The war came quite suddenly.
Near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain, the stationed ninja squad was nearly wiped out, with only a few Konoha ninja escaping death to relay the news of the Hidden Sand Ninja attack back to Konoha Village.
Despite the rage towards the Hidden Sand Ninja for inciting war with the Land of Fire, the Konoha high command, led by the Third Hokage, immediately made war preparations, mobilizing village ninjas to form squads and heading to the border for support.
During times like this, peace treaties signed between countries are nothing but worthless paper.
Compared to those ninjas who have experienced the Ninja Realm wars, the Genin who just graduated from school don't feel much of a crisis.
Even though they know that a lot of people will die with the outbreak of war, before they witness a real war, they still hold a naive and optimistic attitude, completely unaware of the hell that awaits them.
In the hell named war, the Chunin always face life-threatening risks, and the Jonin, when encountered with an ambush, will quickly make a heroic sacrifice on the battlefield.
An unknown kunai or shuriken might fly over at any time, or they might be blown to bits by explosive tags.
In the large-scale wars initiated by Ninja Village after Ninja Village, no matter how strong a ninja is, no one dares to claim they can survive until the end.
Therefore, most Konoha ninjas hold a pessimistic attitude towards war.
Once war breaks out, it means separation of life and death with family, lovers, and friends.
But even with a pessimistic outlook, they must rush to the frontline without hesitation and fight the enemy to the last for the village and the country.
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The sudden outbreak of war made the atmosphere on Konoha's streets much quieter; everyone stayed at home praying and wishing for the safe return of their family members who went to the battlefield.
"Ruri, are you heading out now?"
Seeing Ruri about to leave, Hakushi walked up behind her and asked.
"Yes, I have a patrol mission, and the location is around the village."
"Will you be back tonight?"
Hakushi paused and asked further.
"The shift changes around eight in the evening, I'll be back by then. Is there something wrong?"
Ruri sensed that Hakushi seemed to have something to say to her, slightly tilting her head.
"It's nothing, mainly I want to talk to you about something, but since you're busy now, I'll wait till you come back tonight to discuss it."
"Got it, be careful."
The Hidden Sand spies infiltrating the village, or Danzo leading the Root, are all things to be wary of.
Even though she knows Hakushi's strength makes her not worry about his safety, she couldn't help but remind him.
Watching Ruri leave, Hakushi stood at the door for a moment before returning to his room to rest.
Around one in the afternoon, Hakushi began his walk.
The walking spot was quite casual, as if he was just out for a walk to relax, completely aimless.
Good, there's no change here either, he thought to himself.
Wherever Hakushi went, he used Perception Ninjutsu to scout the locations, re-investigating each spot previously determined in the plan to see if there were any lapses.
Confirming that the patrol teams in these areas hadn't changed, operating according to the previous routes, even the time of half-hourly duty exchanges remained consistent with before.
However...
Hakushi looked in a certain direction, clearly sensing that the guards there had increased by four people.
A squad of Anbu.
Adding to the original Anbu squad, there were now eight Anbu ninjas in total.
Due to the war, the protection over there must have been strengthened.
After that, Hakushi wandered around other areas, and around three thirty in the afternoon, he headed towards the Ninja School.
The school side didn't seem to be affected much, just that the recent graduates were slightly unlucky, caught up in this era of war.
Crying or laughing, once they became true ninjas, they had the obligation to go to war.
However, all of this has nothing to do with his role as a Chunin working as a rear medical ninja in Konoha; he hasn't received any village dispatch orders.
His superior is Tsunade, who is currently serving at the Ninja School and doesn't seem to plan on going to the frontlines...
Despite feeling puzzled, considering the war's arrival, predicting Tsunade's likelihood of heading to battle would be high, with her medical ninjutsu having significant impact on the battlefield.
Why stay in the village?
Moreover, the village high command hasn't issued any orders; it's strange.
Is there a special reason?
Despite wondering about this, it allows him to remain peacefully in Konoha now.
Otherwise, he would have found excuses to stay in Konoha before.
He had his pretext prepared but found it completely unused.
"Hakushi-senpai."
Upon reaching the school's office, Hakushi first saw Shizune, who nodded and smiled at him.
"You came."
In the office, Tsunade, sitting there, raised her head, her face reddened, clearly having drunk earlier.
"Honestly, Tsunade-sensei, please don't drink during such times."
"It's fine, it doesn't affect the classes anyway."
Tsunade waved her hand, indicating not to worry; she's just mildly drunk, with clear awareness, so it won't affect teaching.
"I'm not worried about that... Well, you wouldn't listen to me anyway. But on the frontlines, relying on Orochimaru-senpai alone might be a bit..."