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For a full week since the war mobilization order was issued, Konoha had been enveloped in a tranquility, or rather, desolation, starkly contrasting its usual prosperity.
Numerous merchant teams were notified to relocate, and vast quantities of supplies were continuously stockpiled in Konoha's various warehouses. Conscripted Ninja were issued new equipment, residents were largely moved into underground wartime living areas, and countless small teams departed for the front lines every day, every moment.
The entire atmosphere of Konoha became solemn.
Ultimately, no matter what reforms Konoha underwent or what technological innovations it achieved, its fundamental nature remained that of the nation's highest military facility.
Everyone in this Village was a consumable produced for the purpose of waging war.
Contact reconnaissance battles on the front lines against the other three countries had already begun sporadically, with countless battle reports being sent back to the Hokage Building every day.
Tsunade, as the Fourth Hokage, also had to begin a life even busier than usual.
Against this backdrop, those who could still live as they did before were undoubtedly a minority among minorities.
The morning sun had just risen, and the morning light was still dim.
Uchiha Megumi, dressed in a casual dress, put on an apron and hummed a little tune as she went into the kitchen as usual to prepare breakfast for the couple.
Looking down from the floor-to-ceiling windows at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Konoha, one could see that the streets in the distance had significantly fewer people than usual. Most of them were messengers flying across rooftops towards the Hokage Building, and occasionally, a few teams carrying stretchers could be seen rushing towards Konoha Hospital, looking dusty and clearly having just returned from the battlefield.
Uchiha Megumi frowned slightly, seemingly a little worried.
As a member of Konoha and one of the few top combatants, she naturally wanted to go to the battlefield at a time like this.
However, the Konoha Police Force was relegated to the very end of the battle sequence as a critical reserve unit—this was, of course, an arrangement Tsunade made out of consideration for Sawara Kiri.
Still, she always felt that the old woman from the Senju was looking at Kiri with a strange gaze.
The only thing worth celebrating was that, at their level of strength, it was impossible for things like informal rules based on the Hokage's authority to occur.
It must be said that this also made Megumi breathe a sigh of relief.
Although Kiri's strength was too great for her to have any chance of protecting him, it wasn't without its benefits.
As soon as she thought of this, Megumi's mood immediately brightened a few shades.
In a short while, breakfast was ready.
When Uchiha Megumi walked to the dining room with bowls and chopsticks, she passed the living room and saw Sawara Kiri shirtless, completing his daily training on the floor.
"Kiri, time to eat."
"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine… one hundred."
"Okay."
After completing the last push-up, his body immediately sprang up from the ground. He responded to Megumi while picking up the clothes from the nearby sofa and putting them on.
Megumi's beautiful eyes lingered for a moment on Sawara Kiri's well-defined, taut muscles. Sawara Kiri caught her gaze, and his clear blue eyes met hers inquiringly. But Megumi did not look away; instead, a meaningful smile appeared on her gentle face.
It was like a mysterious invitation.
Sawara Kiri was clearly tempted, but he looked up at the time and could only sigh helplessly:
"Seriously."
"So weak, yet so eager to play."
"That's Kiri-kun's fault!"
The young hooligan ultimately couldn't withstand the old driver's taunts. A slight blush appeared on her fair cheeks, clearly annoyed.
Sawara Kiri, with the "Energetic Beast" talent, was clearly not someone Megumi could easily handle.
Every time he got a little excited, Miss Rookie would already be softly lying down, to the point that for several days, he could only go to work with the subtle, strange gazes of those around him, forcing himself to endure.
Now Sawara Kiri had learned his lesson. He only chose to 'start a war' at night and had to prepare plenty of 'equipment'.
However, Megumi also knew very well that she couldn't be in the right on this matter. She somewhat stiffly changed the subject, saying, "Kiri-kun, why have your recent training sessions been so basic?"
"Don't you need to maintain your condition?"
Hearing this, Sawara Kiri smiled mysteriously:
"It's enough."
