"Understood!"
Minato gave a slight nod. It was true that their current relationship with the daimyo's residence wasn't suitable to reveal publicly. Doing so might alert Hiruzen and his faction.
Staying in the shadows might yield unexpected results.
However, Minato quickly sensed that something was off.
The information brought by Jin was indeed critical, but the two of them had specific means of communication. Jin wouldn't personally make the trip just for this.
Minato narrowed his eyes and asked, "Jin, is there another reason you came in person this time?"
Jin chuckled. "Nothing gets past you. You're right. My main goal is actually to head to the Land of Rain. I just happened to pass through the Land of Hot Water and figured I'd drop in to see you."
After all, it was wartime, and the Land of Fire's internal security was on high alert. Paranoia gripped the nation.
To avoid exposing his tracks, Uchiha Jin had entered the Land of Hot Water via the sea route from the Land of Waves. From there, he planned to travel through the Lands of Rice Fields, Iron, Waterfalls, and Grass before reaching the Land of Rain.
It sounded complicated, but in truth, it was just a loop around the Fire Country's borders—not much of a detour.
Whoever had drawn the borders of the Land of Fire must have foreseen future wars.
The country had been strategically surrounded by a ring of small nations, with none of the five great ninja villages directly bordering it.
That way, any major power attempting to invade the Land of Fire would first need to go through its buffer of smaller nations, giving the Land of Fire ample time to react and counter.
This also allowed Konoha to push the battlefront outside the homeland, preserving the peace and prosperity of their own territory.
It was a move that perfectly embodied the idea of sacrificing others for one's own gain.
As for how those small nations felt about it… who cared?
In this world, weakness was a sin. The weak could only endure and submit.
Minato asked curiously, "Why are you heading to the Land of Rain at a time like this?"
"It actually has something to do with you, Minato." Jin didn't hide anything and explained directly, "An informant in the village told me that Danzo took some Root members and headed toward the Land of Rain."
"Elder Danzo? How does that have anything to do with me?" Minato frowned in confusion. "I don't recall having any connections to the Land of Rain."
Jin reminded him, "Have you forgotten? Your teacher, Jiraiya, once took in three students there—your junior disciples."
Minato blinked. "You mean Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan?"
Though Minato had never met them, Jiraiya had mentioned them before.
Especially recently, as Jiraiya had been using Nagato as inspiration for his first novel, he had bragged about it to Minato on multiple occasions.
Jin nodded. "Exactly. Those three."
In truth, it wasn't until he received this intel that Jin remembered this part of the story.
Danzo, in an attempt to prolong the war between Konoha and Iwagakure, had traveled to the Land of Rain to collude with Hanzo of the Salamander, stirring chaos on the frontlines.
Meanwhile, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan had founded the Akatsuki, an organization devoted to achieving peace without resorting to violence.
Their growing influence in the Land of Rain directly obstructed Danzo's plans.
So Danzo manipulated Hanzo, setting a trap to ambush Yahiko and the others—an event that marked the beginning of Nagato's descent into darkness.
Minato frowned. "What's he trying to do to them?"
Jin shook his head and countered, "You've heard of the Akatsuki rising in fame in the Land of Rain recently, haven't you?"
Minato nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I heard they're a neutral organization promoting peace and refusing to use violence. I think it's admirable."
Jin said, "That Akatsuki was founded by Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan."
"Really?" Minato was first surprised, then smiled with pride. "I'm not surprised. They are Jiraiya-sensei's students, after all. Truly outstanding."
But the next moment, Minato jumped to his feet, suddenly alarmed. "Wait! You mean Danzo is going to target them?"
Minato knew Danzo all too well. At best, he was cold and decisive; at worst, he was ruthless, scheming, heartless, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
Realizing that Danzo had his eyes on Yahiko and the others, Minato could no longer stay calm.
Though he'd never met them, they were still fellow students under the same teacher.
And from what he'd heard of their actions, Minato deeply admired the trio.
"Don't panic," Jin raised his hand to calm him. "Danzo isn't targeting them directly. It's just that they're standing in his way."
Minato asked with a deep frown, "What exactly is going on?"
Jin explained, "Right now, the clashes between Konoha and Iwagakure are mostly minor border skirmishes. Anyone with a brain can tell the war is coming to an end."
"According to the intel I received, the Third Hokage is planning to make some concessions to Iwagakure to sign a peace treaty and end the conflict quickly."
"But Danzo strongly opposes this. He sees it as disgraceful for the victor to bow to the defeated."
"The other two members of the council, Homura and Koharu, lean more toward Hiruzen's approach. So Danzo's objections were ignored."
"But Danzo isn't someone who backs down just because he's overruled."
"My sources say he plans to incite conflict on the battlefield in the Land of Rain before Hiruzen can implement his plan—escalating tensions between Konoha, Iwa, and Amegakure to drag all three sides into a renewed war."
"That way, Hiruzen's peace efforts collapse, and he'll be forced to adopt a more aggressive stance."
"And since Yahiko's Akatsuki is now active on the frontlines, aiding the wounded and persuading people to stop fighting, they're naturally standing in Danzo's way."
"Knowing what Danzo is like, it's only natural that he'd make a move against them."
Truthfully, Jin somewhat agreed with Danzo's logic this time.
When Konoha signed the peace treaty with Sunagakure, they gave up a lot of advantages they rightfully earned.
Now with Iwagakure, it looked like the same would happen again.
If things continued this way, the Hidden Cloud and Mist would learn from these examples and refuse to yield at all.
Hiruzen's blind pursuit of peace would eventually cost the Konoha shinobi dearly.
When the war ended, many Konoha ninja who had sacrificed so much might not receive the compensation they deserved.
Konoha was clearly the victor, yet they were about to lose a fortune in benefits.
This was nothing short of shameful.
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