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Hirito taught Hiashi his experience and insights on [Shunpo] without reservation.
He wasn't worried about the old saying, "teaching an apprentice might starve the master." In fact, if Hiashi could develop his own understanding of [Shunpo], it would make Hirito even happier.
Ninja Academy.
Hirito and Shikaku, who hadn't spent time together for a while, were lying on the rooftop, watching the clouds.
Shikaku rested his left hand behind his head while gesturing lazily at the sky with his right.
"Do you know why I like watching the clouds, Hirito?" Shikaku asked lazily.
Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "Clouds have no boundaries, yet they're always present, everywhere…"
"I'm close to you, but somehow, I'm also far away..."
"Especially on a clear day like this, the clouds look like flawless white jade. They just drift there, completely unlike the restless people on the ground."
"When the wind blows, they disperse, and it's like all your worries can float away with them."
Hirito understood that kids in the ninja world matured quickly. It was hard to treat them as ordinary children. Especially the Nara Clan, known as Konoha's strategists.
"What's with you? Feeling sentimental?" Hirito teased. "Did you fall for a girl, and it's not going well?"
Shikaku rolled his eyes and pulled his right hand back, resting it behind his head along with his left.
"I'm just saying, we won't have many days left to relax and watch the clouds like this."
"Alas~~!" Shikaku sighed heavily.
Hirito's expression shifted. There was something more to his words.
"What do you mean?" Hirito asked, puzzled.
Shikaku turned his head slightly, looking at Hirito with his trademark half-lidded eyes.
"I'm graduating," he said.
"How come?" Hirito wondered. "Isn't there more than a year left? Early graduation?"
Hirito considered the possibility, but when he saw Shikaku's tired eyes, he knew that wasn't it.
"Do you think I'd want that?" Shikaku asked, his tone indifferent.
"Of course not!" Hirito answered immediately. He knew Shikaku well enough to know that Nara clan members hated being in the spotlight.
The thought of Shikaku pushing for early graduation was ridiculous. Otherwise, the young heir of the Nara clan wouldn't be so invisible at the Ninja Academy.
"We're all graduating this year," Shikaku sighed again.
"How is that possible?" Hirito shook his head in disbelief. Not all the students were ready to graduate. Graduating meant becoming active Konoha ninja—even Genin had serious responsibilities. Unless...
Hirito's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Shikaku.
"Is this an order from the Hokage?" he asked cautiously.
Shikaku nodded, his expression helpless.
"There's a manpower shortage in the village, so we've been recruited."
"Recruited…" Hirito murmured. That was no ordinary term.
"Yes, haven't you noticed?" Shikaku said. "There are fewer ninjas in the village because many have been sent to the borders. War is coming."
War.
Hirito's heart sank, and he fell silent.
As a member of the Hyuga clan, he had been living a peaceful life—training, studying, and living in relative tranquility. He had almost forgotten the tumultuous history of the ninja world.
A place where, in just a few decades, multiple wars had broken out.
War...
"A word that seems both distant and familiar…" Hirito thought, glancing at Shikaku.
A 10-year-old child was about to prepare for battle.
Dammit!
Hirito cursed silently. He didn't know exactly who he was angry at—the ones who started the wars, or this messed-up world they lived in?
In his past life, wars were often hidden from ordinary people. However, news of soldiers who died in the line of duty occasionally reminded the public that their peaceful lives were protected by those fighting for them.
Seeing Hirito's silence, Shikaku laughed softly.
"Hey, we've been training for this, haven't we? It just came a little sooner than we thought."
Hirito looked at Shikaku, wondering what was going through his mind. He was about to face the battlefield, but his attitude was so much more composed than Hirito's.
Even with the mentality of an adult, even with his superior strength…
Hirito remembered the original timeline. Shikaku should be fine. Not only would he survive this war, but he would also make it through the Third Great Ninja War, until the Fourth Ninja War…
But still, nothing was absolute in this world.
In life, unexpected things happened all the time. And on the battlefield, who could guarantee survival?
When Hirito returned home, he grabbed a pen and paper, jotting down notes and recalling everything he knew from his previous life.
This must be the prelude to the Second Great Ninja War.
"The Second Ninja War…" Hirito mused. "It started with a conflict between Konoha, the Sand Village, and the Rock Village…"
"As a result, the Land of Rain, caught between the Fire, Earth, and Wind nations, became the main battlefield. Ninja forces from multiple countries clashed there."
"Then Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of the Rain Village, stepped in and declared war on the invading nations."
"The Land of Fire, Land of Wind, Land of Lightning, and Land of Earth fought on various fronts. The Second Ninja World War became a full-scale conflict, with multiple countries at war…"
"This was the war that gave rise to the titles of Konoha's Sannin and Konoha's White Fang."
Those titles sounded impressive, but Hirito knew the cost.
Tsunade's younger brother and her lover both died in this war.
"Shikaku and the others have been recruited… I wonder if they'll be sent to the frontlines?"
"Maybe not. They're still so young… but then again, it's hard to say."
Hirito thought about himself.
(End of the Chapter).
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