Leaving the Village

"Lord Orochimaru, I have prepared apples, eggs, and military rations for you inside."

Two days later, at the village gate.

Mikoto had come to see Kaminazuki and the others off.

Handing the parcel to Orochimaru, Mikoto continued, "The eggs are hard-boiled, so please eat them first on the road; the apples won't last long. I know you dislike cold food, so these military rations are the type that won't melt when heated..."

"Enough, you're nagging like an old mother." Kaminazuki crossed his arms behind his head, curling his lip in disdain.

"Thank you, Mikoto." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes slightly, a warmth visible in their depths.

He turned his head to look at Kaminazuki: "Kaminazuki-kun, you really should be grateful to have a sister like Mikoto; she has saved you from many a beating."

Despite being twins, their personalities were two extremes.

At the Ninja Academy, Kaminazuki was practically a little tyrant, hurling insults at anyone who caught his eye; Nawaki and the Hyuga family were his primary victims.

Fortunately, he mostly ignored the commoner ninjas, otherwise, he would truly have been bullying the entire school.

Though, come to think of it...

Is ignoring someone not also a form of bullying?

He had applied for leave from the Ninja Academy under the pretext of going on a business trip, and the dean of students had approved it immediately, with an urgency that suggested he was sending away a plague god.

"Huh? I have a share too?"

Sakumo took the parcel, and Mikoto bowed: "Thank you, Jonin Hatake, for looking after my brother. When you return safely, please give me the opportunity to thank you properly."

"Haha, you're too polite! Just call me Sakumo!"

Sakumo nudged Kaminazuki with his heel and laughed: "I get along very well with Kaminazuki. If Orochimaru hadn't snatched him up first, I would have really liked to take him as my disciple!"

Indeed, in terms of combat style, Sakumo was a more suitable teacher for Kaminazuki.

Kaminazuki had considered this before, but he was thinking about the future.

Compared to combat techniques, which could be compensated for, he cared more about the multifaceted help Orochimaru provided, especially regarding intellect.

As for his own brain... let's just say everyone has their strengths, and it is better to trust the professionals.

It was his turn.

"The red bag contains military rations, the white bag has dry provisions, the purple bag has dried meat, and the vegetables are in..."

"Do you have enough money on you? Only eat the military rations in an emergency; if you have the chance, stay in a nearby town..."

"It's not peaceful outside. Walk on the main roads during the day, and at night, don't..."

Kaminazuki impatiently picked at his ear. He had anticipated this scene yesterday, but Mikoto was even more annoying than he had imagined.

"Hey! What is that impatient look for!"

Mikoto pointed at Kaminazuki's nose, one hand on her hip: "Are you even listening to me!"

"Listening, listening. Are you done yet?"

"It's not like I'm going to the battlefield, why all the fuss!"

Mikoto spoke in great detail for a long time before finally untying a black-cloth-wrapped, blade-shaped object from behind her back.

There was sorrow in her eyes as she forced a smile.

"Father didn't think you would become a ninja, so he gave this to me and told me to protect you well."

"I originally wanted to wait until my brother became a ninja..."

Kaminazuki unwrapped the black cloth to reveal a long sword with a black and red scabbard.

Their father had been the most outstanding swordsmith of the Uchiha, and their mother a veteran Jonin. They had left behind quite an inheritance for the siblings, so even without the pension issued by the clan, the two of them would not have had a hard life.

As for the cause of death...

Being a ninja, it was never strange to die at any time.

Clang—

He drew the blade from its sheath, and a cold, crimson gleam suddenly appeared.

On the silver-white blade, blood-red patterns snaked like a serpent, exuding a cold, eerie, and dreamlike beauty.

Kaminazuki curled his lip: "Tch, that sloppy guy could actually forge such a beautiful blade. How strange."

"This was Father's most satisfying work, named 'Crimson Blade'." Mikoto smiled softly as she looked at it, remembering something.

Their mother, Hizuki, had died on a mission, and not long after, their father had died of grief.

