I am the most popular character in Naruto!

"!"

This time, even Sakumo Hatake's katana couldn't keep up with Minato's speed, so he could only use one hand to grab Minato's body.

Swoosh

It was still a flash of gold, simple, direct, and effective.

Minato disappeared once again, this time appearing behind Sakumo Hatake.

"what happened?"

Sakumo Hatake sensed the location of Minato and simultaneously sensed the location of the specially made kunai.

"I see. By making a mark, you can appear at the location of the mark in an instant..."

He realized what was happening, turned around, and unleashed a scorpion-tail kick, sweeping it horizontally towards Minato.

Minato was startled and transformed into golden light, disappearing from the spot once more, abandoning the opportunity to trade blows for one.

Minato strives to ensure no one gets hurt.

It's important to know that Sakumo Hatake's greatest strength wasn't physical combat, but swordsmanship.

So even if Minato gets kicked by Sakumo Hatake, he will at most be seriously injured.

Risking serious injury to gain an opportunity to attack Sakumo Hatake from behind is something most people would definitely do; it would be a huge win.

However, Minato refused to take even a single hit, preferring to forgo this golden opportunity rather than risk injury.

The reason is simple: Sakumo Hatake was alright; he just toughed it out and got injured, and at most, everyone got injured together.

But afterwards, Minato would have to face the Third Raikage!

The strongest spear and the strongest shield in the ninja world!

If Minato were to take a hit from the Third Raikage, given his fragile body as a swift-type ninja, and the Third Raikage's thigh-like arms and sandbag-sized fists, he would likely die instantly from a single punch.

Even if it meant risking his life to forcefully strike the Third Raikage, he probably wouldn't waver.

No kidding, in terms of physical offense and defense, the Third Raikage is absolutely the strongest, and there's no arguing about that.

Therefore, since the current situation requires him to reveal everything, Minato must directly imagine Sakumo Hatake as the Third Raikage to deal with him.

"Is this where the next attack will be?"

Hatake Sakumo anticipated Minato's dodge. He first kicked away the kunai behind him, then turned around and kicked the kunai beside him.

The kunai that had been kicked away by Sakumo Hatake landed in front of Chiaki, who was about to crawl away. The end of the kunai was trembling wildly, which made Chiaki's scalp tingle and she quickly swallowed.

Oh my god.

Brother, are you sure you're protecting me... and not murdering me?

Swoosh

A golden light appeared beside Sakumo Hatake. Minato originally intended to continue the attack as before, but his expression changed drastically as soon as the golden light appeared.

A foot was already at his side, leaving him no chance to dodge.

Minato resolutely reached out to block, while Sakumo Hatake watched expressionlessly as his leg struck Minato's hand.

Bang

Minato was sent flying backwards; the sheer power of Sakumo Hatake was unimaginable.

"it's over!"

After kicking Minato away, Sakumo Hatake lowered his body and rushed towards Minato, preparing to give him a chase.

However, the next second, golden light flashed wildly, flashing across each kunai at a speed that Sakumo Hatake could not judge.

"!"

Sakumo Hatake frowned and stopped. This was no longer a matter of speed; it was a bug!

Space-time ninjutsu and speed-type ninjas cannot be confused. Speed-type ninjas at least have a movement trajectory, and no matter how fast they are, Hatake Sakumo can still counterattack based on intuition and prediction.

However, the space-time ninjutsu is too much; it's impossible to predict, and all previous experience is useless.

Swoosh

Golden light appeared beside Hatake Sakumo. Hatake Sakumo was startled. He no longer had any kunai beside him, so why was he being approached?

There's no use thinking about it now. Sakumo Hatake immediately retaliated against Minato, but Minato reached out and slapped Sakumo Hatake's hand, disappearing from sight once again.

"!"

Hatake Sakumo looked down and saw the three characters "Shinobi Love Sword" on his hand, and he understood.

"It's over, Lord White Fang."

Minato smiled slightly, and golden light flashed continuously, leaving the Flying Thunder God mark on various parts of Sakumo Hatake's body.

In the end, Minato landed next to Chiaki and put a kunai to Chiaki's neck.

Chapter 247 A Clumsy Excuse

"Then it's decided."

"At the point of the Fragrant Plains of the Land of Grass, Lady Tsunade and Minato Namikaze will lead a team of 10,000 people, along with several Jonin capable of direct combat and their clans."

Nara Shikaku pondered for a moment and said, "I don't have high expectations for a breakthrough at the Fragrant Plains. I hope you can wait until Lord Chiaki and I have finished dealing with the Land of Wind before making any adjustments."

"Your mission is simple: hold the line and try to incite hatred between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, so that they will fight a life-or-death battle first."

