worth it.
Last night, they had already learned about the current situation on the front lines and their predicament.
Although the front-line situation now appeared relatively clear, with reinforcements constantly arriving from other fronts—especially after Jiraiya arrived at the front, the participating Ninja on the front line seemed to have found their backbone.
While it was somewhat regrettable that Orochimaru had returned to Konoha to rest, having Jiraiya was enough, and besides, they still had Minato Namikaze!
To be honest, Minato Namikaze's deterrent power on the front lines was actually considerably greater than Jiraiya's!
Because in one particular battle, he instantly eliminated over fifty Stone Ninja in an extremely short time. This battle could be said to have dealt a huge blow to the Stone Ninja.
They had only deployed a few thousand Ninja in total, and fifty were instantly wiped out by one guy. If that happened a few more times, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The reason Minato Namikaze was late was because he had just assisted Konoha Ninja in a sneak attack on the Stone Ninja. When he sensed Uchiha启's distress, he couldn't disengage.
It took him several minutes to quickly end the battle, which is why he arrived late.
However, it was precisely because of this battle that the Stone Ninja completely lost any inclination to engage on the main battlefield. Minato Namikaze's deterrent power was too great.
With Jiraiya holding the fort and Minato Namikaze's brilliant performance, the Stone Ninja no longer dared to act rashly on the main battlefield. Moreover, another incident also dampened their morale.
That was Uchiha启's impromptu decision—he rescued many Konoha prisoners of war!
Although some of these prisoners wanted to return to the Konoha positions, with the suppression from Jonin like Yamanaka Masato, plus their strong cooperation after learning about Uchiha启's mission, it truly threw the Stone Ninja's rear into chaos.
Facts proved they did very well. Although it's unknown how many people are left now, the chaos they caused in the Stone Ninja's rear has already affected the main battlefield.
Facing terrifying powerful enemies on the front and having their rear thrown into disarray by a group of Konoha Ninja, every Ninja delivering supplies or sent to the front line had to worry about being ambushed.
Under this double blow, the Stone Ninja began to retreat. It's entirely conceivable that it wouldn't be long before a complete victory on the main battlefield would arrive, and Konoha might even completely annihilate these Stone Ninja!
However, this was not in Konoha's interest. Konoha needed living Stone Ninja, not a pile of corpses!
Before the war between the Stone Ninja and Cloud Ninja officially began, the Kannabi Bridge had to be destroyed to completely end the Stone Ninja's war on the Land of Grass battlefield. Utilizing these 'wandering souls' as political leverage to exchange for benefits was the top priority.
It's imaginable that the pressure on Uchiha启 and his team was truly immense, especially with the Stone Ninja constantly retreating, and some Stone Ninja units even beginning to converge towards the Kannabi Bridge. The danger of such an environment is self-evident.
They were now racing against time. If they couldn't complete the mission in time, not only might they have no retreat path, but even if they returned, they wouldn't be able to make a living.
Trial, imprisonment, or even a death sentence would be normal. If they were slightly luckier, Konoha might show its generosity and not blame them, but they probably wouldn't escape the pressure of public opinion.
The past events of Konoha White Fang were vivid, making it clear how unlucky Uchiha启 and his team were now.
"You two continue to stand guard," Minato Namikaze continued. "I'll send Kakashi and Hyuga Aya back. For the rest of the mission, I'll be with you."
"You'll be with us from now on?"
This news instantly invigorated Uchiha启 and Imai Kenta. This was the best news they could have hoped for!
However, both of these old foxes didn't show too much emotion, even though they were ecstatic inside.
Finally, a powerful individual was there to save them, but showing too much would affect Minato Namikaze's perception of them.
Having Minato Namikaze protect them during the mission—wasn't this precisely why they were willing to join the Namikaze Squad?
However, after some thought, Uchiha启 still tentatively asked, "Should we send Rin Nohara back as well? The upcoming battles will likely…"
Although Rin Nohara was also a veteran of the battlefield, she had always been under the protection of Kakashi, Obito, and Minato Namikaze.
However, she couldn't be blamed for this. As a medical Ninja, she was already very good.
Just as not everyone is Minato Namikaze, not every medical Ninja can become Tsunade, even though they always looked up to Tsunade as a goal and role model.
Minato Namikaze frowned upon hearing Uchiha启's words, then nodded.
Indeed, the danger level of the upcoming battles was truly somewhat unknown, and Rin Nohara might very well become a liability.
Moreover, she was completely unfamiliar with Uchiha启 and his team. Forcing them together might cause unnecessary trouble.
If it were a normal mission, it would be fine, but Minato Namikaze couldn't afford to gamble with this mission!
Unbeknownst to them, the entire Kannabi Bridge mission had been completely steered by Uchiha启 towards an unknown direction.
Even the people executing the mission had directly become individuals who never appeared in the original story!
"I just wonder who the 'Sharingan hero' in the Third's words will turn out to be later. Or perhaps, three Sharingan heroes?"