After asking Namikaze Minato a few questions about the Flying Thunder God Technique, the two exchanged a few more words before parting ways.
Shinichi quickly arrived at his unit's assembly point and gathered all personnel under his command.
In the open space at the center of the camp, three hundred shinobi stood in orderly ranks, solemn and silent.
Shinichi's gaze swept across the three hundred faces before him.
The size of this force had already expanded from the original one hundred men he first took command of to its current scale.
Some were veterans who had followed him since the southwestern front. Some were backbone elites tempered through mission after mission on the northeastern battlefield. Others were fresh faces added only today.
But whether old or new, every one of them stood straight as a spear, their eyes focused on him.
Just after today's war council, Orochimaru, acting in his capacity as supreme commander of the northeastern front, had formally issued an order—
The former Fourth Independent Combat Battalion would henceforth be granted the honorary name: Shinichi Battalion!
Within the ninja world—especially among the military structures of the hidden villages—a unit being officially named after its commander carried extraordinary significance.
It represented the highest level of public recognition from the frontline supreme commander toward the unit's overall combat strength, execution ability, as well as the leadership and personal prestige of its captain.
Of course, if this wartime honorary title were to be permanently retained after the war and formally entered into the village's historical military registry as an official designation—similar to Kumogakure's Gold and Silver Brothers Unit—it would still require formal approval from the village's upper leadership.
But at least on the current battlefield, the name Shinichi Battalion had already become a gleaming golden banner, representing the first real manifestation of Higashino Shinichi's growing reputation.
It also symbolized that this unit had already become an elite force on the northeastern front that could no longer be ignored—a direct faction bearing a strong personal imprint.
And Orochimaru's move also made Shinichi realize that the snake-like man had completely seen through his ambitions.
Yet he neither exposed them nor attempted to stop him. Instead, with an attitude bordering on indulgence and fascination, he had personally handed Shinichi this banner.
Deliberately giving him opportunities to win hearts, accumulate prestige, and cultivate a direct force of his own.
Was he observing? Testing him? Or simply finding it amusing?
Shinichi did not know.
But he did know one thing—
No matter what scheme Orochimaru had in mind, he absolutely had to seize this opportunity firmly in his grasp.
Same as always:
Eat the sugar coating. Fire the shells back.
Shinichi looked at the three hundred faces before him, among whom were several figures he recognized from his previous life.
One particularly eye-catching—almost comical—young man had carefully styled his pink hair into a bizarre five-pointed star shape. From a distance, it looked like a three-dimensional Patrick Star sitting on his head—
Haruno Kizashi, the future father of Haruno Sakura, had currently joined the Shinichi Battalion as an ordinary chūnin squad member.
There was also the twenty-something man wearing black sunglasses, carrying an enormous insect jar on his back, and already sporting a beard despite his young age—
Aburame Shibi.
And another man whose cheeks bore the distinctive red inverted-triangle markings unique to the Inuzuka Clan—
Inuzuka Ryō, the husband of Inuzuka Tsume.
Because the Shinichi Battalion had expanded to three hundred personnel, relying solely on Aburame Shishō and Tsume for reconnaissance was no longer sufficient. So when Shinichi asked for recommendations, the two respectively introduced their cousin and husband into the unit.
There was also a jōnin with a somewhat gloomy temperament named Kurama Murakumo.
As a member of the Kurama Clan—a clan famed for genjutsu—he had joined the Shinichi Battalion this time specifically to fill the unit's shortcomings in illusion techniques.
Shinichi recognized him as well.
He was precisely the father of the girl Shinichi had never stopped thinking about—the future girl capable of shifting between illusion and reality, turning falsehood into truth.
Counting Hyūga Hizashi from before, Shinichi suddenly realized something.
Among the generation of children who would be born in Konoha after the war, nearly one-third of their parents had either once served under him—or were directly serving under him right now.
He even found himself thinking, with a touch of dark humor, that someday he could perhaps make a movie titled Flags of the Parents, telling the story of how the parents and elders of those future rookie prodigies had followed him through bloody battles during the Third Shinobi World War.
Of course, the thought vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Shinichi swiftly refocused himself.
"All units, listen up!"
Five minutes later, the detailed mission briefing was complete.
"Is everything understood?"
"Understood!"
Shinichi nodded and said nothing further, simply waving a hand to dismiss the squads and send them off to prepare.
'Maybe later, I should find an opportunity to properly guide these people.'
Watching the members of his unit disperse swiftly and orderly, the thought surfaced in Shinichi's mind.
Whether veteran or newcomer, every one of these subordinates already carried the mark of the Shinichi Battalion.
