A Peaceful Day at the Ninja Academy

The war has begun.

The Rain Ninja attacked without warning, launching a surprise invasion into the Land of Fire and crushing the Border Defense Force in the northwest.

However, Konoha was not entirely unprepared. Ever since the 'Demigod' ascended to the pinnacle of Amegakure, he had repeatedly revealed his grand ambitions, intending to elevate Amegakure to the level of the Five Great Ninja Villages and change the Land of Rain's tragic fate as a battlefield for the three major powers of Fire, Earth, and Wind.

The Demigod pondered for a long time. Compared to the impoverished groundhogs to the north and the sand-eating headscarf wearers to the southwest, the prosperous Land of Fire was clearly more valuable. Moreover, both the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind had extremely harsh combat environments, making it difficult for Rain Ninja, accustomed to water, to perform at their best.

However, the Rain Ninja's actions did not completely escape Konoha's notice. The ninja hero was in the prime of his life and saw the Rain Ninja's minor movements. He secretly made preparations. When the Rain Ninja invaded the Land of Fire and defeated the northwest defense forces, before they could even savor their victory, they were fiercely counterattacked by the approaching Konoha army, and their rear supply stations were also attacked.

The Second Shinobi World War thus began.

News of the war's outbreak spread throughout the village. The former prosperity instantly faded significantly. Patrols of the Security Force were visible everywhere on the streets, strictly preventing enemy spies from infiltrating the village for sabotage during wartime. Not to mention, the constant presence of those Sharingan everywhere caused the entire spy industry's market to plummet. This drove the heads of the intelligence departments of other ninja villages to jump in frustration, cursing the Uchiha clan and their damned red eyes in their offices.

As for letting the more perceptive Byakugan patrol the village? Hah, were you kidding?

If those 'Byakugan-afflicted' opened their eyes and wandered around the village, what about everyone's privacy? A 360-degree field of vision, a wide range of sight up to a kilometer away... hiss, nothing could be hidden!

It was not without reason that the Hyuga Clan lived together in a large group. Having Hyuga Clan members as companions on the battlefield was highly sought after, but being neighbors with them... let's just say they politely declined.

Therefore, the Hyuga Clan members patrolled outwards, not inwards.

"Katsuki, why do they always have to fight?" On the way to school in the morning, Kushina kicked a small stone at her feet, chatting idly with Katsuki. She stared intently at a member of the Security Force standing by the street, feeling a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen him at Otome's house.

"Probably because they're too poor!" Katsuki swallowed the rice ball in his mouth with effort before continuing, "The Land of Rain is said to rain year-round, making it impossible to farm. They have to import food from abroad... Speaking of which, didn't Teacher Takashima just teach us this yesterday?"

"Hehe, I just dozed off in class. Besides, this stuff doesn't sound fun at all. Teacher Takashima drones on endlessly when he talks about cultural subjects," Kushina smiled innocently, deftly shifting the blame to Teacher Takashima.

Looking speechlessly at his older sister, Katsuki felt sorry for Teacher Takashima. In fact, Teacher Takashima's cultural lessons were quite good. While not exactly thrilling or captivating, they were humorous and witty, occasionally interspersed with his personal experiences on the battlefield, which made them quite entertaining.

However, seeing Kushina's slightly dark circles under her eyes, he sighed and decided not to say anything, continuing to gnaw on the extra-large rice ball in his hand.

Kushina slept during class but diligently studied the clan's inherited Fuinjutsu at home. Katsuki had also been itching to see their renowned Fuinjutsu, but every time he reached out, he remembered Sakumo's instructions.

Before gaining Sakumo's approval, he could at most practice the Three Basic Ninjutsu. He wasn't even allowed to touch a C-rank ninjutsu.

He could only look enviously at the scrolls displayed in Kushina's room.

These scrolls, containing the Uzumaki Clan's Fuinjutsu, had already been transferred to Sakumo's ship by the Great Elder before the Mist Ninja's surprise attack. It was just that before they could send Katsuki and Kushina onto the ship, the Mist Ninja attacked. Fortunately, these items, along with the Uzumaki siblings, successfully arrived in Konoha.

It wasn't that no one coveted the Uzumaki Clan's Fuinjutsu, but Mito Uzumaki was still alive. Before bullying the orphans of the Uzumaki Clan, one had to weigh whether they could withstand the consequences.

Of course, no matter the world, there would always be greedy fools. However, since they were fools, it meant they could never break through the tight security net of the Anbu patrolling around the Uzumaki residence.

Therefore, the siblings' lives remained quite peaceful up to this point.

"Katsuki, good morning." At the corner of the long street, Minato appeared 'coincidentally' and waved hello to Katsuki.

"Mornin'..." Katsuki mumbled, continuing to diligently devour his rice ball.

Minato naturally walked to Katsuki's side, and the three of them walked towards school together. Minato chatted with Katsuki as they walked.

"Katsuki, your appetite has grown again recently. Even Dōton Akimichi from the next class isn't as exaggerated as you," Minato said with a laugh, looking at the watermelon-sized rice ball. It could probably be used as a ball to play with.

"Can't be helped. The training load has been heavy lately, and it's... growth spurt time. I get hungry again in no time," Katsuki finally swallowed the rice ball in his mouth and took a breath. "If I don't eat a lot in the morning, I won't last until lunchtime. My sister makes five or six meals a day at home now."

"Whoa! That's really nice," Minato exclaimed with longing. He suddenly noticed Katsuki's expression and immediately flashed a sunny smile. "I meant that your sister cares about you a lot!"

Katsuki pouted, not pursuing the ill-intentioned guy further. Anyway, with his sister's carefree nature, she wasn't interested in 'sissies' for the time being.

At the school gate.

"Otome, good morning!" Kushina spotted a pair of siblings approaching and excitedly ran over.

Uchiha Otome, after Kushina's repeated visits to the Uchiha household, was a talented young girl who had been undergoing training and nurturing within the clan. She had entered the Ninja Academy and was now in Katsuki's class. They had gained another classmate.

The two young girls, a year apart, huddled together, instantly becoming a beautiful sight at the Ninja Academy.

"Yo, why so down early in the morning?" Katsuki looked at the dispirited Otoha and mercilessly mocked him.

"Go away, don't bother me. I'm feeling terrible right now," Otoha rolled his eyes impatiently and swatted away Katsuki's hand, which was full of rice grains.

Katsuki grinned and didn't press for details. He stuffed the last bit of his rice ball into his mouth, then licked the rice grains off his fingers.

Otoha was someone who couldn't keep secrets. Perhaps it was because he had been alone for too long. After becoming familiar with Katsuki and Minato, he developed a talkative attribute, but this only applied to people he knew well. In front of strangers, he remained the cool and aloof Uchiha.