Projection magicians starting from the Uchiha clan

Uchiha Iori was secretly complaining.

It seems that monster-slaying is a unique feature of high-martial arts worlds; it's something you absolutely must try.

It seems that in the end, the toad will have to experience the power of its Noble Phantasm unleashed.

What kind of power does the divine sword bestowed by the sea god possess?

Iori was also very curious; it seemed that the lucky friend who could experience the power of the divine sword was Gamabunta.

"Be careful. If you feel something is wrong, you can admit defeat in advance, and Minato will take you out. Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet."

Jiraiya no longer held back; in his view, Iori had already acquired the ability to threaten him.

Gamabunta spat out a huge column of oil from his mouth, and Jiraiya followed closely behind with a fire-style attack. The two combined to create a massive oil-fire bullet.

The raging flames seemed to ignite the air, the scorching air distorted the light, and the flames surged in all directions, as if to burn the world to ashes.

"I thought the first time I would use it would be against the Four-Tails Jinchuriki or the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, but I didn't expect to be fighting my own people."

Uchiha Iori scratched his head, feeling that this move was a bit of a loss, as he had to reveal one of his trump cards.

"Well, at least I should have made a name for myself now. If I can get a title, it should be easier for the Jonin to accept me."

"Rho Aias" (Seven-fold Ring of Blazing Sky).

Iori summoned a shield shaped like flower petals.

There are seven petals in total, each radiating a mysterious light.

This shield originates from the Trojan War in Greek mythology, and is an elaboration of the legend of Ajax's seven-layered bronze shield made of oxhide used to block Hector's javelins.

Legend has it that the cowhide was pierced through six layers and blocked at the seventh layer, so the seventh petal has an astonishingly high defensive power.

The flames pounded against the shield violently, like a flood crashing against a dam. After breaking through three layers of petals, they finally stopped, and the air was filled with the smell of burning.

Jiraiya couldn't help but ask, "You're truly a formidable young man. Just how many spiritual artifacts do you have left?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized he had been a bit presumptuous and quickly added, "No, I was being presumptuous. Let's continue."

He knew that secret techniques were of paramount importance in the ninja world and that he shouldn't ask about them.

Uchiha Iori simply smiled and didn't answer, but instead charged forward, fully prepared.

Bunta brandished his short sword, yet his massive body appeared remarkably agile.

Iori dared not take the hit head-on and dodged in an instant.

Jiraiya and Bunta worked in perfect harmony, instantly appearing above Iori and creating a small whirlwind in their hands.

This is the Rasengan, a ninjutsu that Minato Namikaze developed over three years and recently taught to Jiraiya.

"Too slow, Jiraiya-senpai."

Relying on his three-tomoe Sharingan, Iori easily detected Jiraiya's movements and, without hesitation, thrust the Crimson Rose towards the Rasengan.

"Unless it hits me before I can react, this kind of ninjutsu is useless against me."

Bang!

"Shadow clone?" Iori was somewhat shocked; he hadn't detected a trace of it at all.

"The art of unleashing the lion's mane."

A stone suddenly transformed into Jiraiya, whose hair grew long and formed a lion's head, binding Uchiha Iori with immense force, but without any intent to kill.

Iori thought for a moment and realized that Jiraiya had used the dust kicked up by Gamabunta's slash as cover to turn into a stone and fly over.

Iori turned his head to look directly into Jiraiya's eyes, activating the genjutsu Sharingan.

In an instant, the illusion struck Jiraiya, causing him to freeze and loosen his hair.

Iori seized the opportunity and quickly broke free.

The genjutsu couldn't control Jiraiya for too long, after all, he was a Kage-level shinobi, and his raw strength was still above that of Uchiha Iori.

"As expected of the Legendary Sannin, Lord Jiraiya, you are the strongest opponent I have ever faced. You managed to break free from my genjutsu in an instant."

Iori smiled slightly, intending to unleash her Noble Phantasm.

"It's only fair to reciprocate. Now, let Jiraiya-sama witness my full power."

"Be careful, this attack will be no less powerful than the one that crushed the Iwa ninja before. Great Wrath (Moralltach)."

Iori leaped high into the air, her red sword gathering immense chakra.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Jiraiya unleashed a raging flame, which danced like a dragon, splitting into three directions—front, left, and right—to attack Iori simultaneously. If it hit directly, Iori would likely be reduced to ashes on the spot.

At that moment, the red sword in Uchiha's hand erupted with enormous chakra, which transformed into three blades that struck Jiraiya directly from the air.

Jiraiya, controlling the fire dragon, crashed directly into the immense fury. After a brief stalemate, the chakra blade shattered the flames and continued its attack on Jiraiya.

"Ninjutsu: Needle Jizo."

Jiraiya was prepared to defend himself and suffer serious injuries, and he somewhat regretted accepting Iori's challenge; he had underestimated Iori.

Iori's age is so deceptive that people always think he is just a genius, not a strong person.

The sword blade was deflected by the fire dragon, grazing past Jiraiya's body and only shaving off a few strands of hair.

The earth was shattered by the impact, and Jiraiya lost his footing and nearly fell.

Minato Namikaze also arrived on the battlefield at this time. Without prior marking, even the Flying Thunder God Technique would take time to activate.

