From the overall progress of the war, Konoha's losses were staggering. In the initial conflict between Konoha and the Land of Rain, the three disciples of the Third Hokage—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—led Konoha ninjas but struggled to gain an advantage due to Hanzo the Salamander.
Hanzo earned the title "Half-God" for a reason. In his early years, he pursued peace with unwavering determination and a pure heart, forging ahead fearlessly.
After the passing of the First Generation Kage, Hanzo's strength placed him in the top tier. His constant activity on the battlefield solidified his reputation.
During this period, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were at their peak, representing the leading figures of Konoha's younger generation. Yet, they suffered a major setback at Hanzo's hands.
Whether in ninjutsu, taijutsu, or summoning techniques, the three combined couldn't overcome him. Instead, they found themselves in grave danger, their lives hanging in the balance.
Thankfully, they had Konoha and the Land of Fire behind them—especially Tsunade, whose background was formidable. Defeating them would have invited full-scale retaliation from Konoha. Hanzo alone might have survived, but not the entire Rain Village.
Thus, Hanzo bestowed upon them the title of the "Sannin"—a name that was both an honor and a humiliation. Regardless of their future achievements, the ninja world would always refer to them as the Sannin.
Konoha expended tremendous effort, resources, and ninja lives to suppress the Rain Village, the strongest ninja village outside the Five Great Nations. But just as they succeeded, the Land of Wind eagerly joined the fray.
Konoha clashed with the Land of Wind, their battles raging across the Land of Rain, causing immense harm to its civilians. Countless people lost their homes and lives.
Whether premeditated or driven by a desire to suppress Konoha, the Land of Earth also entered the war. The Land of Rain became a battlefield for three great nations, and its former glory faded forever.
Uchiha Tsukiki pieced this together from information shared by Uchiha Fuhei and frontline reports. Gathering intelligence from limited sources was a basic ninja skill.
Initially, this had little to do with Tsukiki. But after years of war, Konoha's losses on the battlefield were severe, especially among genin.
Core descendants and highly talented members of major clans joined the war to experience its brutality and grow stronger. The most pitiful were the civilian-born ninjas. Those who hadn't shown exceptional talent in school easily became cannon fodder. The high casualties among low- and mid-rank ninjas included both civilians and clan-trained branch family members.
It was said that Nawaki, the heir of the Senju clan, died in an explosion due to overeagerness. Orochimaru, one of the Sannin, was reportedly nearby but couldn't save him—a testament to the war's cruelty.
With only Tsunade left to carry the Senju name, the clan existed in name only in Konoha. Only the Uchiha remained as a major force.
None of this was what Tsukiki wanted to know—it didn't concern him. What did matter was that the massive loss of cannon fodder meant the Ninja Academy couldn't produce enough replacements quickly.
New graduates couldn't meet frontline demands, so the Hokage and elders turned their attention to ninjas trained by the major clans—especially branch family members and those under their patronage.
The Uchiha, as one of Konoha's founding clans, had faithfully fulfilled their duties. Both elites and cannon fodder served as pillars of Konoha's forces. Now short on fresh troops, Konoha set its sights on them.
It wasn't yet the postwar era. The Uchiha leadership, adhering to their Warring States principle of unity against external threats, agreed to the Third Hokage's request. They sent all their branch family trainees to the Ninja Academy.
The next day, Uchiha Fuhei delivered this "good news." The uninformed clansmen cheered—they could finally attend the Ninja Academy.
Only Tsukiki found it baffling. Abnormality signals trouble.Konoha had initially restricted Uchiha enrollment, never meeting the needs of their large population. Fortunately, the Uchiha maintained their own training traditions. Other clans did similarly, though less extensively, viewing the Uchiha as outdated.
Now, the Third Hokage promoted full enrollment under the guise of "utilizing resources and talents to avoid wasting potential." Eventually, the major clans decided to send their members to the academy—training them was too heavy a burden.
"That's the situation. In a few days, you'll attend the Ninja Academy's opening ceremony and be assigned classes. If you're strong enough, you might even graduate early."
As soon as Fuhei finished, Tsukiki raised a question, hoping to glean useful information. "Besides us, will there be others?"
"Alongside you, those trained earlier and the younger batch will also enroll if they're of age. This expansion is unprecedented."
"Wow! Finally, we can go to school and stop this brutal training. I was going crazy!"
"Yeah, I've always envied those adults and civilians who got to study. Why did they get spots with average talent?"
"Hmph, I wonder what 'experts' the academy has."
…
Only Tsukiki remained silent. He had his answer: they were being sent to the battlefield.
The war had dragged on for years with no end in sight. While he'd focused on training, he wasn't ignorant of the situation.
Many new genin unfamiliar with the battlefield had only a fifty percent survival rate. Officially, they were called brave, but Tsukiki knew that was a euphemism. Often, they were sacrificed to create opportunities for higher-ranking ninjas.
At this time, Konoha hadn't fully embraced the so-called Will of Fire—it was still too vague. Elite ninjas from major clans instinctively protected their juniors or team members, teaching them survival skills. But academy-trained ninjas were different.
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi promoted his Will of Fire, missions took priority over comrades. In crises, ninjas might even eliminate teammates to prevent intelligence leaks—such things happened.
Tsukiki had overheard this in conversations between Fuhei and other clansmen. The Uchiha's pride forbade such actions, leading to heavy losses on the frontline. Yet, the losses among other clans were even greater.
The Uchiha's reputation was earned on the battlefield. A determined Uchiha jonin could take down two enemy jonin. If the Sharingan awakened or evolved, entire enemy squads might be wiped out.
The Uchiha's fame was built through combat; their pride was watered with enemy blood. Even in the Land of Rain, where fire techniques were less effective, Uchiha ninjas achieved overwhelming victories in localized battles.
"So, they're eyeing us? Even without the Sharingan, our taijutsu, ninjutsu, and throwing skills can inflict maximum damage. We're the ideal fresh troops—the pillars among cannon fodder.
"As Konoha's top clan, the Uchiha's support pressures other clans to follow suit. From now on, aside from core descendants, large-scale training of branch families will cease. They'll be left to fend for themselves or rely solely on the academy."
Fuhei came and went quickly, only there to notify them. The clan would provide a living allowance until they became ninjas—nothing more.
If Tsukiki hadn't swiftly asked Fuhei for tips on tree climbing and water walking, he might never have learned. The principles had been taught, but mastering them was still challenging.
"Sigh…"
Tsukiki returned home. Years of obsessive training and relying on clan meals had left his house dusty except for his room.
Thankfully, as a qualified ninja, cleaning was no issue. The house was reportedly built by the First Hokage using ninjutsu—a standard three-bedroom, one-living-room layout with a small yard, in a Japanese style.
After cleaning, Tsukiki sat in the hall, pondering his future. He would inevitably go to the battlefield—but could he survive? He couldn't even withstand his clansmen's围攻, let alone the chaos of war.
After much thought, he scratched his head frantically before reluctantly giving up. Since I can't avoid it, I'll focus on strengthening myself to improve my chances.
His eyes fell on the lightning-release scroll Fuhei had rewarded him. It had likely been inspected—the Uchiha wouldn't give flawed scrolls to juniors.
Reading it, Tsukiki realized it was the foundational version of the Land of Earth's lightning-style body techniques. The Third and Fourth Raikages' techniques were built upon this.
Thrilled, Tsukiki knew he had to master this jutsu—it was crucial for survival and enhancing his strength.