Chapter 131: This isn't good

"Seiki?" Jiraiya looked at Minato with a puzzled expression. "What makes you think that? Seiki is strong, but there's absolutely no way he could take down someone like B or A!"

Orochimaru's gaze remained calm. "Minato-kun, explain your reasoning."

Minato spoke seriously. "Although B is powerful, his strength comes from perfect synchronization with his bijuu. As a person, though, he's still quite young."

Jiraiya instinctively nodded. He'd heard that B was only about fourteen years old—far too young compared to true masters.

Orochimaru mused, "Physical limitations?"

Minato nodded in agreement. "Transforming into a complete tailed beast form places considerable strain on any jinchuriki. The reason he reverted this time was because he couldn't maintain it anymore!"

"And shinobi who've mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique have a major advantage in prolonged combat. If I were to engage A directly while having Seiki face B, as long as Seiki can endure until their transformation ends, Cloud Village may find themselves at a disadvantage."

"In fact, out of fear for the Flying Thunder God, they might even hesitate to transform during battle!"

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "I think you're being too optimistic, Minato. While the complete transformation offers the greatest power and produces an extremely threatening Tailed Beast Ball, it can still be redirected using the Flying Thunder God Technique. The human form places the least burden on the body, yet doesn't generate enough pressure. Therefore, they'll likely use partial transformation first to deal with Seiki. Although its power falls short of the full form, this half-transformed state is considerably smaller in size, giving them a significant speed advantage!"

"Don't worry, Seiki-kun already has experience fighting against partially transformed opponents." Orochimaru flipped his bangs aside. "Though Two-Tails can't compare to Eight-Tails, unlike a confined arena, the battlefield gives plenty of room to fully utilize the Flying Thunder God's advantages. It would still be hard to say who would truly win!"

"In my opinion, the real problem lies in their coordination!"

"Coordination?" Minato asked.

"You may not know this, Minato-kun. Cloud Village always pairs their Kage—one inherits the title 'A,' and one inherits 'B.' Their deep bond makes them unstoppable on the battlefield!"

Orochimaru's tone turned serious. "So even if you two fight them separately, they could seize the chance to defeat both of you instantly through flawless teamwork!"

"A bond..." Minato felt regretful inside—if Kushina could join the fight, their bond would definitely surpass that of those Cloud Village brothers!

Jiraiya gripped his own hair tightly. "Then what should we do? Should Minato and Seiki quickly build some chemistry?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Don't look at me—we've never had anything like that between us."

Jiraiya hopped onto the table, squatting in front of Orochimaru with a disgusted look as he pointed right at him. "Who'd want to coordinate with a creepy snake like you anyway?"

"Heh heh... Well, you'll just spend your whole life bonding with toads anyway!"

"You idiot..."

Seeing the conversation suddenly veer off track, Minato quickly stepped forward and said, "We've discussed this for so long. Shouldn't we at least ask Seiki for his opinion?"

Jiraiya and Orochimaru exchanged glances. That's right, this mission couldn't exactly be considered safe. If something happened to Seiki and he lost an arm or a leg, wouldn't Tsunade just beat them senseless?

At least if they asked for his opinion beforehand, they could shift some blame if things went wrong. But... wasn't Tsunade precisely the type who wouldn't even listen to explanations?

This is bad!

Seeing the apprehensive looks in his mentor and senior's eyes, Minato suddenly realized—if Seiki got hurt during battle, would *he* get beaten up badly when he returned home?

This is really bad!

...

Field Hospital.

"Phew! I think my chakra's all used up!" Rin wiped the sweat from her forehead with difficulty and cast an admiring gaze toward someone beside her. "I've still got a lot to learn compared to my senior!"

Seiki chuckled. "You've done well enough."

"I'm using you as my role model though..."

As Rin excitedly spoke, Yamanaka Torifu rushed in. "Sorry to interrupt, Seiki, but Lord Orochimaru wants to see you now."

Rin puffed her cheeks indignantly. "That's too much! Senior had just returned from outside and hadn't even had time to sit down before being called here to heal people, and now you're dragging him off again right after finishing! Can't you let Senior rest for a while?"

The surrounding injured ninja also showed signs of discontent.

"That's right! Little Seiki's already exhausted!"

"He's just a kid, for crying out loud!"

Knowing full well he was in the wrong, Torifu could only clasp his hands together apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's truly urgent!"

Seiki shook his head helplessly. "Alright then, I'll go with you."

Soon afterward, Seiki followed Torifu's lead into a crude temporary meeting room.

"Lord Orochimaru, Lord Jiraiya, Minato-aniki." Seiki greeted each one in turn.

"Ha ha, come over and take a seat!" Jiraiya said warmly.

After a round of greetings and offers to sit down, Orochimaru got straight to the point. "Seiki-kun, I imagine you've already heard about what happened on the frontlines today?"

Seiki braced himself seriously. "Regarding the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Orochimaru nodded and continued. "Exactly. Killer B from Cloud Village is a perfect Jinchuriki who can control bijuu power completely. The Tailed Beast Ball he unleashes has become our greatest threat on the battlefield!"

Seiki naturally understood Orochimaru's concerns. In private combat none of them would fear such a thing, but on the battlefield, the Tailed Beast Ball posed enormous danger. Just a few strikes could reduce the entire camp to ashes.

Most crucially, they couldn't even dodge!

After all, although they could escape the Tailed Beast Ball themselves, the ninja behind them wouldn't be able to avoid it. This meant the only solution was either redirecting or intercepting the attack directly.

Orochimaru spoke gravely, "Based on your intelligence, Seiki-kun, you surely understand that our only current method for countering the Tailed Beast Ball is the Flying Thunder God Technique!"

"But that Killer B works extremely well with another powerful ninja named A, making it difficult for Minato alone to redirect every single Tailed Beast Ball. Meanwhile, Jiraiya and I need to stay alert against the Raikage's attacks, so..."

"I understand."

Seiki kept his composure. "Am I supposed to hold off the Cloud Village's Jinchuriki together with Aniki Minato?"

Jiraiya rubbed his palms and chuckled. "Hehe, if you're not up for it, forget it. I'll just go back to the village and tie the old man up..."

Facing B alone would be tough, but with Minato's support—this could actually be a great chance... The thought flashed through Seiki's mind before he firmly declared, "Everyone else is risking their lives for this war. How could I possibly back down?"

"Orochimaru-sama, Jiraiya-sama, please allow me to join! I promise I'll do my best to coordinate with Aniki Minato!"

Orochimaru couldn't help but praise, "Seiki-kun truly embodies the Will of Fire our teacher spoke of. Excellent, then it's settled!"

Jiraiya sighed helplessly, "Then you two better start getting in sync fast. Those two from Cloud won't be easy to outmatch."

But Seiki shook his head slightly. There's no way that's possible.

No amount of temporary teamwork could match their bond.

Orochimaru also agreed, "Given Raikage's personality, after gaining this advantage, he'll probably launch another attack soon. Seiki, don't return to the camp anymore. Stay here and coordinate more with Minato."

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