Chapter 245: Battle Victory

When Jiraiya and the others returned to the camp, the Jonin in the camp all came forward to ask about the battle situation.

“The battle with the Jinchuriki was a minor victory; only the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki was severely injured, and the Four-Tails Jinchuriki was unharmed.” Jiraiya did not exaggerate his results, stating the outcome of the top-tier battle.

“But overall, we achieved a great victory!” Jiraiya then said with a smile, as boosting morale was still necessary.

The Jonin relaxed when they heard Jiraiya say that the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki was injured. If they had suffered losses on the top-tier battlefield, their previous advantages would have been wiped out.

The good news that Jiraiya and the others had gained an advantage in the battle against the Jinchuriki quickly spread throughout the Konoha camp. The Konoha Ninja who heard the news were all very excited, feeling as if they saw the dawn of victory in the war.

The enemy deploying two Jinchuriki yet gaining no advantage against Konoha gave them the impression that Konoha had only made a slight move, and it was already Iwagakure’s limit.

Of course, such optimistic people were usually Genin or younger Chunin. Jonin and experienced Chunin knew that neither Iwagakure nor Konoha had revealed their full strength.

Only Jiraiya, one of the Konoha Sannin, had come to the battlefield, and no other well-known powerhouses had been dispatched.

Although Iwagakure had sent two Jinchuriki, they were only two Jinchuriki. Besides them, the strongest was the Explosion Release Jonin, Hantō, and not too many ordinary Ninja had been sent.

Muzuki, who was familiar with the plot, knew that Iwagakure was brewing something big, and the military strength displayed at the moment was very likely a feint.

Muzuki could easily understand everything by putting himself in Ōnoki’s perspective.

For this war, he dispatched two Jinchuriki. From the perspective of other Ninja Villages, Iwagakure had already shown great importance this time, with two Jinchuriki going to the battlefield together.

But in reality, Iwagakure still had a large number of Ninja hidden internally, a Ninja force of tens of thousands, and a group of elite Ninja like Kitsuchi.

If this battle failed, Ōnoki could make other Ninja Villages misjudge Iwagakure’s strength and be more wary of Konoha, who maintained a strong stance in the war. For example, Kumogakure, also at war with Konoha, would thus lower their guard against Iwagakure and use more power against Konoha.

If the battle succeeded, that would be even better, proving that Konoha was already weak. Ōnoki could directly launch a large army into the Land of Fire to directly attack Konoha, seizing the title of the First Ninja Village from Konoha, proving his own strength to gain more commissions and military funds from the Daimyō.

Ōnoki would not lose either way, because with two Jinchuriki going together, even if they couldn’t win, they couldn’t be forcibly detained.

“Muzuki-sensei, are you injured?” When Muzuki found his disciples, Obito first asked with concern.

Although he didn’t know the strength of the Jinchuriki, the commotion of the Tailed Beast Ball was too great. Obito could feel the terrifying power of the Jinchuriki just by looking at the dazzling light of the explosion from afar.

Kakashi and Might Guy also looked at Muzuki.

“Do I look like I’m injured?” Muzuki asked with a chuckle.

“No,” Obito answered honestly. Besides dust, Muzuki’s clothes weren’t even torn.

“It could also be an internal injury that can’t be seen,” Obito explained.

“I’m not injured. Come with me; I’ll help you heal first,” Muzuki said, patting Obito’s head.

Aside from Might Guy’s injured fist, Kakashi and Obito had also suffered minor injuries, though not as severe as Might Guy’s.

Muzuki took them to an secluded spot and began to use Medical Ninjutsu for treatment.

Currently, his Medical Ninjutsu had not yet been ‘whitewashed,’ so he couldn’t use it in front of other Ninja.

The powerful Ninjutsu could be explained by training, but neither Hiruzen Sarutobi nor Danzo had given him Medical Ninjutsu; he couldn’t have just comprehended the Mystical Palm Technique on his own.

“Muzuki-sensei, which is stronger, the Jinchuriki or the Raikage Candidate?” Obito asked curiously.

“It’s hard to compare, but in terms of overall strength, the Jinchuriki is stronger right now,” Muzuki said after thinking.

In fact, if Fourth Raikage Ay and the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki fought one-on-one, Muzuki couldn’t quite guess the outcome.

Besides a Tailed Beast Ball, the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki’s main offensive method was also Taijutsu, but the Tailed Beast Ball couldn’t hit the extremely fast Fourth Raikage Ay. Fourth Raikage Ay had a speed advantage, while the Five-Tailed Jinchuriki was more durable and had more Chakra.

Compared to Fourth Raikage Ay, Minato at this stage was a bit lacking in dealing with Tailed Beasts or Jinchuriki, as he lacked powerful offensive techniques.

But in terms of fighting people, Minato would be more efficient and better able to maneuver against strong opponents.

“I wonder when I’ll be as strong as you, Muzuki-sensei,” Obito said with a longing expression.

“Then start training now! A hot-blooded youth needs to seize all the time they can to make themselves stronger!” After healing, Might Guy immediately began training by doing handstand runs.

“Mainly, I feel that if the three of us were as strong as Muzuki-sensei, then we could end the war, and not so many people would die,” Obito expressed his true feelings.

