Although Ōnoki's forces had withdrawn from the Land of Fire, he still left thousands of Iwagakure Ninja stationed along the border. Thinking he would simply retreat empty-handed was nothing more than wishful thinking.
The Ninja of the other three great nations were also launching probing attacks along the borders of the Land of Fire. Ōnoki was no fool. As long as an opportunity presented itself, he would definitely seize it. After suffering such heavy losses, he was even more determined to gain something from this war.
With the arrival of Minato Namikaze's four-thousand-man army, the border camps of the Land of Fire were rebuilt. Wooden houses rose one after another, making these border outposts the best-equipped camps in the region.
Inside the command tent, Minato Namikaze relayed the Village's orders to Isamu.
"Lord Isamu, the Village originally sent us here as reinforcements. However, since the enemy has temporarily withdrawn, the Village has issued another order. They would like you to take command of these four thousand men as the supreme commander. What do you think?"
Minato stood up and formally delivered the message.
"You want me to command a force of over four thousand people? The Village is quite calculating. Originally, they only asked me to defend the border, and now they're handing the entire Iwagakure problem over to me to solve!"
Glancing around at the Elite Jonin in the room, Isamu flatly refused.
"I'm telling everyone here right now: I refuse."
"Father! Why would you—"
Seeing his father openly reject a Village order, Senba immediately stood up. Disobeying orders during wartime was a serious offense.
"Senba, don't rush. Let me finish."
Without giving anyone a chance to interrupt, Isamu continued.
"The future belongs to you young people. It's time for the older generation to step aside and let you gain experience."
He pointed toward Minato.
"Minato Namikaze will serve as the supreme commander of the Land of Earth front. Uchiha Senba will be the deputy commander. The rest of you will assist them. You can work out the details yourselves later."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"I'll have someone send my decision back to Konoha. I believe the Village won't reject my arrangement."
Minato had a calm mind and excellent judgment. In Isamu's opinion, he was the ideal choice to lead. This would also give him valuable experience dealing with large-scale military operations and political complexities, laying the groundwork for his future role as the Fourth Hokage.
As for Senba, Isamu had noticed that his son was prone to acting impulsively. While his strength was exceptional, his judgment still lagged behind Minato's. Serving as deputy commander would allow him to complement Minato perfectly. With the two working together, even a renewed offensive by Ōnoki could likely be handled.
"Lord Isamu, how can that be? I can't do it! I've never commanded more than four thousand people before!"
Minato repeatedly shook his head.
"That's right, Father. We're still too young. We really can't handle such an important responsibility. Besides, this is your position. How can we take it from you?"
Senba also objected.
With his father present, the Iwagakure Ninja wouldn't dare launch another invasion. It felt completely unreasonable for him and Minato to replace him.
"Lack of experience and youth are not excuses."
Isamu pointed at everyone present.
"No one is born knowing everything. Every responsibility must be learned through experience. If you never do it, you'll never learn."
He continued sternly.
"Besides, this decision wasn't made on a whim. Ōnoki has already been defeated by me. If the two of you still can't deal with his remaining forces, then you might as well take off your headbands and leave. Don't embarrass yourselves here."
The room immediately fell silent.
Facing a legendary figure like Uchiha Tensei, no one dared argue further. Even the members of the Hyuga and Uchiha clans remained quiet.
"Tanaka!"
Isamu suddenly called out.
"Record everything I just said and send it back to Konoha Village."
Then he added:
"Oh, and include one more sentence. If any of the higher-ups disagree, they can wait for me to visit them personally."
With that, he turned and walked out of the command tent.
He had absolutely no interest in leading thousands of Ninja into battle for Konoha. Helping out was one thing. Risking his life for the Village was another matter entirely.
"He really is overbearing."
One of the Ninja sighed.
"I guess Lord Isamu is the only person in Konoha who could say something like that."
The others nodded in agreement.
Of course, admiration was one thing. None of them would dare imitate him. Isamu had the strength to back up such words. They did not.
"Um… commanders, should I really send the report back exactly like that?"
Tanaka looked hesitantly at Minato and Senba.
The two immediately rolled their eyes.
"Are you stupid?"
Senba looked speechless.
"Of course you can't send it back exactly like that. At least make it sound a little better."
"Exactly."
Minato nodded.
"We aren't Lord Isamu. If you send it back word-for-word, are you hoping the higher-ups invite you to prison for tea when we return to the Village?"
Internally, Minato sighed.
Originally, after finishing this reinforcement mission, he planned to return to his teacher Jiraiya's side and continue fighting against Sunagakure. Now that was obviously impossible.
Given Isamu's influence, the Third Hokage would almost certainly approve this arrangement.
Teacher Jiraiya, you'll have to manage without me for now.
"Hey, I was only asking for your opinion."
Tanaka smiled bitterly.
"You know how things used to work. Whatever Lord Isamu said, we simply carried it out. Nobody dared change even a single word of his orders."
This alone showed just how much prestige Isamu held among the border forces.
Half a day later, far away in Konoha Village, the Third Hokage received Isamu's report.
Reading through it, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled helplessly.
"This guy is actually giving away command to Minato Namikaze and his son. What a lazy fellow."
After a moment of thought, Hiruzen arrived at his own conclusion.
"Is he worried that accumulating too much power and prestige might affect the Village? Being too powerful to control… Isamu really does think things through."
In reality, Hiruzen was completely mistaken.
The truth was far simpler.
Isamu simply didn't want to risk his life for Konoha. He didn't mind helping, but anything that involved putting himself in serious danger was another matter.
As for concerns about becoming too powerful to control—that existed only in Hiruzen's imagination.
"The intelligence report states that Isamu injured Tsuchikage Ōnoki and personally wiped out more than five thousand Iwagakure Ninja. It seems his strength has improved once again."
Hiruzen nodded in satisfaction.
"To possess such overwhelming power and still know when to advance and when to step back… Isamu truly is different from ordinary people. Having someone like him is reassuring."
Picking up the official seal, he stamped the appointment documents.
"Very well. I approve his proposal."
Thus, Minato Namikaze was officially appointed supreme commander of the Land of Earth front, while Uchiha Senba became deputy commander.
Half a day later, the appointment documents arrived at the border.
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