Inside a hot spring inn in a small western town of the Land of Fire, the hot water flowed steadily as steam curled through the air.
For so reason, there were an especially large number of hot springs in the ninja world. Among them, the best quality—along with the best service—ca from the Land of Hot Water. As long as you were willing to spend money, you could even book a bath with several attractive attendants. It was Jiraiya's land of bliss, the place that inspired Icha-Icha Paradise.
Higashino Makoto and the Gekkō father and son lay lazily in the bath, relaxing the nerves that had been wound tight after their mission.
On the other side was Uzuki Yūgao. This was not a mixed bath. Any hot spring inn in the ninja world that advertised mixed bathing could not be trusted—inside, it would be either elderly people or monkeys.
No matter how accustod one beca to killing, relaxing after every mission was still necessary. It was beneficial to both body and mind—advice passed down from experienced jōnin who led teams.
If a ninja did not have their own way to unwind, those taut nerves would eventually snap. And when that happened, what they muttered would no longer be about money and won, but about making the world feel pain.
Which was why the original three giants of the Akatsuki had failed to learn the most important lesson from their own sensei.
A ninja who lived alongside slaughter not only had to know how to earn money, but also how to spend it. Don't take that 'strict parenting' talk too seriously—those so-called 'three ninja prohibitions' can go to hell.
Gekkō Kumomi, who had clearly not exerted himself at all, nonetheless devoted himself wholeheartedly to enjoying the bath. A towel covered his face as he muttered to himself, "Well, ti really flies. In the blink of an eye, it's already been two months since you all graduated."
Higashino Makoto said, "It really has gone by fast. The life of a ninja is truly rich and varied—eting all kinds of people, solving troubles that ordinary people can't handle. It's quite interesting."
"That's what being a ninja is like. But before long, you'll be facing another kind of life."
Higashino Makoto sensed sothing, but still asked, "Sensei, what kind of life are you referring to?"
"Huh? Let's talk about it over a al."
Gekkō Hayate's complexion was flushed, his brows faintly furrowed. He had more or less guessed it as well.
Nothing was more pleasant than soaking in a comfortable hot spring and then sitting down to a lavish al.
That was, of course, on the condition that your team-leading jōnin was not wearing a stern expression the entire ti.
Because Gekkō Hayate had never had a large appetite to begin with, and because of what his father had said earlier, he did not enjoy the al very much. Uzuki Yūgao knew nothing about any of this, so her appetite was excellent.
Higashino Makoto did not dwell on the speculation in his mind, so he ate happily. Even if the world were ending tomorrow, it could not affect him finishing his al today.
When they were about halfway through the al, Gekkō Kumomi spoke up. "You know about the Chūnin Exams, right?"
The mont Uzuki Yūgao heard this, her interest was piqued. "Of course. There are two exams every year, one in the middle of the year and one at the end. Co to think of it, there's less than a month until July, isn't there? Sensei, does that an we'll soon be able to beco chūnin?"
"Well, that was indeed the original plan, but have you forgotten that the ninja world is still at war right now?"
"Isn't it about to end?"
Higashino Makoto reminded her, "You're on the western front right now. Things here have already ended for two years, but haven't you forgotten that our fathers are still on the northern front? And Kirigakure on the eastern front has not surrendered either."
"Makoto is right, but Yūgao isn't wrong either. The war really is close to ending, and the village leadership has reached the sa conclusion."
"However, just like the ferocious beasts you hunt, when they are on the verge of death, they will always try to launch one last counterattack against their opponent."
Gekkō Hayate looked at his father. "Sensei, has the situation in the war changed recently?"
Gekkō Kumomi thought for a mont, then decided to share so information with his students. "Yes. Intelligence indicates that Iwagakure and Kumogakure on the northern front are rebuilding their strength. In response, Konohagakure also has to increase its defensive efforts."
"Kirigakure on the eastern front seems to have found a new objective and has beco active again. Perhaps this is the final struggle of each village in this war.
"If the balance of power cannot be broken, then the war may end here. If sothing unexpected happens, then it's hard to say. Well, anything can happen in the ninja world. Who can say for sure?"
Gekkō Hayate fell silent and said nothing more. As for going to the battlefield, he had long since prepared himself ntally.
