*Woosh*
The presence of the strong ninjas gave a feeling of oppression to the inexperienced ones present inside the room.
Here, inexperienced ninjas were not those who did not know how to fight, but those who hadn't been to war before.
The oppressive look in the eyes of their superiors gave them a heavy feeling, like this gaze alone was enough to kill them. After these ninjas arrived in front of everyone present, they announced the general situation to the rest.
They were not told about the possible invasion from Amegakure. The possibility of the attack was high, but they did not want to cause distress among the inexperienced ninjas.
Those jonin who were fortunate enough to survive the previous war were all composed and looking forward to battle.
They could not display much in the previous battle because they were scared for their lives, just like the current inexperienced ones, but now that they are knowledgeable and experienced about war, they could not wait to make a contribution to the village while making a name for themselves.
After a brief explanation of the situation, the ninjas started assigning duties to those who would be staying behind in the camp.
Tsukimi watched all of this from the back without much change in his expression. He sensed Sakumo coming towards him and looked at him.
With a smile on his face, Sakumo started speaking, "You seem in better shape than most of the ninjas present here."
"Even though we have not seen a great ninja war like this one, we were part of a simple one."
His words caused Sakumo's smile to falter. He cursed himself for bringing up something like this in front of them.
To him, these three kids were war orphans Tsunade had brought back home. Not only had they seen their families killed in the war, but they had also fought for their survival.
"No need to be so down. We don't care much about the past. So what did you come here to tell us?"
As if guessing what he was thinking, Tsukimi waved his hand, changing the topic.
Seeing that he did not mind his words, Sakumo sighed in relief and asked what he came to ask.
"I wanted to tell you that I will be going to the battlefield with a group of ninjas to face the Sunagakure forces. Would you like to join me or stay here?"
Hearing his words, Tsukimi looked into his eyes and asked with a smirk under his mask,
"I thought we were going to the battlefield together."
Sakumo's lips twitched at the cheeky words of his student.
"Which is the other village that would be attacking us?"
This time, Matatabi spoke, looking at Sakumo calmly. Her words stunned him; he did not know how the girl found out they would be attacked by another force, but seeing the expression of the rest of his students, it seemed they all had the same thoughts.
He was sometimes really surprised by the intelligence of his students. Even he had not been that sharp and perceptive at their age.
"How did you find out?" He did not even try to hide it and asked his own question instead.
"Is it that difficult to guess? The way they are dividing forces, along with the fact that only a few groups would be stationed in this camp.
The numbers do not add up, so there could be two reasons for this:
Either they are preparing for an ambush, which should be impossible for people from Sunagakure.
They won't be so weak that they would be caught up in a trap. Which leads to the other reason that is—"
"Another village is taking this opportunity to attack us as well. Which again leads to many possibilities, but I am too lazy to explain."
Kokuo's explanation was interrupted by Matatabi, who left it halfway because she was too lazy to explain.
Her words made everyone look at her with a weird gaze.
'If you were this lazy to explain, why did you even interrupt her?' they thought, shaking their heads at the lazy cat's demeanor.
"*Cough* So is it Amegakure?" Tsukimi coughed and asked to change the topic. Sakumo nodded at his words, as with the current situation of the war, only Amegakure had the guts to attack them.
"So, you want to go to that battlefield?" Sakumo thought they wanted to fight against the Hidden Rain Village, but to his surprise, they shook their heads.
"We will be fighting alongside you." Though Tsukimi said that, he was a little curious about the Rinnegan in the hands of a certain red-haired boy.
He was sure that a mere Rinnegan would not be able to see through the power of his illusions, and what's more, he had the Rinne-Sharingan at his disposal.
No matter how powerful a Rinnegan was, it could not match the power of a Rinne-Sharingan or a Ten Tails.
"Good! Since you have decided to fight in the war, I will help you until we reach the main field, but remember that once we engage in battle, your life will be in your own hands."
Sakumo nodded and explained with a serious expression. His words carried the weight of his feelings. If possible, he wanted them to stay rather than fight on the frontlines, but he would never hinder their path.
He was there to guide them; where they walked was up to them. He would stop them if they strayed, even if it cost him his life.