Chapter 19 Leading a Team Alone

Standing amidst the rubble, Minato Namikaze asked with lingering fear, "Jiraiya-sensei, are you alright? I'm late."

Jiraiya smiled slightly, his tone carrying a hint of magnanimity: "I have lost, Iori-kun. You are far stronger than I imagined."

Although he didn't use Sage Mode, he didn't hold back anywhere else.

Being able to defeat him in this state, Uchiha Iori is no less capable than elite Jonin from other ninja villages.

"At tomorrow's operations meeting, I will propose that you become one of the leaders of the elite force."

"Your performance today is enough to convince the other Jonin. You and Minato will each lead a small team to conduct operations behind enemy lines. I will explain the specific arrangements in detail at the meeting tomorrow."

"Understood, thank you, Jiraiya-sama."

Uchiha Iori nodded. This was a good start; the Minato clan was beginning to accept him as a member.

He himself also has to take responsibility for recommending a newly promoted Jonin as the commander of the elite squad.

After Iori left, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya began to analyze his strength.

"His taijutsu is at least at the Jonin level, whether it's speed, strength, or reaction ability," Minato Namikaze pondered.

"Because of the Sharingan, his actual combat performance should be even better." Jiraiya nodded in agreement.

"He only used the Great Fireball Jutsu, which was instantly destroyed by my Flame Bullet. But judging from its power and range, he must have mastered the nature transformation of fire-style chakra."

"His ninjutsu is also at the Jonin level," Minato Namikaze added.

"The Sharingan genjutsu is the Uchiha's signature skill. I was caught off guard and fell for it. An ordinary Jonin couldn't withstand it at all."

"In addition to the endless stream of magical artifacts in his secret techniques, the Iwa ninja will have to send two Jinchuriki or the Third Tsuchikage Onoki to take action."

"Otherwise, no one could have kept him around; he would have been more than capable of leading a crack unit."

"As expected of the Uchiha clan, they produce so many geniuses," Jiraiya remarked with admiration.

"If Minato were a few years older, made more contributions, and could become a disciple of the Hokage, he would be qualified to compete for the position of the Fourth Hokage."

"Isn't this great? At times like these, the stronger the village, the better. Besides, I don't think he could defeat me just because he's a few years older. I'm not necessarily going to become Hokage."

Minato Namikaze confidently stated that, given the environment of Konoha, only if he became Hokage could his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, be treated as a human being rather than a weapon of war.

He could not accept that one day his wife would be used as a expendable resource on the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Minato Namikaze secretly vowed to end the war with Iwagakure as soon as possible, otherwise no one knew whether the higher-ups would throw the Nine-Tails into the war.

He couldn't accept this situation and found it difficult to choose between his lover and the village. The only thing he could do was try to avoid the worst-case scenario.

-----------------

next day

The atmosphere at the Konoha combat tent was somewhat heavy and tense.

Jiraiya stood in front of the map, pointing to several key locations and saying:

"The current situation is that after the vanguard of the Iwagakure ninja collapsed, the remnants retreated back to their base in the Land of Grass. A new wave of troops from the Iwakage Village has arrived and joined forces with the remnants."

"The support force consists of two thousand ninjas, led by the Third Tsuchikage Onoki and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han," Jiraiya continued, a hint of worry in his voice.

"There are now nearly a thousand people on the front line, including the reinforcements I brought, but many of them are newly graduated genin."

"Because of the multi-front war, the village has withdrawn a lot of the elite ninjas that were originally intended to support us, and in their place they have been replaced by a large number of genin."

"The original plan was to send only about 700 reinforcements, but now it has increased to 1000, but nearly half of them are genin."

Jiraiya's voice carried a hint of pain and confusion.

“It seems we should stick to the old plan: the main force defends, while elite squads look for opportunities to disrupt the enemy's supplies. Iori and I will lead the squads.” Minato Namikaze volunteered.

“Leave it to me,” Uchiha Iori said, stepping forward. This was a golden opportunity to gain military merit and prestige, and he would not miss it.

Jiraiya nodded and began arranging the team.

"Minato, you, Aka, Tou, and Hizashi will form a team to take charge of the east side. Iori, you, Tomohiro, Nobuhiko, and Kosuke-senpai will form a team to take charge of the west side."

Minato Namikaze, Jacques Inuzuka, and Touya Akimichi are old teammates; they were the ones who teamed up last time to fight against the Cloud Ninja.

With the addition of Hyuga Hizashi, the branch head of the Hyuga clan, their reconnaissance capabilities have been greatly enhanced.

Although the lack of medical ninjas resulted in insufficient endurance, it was not a major problem.

Uchiha Iori's team is currently the strongest team that Jiraiya could assemble.

Iori is a powerful ninja approaching the level of a Kage.

Shiki Aburame is a member of the Insect Master clan of Konoha. In addition to her strength, she is also skilled in tracking and stealth.

Maruboshi Kosuke was a disciple of the Second Hokage. He made a grave mistake and voluntarily became a genin forever, but his strength was no less than that of an elite jonin.

As Iori's teacher and a veteran Jonin, Nobuhiko Tsukikage is also able to mediate any potential conflicts among them.