Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Jiraiya: Do I Even Matter as the Team Leader?

Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Jiraiya: Do I Even Matter as the Team Leader?



"So, are you planning to throw us to the rear as well to deal with the enemies?"

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist calmly stared at Yagura, showing no signs of panic.

Though Yagura held great authority and outranked them, he couldn't deal with them recklessly—that was the confidence that the Seven Swordsmen held.

After eyeing the Seven Swordsmen for a long moment, Yagura finally spoke.

"I have a mission for you."

You want to cause trouble, don't you? Want to infiltrate the Land of Fire or even go wild in the Hidden Leaf?

Fine, I'll give you what you want—I'm sending you into the Land of Fire.

With chaos spreading in the rear and Yagura eager to remove those who didn't respect his authority, the Seven Swordsmen were dispatched right after the incident involving Hozuki Sojin.

Their mission, however, wasn't to eliminate enemies-it was to infiltrate the Land of Fire and cut off Konoha's supply lines.

After giving the instructions, Yagura coldly ordered, "Increase our sea patrols. I suspect Konoha wants to use the island chain as a springboard to attack the Hidden Mist, forcing us into a direct confrontation!"

Yagura wasn't in his position for no reason; he had a few tricks up his sleeve, and he knew Orochimaru was up to something.

The talk of attacking the Hidden Mist was just to make things seem more critical.

Orochimaru's true aim wasn't the direct assault on Kirigakure but to force Yagura into an open battle.

Abandon the advantage at sea and rush to fight Konoha along the Whirlpool and Fire Country coastline? Yagura would never let that happen unless he lost his mind.

Instead, he hoped the Seven Swordsmen could throw Konoha's rear into turmoil, forcing Orochimaru into a tricky situation.

Konoha couldn't sever Kirigakure's supply lines-they simply didn't have naval supremacy— but Kirigakure could send people to infiltrate the rear and disrupt Konoha's supply.

The infiltrators, however, would be at great risk. If found, Konoha would definitely send forces to eliminate them and secure the supply lines.

On an uninhabited island, the group was resting. Jiraiya, chewing on some unappetizing rations, sighed in frustration.

"Our next target won't be easy. All of them are key positions heavily fortified by Kirigakure, and the island's forces aren't light either."

"The enemy's pursuit team should also be closing in on us," he continued. "If we engage, there's a real risk of us being surrounded."

"In fact, Kirigakure probably wants us to keep attacking these islands-that way, they'll have the opportunity to surround and wipe us out."

"Lord Jiraiya, whether we continue attacking or retreat, we need to decide soon. Once dawn breaks, it'll put us at a disadvantage," Yūhi Shinku spoke up.

"I know, I know, Shinku, you're always like this," Jiraiya said, scratching his head and trying to reassure him. He then turned his attention to Takuya, who was sitting nearby, chewing on a blade of grass.

"???"

Takuya handed the scroll to him.

"He wants us to leave a Flying Raijin marker and evacuate immediately. The enemy may already be surrounding us, but they haven't locked down our exact position yet."

On land, they could track using footprints or other traces. On the sea, such methods were

extremely challenging-gathering intelligence was far more difficult.

Even though the sea was Kirigakure's domain, it made little difference.

"Minato, how many times will it take you to move everyone out?"

"If it's not too far, about three trips."

Long-distance teleportation was taxing on Minato's stamina and chakra, and he rarely transported multiple people over long distances, so he couldn't make any promises.

"Then leave the marker and let's start the transfer."

At this point, Minato was still a novice in using the Flying Raijin. In a few years, he'd become

an expert, able to jump anywhere as he pleased.

After leaving the marker, Minato took the first group away.

Takuya and Jiraiya stayed behind, covering the retreat as the last group to leave. Thankfully, they weren't heading straight back to the camp, or Minato would've been completely drained. "Looks like encouraging Minato to learn the Flying Raijin was the right decision after all," Jiraiya said, sitting cross-legged on the ground, ignoring the damp earth beneath him, a

proud smile on his face.

You look so smug.

Takuya doused him with cold water, figuratively speaking. "You talk like you actually taught

him anything."

"Who said I didn't... Ow!"

Jiraiya, in his enthusiasm, bit his tongue.

Nawaki shook his finger, tutting, "No denying it now. Minato's been with us this whole time. Honestly, it'd be more accurate to say Takuya is his teacher-you just handed over the Flying

Raijin scroll and that was it."

Handing over an S-rank jutsu scroll, one that had stumped countless shinobi, and then doing nothing else—that was quite something, even for Jiraiya.

Luckily, Minato was smart and talented enough to figure things out. Otherwise, he'd have just been left staring at a scroll, clueless.

Next Bonus: 2100 Power Stones. ('')J

(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 360+ at patreon com/ Emiko1. _X