In the past, when he encountered enemies on missions, Obito didn’t feel much after killing them, because if he didn’t kill the enemy, the enemy would kill him.

But seeing so many unfamiliar people die on the battlefield, Obito’s heart was very unsettled.

In just a few short hours, he had completely grown to hate the existence called war.

Obito’s words made Kakashi look at him sideways; he hadn’t expected Obito to be able to say such things.

“If you want to end the war, just having my current strength isn’t enough; you need to be stronger!” Muzuki said, looking slightly up at the sky.

For the Ninja World to return to peace, either everyone fights to a pulp and retreats to recover their strength, or it’s like Senju Hashirama, who suppressed everyone with his transcendent strength, making others dare not move.

And to achieve long-term peace, even Senju Hashirama’s strength might not be enough, because there was still Uchiha Madara in the shadows, Black Zetsu, and the sealed Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

“But as long as you keep working hard, you will succeed one day,” Muzuki said with a gentle smile.

Encouraged by Muzuki, Obito also trained with Might Guy as if he had been injected with a stimulant.

And Kakashi naturally couldn’t just watch the two train and do nothing, so he joined them in training.

Because of the great victory and the timely arrival of provisions from the rear, the Konoha Ninja celebrated their victory by feasting that night.

Muzuki also showed off a bit, simply making a few large pots of food.

“Is it just my imagination, or does this food taste so good that I thought the enemy had launched a surprise attack and I was under a Genjutsu?” A Konoha Ninja exclaimed in amazement after tasting Muzuki’s cooking.

“Me too! I even thought it was just that victory made the food taste exceptionally delicious,” a nearby Konoha Ninja added.

“You’re lucky; this was cooked by Muzuki himself. Not many people get the chance to eat it,” Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh.

He was in a very good mood; if they weren’t on the battlefield, he would have wanted to drink alcohol.

Minato said nothing, quietly and quickly devouring his food. Ever since he came to the battlefield, he hadn’t eaten Muzuki’s cooking, and he often dreamed of returning to Konoha and continuing to eat at Muzuki’s house every day.

“Minato, there’s no need to eat so fast at a time like this,” Jiraiya noticed that Minato had already finished two bowls of rice and eaten a lot of dishes just as he spoke a few sentences.

Without time for more complaints, Jiraiya also quickly joined in the eating frenzy.

After dinner, the group sat together and chatted.

Muzuki told Minato about Kushina’s situation in Konoha.

“Kushina misses you very much. My disciple, Uchiha Obito, happens to have a camera. How about letting him take a few photos for you to take back?” Muzuki said with a smile.

Minato’s eyes lit up; he thought it was a great idea and thanked Muzuki.

“Let me take them! I’ll definitely make you look as handsome as Muzuki-sensei!” Obito volunteered.

“Then thank you, Obito,” Minato readily agreed, smiling as he thanked him.

Then Minato stood still, waiting for Obito to take the photos with a serious expression.

“Why aren’t you smiling? I think you look good when you smile,” Obito asked, holding the camera with a puzzled expression.

He saw that Minato usually smiled a lot, just like Muzuki, so why wasn’t he smiling for the photo?

Minato forcibly controlled the corners of his mouth to turn up, trying hard to maintain a smiling expression.

“Haha, I didn’t realize you had such a humorous side, Minato!” Jiraiya couldn’t help but laugh loudly as he looked at Minato’s expression, then quickly ran to Obito’s side and took several photos of Minato.

Minato currently gave him the feeling of a poker-faced person forcibly pulling up the corners of his mouth to fake a smile.

“He’s probably taking it too seriously, Minato. Trying to smile intentionally can actually make it look unnatural,” Dekai analyzed.

“That hateful white-haired old man, what a cruel joke,” Obito grumbled, looking at Minato in the frame.

“You’re still young, you don’t understand. This is how you capture joyful moments,” Jiraiya said with a smug smile.

“I’m not small! I’ve already completed two A-Rank Missions, and today on the battlefield, I even saved several comrades!” Obito retorted, feeling indignant.

“A-Rank Missions? I’ve done S-rank Missions more than twenty times!” Jiraiya said, implying he had done A-Rank Missions countless times.

“That strong?” Obito was astonished. S-rank Missions felt a bit distant to him.

“Of course! I’m Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, known as the Toad Sage!” Jiraiya puffed out his chest and introduced himself.

Minato watched Jiraiya and Muzuki’s student compete, and couldn’t help but show a helpless smile.

And Obito just happened to notice, he didn’t listen to Jiraiya, but seized the opportunity to capture that normal smiling face.

“What toad?” Obito asked, turning back.

“You brat, it’s Toad Sage, not ‘what toad’!” Jiraiya corrected him.

Watching the legendary Sannin and Obito compete over the number of missions, like children comparing who had more snacks, and even boastfully announcing their titles, Kakashi couldn’t help but feel like a celebrity had fallen from grace.

Although Kakashi didn’t idolize any of the Sannin, the Sannin were very famous in Konoha, and Kakashi naturally assumed they were all extremely reliable Ninja, but the reality seemed to be different from what he thought.

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