I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 509 Leaders often prefer to have their subordinates decipher the unspoken meaning, because giving direct orders would mean taking responsibility.

"Thump~"

Inside the tent, a golden light flashed, followed by a figure lying on the ground. Tsunade quickly stood up, ran to Minato's side, looked at the bloody wound on Minato's right shoulder, and asked:

"Did you run into Onoki?"

As she asked the question, she gathered chakra in her hand and used a scalpel to cut open the fabric near the wound, exposing the wound and the surrounding area so that Tsunade could observe the injury more closely.

"Yeah, his Dust Release and Super Light Heavy Rock Technique are really too powerful. I have no way to get close to him. Just dodging him has exhausted all my energy."

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were also gathered around Minato at this time. Orochimaru asked, "Did you write down the layout of Iwagakure?"

Jiraiya wanted to complain that Orochimaru was too cold-hearted, completely ignoring Minato's injuries, but Minato gave Jiraiya a reassuring look, then said to the extremely anxious Orochimaru:

"I've recorded part of it. I'll go back later to check it and fill in the gaps."

Ever since Tatsuma's incident, Orochimaru's mood has been very off, because the two young people he cares about most, Nawaki and Tatsuma, are both in the Land of Lightning.

If it weren't for the heavy responsibility of commanding, Orochimaru would probably have gone to the Land of Lightning himself.

Thinking of Tatsuma, Minato's expression also turned grim. He looked at Tsunade, who was stitching up his wounds, and asked, "Still no news from Tatsuma? It's been almost a month since our last contact, hasn't it?"

Tsunade paused for a moment, then continued stitching Minato's wound without answering, but the sutures and needles in her hands became unruly.

The upper part of the wound was neat, close-fitting, and aesthetically pleasing, but the lower part was somewhat twisted and ugly, and might even leave a scar. For Tsunade, this could be considered a serious mistake.

Minato's wound was too deep and not a smooth cut, so even Tsunade could not heal it directly with medical ninjutsu without first stitching it up.

Fortunately, Minato didn't care about having a few extra scars on his body. Even if he did care, there were ways to remove the scars after the war, such as the improved version of the scar extraction technique developed by Tatsuma.

Tsunade was using the Healing Palm Technique, a medical ninjutsu she knew very well. However, the chakra light emanating from it was flickering, indicating that her mindset was also greatly affected.

The Palm Healing Technique, a technique that requires extremely precise chakra control, is easily affected by emotions. The fact that Tsunade can maintain it continuously is a testament to how she has honed her medical ninjutsu to the point of instinct.

Seeing Tsunade's appearance, Minato knew that there was probably still no good news from the village. Minato, who had been feeling relieved to have survived the ordeal, became depressed.

Jiraiya quickly clapped his hands twice and said, "There's no need to be so pessimistic. The Cloud Ninja are still on the move, which proves that Tatsuma is still alright, isn't it?"

You must understand that if Tatsuma fell into the hands of the Cloud Ninja, or even into the hands of any of his enemies, they would not choose to keep quiet and make a fortune; they would definitely make a big fuss about it.

After all, that brat is more hated than anyone else, right? As long as the Cloud Ninja doesn't hold a nationwide victory celebration, I don't think Tatsuma will get into trouble."

Although he was boosting morale and enlivening the atmosphere, there was an indelible sorrow in Jiraiya's eyes.

For a team to be trapped in another country, and to be constantly hunted down and killed by that country, to survive for a full three months is already a pipe dream.

Even Jiraiya couldn't convince himself that Tatsuma and the others were safe and sound and had brought good news to the village.

Seeing that the message seemed to be of little use, and that only Minato gave him face by twitching the corners of his mouth and revealing a smile that was anything but sunny and warm, Jiraiya sighed inwardly.

Then, as if he had just remembered something, he said, "Oh, right, there was some news from the village today that the old man has also gone to the battlefield to fight against the Cloud Ninja! Haha, I wonder how much chakra the old man still has to refine."

"Has the Hokage gone to the battlefield?"

Upon hearing the news, Minato was momentarily excited, but quickly became increasingly serious.

The fact that a single villager personally led the expedition was inspiring, but also a sign of helplessness, and even a harbinger of a desperate situation.

Why did the Third Kazekage go to the battlefield? Because his prestige was no longer enough to mobilize more Sand Ninja, so he had no choice but to go himself, and the result was his death.

Why did the Third Raikage go to the battlefield? Because if he hadn't gone to the battlefield, his successor, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Eight-Tails itself might have been buried in a foreign land. As a result, he was defeated by Tatsuma, and his reputation, which had been built up over many years, collapsed directly.

Why did the Third Tsuchikage go to the battlefield? Because the Iwa ninja couldn't stop Minato and Kushina's coordinated Flying Thunder God Technique. The drawback of Earth Release is its lack of direct lethality, so his Dust Release was needed to compensate for it.

