I, who just wanted to be lazy, was forced to become the Hokage.

Chapter 261: Power and Curse!

Land of Hot Water, Konoha Camp.

Nara Rinka had just finished explaining the details about the "new Jinchūriki of the Three-Tails" to the three members of his team.

Minato Namikaze, along with Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara, arrived at the main camp, bringing with them orders from the village.

Regarding Hiruzen Sarutobi and other high-ranking officials' desire to involve Minato Namikaze and his team in the "Three-Tails Sealing Plan".

Nara Rinkazu wasn't too surprised; he was just somewhat astonished by the speed at which the village made its decision.

He successfully tamed the three-tailed Isobu in the morning and relayed the news to the village.

Around noon, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others made their decision and plan.

The high-ranking officials' hurried manner made it seem as if they were worried that Nara Rinka would "blacken" the Mitsuo Isobu!

Nara Rinka originally thought that it would take Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others at least two or three days to make a final decision.

He also planned to use this downtime to let Uchiha Shisui, Hyuga Rei, and Shizune familiarize themselves with the power of the Three-Tails.

But now it seems his three teammates can no longer "get a head start"...

"I was planning to take Shisui, Hyuga, and Shizune to see the Three-Tailed Isobu this afternoon."

Nara Rinka generously shared his plans.

"Now that the village has given the order, let's all move together in a bit!"

"If we can quickly decide on a new Three-Tails Jinchuriki, it will reduce the risk burden on the front lines."

Regardless, the Three-Tails Isobu is a powerful tailed beast that ordinary ninjas cannot resist.

Konoha possesses highly sophisticated and advanced methods for sealing tailed beasts. Once the Three-Tails Isobu is successfully sealed, the risk of this semi-wild tailed beast going berserk can be minimized.

For Nara Rinka, if he could seal the Three-Tailed Isobu into the Jinchūriki's body as soon as possible, it would save him a lot of trouble.

"Then I'll need to trouble you later, Lan Gui."

Minato Namikaze nodded to Nara Rinkazu, then left the main camp with two unenthusiastic subordinates.

Obito Uchiha's "unexpected disappearance" on the battlefield of Kirigakure is, in the ninja world, basically equivalent to "dying without a complete corpse."

It's perfectly normal for Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara to feel down under these circumstances.

Minato Namikaze found a secluded corner in the Konoha camp, where he comforted and reassured his two subordinates while pondering the task Hiruzen Sarutobi had given him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's task was simple: get Minato's team involved in the "Three-Tails Sealing Plan," and ideally, have one of Minato's team members become the new Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

This "member" could be Minato Namikaze or Kakashi Hatake.

The former is highly skilled, while the latter is exceptionally talented.

In Hiruzen Sarutobi's view, both Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake were quite suitable candidates to be the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

As for the other member of the Minato team, Nohara Rin...

Sorry, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't even notice this unknown, ordinary medical ninja.

Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not explicitly state that "Rin Nohara is not suitable to be the Three-Tails Jinchuriki." He simply said that Minato's team should give it a try.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi had his own ideas, and Minato Namikaze had his own thoughts as well.

From Minato Namikaze's perspective, his girlfriend Kushina Uzumaki was already the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, so there was no need for her to touch the Three-Tails' power.

Just like Nara Rinka, once the opponent already possesses the Five-Tails, they won't pursue the Three-Tails anymore.

But Jinchūriki...

"Kakashi, Rin, it's an order from the village to send our team to make contact with the Three-Tails."

Minato Namikaze sighed inwardly and slowly addressed his two subordinates.

"However, the burden of becoming a Jinchūriki is far too heavy. If you are unwilling to participate in this mission..."

"Minato-sensei..."

Nohara Rin looked at Namikaze Minato with slight unease.

In her memory, Minato rarely showed such a heavy and complicated expression, and this made her feel a little uneasy.

In contrast to Rin Nohara, Kakashi Hatake appeared much calmer.

"Minato-sensei, if one becomes a Jinchūriki, will one gain power equivalent to that of a Tailed Beast?"

"Kakashi."

Minato Namikaze's brow furrowed slightly without him noticing.

"Although Jinchuriki gain the power of the Tailed Beasts, along with this power comes something unimaginable to ordinary people... a 'curse'."

Minato Namikaze didn't know how to specifically describe the heavy responsibility that a Jinchūriki must bear.

However, having witnessed Kushina Uzumaki's growth trajectory firsthand, he was very clear about the kind of treatment that Jinchuriki would encounter during their growth process.

From the outside world, from within, from the tailed beasts...

After some hesitation, Minato Namikaze still used the somewhat peculiar word "curse" to describe the power of the tailed beasts.

"curse?"

Kakashi Hatake couldn't fully grasp the complex emotions in Minato Namikaze's heart, so he simply pressed him for answers.

"Will becoming a Jinchūriki shorten my lifespan?"

"I'm sorry I can't give you a definite answer to that question, Kakashi."

Minato Namikaze shook his head.

"As far as I know, some Jinchūriki die prematurely due to various reasons, while others are able to have a good beginning and a good end."

"That's enough, Minato-sensei."

A resolute glint flashed in Kakashi Hatake's eyes; he no longer wanted to lose anyone.

"Now that the village has given us this task, I will definitely carry it out resolutely!"