"I think it's up to Minato Namikaze to decide on this."

Nara Shikaku's gaze lingered on Tsunade for a moment. This princess was not one for petty schemes, nor would she try to incite hatred or discord among others.

She disdains doing such "dirty work." Tsunade's style is to resolve everything honestly and forcefully.

"Yes, I will do my best to complete the mission."

Minato immediately stood up straight and bowed to Nara Shikaku.

"Humph."

Tsunade crossed her arms and hummed softly. Yes, she's all looks and no brains, so what!

"Ah."

Sakumo Hatake leaned to the side, the Flying Thunder God mark on his body having been removed by Minato. Chiaki was glaring at him angrily, while Mirai chuckled and comforted Chiaki.

In reality, Minato was completely helpless against Sakumo Hatake, even though he had marked Sakumo Hatake all over his body.

The damage caused by Minato's attack did not pose much of a problem for Hatake Sakumo. On the contrary, as long as Hatake Sakumo could grab Minato once, no matter what method he used, whether it was through injury or distraction, it would be fine.

If Minato is caught even once, he will face defeat and death.

However, this time, the sparring between Sakumo Hatake and Minato was not about who would win or lose, but rather about speed.

In terms of speed, Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique truly overwhelmed Sakumo Hatake's high speed. Even in a head-on confrontation, Sakumo Hatake could not catch up with the Flying Thunder God Technique's super-fast movement.

The sparring match between the two ended with Minato using a specially made kunai that Hatake Sakumo had swept to Chiaki's side, which then appeared next to Chiaki and used to block Chiaki's attack.

Sakumo Hatake raised his hands in surrender, completely convinced of his superior speed.

The power of space-time ninjutsu was once again demonstrated to the many Jonin of Konoha.

Since Tobirama Senju's death, almost no one has witnessed what the true Flying Thunder God Technique is, nor does anyone know what it means to be unsolvable.

Once Minato breaks through to the Kage level, his genius in space-time ninjutsu will play an absolutely incredible role on the battlefield.

"Then, the last point in the Land of Rain will be left to Lord Jiraiya and Lord Orochimaru. I'm sure the Forest of Rain is not an unfamiliar place for either of you..."

Nara Shikaku smiled at Jiraiya and Orochimaru, and Jiraiya waved his hand and said, "What kind of people are you planning to send us?"

"Actually, I think it's best not to send anyone. We can just put the whole army on the Grass Country."

"Can you and Lord Orochimaru alone hold back the Land of Rain?"

Nara Shikaku looked at Jiraiya with a puzzled expression. During the Second Shinobi World War, Konoha had deployed at least half of its forces to the border of the Land of Rain, which was just enough to keep the situation under control there.

"Hey, what a joke!"

Jiraiya slapped the wall, straightened up from his position leaning against the window, placed one foot on the floor in front of him, tossed his long white hair, and said exaggeratedly, "Who do you take me for?"

"Everyone knows him, from east to west, north to south! He is none other than the white-haired boy who comes from under the great toad sage of Mount Myōboku!"

"……Well."

Faced with Jiraiya's exaggerated opening remarks, Nara Shikaku wiped away his sweat and turned his gaze to Orochimaru.

Compared to Jiraiya, who's a goofball, Orochimaru is clearly more reliable.

"Give us three thousand ninjas as cover, that will suffice."

Orochimaru nodded to Nara Shikaku, "Jirai and I will create the illusion of a large army pressing in to put pressure on Hanzo. You just need to carry out your mission."

"sure no problem."

Nara Shikaku nodded, then turned to the numerous Jonin and began to assign them to various positions on the battlefield.

"Finally, just in case, the main branch of the Hyuga clan stayed in Konoha as is tradition, while the branch families were fully engaged in the battle in the Land of Grass."

After Nara Shikaku finished assigning the Jonin, he looked at Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi and said.

"I will follow the strategist's instructions."

Hiashi Hyuga bowed slightly and turned to look at Hizashi Hyuga.

Hyuga Hizashi bowed deeply to Hyuga Hiashi and said, "The Hyuga branch family will never bring shame upon the main family!"

"Alright! The task of establishing the Hyuga clan's legacy is now entrusted to you!"

Hiashi Hyuga spoke with great spirit, expressing no dissatisfaction with staying in Konoha.

Throughout the war, it wasn't that everyone had to go to the battlefield to contribute to Konoha.

The Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, being a closely guarded secret, must be firmly controlled within Konoha. The fact that the main family remains in Konoha is a way of protecting the village.

"Do you have any questions?"

After assigning all the Jonin to their positions, Nara Shikaku asked the group.

The Jonin all shook their heads, but Fugaku Uchiha suddenly raised his hand.