In the future, they could very well become the core and most reliable direct force under Higashino Shinichi within Konoha itself.
Their strength would directly determine the depth of his foundation and the weight of his future influence.
And he himself possessed at least two or three Entries capable of significantly increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching others.
Moreover, if his subordinates showed obvious improvement under his guidance, it would in turn further accelerate the growth of his education-related Entries.
A ninja with only chūnin-level potential might eventually become a Special Jōnin.
A Special Jōnin might become a full-fledged Jōnin.
A standard Jōnin might even rise into the ranks of elite Jōnin.
To improve their strength even more noticeably, Shinichi could even personally cook for them and individually arrange tailored training plans.
If one day all of his subordinates were at minimum Special Jōnin-level fighters, with the backbone force consisting entirely of true Jōnin or even elite Jōnin, while the core captain-level figures reached Kage-level or close to it...
What kind of terrifying force would that become?
The reason the Gold and Silver Brothers Unit had become world-famous despite numbering only around twenty members—revered as one of the top special operations units in the ninja world—was precisely because every single member was an elite jōnin-level powerhouse.
And as for their leaders, the Gold and Silver Brothers themselves were genuine Kage-level fighters who wielded ninja tools left behind by the Sage of Six Paths, possessing terrifying combat power.
Then what about three hundred people?
Five hundred?
Or even eight hundred?
What could eight hundred full-fledged jōnin accomplish?
But very quickly, he realized his thinking was still constrained by conventional concepts like armies and military strength.
His vision was still too small.
In the future, while still taking in his planned direct disciples, he should also establish an entirely new school.
He himself would serve as principal.
Perhaps he would even personally teach some of the core courses.
At that moment, Shinichi suddenly realized that as his strength increased, so too did his ambitions continue to expand.
At the beginning, all he had wanted was to become a genius—
A powerful individual who would not be controlled by fate, someone capable of controlling his own life and path.
Later, Shinichi began planning to become Hokage—to become a ruler.
And now, before he had even become Hokage, he was already no longer satisfied with merely becoming a ruler.
He also wanted to become a teacher.
To unite the roles of ruler and teacher into one!
...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Deafening explosions roared across the battlefield.
The earth trembled violently as snow and dirt were blasted skyward by savage shockwaves, forming curtains of murky debris.
Kumogakure's long-prepared all-out assault erupted completely at this moment like a volcano suppressed for far too long.
There were no complicated flanking maneuvers.
No elaborate feints or divided forces.
Kumo's strategy this time was brutally simple.
They had gathered the overwhelming majority of their frontline main force—more than ten thousand Kumogakure shinobi in total—and under the personal command of the Third Raikage, they surged forward like an unstoppable torrent of steel, launching the fiercest frontal assault against Konoha's defensive line!
Their objective was singular—
To rely on absolute overwhelming force to tear apart and crush Konoha's defenses head-on!
The Third Raikage charged at the very front, his Lightning Release Chakra Mode activated to the fullest.
His entire body transformed into a humanoid bolt of lightning as he smashed directly toward the core of Konoha's defensive line with terrifying speed and power!
Behind him followed hundreds of fierce and battle-hardened Kumogakure elite assault shinobi.
Keeping pace with the Raikage, they resembled an indestructible spear of thunder, determined to rip a bloody opening straight through Konoha's position!
Konoha responded immediately.
Countless ninjutsu and ninja tools poured forward like a violent storm to intercept them.
At the same time, from behind the defensive line, hundreds of specially-made three-pronged Flying Thunder God kunai were hurled outward by multiple shinobi.
Like torrential rain, they blanketed the areas ahead of, beside, and behind the Third Raikage's advance route.
This was Konoha's classic tactic for dealing with the Third Raikage's charges—
Flying Thunder God coordinate saturation.
Based on previous experience, Kumogakure would immediately respond with large-scale ninjutsu or precision-thrown weapons to intercept and destroy as many of those Flying Thunder God kunai as possible, preventing Namikaze Minato from having usable coordinates to jump to.
But there were simply too many kunai, and the coverage area was far too wide.
No matter what, some would inevitably slip through and land in critical positions across the battlefield.
And once even a single coordinate successfully got close enough, Namikaze Minato could use it as a springboard to instantly cut into the most dangerous and central areas of the battlefield.
His attacks might not be enough to directly break through the Third Raikage's defenses, but with his unpredictable speed, he could precisely eliminate Kumogakure elites positioned around or behind the Raikage, disrupting their assault formation.
Or he could cleverly divert the Raikage's attention and create attack windows for Konoha's specially assembled Wind Release joint-strike units targeting the weaknesses of the Lightning Release Armor.
