Uchiha Madara was indeed a troublesome figure.
But right now, Mitsuki seemed to have an even bigger problem.
As he was deep in thought, he suddenly felt a chill in the air beside him. Turning his head, he saw Ruri twirling a kunai in her hand with a dangerously playful expression, every so often aiming it at his thigh.
"Hey, hey, Ruri, what are you… doing?"
"Oh, didn't you want to stay in the rear? I have an idea. Let me stab you once — then you can stay in the Medical Corps as long as you want"
"…"
Mitsuki suddenly found himself missing Heiji. Living together with Ruri was legitimately dangerous. And yes, he meant literally dangerous.
The next morning.
As Mitsuki had predicted the night before, the shinobi in camp were assembled. Tsunade was giving a pre-battle speech.
"…Although on the surface it looks like we are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, don't forget—in this very moment, standing here on the battlefield of the Land of Rivers, the ones who hold the true advantage… are still us, Konoha!"
Tsunade's voice echoed in everyone's ears, filling each shinobi with an overwhelming sense of confidence and conviction.
"…Without a doubt, in this cruel and intense war, the final victor will be Konoha!"
At this moment, Tsunade radiated a commanding aura, enough to make everyone tremble in awe. And in that instant, all present believed wholeheartedly: victory would belong to the Leaf!
Of course, the speech was written by Shikaku. But it had to be admitted — though Tsunade could be careless in daily life, at critical moments she carried the presence of a true leader.As a mobilizing speech before battle, it was flawless.
Mitsuki glanced around at the others' reactions—each one of them visibly fired up.
"Yeahhh! I knew it, Konoha's definitely gonna win!"
"Of course! We'll win for sure!"
Hearing the chatter, Mitsuki felt uneasy. Raising death flags before a decisive battle was never a good sign.
"When this war is over, I'm going back to Konoha to get married!"
"Hell yeah! Don't forget to send me an invitation!"
"Of course I will. We're all going back alive to the village!"
…
Mitsuki sighed. He really should've stayed in his tent instead of listening to these idiots talk about marriage plans.
Beside him, Ruri crossed her arms, unimpressed.
"What a pretty speech. But in the end, it's just the turtle tactic."
"How dare you! That strategy was worked out by Mitsuki and Minato-sensei together, and you dare to insult it?!"
A familiar voice came from behind them. Ruri turned, and sure enough—it was Konoha's most infamous dead-last, Obito.
Her lips curved into a mocking smirk.
"Of course a dropout like you would love hiding like a turtle. After all, you can't even awaken your Sharingan."
"W-What?! You—!"
Nothing cut Obito deeper than being reminded of his inability to awaken his eyes. At Ruri's words, his anger instantly boiled over.
Mitsuki ignored them — if Ruri and Obito didn't argue upon meeting, that would be strange.
"Rin? You're not with Minato-sensei?" Mitsuki asked casually, stepping to her side.
Rin noticed his hitai-ate was a little crooked. Rising on her tiptoes, she reached out to fix it.
"Sensei went to meet with Shikaku. They're reorganizing the battle squads."
Mitsuki tilted his head down to make it easier for her.After adjusting it, Rin put her hands together with a bright smile.
"Yosh! That looks perfect now."
Ruri glanced at their little interaction, then at Obito still muttering angrily. Suddenly, she lost interest.
She didn't feel like playing anymore.
Seeing her fall silent, Obito smirked inwardly.
"Ha, this violent tomboy must be feeling guilty now."
He puffed his chest.
"Hmph! I'll awaken my Sharingan soon and surpass you. Just watch — I'll become the next Hokage!"
Ruri felt her IQ drop just by talking to him.
"Go drown in your dreams, you idiot"
She turned away with a flick of her hair.
"So aggressive"
Mitsuki couldn't help but think.
"…Idiot"
Kakashi muttered.
"Right, right! Kakashi, you also think that violent girl is crazy, huh?" Obito slapped his shoulder, agreeing eagerly.
"Idiot. I meant you" Kakashi explained flatly, his dead-fish eyes unchanging.
"Eh?!" (╬◣д◢)
Not long after Tsunade's rousing speech, Jiraiya's intel unit brought back alarming news. Sunagakure had gathered a massive force and was marching directly toward Konoha's forward base.
This was exactly why Konoha's higher-ups had been waiting for Suna to make the first move.
Unlike minor skirmishes, the true great battles were impossible to hide from enemy intelligence.
Konoha's command swiftly adjusted. Following the plan, aside from a few squads left in the rear, the reorganized battle units marched to meet the enemy.
Minato's squad was one of those assigned to remain behind.
Not only his team — most of the freshly graduated genin squads weren't redeployed. Instead, they were left in the rear as a reserve force.
Their mission: protect the Medical Corps.
In truth, it wasn't just about protecting the medics—it was also about protecting Konoha's younger generation of shinobi.
The Medical Corps was rarely targeted directly. For Suna to strike them, they would have to bypass Konoha's main forces, send a fast elite squad, and finish the job before reinforcements could arrive. Otherwise, they'd be surrounded and crushed.
With Tsunade herself stationed in the rear, the risk was almost nonexistent.
This was how Konoha safeguarded its future — the new leaves would be nurtured and grow strong, and one day, they too would protect the next generation of sprouts.
This was the Will of Fire.
"So why the hell does Mitsuki get to go to the frontline with that violent girl?!"
Obito's protest echoed uselessly through the command tent.