On the land of the Land of Waterfall, three figures were moving at high speed, completely unconcerned about the mud splatters on their clothes from stepping through the mud, their gazes fixed intently on the front.
"We're almost there, speed up!"
Shio gasped for breath, shouting at the two people beside him whose speed had decreased.
"Alright!"
The prolonged intense running had pushed them to their limits, but none of them dared to stop.
Their captain had stayed behind to cover their retreat and was now surrounded, while Shadow Clone Number One and Shadow Clone Number Two had blocked the pursuing enemies for the three of them. The crucial task of bringing the intelligence back had finally fallen upon them.
"I see the Border Line!"
When they once again crossed a hillside, what came into view was Konoha's border defense position. Their faces instantly lit up with joy, and even their steps quickened.
The three rapidly approaching figures were also discovered by the patrolling Ninja. When they got within a hundred meters of the Konoha Camp, a team of Ninja suddenly appeared and surrounded them. The leading Ninja had a pair of blood-red eyes, with four tomoe slowly rotating within them.
"Our captain is Hoshimi Ren, and these are our identification!"
Shio handed over the identification that the three of them had already prepared, continuing, "Please quickly take us to see Minato. We have extremely urgent intelligence!"
"Hmm?"
Upon hearing Ren's name, the Uchiha man's expression changed. After a quick glance at their identification, he handed the items back and said in a deep voice, "You follow me, the others continue to be vigilant!"
"Yes!"
The rest of the group dispersed, leaving only four or five people surrounding them. One of them, at the man's silent command, quietly exited the crowd and left using the Instantaneous Body Technique. Shio and the other two did not notice this, only looking at the man anxiously.
The Border Line was not very far from the Konoha Camp behind it, reachable in about a quarter of an hour. When they set off again and rushed back to the Konoha Camp, the three young Ninja no longer had the strength to stand, and had to be supported by the people next to them to continue moving forward.
Minato, who had received the news early, was waiting at the Konoha Camp gate. Somewhat strangely, Fugaku was also there.
"Minato-sama!"
Ignoring other thoughts, Shio, upon seeing Minato Namikaze, immediately let go of the Ninja supporting him, took two steps forward, and after swaying in front of Minato, managed to steady his tottering body.
"You are Tsukiakari, right? Don't rush, speak slowly. What happened to Ren?"
Minato stepped forward and supported him. Although he was anxious, he did not rush him.
"It's like this…"
After Shio recovered, he began to speak.
Shio quickly glossed over the mission itself; the appearance of the ten thousand strong Iwagakure army and the Third Raikage later was the main point.
As they listened, everyone's expressions changed. Minato and Fugaku's faces also grew increasingly grim. Upon hearing that Ren had stayed behind to cover their retreat and was holding off the Iwagakure army with the Third Raikage, Minato and Fugaku's faces darkened to the extreme.
Meanwhile, the Ninja around who heard all of this secretly swallowed their saliva, completely stunned by the news.
That wasn't a hundred or a thousand people; that was a full ten thousand Ninja!
Facing ten thousand with two people—such an act could no longer be described as merely crazy.
"That's how it is, Minato-sama!"
After Shio finished speaking, he looked at Minato anxiously and said hurriedly, "Please hurry and rescue the captain, there's still time!"
"Okay, you all should rest well first."
Minato handed Shio over to a nearby Ninja, then turned around, looking at Fugaku and saying in a deep voice, "Clan Leader Fugaku, I'll leave this place to you for now."
Neither the Konoha Camp nor the Border Line could be left unguarded. Both of them couldn't leave the Konoha Camp entirely; someone had to stay behind to guard against a sneak attack by those Kumogakure guys.
Although their Raikage was also surrounded, they would most likely send troops to rescue him.
Fugaku understood this, so he did not refuse. After a moment of thought, he said, "Alright, let's act now, time is pressing."
After speaking, Fugaku turned his head to look at Uchiha Ken, who was standing quietly behind him, eager to act, and said in a deep voice, "Ken, you go with the Commander. You must bring Ren back."
"Yes!"
Minato also wasted no time and immediately ordered an emergency assembly. Instantly, the entire Konoha Camp operated like a precise instrument, quickly mobilizing all Ninja who were resting or not on missions.
Soon, a force of about three thousand Ninja was assembled. Although it was regrettable, this was all the available combat power within the current Konoha Camp. The others were still on missions that they could not leave, and some had to remain in the Konoha Camp to prevent and prepare for sudden situations.
"Depart!"
Led by Minato, thousands of Ninja began a long-distance forced march, directly entering the Land of Waterfall territory with the army, and heading straight towards the Land of Earth.
On the other side, the Cloud Hidden Great Camp, having received the news, was also in a similar state. When A heard that his father was surrounded by Iwagakure Ninja on the border of the Land of Earth, he furiously slammed his hand on the table in front of him, rushed out of his tent, and after giving the assembly order, he was the first to arrive at the Konoha Camp gate to wait.
"Bee, while I'm gone, the Konoha Camp is in your hands. Be careful of sneak attacks from those Konoha guys!"
While the army was assembling, A was giving Killer Bee some instructions.
It was the same for them; there had to be a Kage-level expert guarding the Great Camp. Killer Bee had not yet fully reconciled with the Eight-Tails within him, and if he went berserk, it would be a huge problem. Therefore, A was leading this support operation.
"Don't worry, big brother, I'm here, Killer Bee-sama, yeah!"
"..."
Looking at Killer Bee, who was still rapping at this moment, A's face grew even darker. At this point, the team had also finished assembling. Compared to Konoha's strained military strength due to multi-front warfare, Kumogakure was much better off.
Because they were only fighting a two-front war with Iwagakure and Konoha Village, A, with his abundant military resources, directly mobilized five thousand troops, determined to rescue his father.
Meanwhile, Ōnoki, far away in Iwagakure, also received the news. Upon learning that the Third Raikage and Konoha Village's Hoshimi Ren were trapped within the ten-thousand-strong army, he was overjoyed.
Excited, he immediately ordered that the lives of both of them must be taken there. Both of these individuals posed a significant threat to Iwagakure and absolutely could not be allowed to live!
Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity absolutely could not be missed!
Of course, the cunning Ōnoki also anticipated that Konoha and Kumogakure would send rescue forces after receiving the news.
So he immediately sent a message to the Iwagakure Camp stationed in the Land of Rain, to dispatch several thousand more Ninja from there to reinforce the Land of Earth border to hold back the two villages' reinforcements.
Such measures clearly showed Ōnoki's murderous intent towards the two of them.