"The troops have started assembling at Training Ground Eleven," Sarutobi Hiruzen said.
Due to the sudden nature of the situation, this assembly was an emergency formation of a unit, and to expedite the process, many procedural steps were skipped.
Just a few minutes before Mokgetsu entered the Hokage Office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was actually still holding a high-level meeting.
The defeat of the Konoha Squad in the Land of Grass was too abrupt; not long ago, they had chased the Hidden Rock Squad to the borders of the Land of Earth, but then suddenly it reversed.
The Konoha high command didn't have time to find the reasons for the defeat and quickly decided at the meeting to form a support unit to go to the Land of Grass, demonstrating great efficiency.
They had no choice because the efficiency had to be high; if the Land of Grass Squad completely collapsed, then the northwestern part of the Land of Fire would be in danger.
The Hidden Rock Ninja Squad could directly enter the Land of Fire from the place where the Land of Grass borders it.
If that happened, not only would it be hard to explain to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, but Konoha's reputation in the Land of Fire would be affected, and it might even pose a threat to Konoha.
It's necessary to know that the Hidden Rock Ninja Squad in the Land of Grass includes two Jinchuriki who can achieve Complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
This time, even Shimura Danzo, who likes to oppose Sarutobi Hiruzen, did not stir up trouble and only had a slight disagreement over the choice of commander.
Initially, Shimura Danzo wanted Orochimaru, stationed in the Land of Hot Water, to lead part of the ninja squad directly to the Land of Grass, with Konoha sending additional personnel.
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought this was robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Recently, the Hidden Cloud had not been active, but Sarutobi Hiruzen did not trust that the Hidden Cloud had genuinely quieted down.
If news of Konoha's defeat got out, the Hidden Cloud would certainly become restless and want to probe, and if Orochimaru wasn't there, the defense line in the Land of Hot Water would become dangerous again.
So Sarutobi Hiruzen cleanly rejected Shimura Danzo and proposed his plan for Mokgetsu to serve as the support unit commander.
Embracing the idea that Mokgetsu is also one of their own, coupled with the urgent situation, Shimura Danzo did not further push for Orochimaru's chance.
"Are my students included in the support unit list?" Mokgetsu considered and asked.
With the increasingly chaotic situation in the Ninja World, Mokgetsu felt his students would be safer by his side.
Although Konoha is safe, during wartime, given the strength of Obito and the others, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't let them remain idle; it would be a waste of combat power.
Currently, Obito and the others are considered elite even within the Jonin ranks, and such a level of combat power is scarce even in the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Instead of leaving Obito and the others in Konoha to undertake missions and fall into Uchiha Madara's traps, it would be better to bring them directly to the battlefield.
Though the battlefield is dangerous, at least Mokgetsu is there backing them up.
Even if they can't win, Mokgetsu can still get them out.
"They are all included," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied.
Given the dire situation on the battlefield in the Land of Grass, the support unit's strength mustn't be weak; otherwise, it would only be sending them to their doom.
Moreover, Kakashi and his team are not only excellent in terms of strength, but they also have a special relationship with Mokgetsu, making them the best choices for the Jonin tier of the support unit.
Of course, if Mokgetsu wishes to keep Kakashi and the others in Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen would agree.
Compared to Kakashi and his team, Mokgetsu is certainly more important, and it's not unusual for a commander to have small privileges.
Additionally, if Kakashi and his team stay in Konoha, they could function as a specialized elite squad and contribute to Konoha just as well.
"Once the unit is fully assembled, I will immediately take them to the Land of Grass," Mokgetsu nodded, preparing to leave the Hokage Office.
Apart from his students, he has no other special requirements.
"Here's the intelligence on the battlefield in the Land of Grass; make sure to review it if you have time on the way," Sarutobi Hiruzen handed Mokgetsu a Scroll.
There isn't much time left for them, and explaining the battlefield intelligence in detail would be too time-consuming, so Sarutobi Hiruzen gave only a brief summary.
Mokgetsu received the Scroll, bowed slightly, and then turned to leave.
"I'm counting on you, Mokgetsu," Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Mokgetsu depart.
Should they lose again, the situation for Konoha would be dire.
...
After leaving the Hokage Office, Mokgetsu quickly headed to Training Ground Eleven.
When Mokgetsu arrived at the training ground, he saw a still sparse ninja unit.
Actually, the assembly of troops and notifying Mokgetsu occurred almost simultaneously, but Sarutobi Hiruzen spent some time briefing Mokgetsu on the intelligence.
"Commander Mokgetsu, I am Mimura Hamaki, the unit's deputy commander. The unit now has over a hundred ninjas assembled, all fifteen Jonin and fifteen Special Jonin are present," Mimura Hamaki reported to Mokgetsu.
Mokgetsu nodded slightly; the Jonin were certainly the first to be notified, and they moved faster.
"Teacher Mokgetsu, I was just wondering if you would be the commander, my guessing skills are quite impressive," Obito greeted Mokgetsu with a grin.
Right after Mokgetsu left, the Jonin assembly notification came to them; except for Yamato, everyone followed the instructions and arrived at Training Ground Eleven.
Kakashi gave Obito a calm glance, thinking that guessing wasn't necessary.
There aren't coincidences like this; Mokgetsu just went to the Hokage Building, and then an emergency assembly was called here, clearly indicating that Mokgetsu has been assigned a more important task.
Mokgetsu smiled in response, surveying the Jonin present.
Out of the fifteen Jonin, five were his students, and he basically knew the remaining ten as well, since the Jonin circle in Konoha isn't large.