He said, sitting down at the dining table, picking up the bread Megumi had baked, and looking down at the talent line on his system panel.
"Limiter Release"
Initially, he hadn't quite understood what this option did, until he started training two days ago according to the system's instructions.
Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, long-distance running.
Although these training exercises were considered child's play for a seasoned Ninja, in most cases, they would hardly provide any improvement. Even for Taijutsu masters like Might Guy and Lee in the original work, long-distance running distances were measured by the number of laps around the Village.
However, after he systematically completed a round of training, he immediately noticed changes in his body.
His body was evolving.
For ordinary people, such subtle changes would not be easily noticed, but at his level, any minor improvement was a qualitative leap.
Approximately 10% improvement, daily.
And it was cumulative.
This improvement not only affected his Chakra but also his overall physical and mental state.
Speed, observation, reaction, resistance, control.
This exponential change lasted for only seven days, making him feel completely reborn.
Recalling Saitama, an ordinary office worker from "One-Punch Man," who achieved the level of performance seen in the original work after only three years of this exponential evolution, Sawara Kiri immediately felt enlightened.
A 10% exponential increase seems small, but if it continues to accumulate for three years, it's equivalent to 1.1 multiplied by itself 1095 times, which is approximately...
Sawara Kiri couldn't calculate it clearly.
It should be over a hundred million, right?
In that case, it doesn't seem so exaggerated that he could part the Earth with a single punch.
If it's like this for an ordinary person, then what about him?
Sawara Kiri had never been so confident.
Thinking about it this way, facing Ōtsutsuki Shibai head-on in the future seems like just a wave of his hand?
The only thing he found a bit regrettable was that the single-day Limiter Release did not increase with the amount of training; this series of exercises seemed more like a mysterious ritual.
Sawara Kiri hadn't figured out the intricacies of it and currently had no intention of letting Orochimaru observe him.
He didn't care much about other things; if Orochimaru saw them, so be it, he still had better things.
But the "Limiter" talent was another story.
What if he really figured it out?
Sawara Kiri felt this matter was a bit risky, so it was best to put it aside for now.
Megumi, on the other hand, tilted her head, looking at Kiri with a slightly subtle gaze.
She wondered if it was her imagination.
Was Kiri's skin better than before?
Just as the two were enjoying breakfast.
"Whoosh."
A faint whooshing sound came from outside the window.
Kiri and Megumi both looked out the window to see an Anbu holding a Hokage order, speaking under immense pressure:
"Lord Sawara, Lord Uchiha."
"Urgent Hokage order, summoning the Yugito for discussion."
Hearing this, the two at the dining table were startled.
The war had already been going on for so long; what urgent matter required their emergency consultation?
Seemingly noticing their slight hesitation, the Anbu immediately spoke:
"Takigakure, or more precisely, the Moon Organization."
"They have also declared war on Iwagakure!"
"Hmm?!" x2
Fire-Earth Border, Canyon.
A large Iwagakure force, numbering over five hundred, led by dozens of Jonin, was steadily passing through this several-kilometer-long narrow path, guided by their vanguard, as they advanced through the canyon towards the Fire-Earth front lines.
Thanks to the widespread use of omni-capsules, most of the logistical supplies could now be carried using these smuggled omni-capsules, allowing large forces to traverse a wider variety of terrains.
As the Commander of this force, Roshi gazed deeply at this long procession, like a dragon entering the mouth of a giant beast. He frowned slightly, his rough thumb unconsciously rubbing his temple.
For some reason, since this morning, his temple had been throbbing.
He didn't know if this was metaphysics or superstition.
In any case, whenever he had this reaction, he would always encounter some bad luck.
'Is it Konoha's people?'
'Will they set up an ambush nearby?'
'They shouldn't. The routes from here to Konoha are heavily monitored, and there's been no movement so far. The surrounding defenses are also quite strict...'
'But then, where else could it be from?'
Roshi pondered, vaguely suspecting that he had been under too much stress these days, causing his blood pressure to rise.
