As spring deepened into the heat of early summer, with cicadas beginning their chorus, three pieces of news arrived in Konoha like stones thrown into a still lake, stirring up surging waves.
Without any warning, Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning swept away Iwagakure's deployments in the Land of Frost. They then rapidly invaded the Land of Fields and the Land of Waterfalls, their target pointing directly at the Land of Earth. Iwagakure quickly reacted, mobilizing forces to intercept them. Currently, the two great nations have made the smaller countries their battleground, and multiple conflicts have erupted, unlikely to subside anytime soon.
If the first piece of news had nothing to do with the Land of Fire, the following two were intimately related to Konoha. Some Sunagakure forces from the Land of Wind traveled by sea, bypassed the Land of Rivers, and extensively plundered within the Land of Fire. Konoha acted swiftly, having already dispatched personnel to intercept them. Then, Sunagakure sent reinforcements and is currently confronting Konoha forces within the Land of Rivers, causing the pressure on the front line to suddenly increase. Both pieces of news signified that the Great Nations had officially entered the fray, and the intensity of the Second Great Ninja War was beginning to escalate.
The third piece of news was related to the Land of Rain. According to intelligence, some Land of Rain forces also began to frequently operate within the Land of Fire, attacking merchant convoys and towns.
In this situation, Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage, was naturally swamped with work. However, all these matters were within Kyuushin's expectations, so he wasn't particularly surprised. It was Nawaki who, upon hearing the news, seemed indignant, wishing he could immediately rush to the front line to teach the Sand and Rain ninja a lesson. Kyuushin knew what he was thinking but couldn't dissuade him. He could only try his best to strengthen his abilities so that Nawaki wouldn't die in a muddled way like in the original story.
Therefore, in recent days, he had been pulling Minato along to conduct combat drills with Nawaki.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Nawaki was once again blown to dust by an exploding tag trap set by Kyuushin, who helplessly sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Why do you keep blowing him up with exploding tags?" Mito, who was watching nearby, asked, puzzled. Having witnessed her grandson get blown up three times in a row, she was curious.
"Nawaki's foundation is good, with no major weaknesses. However, when he gets into a fight, he easily gets hot-headed. On the battlefield, that's a fatal flaw. I'm using these traps to try and get him to break this bad habit," Kyuushin explained. In the original story, wasn't it because Nawaki underestimated his opponents and charged ahead alone that he fell into an enemy trap and died? Now that war had broken out, according to Kyuushin's understanding of him, he would probably have to go to the battlefield, so this problem had to be fixed.
Mito nodded, understanding Kyuushin's intention. However, seeing Nawaki's dusty appearance, she couldn't help but say, "I suggest increasing the dosage a bit. Looking at him, he clearly hasn't learned his lesson yet."
"Ah?" Kyuushin was dumbfounded. "Grandma, this is only one-third the power of a full exploding tag. If I increase it further, I'm afraid Nawaki will really get hurt."
"It's fine," Mito said indifferently. "With Tsunade and me here, minor injuries are no problem. The more he gets hurt, the more profound the lesson will be." Mito was someone who had lived through the Warring States period. In her opinion, as long as one could survive on the battlefield, getting injured more often in peacetime was only right.
"Alright then." Since Mito said so, Kyuushin could only agree, silently mourning for Nawaki in his heart.
At lunchtime, Tsunade returned home from meetings all morning. Just by looking at her worried face, one could tell there was no good news. "Grandma, this war is really going to break out. The Old Man is sending Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and me to the Land of Rain border. He says it's to urge them to hand over supplies and the ninja who acted before, but given their previous actions, it's more likely that war will break out directly."
"Hmm." But Mito only nodded faintly, without making too many comments. However, beneath Tsunade's forced composure, there was a hint of panic. After all, she was still just a girl in her twenties. The only war she had truly felt was the First Great Ninja War. In that war, she lost her great-uncle, her parents, and many elders who used to smile at her. A seed of fear for war had been buried deep within her since childhood.
Mito was well aware of this. Therefore, she didn't say too much, only stating lightly, "Go ahead and do it. I'll take care of the village."
However, Nawaki on the side was much more excited. He eagerly said to Tsunade, "Big Sister, take me to this war too!"
"No!" Tsunade said decisively. She wasn't even confident of victory herself, let alone bringing Nawaki. But Nawaki was not so easy to give up. He pestered Tsunade relentlessly until she had no choice but to say, "Go ask Grandma," clearly wanting to hand this hot potato over to Mito.
However, Mito unexpectedly said, "You can go."
"Grandma!" This time Tsunade was the anxious one.
Mito waved her hand, interrupting Tsunade. "According to Nawaki's temperament, even if we disagree, he might sneak off anyway. We can tie him up at home, but we can't restrict him for a lifetime." Saying that, she turned to look at Kyuushin and Minato. "This time, I'll have to trouble you two to look after him again. Originally, you didn't have to go to the battlefield, but for Nawaki's sake, I can only shamelessly ask you."
"Grandma, what are you saying?" Kyuushin waved his hands repeatedly. "Nawaki and I are teammates. There's no need to talk about troubling us. I was planning to go to the battlefield anyway." He had known this day would come and had prepared himself mentally, but he didn't expect Mito to speak so seriously.
Minato also said, "Nawaki is my teammate, so of course, I will advance and retreat with him. Moreover, I also want to protect the village."
"Good, good, you are all good children," Mito said, happy but also a little ashamed. She turned to Nawaki. "Although I agreed, if you want to go to the battlefield, you must also agree to a few conditions of mine!"