"Kakashi."

Nohara Rin gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both nervousness and seriousness as she spoke.

"I'll be with you on this mission!"

During the exchange between the water gate team members.

Inside the main tent of the camp, Nara Shikaku, who arrived at almost the same time as Namikaze Minato, was also quickly reporting the remaining tasks transmitted from the village.

"Clan chief, the village wants us to send the body of the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, A, along with the remains of our other Konoha comrades, back to Konoha as soon as possible."

Nara Shikaku calmly and unhurriedly reported to his superiors.

"The Third Generation Lord's order is to act as quickly as possible."

The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki needs to be transferred and imprisoned as soon as possible, A's body needs to be processed and studied as soon as possible, and the remains of the other Konoha ninjas also need to be buried as soon as possible.

"Then arrange for someone to escort them."

Nara Rinkazu did not rush to take Killer Bee into his own hands.

After all, the other party's identity is "Eight-Tails Jinchuriki", not "Wild Eight-Tails".

The difficulty of training an Eight-Tails Jinchuriki is well-known in many villages.

The value of resources lost by Kumogakure due to the Eight-Tails' rampage is astronomical.

Unless Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others have completely gone mad.

Otherwise, Killer Bee would certainly have lived for a long time.

Nara Rinkaku was concerned with a different issue.

"Has the village notified me that I can go back for vacation?"

"No!"

Nara Shikaku's lips twitched as he rejected his clan leader's unreliable daydream.

"But the village has mentioned that Minato and Kagami are really going to be transferred to other battlefields this time."

In the Battle of the Land of Hot Springs, Kumogakure may have suffered relatively few casualties, but all of them were top-tier elites!

Without the AB duo, Kumogakure is like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

With only the Third Raikage and a bunch of Cloud Village henchmen.

Even if only the Nara Rinka and the Five-Tailed King Kokuo are stationed in the Land of Hot Water, they can ensure that nothing goes wrong.

Taking this into account, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to transfer Minato Namikaze and Kagami Uchiha to other battlefields.

Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave Minato Namikaze in the Land of Hot Springs and send Nara Rinka and Gouou of the Five-Tailed Beast to other battlefields.

Previously, Minato Namikaze was able to hold off the AB combination of Kumogakure on his own.

He could easily hold off the Third Raikage, who was fighting alone.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was worried about what major incident Nara Rinka might have caused on other battlefields.

The Black Shadows' battlefield reputation is currently at its zenith.

If the other party does something serious again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely worried that the Dark Shadow would use his military achievements and prestige after the war to instantly become the Fourth Hokage!

How could Nara Rinkachi possibly be the Hokage?!

They pinned Nara's garrison to the battlefield of Yu-no-Kuni, a place that no longer held much value.

Then send Minato Namikaze to the other war zones to frantically earn merit and reputation...

This was Hiruzen Sarutobi's plan.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Hiruzen Sarutobi will keep Nara Ranka in the Land of Hot Springs battlefield until the war in the other war zones is completely over.

In any case, the war situation of the Third Shinobi World War has been completely reversed, and Konoha has entered a favorable situation, so there is no need for the Shadow of Darkness to make any more "contributions".

Nara Rinka was unaware of the intricacies behind this matter; he was simply disappointed that he couldn't return to his village for a holiday.

As for the village's plan to transfer Minato Namikaze and Kagami Uchiha...

The village had already been hinting at this for a while.

Nara Rangka was not surprised that it was only confirmed now.

"Brother Shikaku, we're heading to the Three-Tails' territory now."

Nara Rinkei stood up and waved to his three teammates.

"Want to come and try it together? Maybe you'll hit it off with that giant three-tailed turtle?"

Deep down, Nara Shikaku felt that his clan leader's words didn't sound like good advice.

However, he could not find any evidence.

"Let's forget it, clan leader. I have no interest in the Three-Tails."

Nara Shikaku waved his hand, declining the clan chief's offer.

"in the case of……"

If it's a five-tailed fox.

Even if it meant risking his life, Nara Shikaku was determined to rush forward and give it a try.

But Nara Shikaku also knew that with his clan leader as a "roadblock," he could forget about ever having a chance with the Five-Tailed King Kokuou.

Even just touching the jade feet of the Five-Tailed King Mu would probably require considering the wrath of one's own clan leader...

Not to mention becoming the Five-Tails' Jinchūriki...

Nara Rinka did not insist. He left the main camp with his three team members, and then took three members of the Minato team with him halfway. They then flew towards the location of the Five-Tailed King Kokuo and the Three-Tailed King Isobu.

Not long after.

With the help of the shadow creatures, Nara Rinka and the others arrived at the location of the two tailed beasts.

Minato Namikaze, Shisui Uchiha, and others watched the two tailed beasts up close.

Everyone is used to seeing the five-tailed Mu-o, which is pure white and has a graceful posture.

But then, out of the blue, he spotted a hideous, grotesque three-tailed Isobu...

The moment they locked eyes with the giant gray tortoise, Kakashi Hatake and the others felt a chill run down their spines.

Turtle.

This gray turtle doesn't look like a healthy one!

Bad news: It's later than expected.

Good news: It couldn't be later than before...

Second update, hopefully before midnight.

(End of this chapter)