"So extravagant. I remember you saying that the Flying Raijin mark doesn't necessarily have to be stamped on a weapon, right?"
Nawaki clicked his tongue as he watched Minato's actions.
"To prevent it from being destroyed, and also to retrieve it later." Minato explained.
Ninjas have all received training in field tracking and are very sensitive to marks. Whether stamped on trees or stones, there is a risk of them being destroyed or moved, or even targeted by traps set around them.
The strength of the Hidden Rain Village was not enough to invade the territory of the Land of Fire yet. Minato was guarding against White Zetsu.
Information about his Wood Style was no secret. With White Zetsu's intelligence network spread throughout the ninja world, Madara should have received the news by now.
He just didn't know if the other party would make any targeted moves, so he was just taking precautions.
For the rest of the journey, Minato would leave a base station every half an hour.
However, the method was not limited to Wood Style. Sometimes he would use Earth Style to excavate enough space underground or inside rock walls, and leave a hidden tree hole outside for ventilation.
Gurgle...
Halfway through the journey, Nawaki's stomach suddenly growled.
Seeing Minato and Mikoto in front turning back to look at him, he rubbed his stomach and grinned embarrassedly.
"Hahaha, hungry."
"Then let's rest for a while and eat something."
Minato nodded, stopped, and asked the two: "What do you want to eat?"
"Can... can we choose?"
Mikoto looked at Minato incredulously: "Aren't we on a mission?"
"Going on a mission shouldn't delay eating. But during the mission period, just keep it simple."
Minato smiled. He was in the growing stage and had no intention of lowering his quality of life.
Still clapping his hands together, various vegetables and fruits grew out of the ground.
Under Mikoto's surprised gaze, Minato processed these ingredients deftly.
Then he created a Wood Clone to stay behind, and his main body disappeared in a flash.
After a while, he came back carrying a wild bull, and then summoned a big black pot and various seasonings from a scroll.
Nawaki: "..."
Mikoto: "..."
The sky gradually darkened, and curling smoke drifted in the forest.
The three ate roast beef and drank hot soup, feeling very cozy.
"I didn't expect Minato-kun's cooking skills to be so good."
Mikoto couldn't help sighing: "And going on a mission with Minato-kun is as relaxing as going on a picnic."
"Burp~ Are you about to be charmed?"
Nawaki burped, leaned lazily under the tree, and teased.
"Eh? Why do you say that?"
Hearing this, Mikoto was instantly a little embarrassed.
Minato was indeed excellent, but she hadn't really thought about it that way.
Firstly, the age difference between the two sides, the other party was four years younger than her. Secondly, because of the childhood sweetheart relationship between Minato and Kushina.
If she had to say, Minato's type really hit her spot.
Handsome, steady and reliable, gentle but not lacking toughness, and can cook.
Most importantly, the other party's overwhelmingly powerful combat power!
Nothing hit the Uchiha's heart more than power.
And in the general environment of the ninja world, strong strength represented a sense of security, which was a very important criterion for mate selection for a girl with a traditional personality like Mikoto.
If Minato were older, maybe she really would...
Thinking of this, Mikoto's cheeks were faintly flushed.
Nawaki waved his hand lazily, with an expression of seeing through everything: "Because your expression just now was exactly the same as those fangirls chasing Minato in school!"
"Because people will naturally gravitate towards excellent people. Minato-kun is indeed the most excellent person I have ever seen."
Mikoto spoke frankly, and asked back: "Does Nawaki-kun have someone he likes?"
"No, I am a man aiming to be Hokage!"
Nawaki snorted proudly: "Regardless of talent and strength, I am far inferior to Minato. If I waste time on such things, wouldn't there be no possibility of competition at all?"
"The most crucial thing is, ever since I met Minato, the girls around me almost all came for this guy!"
"Originally, I had some crush targets, but after seeing those girls acting like fangirls, I always felt a sense of disillusionment. Like the girl you humbly pursued, humbly pursuing someone else..."
Nawaki said, pointing at Minato, with a hint of helplessness in his tone.
Minato had just cut off a piece of beef leg, and smiled embarrassedly upon hearing this.
He didn't expect that his existence would unexpectedly mature Nawaki's view on love.
"What about Minato-kun?"
Mikoto looked at Minato curiously: "Is there someone you like?"
Minato nodded frankly: "Yes."
"Eh? Who is it? Is it convenient to say?"
Mikoto asked tentatively. Unlike the previous question, this question involved privacy.
Minato shook his head, smiling without saying a word.
At least at this stage, the ambition of wanting to be Nawaki's brother-in-law could not be exposed yet, otherwise before Tsunade obtained the title of Sannin, his name as a pervert would spread throughout the ninja world first.
"Who else could it be? It must be Kushina, acting all mysterious."
Seeing Minato's appearance, Nawaki said casually: "Or it's Nonō. Anyway, it must be one of the two."
"I do like Kushina very much."
Minato nodded in approval, putting an end to this topic: "Alright, almost done eating, time to continue on our way."
"Oh!"
Nawaki patted his butt and got up.
Mikoto glanced at Minato thoughtfully. She felt that Minato seemed to have left something unsaid.
But everyone has their own secrets, so she couldn't delve deeper.
After cleaning up, the group set off towards the border again.
The gap in strength between Hidden Rain and Konoha was not small, and Hidden Rain did not yet have the ability to invade the territory of the Land of Fire, so the group encountered no accidents along the way and rushed to the border outpost day and night.
"Halt."
There were two ninja squads stationed in the outpost, a total of eight people.
Seeing the arrival of Minato and the other two, everyone had a surprised expression.
The leading Jonin's gaze swept across the faces of Minato and Nawaki, and his tone was hesitant: "You are... Genin?"
Now that the war had not really started yet, Konoha's combat power was absolutely sufficient. Even if Genin were sent to the battlefield, they wouldn't find children like Minato and Nawaki who looked like they had just graduated at most.
"By the order of Lord Hokage, stationed at the outpost."
Minato didn't waste words, handed a scroll to the other party, and went straight to the point: "From now on, the intelligence transmission of this outpost will be taken over by our squad."
"Hey hey, are you kidding?"
The other party opened the scroll and observed it carefully for a long time, but found no traces of forgery.
Suddenly his gaze paused, landing on one of the names, and looked at Minato uncertainly: "You are Minato Namikaze? That legendary genius?"
Seeing Minato nod, although the other party was still surprised, he no longer questioned.
The name Minato Namikaze was widely circulated in the village, mainly revolving around the two points of 'genius' and 'Wood Style'.
Such a genius appearing at the front-line outpost, there were only two possibilities:
Either he had sufficient strength!
Or the Third Hokage was crazy!