Early June, Year 43 Konoha Calendar.
The ninja forces of the Five Great Shinobi Villages began to move towards the Land of Whirlpools.
Because the Hidden Rock Village and the Hidden Sand Village were relatively far from the Land of Whirlpools, they needed to gather with Konoha in the Land of Fire first.
Then, they would cross the river together to launch an attack on the Land of Whirlpools. The Hidden Cloud Village and the Hidden Mist Village could set out directly from their own countries.
Therefore, there were three main battlefields for the Land of Whirlpools...
The combined forces of the three great villages—the Hidden Sand, Hidden Rock, and Hidden Leaf—from the direction of the Land of Fire; the Hidden Cloud forces from the direction of the Land of Lightning; and the Hidden Mist forces from the direction of the Land of Water.
However, to prevent other villages from crossing the water, or even sneaking in from other directions by diving underwater, the Land of Whirlpools still deployed troops along the entire national border, just with a focus on the directions of these three countries.
At the same time...
The large bridge connecting to the Land of Fire, built during the nation's founding, was also preemptively destroyed by the Uzu-nin...
It was really a bit of a pity.
Back then, this bridge was built slowly using prisoners from other ninja villages. Uzumaki Jun had originally planned to erect a stone monument there a few years later, after true peace was achieved throughout the shinobi world, as proof of the Land of Whirlpools' friendly coexistence with other villages.
But now, that was probably impossible.
Although the atmosphere of war grew increasingly tense, under the nation's management, no chaos appeared domestically.
Because everyone knew the situation this time was far too serious. The alliance of the Five Great Shinobi Villages against a mere small country...
How could they possibly win?
Now, they could only pray silently for the nation in their hearts, not daring to be a hindrance.
Especially since a few days ago, several people spreading rumors that the Land of Whirlpools was doomed were arrested. They were still locked up in prison, to be deported after the war ended!
During this period, many people still left, including civilians, rogue ninja, and most of the merchants.
Seeking profit and avoiding harm is the nature of all merchants.
Many shops on the commercial street closed down again. Fortunately, the Land of Whirlpools had prepared months in advance. Domestic supplies and daily necessities did not see price hikes. As for food, under Toto's cultivation and Hiruko's research, the Land of Whirlpools now had no shortage of food, so prices remained stable.
At the same time, the police officers of the Land of Whirlpools' police force went door-to-door from morning till night, comforting the citizens, assuring them to stay home and follow arrangements, that the nation would absolutely not abandon or give up on them. And...
As long as the nation's military stood, they would protect them...
Protect them with their lives!
Under the management of multiple policies and firm enforcement, no one dared to cause trouble at a time like this. Most people understood the situation clearly and actively cooperated with the Land of Whirlpools' work in their hearts.
...
June.
The weather gradually grew hotter.
"So hot!" Obito stuck out his tongue, looking at the notebook in his hand, and said helplessly, "This area is all notified. Time to move to the next place."
He had been running errands these past few days, without stopping, whether it was urging civilians to return home or now going to each household to conduct surveys.
It could be said, these past few days had been exhausting.
Not just him, the entire police force had been extremely busy during this period. They not only needed to monitor the situation in the Land of Whirlpools 24 hours a day to prevent any spies from causing trouble, but also had to be on standby 24/7 to handle any accidents. So, most colleagues could only get less than three hours of sleep a day.
It was somewhat manageable for ninja, but some ordinary colleagues really couldn't handle the high pressure. Many even fainted from staying up late, but after recovering a bit, they still returned to work.
Perhaps they couldn't help on the battlefield, but...
They would still do their best to provide a stable rear for the soldiers on the front lines.
Fortunately, Director Muroto had revised the shift schedule early on, and sufficient health supplements were distributed from above. Otherwise, continuing like this would definitely lead to problems.
"Actually, I could go to the front lines to help too," Obito sighed helplessly. "My skills are pretty strong."
Although he hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, he was already proficient with Uchiha throwing techniques and some Fire Release jutsu.
However...
Superintendent Fugaku did not agree, saying he always messed things up, worried that he wouldn't be any help on the battlefield and might never return because he forgot his tool pouch. Also, since there was no order for police officers to join the battle, they just needed to perform their own duties well and not cause trouble for others.
Uchiha Obito shook his head helplessly...
What a headache!
He had promised he would definitely bring it, so why didn't they believe him?
Then, he pulled himself together...
"Better finish today's tasks quickly!"
He really envied Iketo and the others for being able to go to the front lines. He should have joined the army sooner.
...
"Here." Uchiha Iketo handed the boxed lunch in his hand to Mokushukuma, saying flatly, "Your lunch."
"Thanks." Mokushukuma nodded, taking the boxed lunch. "What are we eating today?"
It was only during this period that they could eat boxed lunches. Once the forces of the Five Great Villages entered the sight range of the Land of Whirlpools, they might not even have time to eat canned food then!
Because the Senju and Uchiha were formerly major clans of Konoha, they were all assigned to the eastern battlefield, primarily facing the forces of the Hidden Mist Village, thus avoiding the battlefield against Konoha.
Although he, Mokushukuma, didn't mind fighting Konoha ninja, this...
This was fine too.
At least the clan leaders and others probably wouldn't have to worry in their hearts.
Mokushukuma sighed, opening the lunch box. "Braised pork trotters today? Quite lavish!"
A fried egg, some vegetables, plus a bowl of hot soup...
Tsk, tsk!!
I wonder if the ninja from the Hidden Mist Village eat like this?
Uchiha Iketo picked up his lunch box, then suddenly noticed a red egg beside Mokushukuma. He said flatly, "Haven't eaten it yet?"
It's been days already.
"Heh heh." Mokushukuma picked up the red egg beside him and waved it in front of Uchiha Iketo. "I plan to eat it after the war is over."
This egg was given to him by an old man he met at the army gate when he first escaped and came here.
At the time, Mokushukuma was confused.
Why were so many people at the army gate giving out eggs and old hens?
It wasn't until he heard the old man say that he couldn't go to the battlefield, was too old, and couldn't help much. Apart from some eggs laid by his own old hen, he didn't have anything good, so he wanted to give these eggs to the soldiers to try, because they...
could only do these small things.
And this red egg was very auspicious. The old man said while grabbing a few eggs and putting them in his hand, saying...
He hoped they would all return safely in the end. The Land of Whirlpools was counting on them.
Although the army wasn't short of these eggs...
Mokushukuma still felt their weight heavily. These were the blessings of these ordinary people, and also the responsibility he had to bear...
So he had kept this one red egg. He felt very fortunate that he had finally run away with Iketo. Otherwise...
He would have looked down on himself for the rest of his life.
"It'll go bad, you know," Mokushukuma said with a slight smile, looking quietly at the red egg in his hand. "I believe it will definitely bring me good luck."
"So, I won't eat it now."
Just looking at this egg made him feel at peace, because he wasn't alone. Behind him were many comrades, and a group of ordinary people quietly praying for them.
This responsibility might be very heavy, but he would not shirk it, because he...
was a soldier...
A soldier who almost became a deserter!!
"Suit yourself," Uchiha Iketo said, eating his lunch box flatly. "It'll probably stink by then."
The Senju clan is just so sentimental!
We'll see how you eat it then!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📖 Like the story? Read 120 chapters ahead!
🔗 patreon.com/atomelectron
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━