Time flowed by day by day as Higashino Shin remained immersed in his cultivation.
During this period, his father, Higashino Jiro, rotated back once and had time to accompany his son in cultivation again, but he ran away after doing this job for about ten days.
This was because he discovered to his surprise that he was increasingly unable to withstand his son's rapidly growing strength.
Regarding this matter, he was both happy and frustrated.
He was happy because his son was indeed a Genius, a Genius no less than Kakashi Hatake; with his vision, the only Genius he could imagine was Kakashi.
He was frustrated because his dignity as a father was about to be lost.
In order to maintain his image as a powerful father in his son's heart, he decisively slipped away.
After the final sparring session ended, he turned around, looked at the rising sun, crossed his arms over his chest, and while secretly and gently rubbing his arms to soothe the pain, he said in a low voice, "Shin, your progress is truly incredible. I believe it won't be many years before you surpass me."
"It's truly emotional; I didn't expect you to have such capacity. You truly are my son. However, I have nothing left to teach you."
"The road ahead is for you to explore on your own. Work hard, son. I'll be waiting for the day you catch up to me and stand by my side."
After saying that, Higashino Jiro left, leaving Higashino Shin with the lonely impression of a broad and strong back, as if he were invincible in the world.
Higashino Shin looked at that back leaving draped in the morning light and felt somewhat emotional. This father was truly beyond reproach—powerful, humorous, never putting on airs, giving him whatever he asked for, and always rushing back for his birthday no matter how busy his missions were.
He just occasionally acted a bit like a chuunibyou show-off.
Did you forget your son has a freakish sensory ability? If Higashino Shin hadn't sensed his father's small hand movements behind his back, he might have actually believed it.
Old man, you just can't drop any more loot, there's no need to be so depressed, right?
Oh, that's not right. His father is still young, not even twenty-six years old yet, so he's not exactly an 'old man.' No wonder his chuunibyou soul hasn't completely faded yet.
Truly a lovely and charming young father.
---
The old year ended and the new year began. Higashino Shin turned six, which was exactly the age to enter the Ninja Academy.
But before that, just a few months after the new year passed, a major event occurred in the Ninja World—a major event that Higashino Shin already knew would happen.
The Kage of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, the Sandaime known as the strongest Kazekage, had gone missing.
No one knew when he disappeared; Higashino Shin only heard from Higashino Jiro that large groups of Sand Ninjas had been frequently active at the border recently, seemingly planning some big move.
But before the investigation results from various countries' spies in the Land of Wind could come out, the news was leaked by Sunagakure's own internal members.
The Third Kazekage had disappeared; he was not seen alive, nor was his body found.
The Ninja World was not the ancient times. Although it hadn't entered the information age yet, the speed of information dissemination was still quite fast. Soon, this matter spread throughout all the Ninja villages, large and small.
Seeing that the news could not be hidden, Sunagakure simply threw caution to the wind. Whether it was to divert the boiling pressure of the Ninjas within the village or to prevent several internal factions from fighting each other half to death for the position of Kazekage, an external war was inevitable.
Who should they fight? The richest one, of course. They certainly wouldn't fight the poor Amegakure. This way, even if they couldn't win, they could at least bite off a few mouthfuls of meat to get a full meal. Thus, Sunagakure started a war against Konoha, with large groups of Ninjas crossing the Land of Rivers and invading the territory of the Land of Fire.
A reason? That was too easy to find. Sunagakure threw a scapegoat at Konoha, claiming that Konoha had conspired to kill their Third Kazekage. This war was a war of revenge.
Anyway, Konoha had the 'Darkness of the Ninja World.' They would pin this on him first. Whether it was true didn't matter, as long as the Sand Ninjas believed it, wouldn't that give them morale?
Danzo: "???"
Damn it, this really has nothing to do with me.
Inside the underground base of the Root organization, Danzo Shimura really wanted to shout that out, but he was a mature Ninja, so he restrained the impulse.
Because it was simple: whether it was him or not really didn't matter; they just wanted a reason to start a war. What mattered was that the war had already begun, and what should be considered next was how to beat those Sand bastards to death to vent this anger from being wrongly accused.
He was always the one to set people up; no one dared to set him up. Sunagakure was doomed. Danzo Shimura said so, and even if the Six Paths Sage came, he couldn't save them.
---
Higashino Shin had lived in the Ninja World for nearly six years and finally felt for the first time what the coming of war was like.
The Ninja troops stationed at the border barely resisted Sunagakure's offensive, becoming entangled at the junction of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire. But that was not enough; all of Konoha immediately switched from mission mode.
Large batches of dispatched Ninjas were recalled, organized into large units, and set out for the front lines.
