World Peace? It Only Exists in Dreams

Early the next morning, Chiyue was still sleeping in when the sound of the door opening woke him again.

He had thought it was Kushina, but it turned out to be Uchiha Mikoto.

Rubbing his eyes, Chiyue walked out of the bedroom and yawned. "Sister Mikoto, is something wrong? Why are you here so early?"

"It's not that early anymore."

With a gentle smile, Uchiha Mikoto placed the lunch box on the table and pulled Chiyue down to sit. "Eat something first, then I'll tell you why I came so early."

So there really was something?

Wait, I haven't even brushed my teeth yet.

Looking at the delicious food in the lunch box, Chiyue wrestled with himself for 3.3 seconds.

In the end, he decided to eat first and wash up afterward.

"Chiyue, I may be leaving the team and joining the Police Force."

Smiling as she watched Chiyue wolf down the food she had made, Uchiha Mikoto's smile gradually faded once he was nearly done eating.

Her expression turned dejected. Lowering her head, she spoke softly.

"Joining the Police Force?"

Chiyue was stunned.

He had still been wondering whether he should bring it up!

And if he did, what reason could he use to persuade her? Yet Uchiha Mikoto had brought it up herself instead.

Was this what they meant by a pillow arriving just when you got sleepy?

Even Chiyue was amused by his own thought.

"Because of your mother, right?"

Chiyue stuffed the last piece of pastry into his mouth and looked at her.

Uchiha Mikoto nodded awkwardly. "Last night, the young clan leader, Uchiha Fugaku, came to our house. On behalf of the clan leader, he spoke with my mother. He said he thinks highly of me and hopes I can join the Police Force in a clerical position. The clan will also assign a jonin to guide my training."

"Mother has already agreed. She wants me to develop in the best possible way. After all, the people who understand the Sharingan best are the Uchiha Clan."

When it came to using the Sharingan, Chiyue was certainly no match for Uchiha jonin who had possessed the Sharingan for years.

With the guidance of such a jonin, Uchiha Mikoto's strength would undoubtedly improve by leaps and bounds, and she would follow the right path.

What should I do?

Would Chiyue agree?

If he gets angry, how am I supposed to comfort him?

Uchiha Mikoto's heart was in a mess.

"This is a good thing."

"Huh?"

She had already prepared herself for Chiyue to get angry, only for him to say it was a good thing.

Uchiha Mikoto looked utterly bewildered.

Setting down his chopsticks, Chiyue raised a hand, pinched Uchiha Mikoto's cheek, and gave it a tug.

"Actually, even if you hadn't said anything, Sister Mikoto, I would have advised you to join the Police Force first.

"A new war is coming. The village definitely won't leave me idle. I may be sent to either the Land of Rivers battlefield or the Land of Rain battlefield next."

"There's a high chance that Minato and I will both leave. When that happens, you'll be staying in the village without a suitable team. You might as well join the Police Force and do clerical work. You'll also receive training from the Uchiha Clan."

"But if you go to the battlefield, won't that be dangerous?"

Uchiha Mikoto had even forgotten that Chiyue was pinching her cheek, making her words come out a little slurred.

At that moment, all she could think about was whether Chiyue would face danger on the battlefield.

"How could it be?"

Seeing that he had teased her enough, Chiyue quickly let go.

If he pinched her any longer, he would leave finger marks.

He smiled and said confidently, "Even if I go to the battlefield, I'll be the one killing enemies. There's no way enemies will be killing me. Don't you trust my strength?"

Yeah, right. You can kill enemies, but enemies can't kill you? What a nice dream.

Still, Chiyue truly had the strength to protect himself on the battlefield.

He stood and headed toward the bathroom. "So what are you still worried about? If you stay in the village, you can keep Kushina company more often too. If Kushina finds out you can stay, she'll definitely be very happy."

At the thought of Kushina jumping for joy, Uchiha Mikoto could not help but laugh softly.

After Chiyue's persuasion, Uchiha Mikoto finally put aside her worries and successfully joined the Police Force as a clerical worker.

Apparently, the pay was quite good too.

Several days passed in a row. War raged throughout the Land of Fire, while Sunagakure's people stirred up trouble everywhere. Konoha could only send people to suppress and drive them away.

