The next day, the sun rose.
The three kids got up one after another, and Namikaze Minato was already waiting outside the door. Seeing them awake, he smiled slightly. "How was it? Kids? Did you sleep well last night?"
"Teacher Minato, aren't you tired? Ha~ You were on night duty for so long last night." Uchiha Obito asked after coming out, but the dark circles under his eyes were obvious.
Namikaze Minato was momentarily stunned, then laughed. "Not tired. We are going to battle today, there isn't much time for rest."
"Mm." Hatake Kakashi nodded. The battle was about to begin soon, and he felt a little nervous in his heart.
Fighting a war and doing missions are two different concepts. On missions, the number of enemy shinobi is limited, but on the battlefield, shinobi are everywhere.
Even a Genin releasing a C-rank jutsu can cause real damage.
Nohara Rin smiled. She saw through Kakashi's nervousness and Uchiha Obito's pretended nonchalance, which was actually not much better than Kakashi.
"Teacher Minato, is the march time set?" Nohara Rin blinked.
Namikaze Minato nodded. "In exactly one hour. You will follow me, act as my subordinates. The main army will attack from the flank, taking a detour!"
"Yes!" x3. The faces of the three kids were filled with anticipation, with excitement and nervousness.
Namikaze Minato's lips curved upward. "Now, everyone in the Minato squad, eat dry rations. In thirty minutes, join the army."
The three kids nodded, then took out compressed biscuits from their storage scrolls and began eating.
Seeing this, Namikaze Minato went to the shinobi troops he was leading.
Before setting out, he still needed to briefly greet the troops. Otherwise, the subordinate shinobi wouldn't know him yet.
And so, Namikaze Minato took advantage of the interval while the three kids were eating dry rations to go ahead and meet with the troop shinobi.
The shinobi in the troops came from various major clans as well as civilian shinobi. Yesterday, they had received the news that their leader was the Hokage's student, and that their two thousand strong unit must completely obey Namikaze Minato's commands.
Most shinobi had no major objections. After all, Namikaze Minato was the Hokage's student, and the Hokage's status in their hearts was like that of a deity.
The vast majority of shinobi who held favorable feelings towards the Hokage believed in this, because they felt that Namikaze Minato, as the Hokage's student, definitely wouldn't be bad. Following orders was surely correct!
But a small portion, some talents who could also be called troublemakers, had their own unique skills or their own understanding of war. Not being heavily used led to superficial obedience, but deep inside they were very resistant.
At this moment, they stared intently at Namikaze Minato. Minato sensed this. He didn't react too strongly, but said slowly, "You, you, you, all of you, come out. Let's have a match."
The simplest method to deal with troublemakers in the army was to prove one's own strength.
And the people Minato pointed out were precisely those who obeyed in appearance but not in heart.
Upon hearing this, the individuals' eyes lit up. They stepped forward a few steps. They were somewhat curious about what Namikaze Minato would do.
Then they heard, "I'll give you ten minutes. Attack me together. If you defeat me, you can become the leader of this army."
Namikaze Minato smiled. He looked gently at the four or five young men before him.
These four or five young men exchanged glances. After a silent communication, the one at the front spoke, "Since that's the case, then let's begin!"
Namikaze Minato took out a stopwatch, pressed start, and handed it to an honest-looking middle-aged man for safekeeping. Then he said, "Come on!"
At that moment, the aura around him completely changed from his previous gentleness. If he had seemed like a nice guy, a little sun before, now he was like a great mountain, a fierce tiger.
The four or five young men quickly snapped back to reality and rushed forward one after another, forming hand seals and performing ninjutsu. The variety of ninjutsu dazzled the onlookers. However, it was clear that the strength of these five individuals had reached the Jōnin level!
Moreover, their coordination was seamless. Wind aided fire's power, lightning and wind complemented each other.
Namikaze Minato, seeing this scene, did not look down on it. Instead, he threw a Flying Thunder God kunai towards the attacks. After the kunai passed through the attacks, Minato's figure disappeared. In an instant, he arrived at the kunai's location, grabbed one of the individuals, and held the kunai to his neck.
He murmured, "You lose!" Then he threw Flying Thunder God kunai in all directions, transforming into a golden flash moving back and forth among these five people.
If he had wanted to, these five would already be dead! Namikaze Minato's performance elicited cheers from the crowd present. The middle-aged man pressed the stopwatch again.
When he looked at the time, he found that less than seven seconds had passed! What an astonishing achievement! It was simply enough to make people bow in admiration!
The five powerful troublemakers swallowed hard and touched their own necks. In such a short time, they had been closed in on.
If it were a real battle, and the two sides were enemies, Namikaze Minato slitting their throats would have been a matter of an instant.
"We are convinced!" The five troublemakers knelt on one knee, admitting their fault. Seeing this, Namikaze Minato understood that his plan had succeeded.
He looked around. No one else in the army showed their head with distrust in their eyes. Instead, the looks they gave him were filled with fervor.
Namikaze Minato smiled, helping the five to their feet. "No discord, no concord. As opponents, you're not bad. Keep working hard, strive to kill a few more Suna-nin on the battlefield."
Seeing that Namikaze Minato wasn't pursuing the matter, the five sighed in relief and were won over by Minato's actions. They now became Namikaze Minato's most staunch supporters.
"Lord Minato! We will!" the five said in unison.
Namikaze Minato nodded, signaling for them to return to the ranks. Just then, the three kids arrived. Namikaze Minato had them join the middle of the formation. After completing all this, Namikaze Minato led this unit to the camp entrance.
At this moment, the remaining eight thousand shinobi corps at the camp entrance were all ready. Sarutobi Shinnosuke's face was serious as he looked straight ahead.
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna were there talking and laughing. When they saw Minato's troops arrive, they all looked at Namikaze Minato. Minato gave an OK hand signal.
They nodded and started laughing again.
"Minato, why are you so late!" Sarutobi Shinnosuke couldn't help but laugh, patting Namikaze Minato's shoulder.
Namikaze Minato didn't mind. "A small incident happened on the way, but it's been resolved!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke understood what he meant. Yesterday, he himself had established authority alone in front of the troops. The iron rod he slammed on the ground made a huge hole, instantly convincing everyone and making them decide to follow this serious and powerful Vice-Commander.
"Alright, since everyone is here, then prepare to execute the battle plan!" Uchiha Madara interrupted, speaking with a serious expression.