It was the 46th year of Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat upright, looking sternly at the three individuals before him. Two years had passed, adding a touch of white to the Hokage's temples.
"I hereby formally appoint Hoshimi Ren and Uchiha Ryufeng as Chunin, with Sarutobi Shinnosuke continuing to serve as your squad leader."
"Yes! X3"
The three replied in unison.
"As for the third member of your squad, I've also decided. Come in."
After Hiruzen Sarutobi finished speaking, a young man walked in from outside. He carried a long blade on his back, his expression serious. He walked over to the three and knelt before the Hokage.
"Konoha Chunin Hayama Shirokumo, greetings, Hokage-sama."
"No need to be so formal, Hayama. From today onwards, you will join Shinnosuke's squad. I believe you will get along very well."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
The young man stood up and turned to look at the three.
"I am Hayama shirakuma. Please take care of me."
"Ah, the Old Man found us a very reliable comrade."
Sarutobi Shinnosuke smiled and patted Hayama's shoulder. Ren and Ryufeng also smiled at Hayama, welcoming his addition.
"You three go out and get to know each other first. Ren, stay."
"Yes! X3"
After the three left, Ren looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and smiled.
"Hokage-sama, is there something you need me for?"
"You brat, two years with Tsunade, and you've changed quite a bit."
Hiruzen Sarutobi scolded with a laugh, but his eyes held an indescribable warmth.
How fast time flew. In the blink of an eye, two years had passed. The little fellow from back then had grown so much. When he first learned that Tsunade had taken Ren as her disciple, he was surprised for quite a while. After all, among his three disciples, Orochimaru and Ren were the most similar, both calm and composed. He hadn't expected Ren to end up becoming Tsunade's student.
"How has your training been during this time?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Ren, exhaling smoke.
"Hahaha, my strength… just barely Jonin level."
Ren scratched his head, chuckled, and said somewhat sheepishly.
"Stop trying to fool me. I asked Tsunade yesterday. She said you killed a Jonin during a B-rank mission. Give me the full story, just between us."
Hiruzen Sarutobi said impatiently. This kid was getting less and less honest. The old Ren was so polite, greeting everyone he met. He'd been corrupted by Tsunade.
"Hmm… I'll give you the lowdown: Chunin are easy kills, Jonin are easy fights."
"Hahaha, very good."
Hiruzen Sarutobi burst out laughing. Among his many grand-disciples, his favourites were Minato Namikaze and this child. Both were talented and steady in their actions. The future Hokage would likely be chosen from among them.
"Report!"
Suddenly, an Anbu appeared with an Instantaneous Body Technique, kneeling on the ground.
"What's wrong?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze became serious. An urgent matter from the Anbu could not be ignored.
"Reporting, Hokage-sama, an urgent report from the border defence department. Sunagakure has torn up the peace treaty and launched a sneak attack on the border, causing heavy losses to our border defence forces. Our spy in Sunagakure has sent back intelligence that Sunagakure has also dispatched a large number of Ninja into the Land of Rivers, heading straight for the Land of Fire!"
The Anbu, regardless of the other person present, quickly relayed the information.
"What?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stood up, his gaze fixed on the Anbu. Although he had long anticipated that the other four Great Ninja Villages would be unable to restrain themselves, Hiruzen Sarutobi never expected Sunagakure to be the first to ignite the fuse of this war!
Among the Five Great Ninja Villages, besides Konoha, the strongest was Kumogakure. This was a combat Village where every citizen was a soldier. The current Third Raikage, "A," was known as the "Strongest Spear and Strongest Shield," and his strength was probably on par with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Next was Iwagakure. The current Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had mastered the rare Bloodline Limit Dust Release and possessed the ability to fly. His strength was on par with the previous two.
Following that was Hidden Mist. The current Third Mizukage's Water Release had reached its peak, though it couldn't compare to Second Hokage Tobirama Senju's "Sea Release," but it was still quite good among Kage-level powerhouses. However, compared to the previous few, this Third Mizukage was a bit weaker.
Finally, there was Sunagakure, undoubtedly the last among the Five Great Hidden Villages. It wasn't until Hidden Mist later adopted a "closed-door policy" and the controlled Fourth Mizukage initiated the "Bloody Mist Village," causing a drastic decline in Hidden Mist's strength, almost dropping out of the ranks of the Five Great Ninja Villages, that it could only be at the bottom. There weren't many powerful Ninja here. The current Third Kazekage possessed the Bloodline Limit Magnet Release, and his strength was on par with the Third Mizukage. However, Sunagakure boasted of him as the so-called "Strongest Kazekage."
Hidden Mist was far overseas, and Kumogakure and Iwagakure were separated from Konoha Village by several small countries. Although Sunagakure had the largest land area among the Ninja Villages, most of it was desert, plagued by constant sandstorms. The two countries were separated by the Land of Rivers. Basically, Sunagakure was always the first to surrender in every Ninja World War, so Hiruzen Sarutobi's main attention was focused on Kumogakure and Iwagakure. He never expected to be ambushed by Sunagakure.
"Order! Sakumo Hatake as Commander! Jiraiya as Vice Commander, led the troops and departed immediately to resist Sunagakure! The Village is now entering a Level Three alert state!"
"Yes!"
The Anbu instantly disappeared, relaying the orders down layer by layer. At this moment, Konoha operated like a giant machine. The ninja who received the deployment orders did not hesitate or waste time, they all prepared at the fastest speed, then headed to the assembly point.
"Shinnosuke, I order your squad to depart with the vanguard. You will only obey the orders of the Commander and Vice Commander. Depart immediately!"
"Yes!"
The Shinnosuke Squad, having received their orders, immediately sprang into action. As soon as they exited the Hokage Building, Sarutobi Shinnosuke arranged for everyone to meet at the Konoha main gate in fifteen minutes, then instantly disappeared.
The others didn't waste words either; after exchanging glances, they each went to prepare.
After preparing essential consumables such as Kunai, Exploding Tags, smoke bombs, and Soldier Ration Pills, Ren took one last look at his room, then closed the door and quickly jumped onto the rooftop, heading towards the assembly point.
Konoha Hospital.
Teams of Medical Ninjas stood in neat rows, their expressions solemn. Standing directly in front was Vice Director Kana Maiko. At this moment, she had also changed into a combat uniform. She looked sternly at the assembled team before her.
"Depart!"
With Kana Maiko's command, the Medical Ninja moved in unison, rapidly advancing from the streets towards the Konoha gate.
The civilians on the streets had already received notification and stood quietly along both sides of the streets, watching them.
Some women covered their mouths, weeping, and the men's eyes were also red. Their children, their husbands, and their children's fathers were among them. At this moment, everyone was praying for their families.
Come back alive!
This was the thought in everyone's hearts!