The peaceful atmosphere of the past in the village changed, filled with a sense of tension.
Villagers stood on both sides of the road, watching the departing troops with grim expressions.
There were their fathers, husbands, and sons, all of whom had stepped onto the battlefield without hesitation to protect the Land of Fire and Konoha.
But how many would return safely? No one knew.
On one hand, the higher-ups sent people to the Capital of Fire to meet the Daimyo and request funds to deal with the wartime state. On the other hand, they summoned representatives from various families and civilian Ninjas for daily meetings to discuss plans for dealing with the war.
Everyone knew that once a war started, it could not be the business of just two countries. Before long, the major military powers would all be dragged into it.
The Fire and Wind borders had to be guarded, and other borders could not be neglected either; manpower had to be increased for precautions as well.
After the previous two Great Wars, these were all old routines.
Time slipped away quietly in this tense atmosphere, and Higashino Shin welcomed his sixth birthday.
In the evening, Higashino Megumi and Higashino Jiro smiled as they watched their son silently make a wish in front of the cake with his eyes closed.
Actually, in the past, Higashino Shin just went through the motions every time. There were no Dragon Balls in the Ninja World, so what was the use of making a wish?
But today was different. Because of the war, he made a wish seriously.
Higashino Jiro asked with a smile, "Shin, what wish did you make this year?"
"It won't come true if I say it out loud."
"Exactly, exactly." Higashino Megumi pulled out a thick notebook. "Here, this is the gift I prepared. It contains the key points of Medical Ninjutsu study that I summarized and organized."
"This is mine." Higashino Jiro pulled out a short ninjato again, the same style as the black ironwood one he gave before, but this was the real deal.
"Previously, it was because you were too young and I was afraid you'd accidentally hurt yourself or others that I didn't give you a real blade. But I know you've grown up; you're not as naive as other children and your mind is very mature, so it's time to give it to you."
"Thank you, Father. Thank you, Mother." Higashino Shin put away the notebook and casually drew the blade to take a look.
This wasn't a new blade. The hilt and scabbard had signs of wear, clearly having some years on them, but the blade was as bright as new without a single sign of wear. The characters 'Higashino' were engraved on it.
Just those two characters, in Traditional Chinese. This was a Japanese-style world after all, so having Chinese characters was normal.
Higashino Jiro explained, "This was once your grandfather's blade. The blade is mixed with Chakra Metal. Back then, it cost all of our Family's cash."
"Your grandfather used this blade, and your uncle used it too. Later it was damaged and kept at home as a Family heirloom."
"Recently, I had a master craftsman repair it. Now, I am passing it to you. I hope it can make a name for itself in your hands. I believe you can do it with your abilities."
Higashino Shin did have an uncle; otherwise, his father wouldn't be called Jiro (Second Son) but Taro (First Son). It's just that both his uncle and grandfather died in the previous two Great Wars, and his grandmother also passed away after the Second War.
As for his mother's side, there was no one left; Higashino Megumi had been a war orphan since she was very young.
"I will, Father." Higashino Shin put the blade away and asked, "When do you set out? In which direction?"
The couple was silent for a moment before Higashino Jiro finally said, "The day after tomorrow. Iwagakure troops have appeared in the Land of Grass, and more manpower is needed there."
Yes, not long after Sunagakure and Konoha started their war, Iwagakure was also preparing to join.
Originally, Higashino Jiro had just been transferred back from the border of the Land of Rivers, just happening to avoid the war, but now he had to accept orders again and prepare to station towards the Land of Grass.
"Be careful, Father. Don't try to be a hero if you encounter a large group of enemies. Survive. Mom and I will be waiting for you at home."
Higashino Jiro patted his son's head. "Don't worry, you know my strength well. I won't die that easily."
Unlike Sunagakure, which had fewer Ninjas and specialized in poison and Puppets, Iwagakure followed a 'human wave' route. Although they didn't have many top experts, their mid-to-lower-level Ninjas were densely packed. Therefore, during wartime, they rarely had elite squads acting alone; they usually deployed in companies or even battalions.
If they encountered an expert like Minato Namikaze, they would be farmed for military merits, but it would be very troublesome for ordinary Konoha Ninjas. One moment of carelessness and they would be swarmed to death.
Two days later, another Ninja army set out. The difference was that this time, Higashino Shin also joined the crowd on both sides of the road to see them off.
This was war.
Higashino Shin knew that Konoha seemed to still have strength to spare now, but once Kumogakure joined and later Kirigakure intervened, that would be the time when Konoha would be stretched thin and forced to have Ninja Academy students graduate early to replenish manpower.
Looking at the current timeline, he would very likely be one of them.