A Young Man Volunteers for Duty

After returning to Konoha, Sakumo and I immediately went to the Hokage Building to find the old Third Hokage.

"Lord Third Hokage, Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage of Sand Village, is dead. Orochimaru is currently keeping the body."

"Really, Sakumo? Cough, cough—"

The old Third Hokage looked truly delighted. He nearly lost his balance when he stood up, even coughing out the smoke he had just inhaled.

"Without a doubt, Lord Third Hokage."

"Sakumo, Qingyue, on behalf of all Konoha Village, I sincerely thank you both!"

Faced with the old Third Hokage suddenly bowing in thanks, I was somewhat at a loss. I had not expected the Hokage to lower his head to us like this.

Especially when I was still just a child.

"Lord Third Hokage, please do not do this. We are all ninja raised by Konoha. Protecting the village is what we should do."

"Sakumo... I will carefully consider your rewards after the war and will not disappoint you. But for now, let me deal with the war first."

"Then I will look forward to it, Lord Third Hokage. If any battlefield still needs me, I will head there immediately. I want this war to end as soon as possible too."

"Good, but rest first. You have worked hard on this long-term mission, Sakumo."

It was already nearing Year 49. Might Guy's father had died on the Hidden Mist battlefield around this time, right?

The Uchiha and Hyuga clans were both on the Hidden Mist front. For the sake of the future, it would not hurt to go make myself familiar to them now.

If I could seize all the ninja swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen as bargaining chips, I could definitely end the war against Hidden Mist directly.

That would turn the relationship between Konoha and Hidden Mist into one of superior and subordinate, a tremendous change to world history that could earn me a large amount of Power of Fate.

Mm, decided.

Although I wanted to enjoy a little peaceful time in the village with Rin, restoring peace quickly and increasing my strength were more important right now.

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge was only a little over a year away, and Madara was lurking in the shadows. I could not afford to underestimate him.

"Lord Third Hokage, I request permission to support the Hidden Mist battlefield on the eastern front!"

Hearing me volunteer, the old Third Hokage first froze for a moment, then revealed a satisfied smile.

"Qingyue, you could actually rest in the village a while longer. Your contribution to this mission was immense. It was truly not easy for someone your age to accomplish such a great feat alongside Sakumo."

"Thank you for the praise, Lord Third Hokage. There are indeed companions in the village whom I wish to visit. They are the most important people to me in the village. But precisely because of that, I want to end the war as soon as possible and prevent the flames of war from spreading. So please support my willfulness, Lord Third Hokage!"

After hearing me out, the old Third Hokage smiled even more brightly. He probably found comfort in believing that I had inherited the Will of Fire so well.

In any world, anyone would be happy to have an employee willing to work without resting.

As for rewards... I did not actually need to gain anything from the old Third Hokage, but this was still a major safeguard.

This way, my standing in the old Third Hokage's eyes would become very high.

"Very well, Jonin Qingyue. Head to the Hidden Mist battlefield on the eastern front immediately and provide support!"

"Yes, Lord Third Hokage!"

After accepting the new mission, I went to see Rin first.

"Qingyue, you're back!"

The instant she saw me, Rin excitedly ran toward me. Her pair of tender, fair little hands clasped my rough hand as she raised her flushed little face to look into my eyes.

"Mm, I'm back, Rin."

Seeing Rin's expression, I suddenly did not want to leave the village... I wanted to stay here by her side, living each day quietly and ordinarily.

But it was precisely for that goal that I had to go to the battlefield.

"The battlefield must be terrifying, right? Qingyue, were you hurt? You look like you've lost a lot of weight. Have you not been eating properly?"

A barrage of questions came at me, all filled with concern for me.

Rin did not want to know what great accomplishments I had achieved at all. She only cared whether I had suffered.

"I'm fine. I'm very strong, you know! The pendant you gave me protected me, and when I was injured, I had the medical kit you made for me."

"Really? Did the medical kit help you?"

"Of course. There were even handwritten instructions from you inside. Thanks to that medical kit, my injuries recovered very quickly."

In truth, I had not suffered any serious injuries. At most, I had only used the medicine inside to disinfect a few wounds.

After all, Dragon Saint Battle Aura protected my body. If even my Battle Aura were pierced through, I probably would not have made it back alive.

"That's good. I really want to help by your side too, but my strength..."

"It's alright, Rin. Even though you were not by my side, your pendant, the sword guard, and the medical kit have all been helping me. I believe that in the near future, your medical ninjutsu will help even more people and reduce the village's casualties."

"Really? But I do not seem to have much confidence. I feel like I have always been chasing after you, but I cannot even catch up to your shadow."

This was indeed difficult to resolve. Honestly, Rin's highest potential was probably only that of an ordinary Jonin, perhaps not even reaching Jonin level.

Her medical ninjutsu would probably only be slightly better than an ordinary person's. That was not bad, but in the later environment of inflated power levels...

I should still find a way to give Rin some cheats too. There would always be times in the future when I could not look after everything, and I did not want this girl, whose eyes were full of me, to be hurt.

"Do not worry, Rin. I have always been watching you too. You will definitely become a top-tier medical ninja. I have only walked a little faster than all of you. In the end, we will definitely fight side by side."

After I said that, Rin's expression finally relaxed, and she smiled.

After leaning against each other and chatting for a few more moments, I returned home, changed clothes, organized my equipment, and set out for the Hidden Mist battlefield on the eastern front.

At the same time, Rin and the others were going to deliver supplies to the Hidden Cloud battlefield.

But with Minato and Kakashi there, there was definitely nothing to worry about. All I needed to do was end the eastern war as quickly as possible, then get to their side before Kannabi Bridge.

This time, I set out alone. After resting, Sakumo had decided to continue putting pressure on the Hidden Sand battlefield and force them to withdraw as soon as possible.

With no one to talk to along the way, I began trying hard to recall information about Hidden Mist.

Since the fighting was near the coastline, Hidden Mist would definitely not follow their usual habits and engage us in a large-scale frontal clash.

The eastern battlefield was likely a series of unending skirmishes and mutual probing. Hidden Mist's national strength was not particularly strong, and a direct confrontation with us would put them at too great a disadvantage.

But merely tying us down would be much easier. If we were defeated, they could get a share of the spoils as well.

Even if we ultimately won, we would not be able to press Hidden Mist too hard.

But... sorry, Hidden Mist. I was far too interested in ninja swords. If I did not get one or two for myself, I would not be able to sleep or eat in peace!

After several days of nearly nonstop travel, I finally reached the eastern battlefield one night and met the Uchiha clan's rising genius—Shisui.