Mitsuki had already expected what Namikaze Minato was about to say next.
"It's about the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, right?"
Minato froze for a moment, then seemed to understand and nodded.
"Kakashi and the others must've told you. Lately, the battlefield here at the Land of Hot Water front has been a mess because of the jinchūriki's long-range Tailed Beast Bomb artillery."
At this point Minato paused, leaned closer, and whispered into Mitsuki's ear:
"Your Full Counter… can it reflect a Tailed Beast Bomb?"
Having partnered with Mitsuki for so long, Minato naturally knew about his unique secret technique — but when it came to something as destructive as a Beast Bomb, not even he could say for sure whether Mitsuki could reflect one.
"Haha." Mitsuki grinned with confidence. "A Tailed Beast Bomb? Please. I could even reflect a Truth-Seeking Ball the same way."
Minato didn't know what a Truth-Seeking Ball was, but that wasn't important. Mitsuki often mentioned terms Minato didn't fully understand anyway.
"That's great, Mitsuki. That really helps us a lot."
Minato couldn't hide his excitement. Only the heavens knew how much trouble they'd suffered on this battlefield because of those Bijūdama shells.
"In that case… we'll take the initiative and strike first!"
He didn't bother asking whether Mitsuki had the chakra to sustain it — Minato had a deep understanding of Mitsuki's chakra reserves. And besides, Mitsuki now had the One-Tail helping refine more chakra for him.
To a shinobi like Minato who had no kekkei genkai, Mitsuki's chakra capacity was downright enviable.
"Then the next step is the operation route."
Minato shifted his gaze to the large map spread across the round table.
The strategy meeting lasted all the way until afternoon. By the time Mitsuki stumbled out of the command tent, utterly exhausted, half the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
"Sigh…"
In his past life or this one, Mitsuki had always hated meetings — especially the kind where spacing out was practically forbidden.
"You need to get used to this, Mitsuki. The village leaders are already placing their hopes on you as the future Fifth Hokage."
Hearing this, Mitsuki drooped his head."Please, spare me…"
"Haha." Minato chuckled. "Don't be so gloomy. Once we beat Kumo, how about I take you, Kakashi, and Obito to a hot spring?"
"Oh, that sounds great!" Mitsuki's eyes lit up.
He could even leave a Flying Thunder God marker there and bring Rin and Tsunade next time for a relaxing trip.
"Sensei! Mitsuki!"
Obito's voice came from ahead—he and Kakashi were already waiting to go eat dinner with them.
Waving at them, Mitsuki felt almost nostalgic, like he'd returned to their days on the Land of Rivers front, running missions under Minato together.
Though it was a pity Rin wasn't here. After the Third Great Ninja War ended, Mitsuki definitely wanted to take all of them on some missions abroad—basically a vacation disguised as work.
Once the four met up, Kakashi casually put both hands behind his head and asked:
"Do you have any missions for us next?"
Obito, on the other hand, didn't bother hiding his excitement; his eyes were wide open.
"That meeting took forever, so you're planning a counterattack, right?"
Seeing how hyped Kakashi and Obito looked, Mitsuki became curious about how much they'd improved on the battlefield. Given their closeness, Mitsuki asked Minato directly:
"Captain Minato, how are Kakashi and Obito doing in battle? Their strength should've improved a lot by now, right?"
Minato cared deeply about his students' growth. His evaluation of them was probably more accurate than their own, so Mitsuki had asked the right person.
"They've both been very active on the battlefield and have completed many high-rank missions. As for Kakashi — he can already defeat a full-fledged adult jōnin from Kumo by himself. As expected of the village's prodigy."
"I'm not as amazing as Minato-sensei says… The jōnin I fought wasn't really that strong," Kakashi replied, embarrassed, tugging at his mask.
"What about me? What about me?" Obito asked eagerly.
Minato reached out and rubbed Obito's head. "Obito has improved too. When he and Kakashi work together, their coordination is excellent. And he's very brave. He's becoming a fine Konoha shinobi."
"Hehe~ Of course I am! I'm the guy who's gonna become the Sixth Hokage!"
Obito proudly wiped his nose, accepting the praise wholeheartedly—unlike Kakashi, who at least tried to be humble.
From Minato's tone, Mitsuki could tell: Kakashi now had the strength of a true elite jōnin, while Obito had improved but was still reckless.
Looking at Obito happily grinning like an idiot, Mitsuki suddenly felt like a parent hearing a teacher say, "Your kid is smart, but he doesn't study."
He shook the strange thought away. After the war at the Kumo front ended, he would definitely train Obito properly.
Minato's techniques didn't really suit Obito, after all.
Obito had a much simpler path to power: awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
With Kamui, the man would instantly rise to the top tier of the shinobi world.
But honestly, Mitsuki didn't want Obito awakening those eyes — the price was too horrible.
Back in his previous life, Mitsuki once wondered whether using genjutsu to simulate tragedy could trigger a Mangekyō awakening without actually losing someone.
But fantasy and reality were different. Even if everything in a genjutsu was fake, the psychological trauma it created was real.
Compared to that, Mitsuki preferred using slower, safer methods to help his friend grow stronger.
"Obito," Mitsuki called.
Hearing his name, Obito paused his attempt to pry Minato's hand off his head and looked at Mitsuki in confusion.
"What is it?"
Mitsuki smiled faintly."If you want to become Hokage, how can you do it without mastering some strong Fire Release techniques? Once we're back in the village, I'll teach you a few."
"Eh? But the First and Second Hokage never used Fire Release…"
"Are you learning it or not?"
"I'm learning!!"