After all, it wasn't just the high-ranking officials of each Village who felt the pressure of going to war with Konoha, but also the vast number of ordinary Ninja who were often not recorded in history.
They had witnessed Konoha's rapid changes firsthand.
Whether it was the massive factories producing various products, the metal machines that partially replaced workers, or the long railways running through the Land of Fire.
Although people usually didn't think much about it on a daily basis, when it came to fighting them, the weapons these monsters could produce and the supplies transported to the front lines all became massive boulders pressing down on their hearts, making it impossible to even breathe.
If it weren't for the fact that three whole countries had declared war on Konoha this time, and these three countries had, to some extent, reached a wartime alliance agreement, perhaps they wouldn't even need to fight this war; the lower-level Ninja would simply surrender themselves.
And those squeezed between the high-level and low-level, like Roshi, the mid-to-high-level Commanders, naturally became one of the most squeezed groups.
"Hmph—"
Roshi let out a long breath, his gaze becoming clear again.
When soldiers come, generals block; when water comes, earth covers.
Things had already developed to such a point that it was no longer something anyone could simply stop.
Just as he was thinking this.
"Boom!"
A violent explosion suddenly erupted from the rear of the entire large force.
Roshi's expression became solemn, yet it was as if he had already anticipated it:
"How many enemies? Which direction?"
From his words, it was clear he implicitly assumed it was Konoha's doing.
A small unit's sneak attack?
That wasn't unexpected.
However, just as Roshi was poised to act, he heard the sensory Ninja beside him speak with a puzzled expression: "Lord Roshi, there are about fifty enemies... But their attire doesn't look like Konoha's."
"Not Konoha?!"
The sensory Ninja quickly said, "Black with gold patterns, Takigakure Shinobi emblem!"
"Moon Organization?"
This time, Roshi was truly somewhat surprised.
But then, his mood immediately tensed up.
Why would they be here at this time?!
Takigakure was situated precisely on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, right in the center of the two nations' borders. If troops were directly dispatched from Takigakure, then the Land of Earth's defense line would clearly have a gap, and it would strike directly at their underbelly.
But how dare they?
A large Ninja Village operating at full combat capacity and in full mobilization during the early stages of a war was not a sick tiger that any small fry could easily mess with.
On the contrary, now was when a Village's combat power was at its strongest.
Why would a small Village like Takigakure, with fewer than ten thousand troops, launch an attack at such a time?
Had they reached some kind of agreement with Konoha?
Roshi knew of Ōnoki's apprehension towards Takigakure, seemingly because their leader possessed some special ability.
However, he was not a weakling like Ōnoki.
Roshi's confusion lasted only for a moment, then, almost without hesitation, he immediately used his rough voice to order his central command:
"No matter which Village it is, if they dare to attack Iwagakure, it means they are prepared to be enemies with the entire the Land of Earth!"
"Crush them for me!"
As he roared, a series of violent explosions continuously rang out, making the ground beneath their feet tremble subtly.
Roshi's expression clearly straightened a few degrees. He turned his head to look in the direction of the explosions.
In the center of a large cloud of dust and corpses, a tall woman was seen leading a group of Takigakure Ninja, moving swiftly like a sharp blade, tearing through Iwagakure's rear guard defense net and rushing straight towards him.
Seeing this, Roshi, instead, did not panic. A ferocious smile appeared on his bearded face.
"Mere Takigakure, daring to target me?"
"Today, even if you bring the Seven-Tails, I will..."
His low growl was cut short as his gaze suddenly froze.
The next moment, a gigantic, god-like figure suddenly rose from the Iwagakure crowd that was rushing towards the woman.
A blade like a heavenly pillar, crashed down.
Shattering the ground for hundreds of meters in front of it.
Before Roshi could react at all, the entire rear guard erupted like an ant colony breaking through a dam, scattering in chaos.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chapters | Every 100 powerstones=1 extra chapter | Report issues @discord.com/GVBdncd9Wr | 16 novels being updated, I can't read all comments