Konoha's frontline camp in the Land of Fields. Jiraiya was reading through the collected intelligence reports from various sources.
After the "Nine-Tails incident," Konoha immediately warned Kumogakure through official channels, demanding that Kumogakure hand over the culprit who had invaded Konoha and caused the incident. If Kumogakure dared to harbor the culprit, then they would bear all the consequences… Konoha very rarely used such harsh wording.
Undoubtedly, this was a one-sided "frame-up." Kumogakure hadn't done it, so of course, they wouldn't hand over any culprit. And this matter actually felt quite novel. Since ancient times, it was always Kumogakure pinning blame on other villages. They had never seen this kind of reverse operation.
Konoha naturally knew that Kumogakure wouldn't have any response. So after accusing them, they just started gradually increasing their troop deployment to the front lines according to their own pace… At a time when the scale of the war was gradually shrinking and the world situation was tending towards peace, this counter-trend operation attracted the attention of all countries.
Kumogakure certainly wasn't willing to show weakness. It wasn't as though they were incapable of sending reinforcements. So, the Land of Fields once again became clouded with the threat of war. The total combined forces of the opposing sides soon exceeded six thousand.
Konoha's goal was to seek justice for the Fourth Hokage, but as the commander, Jiraiya naturally knew the truth of the matter. He also knew that, in reality, the higher-ups didn't have any increased hatred for Kumogakure, who was taking the blame. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, this would probably be Konoha's last large-scale offensive in this Shinobi World War.
Many times, as the commander, Jiraiya would question the meaning of this current Shinobi World War. Since all the countries gained nothing except death, why were they fighting so enthusiastically? Even his exceptionally talented disciple, who had become the new generation's Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died unexpectedly during the war.
Minato Namikaze's death made Jiraiya incredibly heartbroken and regretful. He had always felt that this disciple of his was not only excellent, but even perfect. It was no exaggeration to say that no teacher wouldn't be proud of such a disciple. Jiraiya even often thought, if he had been in Konoha that night, would the outcome have been different?
Then he would mock himself with a smile. With his strength, could he really have stopped the Nine-Tails?
It was already late at night, but suddenly a ninja burst into Jiraiya's tent.
"Lord Jiraiya, urgent intelligence."
Jiraiya took the intelligence, unfolded it, and found that it described the situation on the other side of Konoha's border… Sunagakure had officially surrendered, the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind had signed an alliance, and Konoha was withdrawing its troops from the Land of Wind.
This intelligence made Jiraiya slowly stand up. The complete end of the war with Sunagakure was a good thing. However, the end of the war on the western front also meant that the great battle on the northern front had officially entered its countdown.
Even though Jiraiya had experienced countless battles, he could still feel the tension at times like this.
......
Because of the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, Kushina Uzumaki was now the only orthodox descendant of the Uzumaki clan. Although there were still wild Uzumaki clan members scattered outside and naturally growing, those people clearly hadn't received the true inheritance, possessing only the physique but not the knowledge.
But even so, wild Uzumaki were very powerful, so there was even less need to mention Kushina Uzumaki, this true inheritor… Don't forget, she was chosen by Mito Uzumaki.
Therefore, after Habara's Six Directions Seal was modified and supplemented by Kushina, it could truly be considered a high-level seal. It had to be said that professional work should be handed over to professionals. If the previous Six Directions Seal was a scooter engine, then the current 3.0 version was at least a six-cylinder, four-stroke… Habara felt that the new seal's various efficiencies had been improved by at least twenty percent, and the control of natural energy was smoother.
In the following days, Kushina Uzumaki began to prepare for the "Ninja Mutual Aid Group." However, because Konoha's ninja army in the Land of Wind returned in triumph, the Konoha higher-ups began to hold frequent meetings, so this secondary "small matter" was stalled again.
Everyone knew that a new war was brewing.
On this day, Habara and Tenzo were taking a walk in a certain outlying settlement south of Konoha.
Konoha's structure was relatively complex. Not all of Konoha's population lived within the walls. This village had been established for fifty or sixty years. Of course, the originally designated village area would experience land shortages. Therefore, at this time, a small number of new settlements had appeared outside Konoha's walls.
Moreover, many large and super-large training facilities were arranged outside the village walls. Otherwise, if they were placed inside the village, those things would take up too much space. Although construction outside Konoha village wasn't a priority, there was definitely such construction.
