Unknowingly, seven days had passed.
During this period of time.
Aoba had always kept a shadow clone in the Anbu's dormitory, writing Teacher Hou's story. His main body and some other shadow clones were in the tower carrying training.
For the past few days, Eaton had not come to look for him. He did not know if it was because he was afraid of disturbing his rest, but it gave him a lot of free time. He did not have to go to work and enjoyed a rare leisure time.
One day, early morning.
Knock Knock Knock...
A series of knocks sounded at the door of Aoba's room, causing Aoba's shadow clone, who was writing inside, to stop what he was doing.
"Coming!"
Aoba's shadow clone immediately replied. He put down the pen, walked toward the door, and opened it.
As the door opened.
Aoba's shadow clone immediately saw Eaton standing at the door waiting for him, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Brother Eaton, why are you here? Come in quickly!"
Aoba's shadow clone immediately opened up a path. He still had a smile on his face as he gestured for Eaton to come in.
Eaton nodded and walked in. He did not say anything during the entire process, but his expression was very silent.
Aoba's shadow clone immediately poured a cup of water for Eaton and placed it in front of him. From Eaton's expression, he could tell that there was something wrong.
"Brother Eaton, you came a little early. If it was one more night, this new book might have already been finished." Aoba said with a smile.
Now he had found a way to chat with Eaton.
If something happened!
As long as he talks about the book.
Then this matter would most likely not be a problem.
When Aoba was speaking, he had been staring into Eaton's eyes. He wanted to see some clues from the latter's expression and eyes.
Eaton glanced at Aoba and did not say anything. He suddenly picked up the water that was placed on the table, lifted it up, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Aoba!"
"You haven't gone out during this period of time. You probably don't know yet!"
"Iwagakure is calling!"
"Now we are in a bit of trouble!"
"Even if we are Konohagakure Intelligence Division's ninjas, we might have to go to the battlefield. I came here to tell you this because I hope that you will be mentally prepared..."
Eaton had been worrying about this matter for the past few days. It was not a big deal for him to go to the battlefield. After all, this was not his first time going to the battlefield, and it would definitely not be the last time.
But...
There was a very important problem here!
That was Aoba!
Although Aoba's body had already been cured by Tsunade, to Eaton, he was still not that strong.
If he went to the battlefield, he would be in danger of death.
If something unexpected happened.
Not only was he unable to explain to Tsunade, but he was also afraid that there would be no novels to read in the future.
"This matter..."
Aoba nodded silently. He was indeed unwilling to go to the battlefield. This had nothing to do with strength. He could fight, but he was more willing to fight for himself, not for the village.
Perhaps...
This was the biggest difference between him and the ninjas in the village!
The will of fire had never brainwashed him. His thoughts were still very selfish. He was not a ninja world resident and did not have a strong sense of belonging. Therefore, he was not that keen on fighting for the village.
"Does Brother Eaton have any ideas?"
Aoba asked lightly. He did not seem to be too flustered. This kind of thing would not cause him to panic. After all, other than Eaton, there was another bigger person behind him. That was Shimura Danzo, who had been controlled by him.
Right now, he was just asking and wanted to let Eaton a chance to show off.
After saying this.
Aoba stared at Eaton.
He wanted to hear what this person was thinking.
After all, for Eaton to come here to look for him, it was not like he had no idea at all and just directly came over to say that he might go to the battlefield.
That was completely unnecessary.
Eaton did not need to come here alone. He could just directly announce it to Konohagakure Intelligence Division.
"Sigh..."
Eaton sighed heavily. His face was gloomy and filled with helplessness.
"Aoba, you understand what I mean. In the previous battlefield, I did not bring you along. Instead, I transferred you to interrogate the people in the village. This also contributed to the appearance of a person like the cat-faced demon. Therefore, you know my position and attitude."
Eaton expressed his opinion helplessly. After he said this, Aoba already roughly understood what Eaton meant.
That was...
There was no way!
Eaton really came here to tell him that he had no way at all. This was also quite interesting.
"I understand." Aoba nodded and said.
"Aoba, we, Konohagakure Intelligence Division, may all go this time. I will arrange for you to stay by my side. This way, I will personally protect your safety." Eaton said in a deep voice.
"If all of Konohagakure Intelligence Division goes, how can we maintain the normal operation of the village?" Aoba was stunned for a moment and asked. Moreover, from Eaton's words, he understood that Iwagakure's lineup this time should be quite big, so much so that even Konohagakure Intelligence Division's ninjas were used.
"This time, it is unusual. Sandaime-sama means that we should first overcome the crisis that comes from Iwagakure. We will talk about the village later. Otherwise, once we lose the war, even if we maintain the operation of the village, it will be meaningless." Eaton explained. These words were not made up by him but by Hiruzen himself.
"I understand." Aoba nodded again. He could hear that this was indeed something that Hiruzen could do. It could be said to be a sign of extreme performance.
Hiruzen didn't want to lose.
He didn't want to lose his Hokage position.
Therefore.
If he could avoid war through compromise, he would not hesitate to choose to avoid it.
But...
Once the war was inevitable.
Then Hiruzen would go all out and send out all the power he could mobilize. No matter who died in the war, it would be no problem for him as long as it was not him.
It was just like in the Third Ninja World War in the original history.
Ninjas who had just graduated from the Ninja School, no matter how old they were, would immediately go to the battlefield and contribute their strength and lives to the village.
"Aoba, I came here today to inform you in advance. I tried my best to fight for it, but it didn't have any effect. I hope you don't misunderstand." Eaton explained to Aoba. He had indeed tried his best to fight for it, but Hiruzen's intention was obvious. That was, all of the Konohagakure Intelligence Division personnel had to fight, so he had no other way.