Wind Release countered Lightning Release.
The combined ninjutsu of Konoha's many Wind Release jōnin was sufficient to inflict significant exhaustion and threat upon the Third Raikage's lightning armor.
The coordination between Minato and the Wind Release units was Konoha's most effective slowing barrier and field of spikes against the Raikage's frontal assaults.
But this time, Kumogakure's preparations were clearly even more thorough!
Just as those hundreds of Flying Thunder God kunai had been thrown and were still tracing arcs through the air before landing—
A stern-faced middle-aged man with purple hair, closely following beside the Third Raikage, suddenly flashed a sharp glint in his eyes.
He was none other than Troy, Kumogakure's top jōnin who possessed the Magnet Release bloodline limit.
His hands flew through several seals at astonishing speed.
Magnet Release: Magnetic Manipulation!
In an instant, a bizarre scene unfolded!
The hundreds of Flying Thunder God kunai traveling through the air suddenly seemed to lose all momentum and abruptly halted!
Immediately afterward, as though drawn by some invisible and terrifying vortex, they began crazily converging and compressing toward a single central point.
Metal collided violently against metal at high speed, producing ear-piercing screeches and explosive crackling sounds like beans bursting in rapid succession!
Seeing this, Minato—who had been preparing to seize an opening and enter the battlefield—furrowed his brow.
And at the very instant his rhythm faltered because the coordinates had been neutralized—
"ROOOOAR!!!"
An incomparably savage roar erupted from behind the Kumogakure army.
Immediately afterward, a pitch-black Tailed Beast Ball over twenty meters in diameter, radiating destructive energy fluctuations, tore across the sky with a soul-shaking shriek as it blasted toward the most heavily defended command node in the center of Konoha's defensive line!
If that strike landed, the middle section of Konoha's defense would inevitably be blown open with catastrophic casualties, while morale would suffer devastating damage.
At the critical moment!
Minato's figure appeared at the very front of Konoha's forces at some unknown point in time.
His hands moved at a speed impossible for the naked eye to follow, forming a barrier array directly in the air!
Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder!
A Flying Thunder God space-time barrier composed of intricate sealing formulas instantly unfolded before him, intercepting the Tailed Beast Ball directly along its path!
The pitch-black sphere of destructive energy crashed straight into the Guiding Thunder barrier and vanished instantly, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
The next second—
More than a dozen kilometers away, above an empty mountainous region, space suddenly twisted violently.
That massive Tailed Beast Ball appeared out of nowhere.
BOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
A world-shaking explosion erupted alongside a towering mushroom cloud.
Even from such an enormous distance, the apocalyptic destructive force could still be clearly felt.
With his own power alone, Minato had once again neutralized Kumogakure's Tailed Beast Ball strike, displaying the overwhelming strategic deterrence and mobility that made him Konoha's strongest battlefield asset.
However, the crisis was far from over.
The Third Raikage's assault did not slow in the slightest because of the redirected Tailed Beast Ball.
Instead, taking advantage of the instant Konoha's attention was diverted, his speed increased even further!
Troy guarded the Raikage's flank closely, ready at any moment to use Magnet Release to eliminate any Flying Thunder God kunai coordinates that might appear.
In the distance, Shinichi glanced toward the front lines and discovered that Minato—who had just redirected the Tailed Beast Ball—had already disappeared once more without anyone noticing.
Clearly, Kumogakure had specifically arranged for the Magnet Release user Troy to carry out targeted interception, even neutralizing an entire wave of critical coordinate throws right at the start.
Yet despite that, the Yellow Flash had still somehow silently re-entered Kumogakure's charging formation in a manner ordinary people could hardly comprehend.
That was Namikaze Minato.
Even when specifically countered, he remained the most unpredictable variable on the battlefield—and the greatest headache for his enemies.
"Comrades!"
Shinichi withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.
"Move out with me!"
The instant his words fell, Shinichi's figure vanished from his original position, with all three hundred members disappearing right behind him.
The mission of the Shinichi Battalion was simple—
But also extraordinarily difficult and dangerous.
They were to become the sharpest blade possible and cut directly into the formation of the several hundred Kumogakure elite support shinobi positioned behind the Raikage, regardless of cost!
As much as possible, they would intercept, divide, and delay the spear-shaft force following behind the Raikage, weakening their support and protection for him while easing the pressure on Konoha's frontal defensive line.
At the same time, they would create even more opportunities for Minato's harassment operations within enemy lines.
And perhaps, if the chance appeared, they would coordinate with Minato and Konoha's rear forces to inflict truly devastating damage upon Kumogakure's core assault force!
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