The Situation is Excellent?

The Third Shinobi World War spiraled out of control in chaos, descended into mutual slaughter amid that chaos, gradually clarified after the bloodshed, and just as things became clear, someone else threw a wrench into the works.

In the killing, some broke down and defected, some held fast to their ideals, some were severely injured and retired, and others became heroes—both living and dead.

On the frontline of the Land of Grass, Iwagakure was showing signs of decline under the combined pressure of Konoha and Kumogakure, already revealing the face of defeat.

But Konoha had also suffered heavy casualties. Out of necessity, some of the newbies who had graduated a few years earlier charged onto the battlefield with their underage hot blood.

Whether in the world of commoners from his previous life or this Transcendent World with Chakra, war was fought with supplies and won with reserves.

Shinobi weren't gods. Chakra came from the body; Ration Pills were only emergency items, not a substitute for meals. For shinobi to sustain combat, they had to eat well, with appetites far exceeding ordinary people.

Food, Shuriken, Kunai, and Explosive Tags were the most heavily consumed basic supplies, continuously sent from the rear of each Ninja Village to the frontlines.

During transport, they had to guard against sneak attacks causing losses; during stockpiling, they had to be on high alert. If someone wiped out the entire stockpile in one go, it would be a fatal blow to their side.

Sealing Scrolls? Not that miraculous. Those things couldn't hold too much, because sealing large quantities of supplies required extremely high Summoning Jutsu talent.

Summoning Jutsu was also a type of Space-Time Ninjutsu. There were plenty of people with this aptitude, but those who reached the highest level were very rare. Not everyone could be like Tenten or Loli-do Ajisai, sealing tons of stuff with a single card.

What if supplies weren't enough? Then they robbed small nations, because at times like this, no one cared whether they lived or died.

But the war had dragged on for years. The citizens and shinobi of small nations had died in countless numbers, and there was no more oil to squeeze out of them.

In July, Konoha gained the upper hand through an intelligence advantage. Minato Namikaze, the Jonin who had been the brightest star on both the Iwagakure and Kumogakure frontlines since the Third Shinobi War began, led his Elite Squad deep behind Iwagakure lines and blew their supply stockpiles sky-high.

On his way back, he teamed up with his students to destroy the Kannabi Bridge, a key node in Iwagakure's transport route. The bridge spanned a deep ravine; once destroyed, people might find a way across, but supplies would be a problem.

On his return, he also swept away the large force of Iwagakure Ninja who had been pinning down Konoha's forces.

When reinforcements closed in, nearly two thousand Iwagakure troops and injured personnel trapped between the Kannabi Bridge and the frontline became cornered prey.

What could Ōnoki do? Was he supposed to watch these subordinates die?

Iwagakure followed a mass-production strategy, boasting the largest number of shinobi among the Five Great Nations, which also meant the highest casualty rate. Early on, ten thousand of them were toyed with by the Third Raikage, A, alone, losing a bunch of people without even eliminating him—he died from exhaustion on his own.

Now, their troop strength had dropped to dangerous levels, so Ōnoki had no choice but to negotiate peace with Konoha to save those people's lives.

Because they still had to deal with Sunagakure and Kumogakure.

After Sunagakure's surrender, Konoha had defeated another opponent.

In this battle, all the Konoha Ninja who died were heroes, but a few stood out especially.

The biggest contributor was Minato Namikaze, a living hero. His strength had become common knowledge in the shinobi world, making him a new idol for the juniors in the village and a reliable comrade for all shinobi on the frontline.

Minato Namikaze had forced back Kumogakure's future AB Combo early on, and later nearly single-handedly pushed Iwagakure to sue for peace. He was like a hero straight out of a storybook.

The Konoha main force holding back Iwagakure on the frontline was nearly wiped out, leaving only Mimura Hamaki and three others. They carried on the will of their fallen comrades and became heroes too—living ones.

This battle produced two Sharingan heroes, who helped their teacher Minato Namikaze destroy the Kannabi Bridge.

Kakashi Hatake, alive.

Uchiha Obito, dead... or was he? As good as dead, anyway. In the eyes of Konoha, he was dead, earning the Uchiha Clan a solid boost in impression points.