Kaminazuki was very angry.

Angry that his father couldn't protect their mother, and angry that the man had just abandoned them like that, choosing to escape in his cowardice.

That year, Kaminazuki was four years old.

He gradually understood that his father simply could not bear that kind of agony; it had crushed the life right out of him.

After a moment of silence, Mikoto smiled and said.

"The person Brother cares about most must be me, right?"

"You've lost your mind; the person I care about most is myself."

Kaminazuki poked Mikoto on the forehead with his finger and hung his long blade at his waist: "Let's go."

"Meow!"

"And me! I haven't said goodbye to little Mikoto yet!"

A pair of cat paws tugged at Kaminazuki's hair, struggling to climb out from the gaps in his massive pack.

Her fur was pitch black, save for the snow-white fluff covering her four paws, and her golden, round pupils were clear and gentle.

She was an elegant, slender female cat with human-like indignation in her eyes, and she swiped a paw across Kaminazuki's face:

"Watch it, you brat! You almost crushed me to death!"

Just a moment ago, while she was dozing on Kaminazuki's shoulder, she had been covered by the shadow of the giant pack, and Lulu had vaguely seen her great-grandmother.

Kaminazuki did not know the Summoning Technique, so he had to adopt the companion mode used by the Inuzuka clan.

This ninja cat, named Lulu, was the offspring of his mother Hizuki's ninja cat, sent over by her mother not long ago.

Occasionally, she would follow Kaminazuki to school to bully Inuzuka Tsume's Kuromaru.

Kaminazuki picked up the black cat by the scruff and tossed her onto the pack: "Stop sticking to me all the time; one day you're going to be flattened into a cat pancake."

"Hmph! I'll stick to you if I want to!"

Lulu the black cat held her head high: "Without me, Lord Lulu, a guy like you with no Chakra wouldn't be able to do anything!"

"Fine, fine, you're the most amazing."

Kaminazuki gave a perfunctory reply, turned to wave his hand, and caught up with Orochimaru and Sakumo, who were not far ahead.

Before long, Orochimaru stopped at a crossroads; he had to head in a different direction.

"Sakumo, I leave it to you."

Without much small talk, Orochimaru simply greeted them and parted ways with the two.

Watching Orochimaru walk away, Kaminazuki's eyes darkened slightly.

He hadn't told Kaminazuki the details of his mission, but judging by how Orochimaru's time away grew longer with each trip, and the strange atmosphere within the village...

It was currently the middle of the 30th year of Konoha. Kaminazuki vaguely remembered that the Second Shinobi World War officially began around the 32nd year of Konoha.

A war involving several ninja villages had its preludes; it wasn't as if everyone suddenly started firing the moment the 32nd year arrived.

Ordinary people in Konoha couldn't feel it, but the ninjas, whose mission loads had intensified, could already smell the smoke of war.

The root cause of the Second Shinobi War was the widening economic gap between nations following the first war, with the militant factions of each country advocating for territorial expansion to alleviate domestic economic pressure.

As the situation developed, the Land of Rain became a battlefield for Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure. Dissatisfied with this, the Amegakure leader Hanzo declared war on the three great nations, officially igniting the Second Shinobi War.

This campaign had far-reaching consequences.

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru fought against the demigod Hanzo, earning the title of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

Sakumo killed Sasori's parents during the battle against Sunagakure.

Nagato's parents were killed by Konoha ninjas.

Nawaki died after accidentally wandering into an Explosive Tag formation, and Dan Katō died from severe injuries, which directly impacted the mental states of the Sannin.

Tsunade developed hemophobia, Orochimaru became obsessed with the true meaning of life, and Jiraiya began a more desperate search for the Child of Prophecy.

Is it coming...

Kaminazuki felt an inexplicable excitement welling up in his heart.

He wouldn't waste time pondering profound questions about the nature of war; after all, as long as humans were alive, they would never stop fighting.

All I have to do is emerge victorious from the struggle—that is all!