After settling Nagato and Konan down, Minato began organizing the troops to set off.
The departure time had already arrived, but the sudden attack by Akatsuki slightly delayed the march.
Due to the intelligence regarding the hundred thousand White Zetsu, the scale of this expedition was unprecedentedly large. Chunin and above were naturally a given, and even many experienced Genin were mobilized, bringing the total number of people to over ten thousand.
Originally, Minato was worried that doing so would lead to too many casualties in the war, which he, as the Hokage, would find difficult to accept, but today, with Konan's support, he suddenly felt confident.
Each Genin could apply to receive one hundred free Exploding Tags before the battle, and the quota for Chunin and Jonin was even higher.
Moreover, after each battle, the various units could continue to apply for replenishment based on the results and losses of the battle.
It should be known that the highest level of mission for ordinary Genin is C-Rank, and C-Rank Missions generally do not involve battles between ninjas. Even if they encounter some mountain bandits, they can mostly be resolved through melee combat.
In other words, most Genin wouldn't even use one Exploding Tag in ten missions. In addition, this thing is very expensive. It's already good if they have five or ten in their Ninja Tool Bag for self-defense. One hundred Exploding Tags is a huge sum of money.
As a result, the previously uneasy Genin felt a sense of security in their hearts as they touched the thick stack of Exploding Tags in their Ninja Tool Bag.
Therefore, most worries about war stem from insufficient firepower.
When there were so many Exploding Tags that they could almost be thrown around at will, everyone felt much more at ease, thanking Nan Jie for her sponsorship.
"Oh my, the Fourth Hokage is really generous." An old Genin carrying a large iron pot said.
"Uncle Kosuke, please take care of me this time too!" A Genin who had worked with Kosuke greeted him with a smile. He didn't know how strong Kosuke was, but he just felt that he was experienced, and the main thing was that his cooking was super delicious, just thinking about it made his mouth water.
"Haha, no problem, my skills will definitely not disappoint you!" Kosuke patted the iron pot behind him. He was very confident in his cooking skills, and even Kakashi had asked him for advice.
Maruboshi Kosuke, back then, due to being eager for quick success, made a wrong decision that led to the death of his companions. He was therefore filled with self-blame and swore to the Second Hokage that he would be a Genin for the rest of his life.
The Second and Third Hokage had both taught him Ninjutsu. He had been a Genin for fifty years. Although he could beat ordinary Jonin, he was really just a Genin.
For such an experienced and strong old Genin, Minato of course gave him enough importance. However, Kosuke stubbornly believed that he should atone for his past mistakes and was unwilling to be promoted to Chunin or Jonin no matter what.
Minato respected his ideas on the one hand, and on the other hand, he felt that Kosuke was too old and thought it would be good to arrange for him to lead the young people more. When he retired, Minato would give Kosuke compensation worthy of his many years of service, both in terms of reputation and material things.
If one day the enemy suddenly felt that a group of Genin were easy to bully and sent a commando team or something to cause trouble, then Kosuke would probably give them a surprise.
After the Exploding Tags were distributed, the main force began to depart in batches. Whether they were ordinary ninjas or ninjas from various families, when they walked out of the village gate, they were all just Konoha ninjas, fighting to protect the village and the Shinobi World.
Naruto was not in the main force, but in the Hospital.
"That Kakashi-sensei is really lame." Naruto sat on the edge of the bed, gnawing on an apple while dissing Kakashi.
"Heh." Kakashi lay on the hospital bed, struggling to turn the page of the book in his hand, not wanting to pay attention to Naruto.
Shizune had already left with Tsunade to lead the medical team. After checking Kakashi and finding that there was nothing serious, she let him rest in the Hospital with peace of mind, estimating that he would be able to follow Naruto and catch up with the main force tomorrow.
"I feel like you're showing off." Sakura carefully peeled an apple with a knife. Her technique was very good, and the apple peel wouldn't break after peeling the whole apple.
After handing the apple to Zuo Zhu, Sakura probably felt a pang of conscience and decided to peel one for Kakashi as well.
Zuo Zhu was lying on the bed next to Kakashi, almost as weak as Kakashi. But Zuo Zhu was a little stronger than Kakashi, who had hardware and software incompatibility, and would recover faster.
"Aren't you supposed to go with the main force?" Zuo Zhu asked Naruto.
The Jinchuriki should go with the main force to be safer. People like Kushina and Fu have already set off, and Naruto should follow too.
Of course, the main reason was that Zuo Zhu and Kakashi were both exhausted. Hearing Naruto mocking Kakashi was like mocking him, and he wanted to find a reason to kick him out.
"I'm staying here to be your driver, aren't I? The meeting point is near the border. At their marching speed, it'll take at least a day. By then, you'll have recovered, and I'll take you there in one step." Naruto mumbled, munching on the get-well gifts for Kakashi, his words a bit slurred.
Kakashi, of course, didn't mind. He was very busy now, rarely having time to read, and no one was bothering him: "You're really helping a lot, this will save a lot of time."
"Saving time isn't for you to read those kinds of books!" Sakura tugged at Kakashi's mask, stuffing a small piece of apple into Kakashi's mouth, "Rest properly for me!"
"Mm, quite delicious. I'd be even more grateful if you were a bit gentler, Sakura." Kakashi's eyes curved into crescents, smiling as he enjoyed the care from his cute student.
Naruto didn't deliberately look at what was under Kakashi's mask, but he noticed Sakura hesitated slightly when she pulled the mask, not tearing it open directly, while Zuo Zhu took the opportunity to peek at Kakashi's face through the gap Sakura opened.
Looks like it'll be necessary to organize a collective mask-unveiling event after the war ends, something like the bell-grabbing exercise.
Kakashi: You can't grab the Bell from me without the determination to kill me!
Let's see if he still has the courage to say that then.
"I think if we want him to rest obediently, we can only knock him out. Let me do it!" Naruto looked at Kakashi with ill intentions.
"I refuse. If you do it, I'll die." Kakashi absolutely wouldn't believe Naruto would be measured in his actions. He suspected Naruto wanted to take the opportunity to retaliate against him, although he didn't know when he had offended Naruto.
"That's right, Naruto, you're not gentle enough. Let me do it! I have at least nine ways to knock him out, nine ways." Sakura felt that a guy like Kakashi who didn't follow doctor's orders needed to be taught a lesson, or at least scared, so she was happy to cooperate with Naruto's antics.
"Spare me." Kakashi put the book on his face. He believed Sakura's nine methods, and even felt there were more than nine. Sakura, Shizune, Tsunade, all the medical ninjas were really too scary. Rin wasn't this brutal back then.
－－－－－－Off topic－－－－－－
It is impossible to be a eunuch, it is impossible to be a eunuch in this life, it is just possible to be slower.
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