After walking a few more steps, Habara stopped, pointed to a place in front of him, and said, "This is it. I used the mission funds issued earlier to buy an acre of land here. I plan to settle down here in the future… This place belongs to the periphery of Konoha. The land price is cheap, and the various basic conditions are not much different from those inside the village."
Habara had been in Konoha for almost a year. He couldn't keep "wandering" like this. He had to settle down. The reason why he chose to settle down outside Konoha had nothing to do with land costs. It was just that he personally didn't like the crowded atmosphere inside Konoha village.
Getting close to nature and staying away from the stale political atmosphere, wouldn't that be good?
Habara even wanted to live further away, but that wasn't allowed. The "homestead" Habara had purchased was still within Konoha's sensory warning barrier. Further out would be outside the circle.
You, a Konoha ninja, not only live in seclusion, but also want to live outside Konoha's barrier. What are your intentions?
There were only ten or so houses in this place, and they were sparsely distributed.
Tenzo could understand why Habara liked to live in a place with few people. After all, they were both "test subjects." Konoha's environment would often remind them of those experiments… However, Tenzo didn't understand why Habara specifically told him about this and brought him to visit here.
For a housewarming, shouldn't he invite him to visit after the house was built? What was the point of inviting someone to see a barren land?
"Hmm, build a courtyard around the outside, and a house in the middle, two or three stories… Life, after all, should be a little more comfortable." After saying that, Habara looked directly at Tenzo.
"…"
Tenzo was looked at inexplicably. What, what did this look mean?
It meant nothing, just wanting a free construction team. At this time, "Wood Release Tenzo" hadn't yet realized his great value.
However, before Habara could explain to Tenzo how to build it, Kakashi found them.
"Why are you guys in this place?" Kakashi almost coughed up blood. He had searched all over Konoha and finally found these two people after coming here.
Who would have thought they were bored enough to run outside Konoha.
"Is something the matter, Senior Kakashi?" Habara asked, seeing that Kakashi seemed to be in a very anxious state.
"An urgent summons from the Hokage. There's a new mission," Kakashi said.
Habara and Tenzo looked at each other. Well, the construction work would be postponed. Let's get down to business first.
......
Just like Habara himself thought, at a time when Konoha and Kumogakure were about to erupt into a new round of conflict, the Third Hokage couldn't let a combat force like him sit idly by. So he would still be sent to the battlefield.
In fact, Habara was catching the "last train." His name appeared on the last batch of the list of those conscripted to the battlefield.
Although Kakashi looked relatively urgent, after Habara and Tenzo returned to Konoha, they found that they only needed to receive their combat orders today. The official time to leave Konoha and go to the front lines should be tomorrow.
However, when Habara opened his combat orders, he found that he had joined a new squad formation for this deployment… Habara, Tenzo, Aoba Yamashiro, and Shibi Aburame.
The squad leader was Shibi Aburame. There was nothing to say about this. After all, Shibi was a veteran and powerful jonin, and after the previous assassination of the Kazekage, Habara knew that he shouldn't be able to get the command of a squad for a while… The Third Hokage definitely didn't like ninjas who were particularly able to exercise "subjective initiative" to become captains, because he couldn't be sure what such people would do.
And if you think about it carefully, you can find that the composition of this squad is very interesting. Because Habara and Aoba Yamashiro would obviously be members of the "Ninja Mutual Aid Group." As for Tenzo, Habara also planned to let him join this "civilian organization." So what about Shibi Aburame? Would he, born in a ninja clan, still stand with Kushina Uzumaki after the death of the Fourth Hokage?
Habara didn't know, and wasn't sure.
"Senior Kakashi, it seems we're not on the same team this time." Then Habara showed his combat orders to Kakashi.
"That's a good thing. Being on the same team as you is likely to give me a heart attack," Kakashi felt that being on the same team as Habara was too exciting. It was better to stay away from this person. After a short pause, he continued, "I'm on the same team as Guy and Asuma."
"Then I hope this Guy and Asuma won't have any accidents."
"…"
Next, the three of them separated and began to make final preparations for going to the battlefield. Habara also replenished some ninja tools.
The next day, Habara's four-man squad first assembled. Then they joined a large force of more than one hundred people and began to head to the front lines in the Land of Fields.
Habara felt that this should be the last great war. Regardless of the result, they could wait for peace to come…
Although the time he had participated in the war was not long, by now he was already tired of it.
____
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