-Chapter 5-

-Chapter 5-

For an entire week, I spent my time training to perfect my mastery of ninjutsu.

It was mostly one-on-ten combat, me against all my guards, which kept me alert and sharp, like a blade ready to pierce any enemy.

I stopped my training when I suddenly sensed an extremely powerful presence within a 50-meter radius. I signaled the others to take a break before heading toward Tobirama.

Once I was close enough, he said without even bothering to greet me:

"I've decided to meet your demands, but you will have to publicly announce your full support for Konoha in this war, and you must give us access to all your border bases with Iwa."

I raised my eyebrows without saying anything, but he continued without letting me get a word in:

"I will send 300 ninjas from the Senju clan, 500 ninjas from the Uchiha clan, and 10,000 Konoha ninjas to help you guard that border. You will have only one chance. If your village betrays us or fails to keep its word, we will abandon you completely."

I nodded, then said, inwardly bowing in satisfaction, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing it for Konoha," he said with a neutral expression, and just before disappearing, he tossed me two scrolls.

I opened the scrolls and allowed myself a small, satisfied smile because I had obtained what I desired most by coming to Konoha.

"Guys, come here, I have a new technique for us."

---

-3 months later-

I was anxious because it had already been more than three months since I arrived in Konoha, and the war had already begun.

The four villages had gone to war against Konoha, and various smaller countries had also tried to take advantage of the situation by attacking Konoha’s allied nations or playing both sides, like the village of Ame under Hanzo's leadership.

What is most important for small countries and their ninja villages in times of war is maximizing profits while minimizing human and material losses.

Hanzo did not choose the safe route by allying with Konoha; instead, he chose to go solo, capturing ninjas to ransom them back to their clans or villages in exchange for their release while also killing ninjas for the bounties on their heads.

‘This madman even started attacking supply convoys from the Great Ninja Villages,’ I thought.

He was acting as a mercenary, and while it was a quick way to get rich in the short term, in the long term, this strategy would be the worst for the ordinary people of the Land of Rain.

‘This land will live in chaos for decades if nothing changes.’

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the arrival of Danzo Shimura, who was now Konoha's spokesperson and the liaison between me and Konoha's high command.

"So, when are we going to be deployed? I'm starting to get seriously bored," I asked the man who would, in a few years, be responsible for some of the greatest wars and conflicts in this world.

"We’re heading to the battlefield tomorrow at dawn," he said, without any emotion showing on his face.

I straightened up and asked, surprised:

"Really?"

"Yes, we will be sent to the battlefield in Kusagakure, and Tobirama-sensei will join us later," he said, still with the same expression.

Something felt off, so I asked him:

"Why now? I thought we were supposed to go later."

He paused for a moment before saying:

"Something happened."

"What?" I asked, concerned.

"The Kusakage was killed in battle."

He added nothing more before disappearing, leaving me stunned on the doorstep. I pushed down my emotions and mechanically went inside to prepare because, with the Kusakage’s death, all his problems had died with him, but mine had only just begun.