By the time Guy and Kurenai reached the school, the sky had already darkened.
Quite a few people were standing at the school gate.
Not the usual scattered groups after class—it was a dense crowd.
Parents gathered in small clusters, speaking in low voices.
The children stood nearby, some still confused, others already tense from the atmosphere.
Guy scanned the area.
He spotted Obito standing at the entrance, on his tiptoes, looking in their direction.
“Over here!” Obito waved.
Guy and Kurenai pushed through the crowd.
“What’s going on?” Guy asked.
Obito shook his head, lowering his voice: “No idea.
I just got here and the gate was already packed.
Rin’s not here yet…” Just then, Rin squeezed through the crowd, running out of breath.
“I’m here, I’m here!” She stopped, caught her breath, and looked at Obito.
“Obito, do you know what’s happening?” Obito shook his head.
“How would I know?
What about Asuma?
That guy’s the Third’s son.
He probably knows more.” They looked around.
Asuma was standing nearby, leaning against a tree.
A matchstick dangled from his mouth.
His usual cocky attitude was gone.
His expression was unusually serious.
Obito walked over.
“Hey, Asuma.
You know what’s going on?” Asuma glanced at him.
He didn’t speak.
Obito blinked.
“I’m asking you a question!” Asuma still didn’t speak.
He took the matchstick out of his mouth and clenched it in his palm.
Held it tight.
Guy watched that motion, and his heart sank.
This kid definitely knew something.
And it was bad news.
The crowd at the gate suddenly grew quiet.
Someone called out: “Iruka-sensei’s here!” The crowd parted to make way.
Iruka walked in from outside.
His expression was grim.
Not his usual smiling warmth—it was the kind of heaviness that came from holding something back.
He reached the school gate and stopped.
He scanned the students present.
“Everyone here?” No one answered.
He counted to himself.
“Good.
Follow me.” He turned and walked inside.
The students followed.
The parents tried to follow, but the chunin at the gate stopped them.
“Parents wait outside.” The gate closed.
Inside the classroom.
Over twenty students sat scattered around.
No one spoke.
Even Obito, usually the loudest, was sitting quietly, staring at the podium.
Iruka stood at the front.
He looked at the faces below him.
Six, seven years old.
The youngest was only six.
He was silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke.
“I called you here today because I have something to tell you.” The classroom grew even quieter.
You could hear the wind rustling the leaves outside the window.
Iruka took a deep breath.
“Three days ago.” He paused.
“The Third Kazekage has gone missing.” The classroom fell into dead silence.
Then it immediately erupted into noise.
“The Kazekage?
Isn’t that the leader of the Hidden Sand Village?” “The Hidden Sand Village?
That place with all the desert?” “What does his disappearance have to do with us?” “Did we do it…?” Whispers rippled through the room.
But they died down just as quickly.
Guy sat in the back row, by the window.
When he heard those words, his heart sank heavily.
As expected.
It was the Third Kazekage disappearance incident!
The Hidden Sand Village’s strongest fighter—gone, just like that.
And this incident was exactly the spark of the Third Great Ninja War.
The Sand would mobilize their entire force, searching everywhere.
The Hidden Cloud Village from the Land of Lightning would take the chance to attack.
Then they’d declare war on the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire.
And then— The war would begin.
Guy clenched his fists.
It had come a little sooner than he’d expected.
But not by much.
He turned to look beside him.
Obito looked confused, whispering to Rin: “What does the Kazekage’s disappearance have to do with us?” Rin shook her head, but her brow was furrowed.
He looked ahead.
Asuma sat with his head down, staring at his desk.
His shoulders were tense.
Clearly, as the Third’s son, his political awareness was sharper than the others’.
“The Kazekage’s disappearance is no small matter.” Iruka scanned the classroom.
“The Hidden Sand Village is now under martial law.
Every shinobi is searching.
But—” He paused.
“If they can’t find him…
what happens next?” No one answered.
Iruka continued on his own.
“If the Kazekage really met with an accident, who would the Sand Village blame?” The room grew quieter still.
“The five great nations were never at peace to begin with.” Iruka’s voice was even, but every word landed like a stone.
“The Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud have been building up troops on their borders.
If the Sand Village also falls into chaos…” He didn’t finish.
But the meaning was clear.
War.
Those two words circled through everyone’s minds.
Some faces went pale.
Some swallowed hard.
Some were still confused.
Iruka watched their reactions, silent for a few seconds.
Then he softened his tone.
“Of course, this is just a notification.
Konoha is still negotiating, still investigating.
It might not necessarily lead to war.” He paused.
“But!” “You are students of the Ninja Academy.
Someday, you will all go to the battlefield.” “So—be prepared.” He turned around.
And wrote on the blackboard: [Effective immediately: training intensity doubled.
All leaves canceled.] “Class dismissed.” No one moved.
Iruka walked out of the classroom, his footsteps fading.
“What does that mean?” someone spoke up.
“Training intensity doubled?
That’s going to kill us!” “Didn’t you hear?
There’s going to be a war!” “A war?
With who?” “The Hidden Sand Village!
The Kazekage disappeared—it must have been us!” “That’s nonsense!
Why would we do that?” “Who knows…” Arguments broke out.
But they weren’t as lively as usual.
The voices were low, as if afraid of being overheard.
Guy stood up.
Kurenai quickly moved closer to him.
“Guy, do you think…
it’ll really come to war?” Guy looked at her worried face.
Though he wanted to comfort her, he still nodded.
“Yes.” Kurenai blinked, as if surprised by his certainty.
Before she could respond, Guy placed his hand on her head, ruffled her hair, and flashed a grin with white teeth.
“But don’t worry.
I’ll protect you!” Kurenai’s face turned bright red in an instant.
Her hands fidgeted nervously, not knowing where to put them.
This was the first time Guy had ever patted her head like that.
Obito watched Guy from the side, a look of envy on his face.
Then he cleared his throat.
He raised his hand, about to place it on Rin’s head—but Rin immediately dodged.
“Obito, what are you doing?” Rin’s expression was wary.
Obito winced, looking embarrassed: “Haha, I was just saying—I’ll protect you too, Rin!” Rin rolled her eyes and ignored him.
Then she thought of Kakashi, already on the battlefield, and worry crept onto her face.
Guy walked over to her and said seriously: “Kakashi will be fine.
And worrying now won’t help anything.” Rin nodded.
“I know, I just…” Guy waved his hand, cutting her off.
“Instead of overthinking, use that time to get stronger.” “Only by becoming stronger can we become each other’s support when the time comes—right?” Rin froze.
Looking at Guy’s serious face, she suddenly smiled.
“Guy, I’m really glad we’re in the same class.” Kurenai nodded quickly in agreement.
Guy laughed heartily, then turned and walked toward the exit without looking back.
“I’m going for extra training.
Anyone who wants to come, follow me.” As he finished, Obito, Kurenai, and Rin immediately followed.
Ebisu, who had been eavesdropping nearby, hesitated for a moment, then followed too.
After they had all left, Asuma, who had barely spoken the entire time, finally turned his head to look at them.
His expression still had that cocky edge, but his eyes had changed.
“Each other’s support, huh…” After a long moment, he curled his lip.
Though Asuma was quite annoyed that Guy had put his hand on Kurenai’s head earlier— He had to admit.
What that guy said…
he agreed with wholeheartedly.
“I hope the war comes a little later…” End of Chapter 22