Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 422 Burn, Youth! The First Battle of Konoha's New Generation!

Green vests and blue combat uniforms merged into a surging wave, flowing silently and swiftly towards the village entrance.

They moved swiftly across the rows of rooftops.

Thus, this expeditionary force, known as the Peacekeeping Force, embarked on its journey under the rising sun.

Their silhouettes, bathed in the morning light, resembled a painting, symbolizing the beginning of a new era for Konoha.

The procession was moving swiftly along the narrow paths of the Land of Fire.

Minato Namikaze was incredibly fast, yet he controlled his speed perfectly, ensuring that all the crew members behind him could keep up with the pace, conserving their energy while maintaining the highest efficiency in their movement.

This was the first collective expedition of the new generation, and the journey was far from boring.

"Hey! Kakashi! Look how cool this new pose I came up with is!"

When Obito was jumping between the tree trunks, he forced himself into what he thought was a cool pose in the air, but almost crashed headfirst into the tree trunk in front of him.

"idiot."

Kakashi, without even glancing to the side, easily overtook him.

"Damn it! You bastard!"

As night deepened, the campfire at the makeshift camp crackled, its orange-red flames casting a long shadow of Minato Namikaze onto the inner wall of the tent, swaying with the flickering flames.

He did not rest.

Since the start of the expedition, whenever the team set up camp, he would go alone to his tent and repeatedly study the mission scroll that the Third Hokage had personally given him.

This is not just an order, but a heavy responsibility.

Minato's slender fingers gently brushed across the wooden shaft of the scroll, and beneath that smooth touch, something unusual seemed to be hidden.

He unfolded it again and again, and rolled it up again and again, trying to find the deeper meaning beyond Hiruzen Sarutobi's words in the familiar scent of ink and the texture of the paper.

"In the name of maintaining order... we define what peace is."

These words were etched into his mind like a brand.

Domineering, yet filled with an irresistible idealistic brilliance.

Just as his fingertips unconsciously brushed against the end of the wooden shaft once again, a tiny, almost negligible sensation made him suddenly stop.

It's not wood.

It was not any material he knew.

Minato closed his eyes, channeling his extraordinary perception, along with a wisp of pure chakra, slowly into his fingertips, cautiously probing the unusual spot.

Instantly, a subtle yet incredibly pure chakra fluctuation, imbued with the essence of time and space, surged like an electric current from his fingertips straight into his mind.

boom--!

Minato's mind went blank.

That wasn't an attack using any ninjutsu, but rather a pure flood of information.

An incredibly complex formula, yet possessing an exquisite beauty, suddenly unfolded deep within his consciousness.

That is... the Second Hokage's unparalleled Flying Thunder God Technique!

A complete, perfect, and even more profound spell mark than the fragment he obtained from Jiraiya was quietly and secretly engraved on this seemingly ordinary wooden shaft.

Minato suddenly opened his eyes, his heart pounding wildly.

He understood instantly.

This spell mark is a coordinate.

A backup plan.

A promise that transcends time and space.

It is the protection left by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and the silent entrustment of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

The village is not gambling with the future of Konoha, nor is it placing the entire future on the shoulders of these young people.

The strongest insurance has been prepared long ago.

Once Minato and his peacekeeping force encounter an irreversible crisis on the battlefield... the legendary Second Hokage, renowned for his forbidden techniques and rationality, will tear through time and space and personally descend upon the battlefield.

Overwhelmed by emotion and a sense of responsibility, he gripped the scroll tightly in his hand. The wooden scroll seemed to have come alive, to have warmth, and it felt heavy, pressing down on his heart.

He stared at the flickering firelight without uttering a sound, but his gaze was more resolute than ever before.

I, Minato Namikaze, will never betray this trust.

……

The next morning, the team continued to move forward at full speed.

The journey was no longer as dull and somber as it had been at the beginning. As the young ninjas gradually adapted to the pace of the march, they began to display the vibrant energy that belonged to their age, even amidst the oppressive atmosphere.

"Watch closely, Kakashi! Rin! This is the secret technique of our Uchiha clan, the Forest Trekking Technique: Falling Leaf Whirlwind Dance, passed down through generations!"

Obito Uchiha leaped nimbly between the giant trees, shouting the names of the techniques he had just invented, while attempting a stylish 360-degree spin in mid-air.

As a result, he slipped and almost fell face-first into a bush.

"Can you stop clowning around... Oh, Beatrice..."

Not far behind him, Kakashi Hatake stood with his hands in his pockets, his face full of exasperation.

Obito steadied himself, his face flushed red.

"Obito, be careful!"

Nohara Rin followed behind them, letting out a helpless chuckle.

On the other side of the group, the style is even wilder.

"Kai! Youth is about surpassing your yesterday's self with every breath! The rule is, before the next rest period, do 300 pendulum pull-ups! Begin!"

In an unbelievable posture, Matt Day, hanging from a horizontal tree branch with only one hand, used his body strength to propel himself and the heavy pack on his back, swinging rapidly through the forest like a green pendulum.

"Yes, Father! This is youth!"

Matt Kai's fiery eyes were fixed on his father. He performed the same movements on another branch at an even faster pace, his booming voice filled with boundless fighting spirit.

Around them, some young ninjas who were seeing this training method for the first time had gone from being dumbfounded to taking it for granted. Some of the more competitive ones even began to secretly hold their breath and speed up their pace.

Meanwhile, at the back of the group, the new generation of Ino-Shika-Cho perfectly illustrated what it means to have an uneven distribution of work and leisure.

"Ugh... this is so troublesome... I really want to sleep..."

Nara Shikaku, sporting dark circles under his eyes, clung to Akimichi Choza's broad back, looking as if he might die at any moment.

Last night, he mentally rehearsed 137 times the deployment of troops on both sides, the advantages and disadvantages of terrain, logistical supplies, and even weather changes, among all the factors that could affect the course of the battle.

"Shikaku, would you like something to eat? I made some soldier rations, barbecue flavored, they replenish energy really quickly!"

While easily carrying his best friend on his back, Akimichi Choza pulled out a huge rice ball from his pocket, with a fragrant grilled sausage stuck on it.

"Choza, put your snacks away. Shikaku, stop playing dead. There's a plump wild rabbit 300 meters to your left. Should I mark it for you?"

Yamanaka Inoichi rode on the back of a muscular ninja dog, alertly sensing his surroundings while helplessly acting as a translator and mediator between his two close friends.

"No need...it's too much trouble..."

Shikaku waved his hand weakly.