Konoha Year 30.
Inside the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi, now around thirty-five years old, sat behind the Hokage desk.
A list rested in his hand, and the conflicted look on his face made it obvious he was struggling to make a decision.
Beside him sat the three high-ranking advisors of Konoha: Utatane Koharu, Homura Mitokado, and Shimura Danzo.
Seeing that Hiruzen had remained silent for so long, Homura was the first to lose patience.
“Hiruzen, how long are you planning to hesitate?
You may have time to sit here and think, but the battlefield will not wait for you.
If something happens because of your indecision, the consequences will be serious.”
Koharu also nodded in agreement.
“That’s right.
The war situation on the front lines is already critical.
If this delay continues, unforeseen problems may arise at any moment.”
Danzo remained silent on the surface, but inwardly he was constantly calculating.
His prestige within the village was still insufficient.
If he wanted a chance to sit in the Hokage’s position one day, he needed achievements and influence.
“Sigh…”
Hiruzen let out a long exhausted sigh.
“Sending children to the battlefield at the age of ten…
this is simply too cruel.”
Danzo immediately sneered coldly.
“Hiruzen, have you forgotten the Warring States Era?
At their age, weren’t we already fighting on battlefields ourselves?
None of us were even ten years old.”
Hiruzen opened his mouth as if wanting to refute him, but eventually shook his head helplessly.
“Fine.
Send out the notices.
Once they graduate from the Academy, they will immediately depart for the front lines under the leadership of their jonin captains.”
Knock!
Knock!
Knock!
Just as silence settled over the office, a sharp knocking sound echoed out.
Before Hiruzen could even respond, the office door opened with a click.
A blonde young woman with a curvaceous figure strode inside without hesitation.
Following behind her was a white-haired man with a lazy expression and somewhat sloppy appearance.
The last was a pale man with long black hair and snake-like golden pupils.
The advisors instinctively wanted to scold the intruders for their disrespectful behavior, but the moment they saw who it was, they immediately swallowed their words.
It was not because they had suddenly become polite.
They simply could not afford to provoke her.
Tsunade casually tossed a mission scroll onto the desk without even glancing at the three elders.
“Old Man, hurry up and stamp this mission report already.”
Hiruzen smiled warmly at his three disciples.
“You’ve all worked hard.”
Orochimaru remained silent as always.
Jiraiya scratched the back of his head with a grin.
Tsunade looked completely impatient.
“Enough with the nonsense and hurry up.
I still need to go see Grandma afterward.”
The people in the room inwardly curled their lips.
See Grandma?
More likely she would head straight to the nearest gambling hall the moment she left the Hokage Building.
After stamping the scroll, Hiruzen pulled out three assignment forms and handed them over.
“Do not rest just yet.
These are your next assignments.”
“So troublesome…”
Tsunade impatiently accepted the papers.
As her eyes scanned the names, her expression suddenly changed slightly.
“Uchiha Mikoto…
hmm?”
Tsunade narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Old Man, why are members of the Uchiha Clan assigned here?
Aren’t they usually led by their own clan’s jonin?”
Before Hiruzen could answer, Danzo spoke in a gloomy tone.
“The current situation is different.
Everyone belongs to Konoha.
Naturally, teams should be reorganized together.”
Tsunade glanced at him sideways.
“Then why aren’t members of the Shimura Clan listed here?
Or the Utatane Clan?
Or the Mitokado Clan?”
“You…”
Danzo’s expression darkened instantly.
But Tsunade directly interrupted him.
“Shut up.
If you’re targeting the Uchiha, then just say it openly.
Stop hiding behind those ridiculous excuses.”
After speaking, she turned toward Orochimaru, who had remained silent from beginning to end.
“I’m leaving Nawaki to you.
This Lady is heading out.”
Orochimaru merely nodded lightly.
His gaze briefly fell onto the assignment sheet in his hand.
One particular name stood out clearly.
Uchiha Yu.
The scene shifted to the Ninja Academy classroom.
A ten-year-old boy rested his head lazily on top of his folded arms atop the desk, looking completely relaxed.
Naturally, he was not originally from this world.
From the moment he was born, he had not cried or made noise like ordinary babies.
Instead, he stared blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion.
He still remembered clearly.
Had he not simply drunk too much alcohol the night before?
So why had he suddenly become an infant named Uchiha Yu?
At first, after reluctantly accepting reality, he had even ambitiously planned to lead the Uchiha Clan toward glory in the future.
Unfortunately, reality had struck him hard.
When he was three years old, both of his parents died unexpectedly during a mission, leaving him an orphan.
It was also that same year that his eyes awakened.
His pupils turned crimson red, and a single tomoe quietly appeared within them.
At the same time, three mysterious spheres of energy emerged inside his body.
“Hey!
Hey!”
A blonde boy whose appearance somewhat resembled Naruto leaned over and poked him repeatedly.
“Yu, wake up already!”
Uchiha Yu slowly opened his sleepy eyes.
“Nawaki, is school over already?
Let’s go home then.”
As he spoke, he casually grabbed the hand of the girl sitting beside him and tried pulling her up together.
“Mikoto, let’s head back.
I don’t feel like eating rice balls tonight.
I want barbecue instead.”
Uchiha Mikoto looked at him speechlessly.
“Yu, class hasn’t even ended yet.”
“Huh?”
Uchiha Yu blinked before turning toward Nawaki with an unfriendly expression.
“What, is your skin itching again?
Want another beating?”
Nawaki immediately raised a middle finger toward him, a gesture he had learned directly from Yu.
“Your morning temper is terrible.
I only woke you up because I already asked my sister about the thing you mentioned before.”
Only then did Yu grin happily before slapping Nawaki heavily on the shoulder.
“Just as expected from my good brother!
Do not worry.
If something ever happens to you in the future, I’ll definitely take responsibility and help take care of your future wife.”
“Go to hell!”
Nawaki’s face turned dark as he instantly responded with two middle fingers.
Watching the two fool around, Mikoto finally spoke softly from the side.
“Yu…
do you think we’ll really be sent to the battlefield?”
Hearing her worried voice, Yu stopped joking around and turned toward her.
Seeing the unease on the girl’s small face, he sighed helplessly.
“Who told you to refuse listening to me?
I already said you should just stay home and become a housewife.”
Mikoto’s cheeks instantly turned red.
However, the blush quickly faded as determination appeared in her eyes.
“My dream has always been to become a ninja.
I won’t give up.”
“Tsk.”
Yu clicked his tongue helplessly before casually grabbing her soft little hand.
“Relax.
I’m here.
Nawaki already helped arrange things.
Tsunade will personally lead the team.
You won’t be sent directly to the battlefield.”
Mikoto showed almost no reaction to him holding her hand.
After all, the two had practically grown up together since childhood.
They had even shared the same bed for several years when they were younger.
Compared to the shameless things this bastard had done before, simply holding hands was nothing.
At that moment, Nawaki suddenly asked curiously:
“By the way, do you think there’ll be a bell test tomorrow?”
Yu rolled his eyes.
“Are you deaf?
Didn’t Iruka-sensei already explain it?
The entire class is graduating early.
There won’t be any pointless games.
We’re going straight to the battlefield to kill enemies.”
The expressions of both Nawaki and Mikoto changed slightly.
Then they both turned toward Yu simultaneously.
Why did this guy sound so calm while talking about killing people?
And why did there even seem to be a faint trace of anticipation in his eyes?
Did this fellow have some kind of strange hobby?