"These things are beyond our control. All we can do is try our best to protect those important to us."
Kawaki wanted to offer words of comfort, but in the face of war, an individual's power seemed insignificant.
At least for now, he didn't have the ability to change the course of the war single-handedly.
"Then, will you continue the negotiation this time?"
Tsunade continued to ask. If war came, she couldn't avoid going to the battlefield. It was the duty of a ninja.
"This is the last negotiation. We've issued an ultimatum."
"Half a month's time."
"If Hanzō of the Salamander still refuses to let us pass through, we'll have to start with the Land of Rain."
Orochimaru's words meant that war was about to begin.
Kawaki remembered that in the Second Shinobi World War, it was Hanzō of the Salamander who struck first.
He was incredibly brave. A small country fought against two big countries and even attacked the Land of Iron.
The Demigod of the Ninja World was truly terrifying.
"Make early plans. As far as I know, Hanzō of the Salamander won't just sit there waiting to be attacked."
"We need to prevent him from striking first."
Kawaki was just giving good advice. After all, it would be Konoha's ninjas who would die then.
"Shouldn't be. Hanzō of the Salamander isn't so arrogant as to face our Konoha and Sunagakure with just his one country, right?"
Orochimaru didn't quite believe it, but he still kept it in mind. He was not only a powerful ninja but also an excellent commander.
"Better safe than sorry."
Tsunade also didn't think Hanzō of the Salamander had the guts, but she still agreed with Kawaki.
"I'll be careful."
Orochimaru replied seriously.
"I heard you opened a hospital. I wasn't in the village when it opened, so I haven't congratulated you yet."
After discussing the heavy topic, Orochimaru started to change the subject.
"Haha, thanks to Kawaki - kun's support."
Tsunade smiled happily. Without the support of her sponsor, she wouldn't have had the money to build the hospital.
"Just don't lose the hospital, okay?"
Orochimaru even made a joke. He was well - aware of Tsunade's bad habit.
"If you can't speak nicely, just shut up."
Tsunade's face instantly darkened. He really brought up an uncomfortable topic.
She thought of the three million she had lost again. One day, she'd have to win it back.
Orochimaru raised the corners of his mouth, showing no sign of anger.
"If she loses the hospital, just let her pay with herself."
Kawaki also teased Tsunade with a smile and got roll of eyes from her.
He exchanged a smile with Orochimaru and then took a sip of tea at the same time.
The atmosphere began to liven up. Nawaki and Minato could occasionally join in the conversation.
At noon, Orochimaru invited everyone to have a meal together and ordered take - out.
Although it was still not quite up to par with the dining standard of the Hatake family, it was still quite a feast.
As a jonin, Orochimaru was quite wealthy.
After the meal, when Kawaki said goodbye, he invited Orochimaru to his home when he was free.
After getting along today, he quite liked this person with strong charisma.
If Orochimaru didn't turn to the dark side, it would be really nice to have him as a friend.
Minato and Nawaki didn't leave with Kawaki and Tsunade. They stayed at Orochimaru's place to receive guidance.
~~~~~~~~~Divider~~~~~~~~~~
In the following days, Kawaki specifically secured an opportunity for Matt Dai to take the Chunin exam.
With his greetings and some money greasing the wheels, and considering Matt Dai's sufficient strength, his promotion was all but guaranteed.
Matt Dai had the strength to become a Chunin. However, if he were to take the Jonin exam, his mission completion rate and overall qualities were clearly lacking.
When Matt Dai passed the Chunin exam and received his ninja vest, he couldn't help but shed tears of joy.
He thought his youth hadn't been in vain, and he decided to visit the Hatake family to thank Kawaki, whom he had only met once, in person.
Minato was being guided at Orochimaru's and didn't forget the task assigned by his teacher.
The concept of the Rasengan also piqued Orochimaru's interest, and the two of them, one big and one small, started an exciting research and development project.
Nawaki, on the other hand, seemed like an outsider.
One day, Kawaki was sipping tea leisurely in the martial arts training hall, enjoying the peaceful time.
It was a pity that Tsunade was busy at the hospital again. The Uchiha people were really poor in terms of aptitude. They still hadn't mastered Medical Ninjutsu after several days.
Kawaki was full of grievances because he couldn't be alone with Tsunade often.
Fortunately, Minato and Nawaki were at Orochimaru's place. Otherwise, they would surely become the targets of Kawaki's frustration.
Then they would surely be subjected to Kawaki's so - called 'it's all for your own good.'
As his thoughts drifted, the shadow of war didn't affect Kawaki, who was naturally an optimist.
At this time, Natsuki came over with the Ghost Mastiff.
Sakumo was still working hard on his cultivation, hoping to make a huge leap forward one day and teach that brat Kawaki a lesson.
"Sister - in - law."
Kawaki poured a cup of tea for Natsuki.
Then he reached out his hand towards the Ghost Mastiff, planning to ruffle its fur to relieve his annoyance.
However, the Ghost Mastiff had learned its lesson. As soon as Kawaki put his hand down from the teapot, it quickly ran away alertly.
It also looked back at Kawaki from a distance, with a look of disdain in its eyes, as if to say, "Do you really think you can bully me, you little punk."
Kawaki couldn't tolerate this. As soon as he stood up, the Ghost Mastiff let out a yelp and vanished, as if it had seen a ghost.
"Why are you picking on the Ghost Mastiff?"
Natsuki found it amusing looking at Kawaki, who was full of indignation.
"That damn dog. Don't let me catch it."
Kawaki sat down and took a sip of tea, still muttering about it.
"You... Puke, puke."
Natsuki started to retch before she could finish her sentence.
"Sister - in - law, are you feeling unwell?"
Kawaki couldn't get up to comfort her, so he just asked first.
"I'm not sure. I've been retching for no reason today."
"I wonder if I ate something wrong."
After retching for a while, Natsuki returned to normal.
She was about to drink the tea when Kawaki snatched it away.
"What's going on?"
Natsuki thought someone had spiked the tea and looked around warily.
"The tea doesn't taste good."
"I'll tell Aniki to take you to the hospital. You might be pregnant."
Kawaki knew that it was not good for pregnant women to drink tea, so he snatched it away. He was quite certain that Natsuki was pregnant.
Because next year would be the 37th year of Konoha, the year when Kakashi was born.
The timing matched.
"Well, it's quite possible."
Natsuki's voice was a bit soft, and her face turned slightly red. Lately, Sakumo had been cultivating the land quite diligently (indicating he had been very active in his marital life).
"Aniki, sister-in-law might be pregnant."
"Take her to our hospital and have a check-up."
Kawaki roared at Sakumo in the distance.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Sakumo appear beside him, holding a tantō.
Goodness, you'd think he was coming to chop me up.
He even forgot to sheathe the tantō.
"Really? You take her there first. I'll come later."
Only then did Sakumo remember to put away his knife. He had long known that Kawaki had set up a Flying Raijin marker at the hospital.
Come to think of it, after practicing the Flying Raijin for so long, he had also achieved some progress, but his Chakra was clearly not enough to transport others over long distances.
He really wondered how his younger brother had so much chakra. Were they really born of the same parents?
"Okay, then I'll take sister-in-law there first."
Kawaki didn't dilly - dally. He also realized there was something more important that needed to be guarded against.
He put his hand on Natsuki's shoulder, and the next moment, they appeared under a big tree in front of the hospital.
It gave the patients and their families around a big scare.
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