"I understand." Aoba nodded and said.
"I'm relieved that you can understand. I hope you don't misunderstand. If you can't write a book, just put it aside. When we go to the front line, we need to put all our energy into the field. Otherwise, if we are not careful, we may lose our lives." Eaton warned. He did not want anything to happen to Aoba, not only because of Tsunade but also because of the novels that Aoba would write in the future.
"I understand." Aoba nodded repeatedly, indicating that he understood such a thing.
"Then there is nothing else. I will go first. You should be mentally prepared. The matter has not been decided yet, but it is basically very difficult to turn the situation around." After Eaton finished speaking, he got up and walked toward the door. He had already said what he should not say. Now, Aoba had already expressed his understanding. Whether it was true understanding from the bottom of his heart or the courtesy from his mouth, at least such words have been said.
"Brother Eaton, take care!"
Aoba sent Eaton to the door, then slowly closed the door.
After closing the door.
He stay still for a period of time before he moved.
It was because he was afraid that Eaton would come back.
About five minutes later.
Aoba's shadow clone was almost sure that Eaton would not come back so he immediately removed himself and disappeared.
On the other side.
Aoba was sitting on the watchtower. He was looking at the scene of the wind blowing through the trees. He seemed to be in a daze. It was unknown what he was thinking.
Suddenly.
A thought appeared in his mind.
It was the shadow clone in the dormitory who brought back what he had experienced after canceling himself and sending the information about the recent matter.
A moment later.
Aoba slowly let out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like Iwagakure's goal isn't small!"
Aoba's gaze was still fixed on the trees in front of him. His expression didn't change at all, as if he had already realized what had happened.
"It really is similar to what I expected."
"Sunagakure is entangled with Amegakure. Both sides are restricting each other. But no one has any intention of fighting with all their strength."
"The battle between Kumogakure and Kirigakure is a bit more bitter in comparison. However, Kumogakure is strong enough. When fighting with Kirigakure, they still have other energy."
"Right now, the forces on both sides have been restricted."
"On the contrary, it has paved the way for Iwagakure to ruthlessly attack Konohagakure."
"At this time..."
"There shouldn't be anyone who would dare to attack Iwagakure!"
The corners of Aoba's mouth curled up slightly. He had this thought, but it was definitely not now. After all, if he immediately attacked now, then the battle between Iwagakure and Konohagakure would end in an instant.
The battle had ended before it even started.
In that case, Hiruzen's Hokage position would be even more secure.
One must know...
Hiruzen was someone who can sit down and grow old directly, and doesn't care if he has been in power for too long.
Now, an unavoidable war was finally had been triggered.
If it was settled just like that, it would be too much of a waste.
"Should I go to the front line to take a look?"
A question mark popped up in Aoba's head. With his current strength, even if he were to go to the front line, there would be no problem for him to protect himself.
Would it be better for him to stay in Konohagakure or to go to the battlefield?
"Hmm..."
Aoba held his chin with his right hand. The answer in his mind had begun to change.
"It seems that going to the battlefield is not bad..."
"Since I came to the ninja world, I have not left Konohagakure. Now it is a chance to travel."
"And..."
"If I am at the front line, I should be able to better control the situation over there, enough to continue the war and wait for Minato to return."
"The most important thing is..."
"As long as I leave the Flying Thunder God Formula on the front line, I can return to the village from the front line at any time, and then go from the village to the front line, which is very convenient."
Aoba silently analyzed. The scale in his heart had changed. In fact, for him, who had been working in Konohagakure Intelligence Division all the time, the chance of being able to go to the battlefield was far lower than other ninjas.
If he did not go this time.
There would be no chance even if he wanted to go in the future.
Instantly.
Aoba immediately got up and walked down the tower. He knew that Eaton had come to find him. It meant that he was about to announce it. There was not much time left for him.
Not long after.
Aoba arrived at the hall on the first floor of the tower. There were thousands of shadow clones carrying out their respective training in an orderly manner.
Each of these training shadow clones was Aoba's cheat, which could improve his strength by leaps and bounds, and let him handle anything with ease.
"Return."
Aoba lightly spat out a single word.
Following the appearance of this word.
The shadow clones at the scene seemed to have sensed something, and one after another, a series of explosions rang out. Along with these sounds, these shadow clones carried strands of memories and merged into Aoba's mind.
Hum, Hum, Hum, Hum...
Aoba's brain trembled continuously because there were too many shadow clones. The amount of information brought by canceling together was too much.
This kind of thing was very outrageous.
He needed to endure it a little.
However, it was not the type that could not be endured!
After a while, Aoba slowly opened his eyes and digested all the information.
Immediately after.
Aoba quickly formed a hand seal. It was Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Shadow Clone Technique).
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Two figures appeared in front of him. These three figures looked exactly the same as Aoba. They were Aoba's shadow clones.
"All of you are my clones. You all know what my arrangements are."
Aoba's gaze swept over the three shadow clones. They were all his own people, so there was no need to be polite.
"You do plan A!" Aoba pointed to the leftmost shadow clone.
"You do plan B!" Aoba pointed at the shadow clone in the middle.
"You do plan C!" Aoba's gaze finally landed on the last shadow clone.
This was the experience he had gained from his previous plans. After arranging these shadow clones into numbers/letters, they would know what they were going to do to prevent any chaos from occurring.
"Now..."
After Aoba finished arranging everything, his eyes lit up slightly. He knew Eaton would be coming over soon, so he immediately used Hiraishin no Jutsu(Flying Thunder God Technique).
"I am going back to Anbu's dormitory!"