What puzzled Chiyue was that the village had not issued them a single order.

"Chiyue, could we have guessed wrong?"

By the small river where they trained, Minato and Chiyue sat together, eating grilled fish.

"Who knows?"

Not just Minato—Chiyue himself was confused. Had the Third Hokage changed his ways?

That shouldn't be the case.

With Konoha fighting on two fronts, its forces were already beginning to run thin. Konoha had even issued a second call-up for ninjas from every clan to enter the battlefield. There was no reason to leave them in the village.

Letting them do nothing and loaf around so comfortably.

Chiyue casually tossed a fish bone into the fire and teased, "What, are you that eager to go to the battlefield?"

"Of course not!"

Minato raised his voice.

He was not afraid of going to war, but neither was he someone who enjoyed killing.

If he could choose, he would rather there be no wars in the world and for people of every country to live together peacefully.

"Sigh, I just hope the world can be peaceful and that war never breaks out."

A fine thought, but unfortunately, it was nothing but wishful thinking.

Chiyue could not even be bothered to pour cold water on him, because wars among humans would never truly cease.

It had been that way before ninjas existed, and it remained that way after the ninja system had taken shape.

Things had only been slightly more peaceful when Senju Hashirama was alive.

After all, the God of Shinobi's strength was right there for all to see. He could easily crush the other ninja villages.

With such a godlike figure around, who would dare start a war?

Once Senju Hashirama died, the First Shinobi World War erupted. Even Senju Tobirama, a man skilled in Water Style and covered in Forbidden Jutsu, could not keep things under control.

"Chiyue, why do wars happen? Is peace truly impossible in the ninja world?"

"It's possible."

Chiyue bumped Minato with his shoulder and said irritably, "When you're dreaming at night, the world will be peaceful. Go wash your hands already. They're greasy, and you're still scratching your head with them. Honestly, what is wrong with you?"

Minato had not noticed it himself, but Chiyue felt uncomfortable just watching.

Couldn't he wash his hands before scratching?

Where had he learned that habit of scratching his head?

They had known each other for years, and he had been doing it for years. Hadn't he scratched enough? One day, he might accidentally scrape off a piece of his scalp.

"..."

Minato suddenly wanted to hit someone!!

Forget it. He could not beat him, so he would endure it. Peace only existed in dreams.

Chiyue was not wrong. Only in dreams could the wish for peace in the ninja world come true.

A unit carrying wounded soldiers returned to Konoha from the front lines.

Though exhausted, Tsunade had intended to go home and rest. After thinking it over, she came to the Hokage's Office instead.

Bang!!

The doors to the Hokage's Office were violently shoved open. Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, who were holding a meeting inside, frowned and were about to reprimand the intruder.

But once they saw who it was, they promptly held their tongues.

"Tsunade, you're not a child anymore. Can't you have a little manners?"

Tsunade did not even feel like acknowledging Utatane Koharu's criticism. She spoke directly to the Third Hokage. "Old Man, all the wounded have been brought back. They're intact and have already been sent to the hospital to await treatment and recovery."

"If there's nothing else, I'm going home to sleep. I'm exhausted to death. I knew you were up to no good—you had me return to the village, but made me bring back a huge group of wounded soldiers."

Faced with Tsunade's accusation, the Third Hokage did not get angry. Instead, he smiled. "Then go back and rest first. The wounded will receive the best care at the hospital. You've worked hard during this time."

"It's good that you know. I'm exhausted. There was no one at the front lines to play cards with me either. So annoying."

Tsunade felt that her dark circles had gotten worse and her skin had become much rougher.

The war had caused all of it.

If war had not broken out, she could have stayed leisurely in Konoha.

She could occasionally take on a few patients, earn some extra money, then head to the casino and have some fun.

That would have been a life fit for the gods.

After the war began, Tsunade's good days were gone. She was worked half to death at the front lines every day.

That bastard Jiraiya even dared to laugh at me. I'll make him regret it when I get back!

The Third Hokage chose to ignore that last part.

You wanted someone to play cards with you on the battlefield?

Keep dreaming.

By that logic, Jiraiya would be upset that there was nowhere to peep and gather material on the battlefield. Should he arrange a few girls for him to gather material from whenever he wanted?