The Land of Whirlpools completely ignored the condemnations from the Five Great Shinobi Villages, as well as the opportunistic actions of some smaller shinobi villages.
The nation's high-level officials began assigning tasks, preparing for the start of war.
But...
The tense atmosphere still affected the citizens of the Land of Whirlpools. Some civilians seemed to sense that something was wrong, but they found no news in the morning papers, and the Land of Whirlpools' officials did not offer any explanation. So...
They continued working as usual.
However...
Some families, those with members working in the Land of Whirlpools' government, managed to hear some news.
That was...
War was coming again!!
"The Five Great Shinobi Villages!" A bricklayer wiped his sweat, took a drink of water, and said helplessly, "I mean, why do these shinobi like fighting so much?"
Life was perfectly fine, so what was the point of all this fighting?
"These shinobi are really annoying!"
"Shut up." A coworker quickly pulled his companion aside and apologized to their foreman, "Sorry, boss, Bao didn't mean it. He's just a fool!"
Then, he glared fiercely at Bao. After all, the foreman was a shinobi!
Weren't you including the foreman in that insult?
And Lord Jun, Officer Fugaku...
The Land of Whirlpools had many shinobi!
Bastard!!
Bao seemed to realize his mistake too and quickly said with an awkward smile, "Boss... I wasn't talking about the shinobi in our country."
"I meant the foreign ones, the Five Great Shinobi Villages!"
"Those shinobi are too despicable!!"
"It's fine." Senju Shukuma didn't mind Bao's words. He took a drink of water and said with a smile, "I know what you mean."
Inside, however, he felt bitter...
As a shinobi, he could naturally sense the tense atmosphere in the shinobi world, and...
The Five Great Shinobi Villages!!
He had no idea if the Land of Whirlpools could withstand them this time.
Senju Shukuma shook his head helplessly. Although they had long since migrated to the Land of Whirlpools, no matter what, Konoha was the village founded by Lord Hashirama. And Lord Tobirama, the clan leader... they had all sacrificed themselves for Konoha.
He...
Still felt somewhat conflicted inside!
That was also why he hadn't chosen a position in the Land of Whirlpools' political center when he was job hunting. After all...
The Senju clan was ultimately not the Uchiha clan!!
Although he had been gradually weakening the status of Konoha within the hearts of the Senju clan, aiming for the Senju clan to slowly integrate into the Land of Whirlpools in the future, become part of it, and live stably here, reproducing generation after generation. Now it seemed...
The results seemed pretty good.
Many young people of the Senju clan had begun joining the Land of Whirlpools' military, or public security departments, and other political center positions.
But...
Now, Lady Tsunade was within the Senju clan!!
He didn't know what to do. Although Lady Tsunade hadn't said anything, hadn't asked him to step down as clan leader so she could take over, and hadn't even involved herself in the Senju clan's life in the Land of Whirlpools, merely staying within the clan, eating and drinking idly.
However...
She was still Lord Hashirama's granddaughter, the clan leader's daughter, one of Konoha's Sannin...
As long as Lady Tsunade remained within the Senju clan, he dared not say to the clan members, "Let's fight Konoha!!"
Senju Shukuma listened to the whispers and curses directed at the Five Great Shinobi Villages from the workers around him. They believed the shinobi of the Five Great Shinobi Villages couldn't stand to see them civilians living well in the Land of Whirlpools. As they spoke, some even picked up bricks, as if they would definitely give a brick to any shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages right then.
He sighed inwardly.
Lifting his head, he gazed blankly at the sky of the Land of Whirlpools and murmured, "Konoha, the Will of Fire..."
Lord Hashirama...
Was your ideology right or wrong?
...
"Humans are truly boring creatures." The Four-Tails said flatly within Roshi's mind. "War, war, it's always war."
"For so many years, it has never stopped."
Why did the Sage of Six Paths spread chakra back then?
Wasn't it so that people could trust and assist each other? Yet, unexpectedly...
It failed.
It even made chakra a tool of war. How ridiculous!!
"You humans are far too greedy."
"Perhaps..." Roshi fell silent for a moment, then said, "Perhaps humans are just that greedy."
The declaration from the Five Great Shinobi Villages...
Probably any shinobi could see that this was the Five Great Shinobi Villages wanting to crusade against the Land of Whirlpools.
As the foreman of the Land of Whirlpools' infrastructure team, who had already obtained Land of Whirlpools citizenship and bought a house there, the former Tsuchikage candidate and Jinchuriki of Iwagakure now didn't know what to do...
Originally, he left Iwagakure because his political views differed from the Third Tsuchikage's.
Now...
He had found a world that matched his inner ideals, but when it faced danger, he felt conflicted inside.
"Turns out I'm not as great as I thought I was!" Roshi sighed and muttered with a bitter smile.
Should he protect this paradise, or uphold the village that raised him, nurtured him, and helped him become who he was?
Roshi looked blankly at his coworkers still working beside him.
Was war truly the only way?
"Hey..."
Just as Roshi was struggling, the Four-Tails spoke up again, saying helplessly, "You're just a bricklayer. Why worry so much?"
"Besides, they're just trash. So what if you kill them?"
War, war!!
These trash who only know war probably dying would bring peace to the shinobi world.
"Haha!" Hearing the Four-Tails' words, Roshi was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. "You're right. I'm just a bricklayer. Why bother with so much?"
Probably the Land of Whirlpools didn't even count on him!
"As for trash..."
Roshi said seriously to the Four-Tails, "Perhaps there is a lot of trash and greed among humans, but..."
"There are still many outstanding individuals."
"Like the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, who gave up great power for the peace of the shinobi world."
However, upon hearing the name Senju Hashirama, the Four-Tails rolled its eyes and said displeased, "What an annoying name."
Ignoring the Four-Tails' comment, Roshi continued smiling, "The Daimyo of the Land of Whirlpools who created this heaven."
"And some unknown people who have contributed to the peace of the shinobi world."
"They..."
He raised his head to look at the sky...
"Are like the stars in the sky, always guiding humanity towards the right path."
He always believed in his heart...
Believed that the shinobi world would eventually achieve true peace!!
"It's broad daylight right now. Where are the stars?" The Four-Tails looked at the sky through Roshi's eyes, then looked at Roshi as if he were an idiot. "Have you gone stupid?"
"..."
Roshi's expression froze...
He had something he wanted to say but wasn't sure if he should!!
He sighed helplessly...
What an annoying tailed beast!
No candy for you tonight.
...
Uzumaki Jun did not pay attention to the situation within the country. Right now, he had something important to do.
That was...
Konoha had contacted Kakuzu and requested a meeting with him, the leader of the Akatsuki organization. Uzumaki Jun didn't know why the old monkey wanted to see him at this time. If it was just about buying weapons, they could deal directly with Kakuzu. After all, the entire shinobi world knew that the Akatsuki organization and the Land of Whirlpools were allies!
Meeting at this time...
Uzumaki Jun suddenly sensed something unusual.
The corners of his mouth turned upwards. He...
Wanted to see what Konoha was up to!!
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