Uzuki Yūgao felt the sa way, but she was still a little gloomy. "I thought our class would be lucky enough to miss it. I didn't expect to end up stepping right on the tail end of the war."
Seeing that Higashino Makoto was still eating, she imdiately puffed out her cheeks. "Hey, Makoto, aren't you scared at all? We could die, you know."
Higashino Makoto wiped his hands with a towel and, for once, reached over like he used to when they were kids and gave her head a quick ruffle. "Relax. I won't die, and neither will you. I'll protect my teammates."
That intense confidence rubbed off on the girl, and she imdiately cheered up again. "Mm, I believe you. I'll protect you all too."
Gekkō Kumomi felt deeply gratified. "Ah, ah, the bond-building in our Team Three is really quite good. Don't worry, I'll protect you as well. With our team's strength, surviving won't be a problem."
Gekkō Hayate was not the type who was good at expressing his inner feelings. He simply asked, "Sensei, when do we depart?"
"Go back today and rest for two days first. Make your preparations and wait for the village's arrangents."
...
In fact, Higashino Makoto's Team Three rested for five days.
During that period, the intensity of the fighting between Kumogakure and Iwagakure on the northern front grew greater and greater, and the battlefield gradually shifted toward the Land of Fire.
The ssage was obvious: drag Konohagakure into the mud. We're fighting here, so don't think about sitting idle and reaping the benefits.
In response, Konohagakure had no choice but to center its deploynt on the Hyūga clan, ordering Hyūga Hiashi to lead so clan mbers and part of the forces from the eastern front to reinforce the northern front. This was to let those barbaric Kumo ninjas and country-bumpkin Iwa ninjas see the terror of a group of Byakugan users running with full-on "wallhack" vision.
The Hyūga clan's individual combat strength might not be top-tier, but the utility of that ability was strategic. It ignored all ambushes and traps—anyone who used it knew how good it was.
As for the Hyūga main family going to the battlefield—when the war had reached this point, did you really have the nerve to stay in the rear and enjoy comfort?
With the defensive strength on the eastern front weakened, the lunatics of Kirigakure once again began to stir.
However, having lost the Seven Ninja Swordsn, and according to Kakashi's confidential report, the upper echelons also knew that Kirigakure had lost the majority of its ANBU as well as the Three-Tails. It was nothing more than a toothless old tiger.
Konohagakure squeezed out so additional forces from within the village, added in the rookies who had graduated over the past two years, and sent them off.
Higashino Makoto's Team Three was among them. After all, they had only graduated this year and, in everyone else's eyes, were rookies among rookies.
They received the news on the fourth day of their rest period. They were given one day to prepare. Gekkō Hayate and Uzuki Yūgao had already gone ho to make last-minute preparations.
Higashino Makoto did not have much to prepare. His current strength had already reached a bottleneck. What limited him was the progress of his natural energy training and his body, which was still only nine years old.
These were all factors that required ti to accumulate—things he had no way of resolving for the mont.
Right now, he needed to focus the bulk of his effort on chakra nature training.
On the final day of rest, Higashino gumi rarely did not work overti. She ca ho early and cooked a full table of her specialty dishes for Higashino Makoto.
But she remained gloomy the entire ti.
That mood lasted even after the al. A tokubetsu jōnin—even one in the dical field—breaking several dishes while washing up was sothing few would believe.
She sighed. "I never thought that even you would have to go to the battlefield. Has our Konohagakure really reached this point?"
"Mom, the fighting on the eastern front isn't intense. Going there to gain so experience is also a good thing."
"But… but…"
"Don't worry about my safety."
"You're my child—my only child. How could I not worry?"
All of a sudden, Higashino Makoto's body slipped free of gravity and floated effortlessly in front of Higashino gumi. Looking into his mother's eyes, he said, "Relax, Mom. I promise you that if I want to leave, no one can stop . So please, set your worries aside."
"…," Higashino gumi stared in shock at her son, who was hovering in midair. She had no idea how to describe what she was feeling at that mont.
Ninjas capable of flight were exceedingly rare in the ninja world. The only one she had ever heard of was that Tsuchikage from Iwagakure—and even then, she had never seen him.
That was the Kage of an entire village, soone on the sa level as the Third Hokage. In the eyes of ordinary ninjas, such figures stood at the very pinnacle of the ninja world.
And yet Higashino Makoto was not even ten years old.
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