Of all the Kage who went to the battlefield since the start of the war, Onoki had the best circumstances and achieved the greatest success. Iwa ninja also continued to advance under his leadership, but the prerequisite was that he had to stay.

Now, it's the Third Hokage of Konoha's turn to go to the battlefield, for similar reasons: Konoha's ninja forces can't hold out any longer.

Several battlefields have been retreating continuously, and the Cloud Ninja have already penetrated deep into the heart of the Land of Fire. The ninjas that can be dispatched are probably already on the battlefield. If Hiruzen Sarutobi doesn't make a move soon, there will be no one else who can.

The situation in Konoha is so dire that Minato can't think of a way to break the deadlock.

After all, to break the deadlock, at least one of the three battlefields must achieve a positive victory—not just a victory in a single battle that Konoha had previously pursued, but a victory in the war itself.

Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure—at least one of these villages must choose to cease hostilities with Konoha for Konoha to have any hope of breaking the deadlock.

Minato was unable to deliver the victory that Konoha needed.

Moving his still stiff shoulders, which had just healed, Minato prayed in his heart that Tatsuma, the only one capable of bringing this victory, would not get into trouble.

In a certain place in the ninja world, on a desolate hill called the Mountain Graveyard, beneath an enormous skeleton lies a mysterious mezzanine space with an interior larger than any other building in the ninja world.

Meanwhile, at the edge of the space, there are passages that extend to an unknown depth and distance, their intertwined appearance resembling the roots of a tree magnified countless times, except that the tree and roots have inexplicably disappeared.

In the center of the cave, beneath a huge statue, a gaunt old man sits alone on a stone chair, one hand on the armrest and the other supporting his chin, like an old man taking a nap in the afternoon.

"Lord Banban."

The sudden, somewhat annoying sound made the old man open his eyes. He looked at the white, humanoid creature that was gradually emerging from the ground, stretched lazily, and said, "Speak."

"Lord Madara, over in the Land of Lightning, those Cloud Ninja have lost track of Sakamoto Tatsuma and the others again. Should we reveal their location to the Cloud Ninja again?"

"With one or two more raids, the remaining thousand or so Konoha ninja should be wiped out."

His slightly sharp, excited words echoed through the empty cave, but Madara didn't answer immediately. A look of boredom crossed his face. After a long while, Madara finally spoke:

"Are you misunderstanding something? Do you think I want Kumogakure to win?"

"Huh? Ah? Isn't that right?"

Zetsu scratched his head. Could it be that Lord Madara recently had him secretly expose the whereabouts of Sakamoto Tatsuma and the others to the Cloud Ninja in order to kill Sakamoto Tatsuma and let the Cloud Village win?

Also, wasn't his question about whether or not they should continue to reveal Sakamoto Tatsuma's group's whereabouts to the Cloud Ninja? Why is Madara-sama suddenly bringing up victory and all that? How strange!

Madara snorted and said, "It's just a test of his abilities. If a mere Hidden Cloud Village can defeat that kid, then he's not worth my attention at all."

"If he wants to become my enemy, Uchiha Madara, he must first prove his ability. If he dies in this battle, it will prove that he is not even as good as Senju Tobirama!"

"Should we reveal our whereabouts?"

"."

Why can't he understand human language? Isn't his meaning clear enough? Of course, it needs to be revealed! But...not completely!

We need to kill Sakamoto Tatsuma, but we can't let him die! We need to let the Cloud Ninja know Sakamoto Tatsuma's whereabouts, but we can't let them know his exact location!

If you can't even understand something this simple, you're definitely a product of that guy's genes. Your brain just doesn't work properly!

Madara found Absolute increasingly repulsive, a low-quality product whose head was filled with filth and excrement! He asked in an unfriendly tone, "Where is Sakamoto Tatsuma and the others headed next?"

"Yunlei Gorge".

When will you arrive?

"I estimate we'll arrive in about eight hours, around dawn."

"Then let the people from Kumogakure arrive a little later. From Kumogakure to Yunlei Gorge, it takes about three hours if we consider the marching speed. So you'll probably be able to leak the secret in about six hours."

Seeing that Zetsu finally understood, Madara didn't explain further and instead changed the subject, asking, "How's the surveillance going with the Uchiha? Have you found a suitable candidate?"

"As expected, Lord Madara, you've got dementia, haven't you? Or have you been sitting for too long and all that constipation has piled up from your rectum into your brain? How would I know what's going on there? It's not my responsibility."

Madara wanted to be angry, but his body wouldn't allow it. He glared coldly at Zetsu and said, "Get lost!"

"Okay!"

Jue rolled around on the spot and merged into the ground.

Madara sat there for a long time, then turned around with difficulty to look at the giant golem behind him, muttering, "Wood Release: Tailed Beast Power... Sakamoto Tatsuma, who exactly are you?"

(End of this chapter)