Not only that, but before dying, he gave his right eye as a gift to Kakashi, helping this young genius, whose personality had warped from his father's suicide and clashing ideals, understand the meaning of comrades.

Thankfully, the shinobi world had no god of fate, or else that Aunt Chen with her floating hair would have run out to smash the light just rising in Kakashi's heart:

"Kid, that's the shinobi world for you. You've only gotten a brief ray of sunshine, but soon you'll keep losing teammates, lose your teacher, lose your teacher's wife, and in the end, aside from an empty heart, you'll have nothing."

Though the sacrifices were immense, the mighty Konoha had once again defeated an opponent of equal scale, starting to lower the intensity of the Third Shinobi World War.

This gave people hope. The villagers and shinobi in Konoha had reason to believe that this war, far more brutal than the first two, was nearing its end, and that Konoha, as history would have it, would claim final victory.

The only ones probably dissatisfied with this were the Uchiha Clan.

"I haven't gotten on the bus yet.jpg"

Even Higashino Megumi was optimistic about the future situation. Besides, for the Higashino Family, this wasn't the only good news.

Higashino Jiro was still alive. Though he had gained many new scars, he was still full of energy, fighting on the frontline.

He and Uzuki Yuwa were both part of the mobile patrol unit, active on the flanks of the main force, tracking down and killing any Iwagakure Ninja trying to break into the Land of Fire.

Later, as reinforcements, they joined many gathered comrades to capture the remnants of Iwagakure's forces on the frontline.

If they had been in Mimura Hamaki's defensive unit, their bodies would probably have been cold by now, because that unit ended up with only four survivors.

If Minato Namikaze hadn't arrived in time to save them, that unit would have been completely annihilated.

This was a small suggestion from Higashino Makoto. To avoid becoming the only man left in the Higashino Family, he had used his foreknowledge to give his father a little analysis.

As a mobile unit, with a shinobi's high movement speed, even if they couldn't win, they always had a chance to retreat and get intel back to headquarters. Unlike defensive units, which faced the enemy's main force pushing through and the duty to defend the homeland, with no room to fall back.

This might be a bit unfair to the dead Konoha Ninja, but people had their selfish sides. Higashino Makoto couldn't influence the big picture, but he could slightly sway a relative's choices.

Besides, mobile units were also dangerous positions, because they faced Iwagakure's elite assault squads, including the famous Iwagakure Demolition Unit led by Kari. Life or death still depended on strength.

Luckily, things went well. Higashino Jiro not only survived but was promoted alongside Uzuki Yuwa.

With heavy casualties on the frontline, both had earned recommendations from several elite Jonin, including Minato Namikaze, based on their combat achievements and strength, and were promoted to full Jonin.

Essentially, this was about cultivating capable subordinates. With his master's and wife's identities, plus his massive contributions in this war, Minato Namikaze had become the hot candidate for the next Hokage.

As for the other three candidates?

Princess Tsunade was constantly missing, lost in her gambling haunts. Jiraiya had no interest in the Hokage's seat and pushed hard for his disciple instead. The most likely candidate, Orochimaru—the Commander of Konoha's first victory in the Third Shinobi War—had his methods deliberately downplayed by his Teacher, the Third, for not aligning with the Will of Fire.

At this moment, Orochimaru was deep in his experiments, utterly absorbed.

Aside from a few indignant loyal subordinates, perhaps only Danzo was offering full support, harboring his own ulterior motives.

Higashino Family, night.

Higashino Megumi held a letter in her hands, unable to hide the relief in her eyes.

"Sage of Six Paths be praised. Truly, it seems this war might end soon. Your Father is still alive and safe. Most importantly, I don't have to worry about your generation being dragged into the war."

"Mother, you're seeing reality through rose-colored glasses."

"Little brat, can't you say something nice to keep your Mother happy?"

"Fine. I hope your wish comes true. But, Mrs. Higashino, have you forgotten that this world also has a great nation called the Land of Water, and among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, there's Kirigakure? Those lunatics aren't just Spectators standing on the sidelines."

Higashino Megumi: "..."