The Hokage's movements were intelligence only known to high-ranking ninjas. Only a select few, like Inuzuka Shigeru, knew about it. Upon learning that the Hokage was personally heading to the front lines, they all straightened their expressions, determined to present the Hokage with an excellent gift—in wartime, this naturally meant achieving a splendid victory.
The day beforeFumori masaki's arrival, under Inuzuka Shigeru's personal command, the Konoha Fourth Ninja Unit once again launched an attack on the enemy. This time, while still primarily employing new tactics, more variations were incorporated, fully leveraging the advantage of Konoha ninjas' diverse types. This caused the already outmatched Sand Hidden Ninja Unit to retreat steadily.
All the lost territories were recovered, and the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit was forced to retreat a considerable distance, almost severing their contact with the Stone Hidden Ninja Unit. The best option now would naturally be to consolidate their forces and return to the Land of Rain, but the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit likely had other ideas and was reluctant to leave.
Inuzuka Shigeru merely scoffed at the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit's reaction. In his view, the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit remaining within the Land of Grass was no longer helpful. If they couldn't establish contact with the Stone Hidden Ninja Unit, they couldn't inflict any significant losses on Konoha Village.
And Inuzuka Shigeru naturally paid attention to the connection between Stone Hidden Village and the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit. With the assistance of Cloud Hidden Village, Stone Hidden Village's energy was largely tied up, leaving them no time to attend to the precarious Sand Hidden Ninja Unit here. Stone Hidden Village's strength lay in defense; offense was not their forte. To break through the blockade and unite with the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit, the Sand Hidden Ninja Unit would also have to provide a similar response.
If new reinforcements arrived in the Land of Grass, Inuzuka Shigeru had no objections whatsoever; in fact, he even hoped for it. Not to mention the cost the Sand Hidden Village reinforcements would incur to get here, the Sand Hidden Village had little competitiveness against the new tactics. While he couldn't guarantee they wouldn't come up with something unexpected, Inuzuka Shigeru could slowly wear them down, even if it meant giving up already recovered territories—after all, those were territories of the Land of Grass, and losing them wouldn't sting. Konoha Village's strategic goal was to attrition the Sand Hidden Village's active forces as much as possible, regardless of the gains or losses of individual cities or territories.
The day after the operation, Inuzuka Shigeru received a notification from the Anbu, informing him of the Hokage's imminent arrival, which instantly tightened his heart. To ensure the Hokage's safety, Inuzuka Shigeru had long ordered everyone to strengthen vigilance, ensuring the safety of the rear as much as possible and eliminating all suspicious elements. However, ninjas are inherently professions with extremely strong individual combat capabilities. To assassinate someone, only a few sufficiently powerful individuals are needed, and large units are not very effective at preventing such high-level infiltration. Therefore, Inuzuka Shigeru could never truly rest assured.
Of course,Fumori masaki was the strongest in Konoha Village—this was the consensus among the villagers, even acknowledged by Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was originally supposed to become Hokage—those capable of assassinating him were extremely few, and the possibility of the enemy risking entry was not high. However, personal doubts were always inevitable.
Upon confirming the Hokage's arrival time, Inuzuka Shigeru led the high-ranking ninjas in the camp, including Tsunade, who was already a Jonin, to welcome him. The last time Tsunade sawFumori masaki, it was only a shadow clone, not his true self. But theFumori masaki arriving now was real, after all, dealing with a veteran powerhouse like Onoki was not something a clone with only half its strength could handle.
The momentFumori masaki appeared in everyone's sight, everyone tensed up. Fortunately, whenFumori masaki arrived before them, nothing unusual occurred, allowing them to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
"Long time no see. You've worked hard on the front lines,"Fumori masaki said, nodding slightly to them, expressing his gratitude to the ninjas fighting on the front lines.
"No, you as well," Inuzuka Shigeru said respectfully, then welcomedFumori masaki inside.
Without alarming anyone else yet, he first reported the recent battle results toFumori masaki in the tent, particularly detailing yesterday's operation with great care.
Fumori masakii listened quietly. After Inuzuka Shigeru finished his report, he nodded slightly and said, "Good. It was indeed the right decision to place you here. Given the current situation, the Fourth Unit can also free up its energy and begin to deploy actions in conjunction with the units in the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers."
"Yes," Inuzuka Shigeru nodded and agreed, "After receiving the Staff Department's operational plan, we will discuss it and deliver a perfect result to you."
"It's not for me; it's for the Land of Fire, for everyone in the village,"Fumori masaki patted Inuzuka Shigeru's shoulder. "As long as there are good operational results, I will be very satisfied. The key is to be worthy of the sacrificed ninjas, and for the ninjas who have put in their efforts, the village will not be stingy with rewards."
Inuzuka Shigeru understood thatFumori masaki was always very generous with commendations and rewards. As long as someone could deliver results,Fumori masaki was willing to promote them. Back then, Inuzuka Shigeru was only chosen for the squad by sheer luck to accompanyFumori masaki in battle. For someone from a branch family to reach his current position, it must be said thatFumori masaki's patronage played a part. Of course, first and foremost, Inuzuka Shigeru himself was exceptionally capable; otherwise, there would have been no reason for promotion.
AfterFumori masaki rested for a while and understood the basic operations of the camp, big or small, he took a short break. At this time, Inuzuka Shigeru announced to the entire camp that the Hokage had arrived and informed them that the Hokage would personally express his condolences to everyone, regardless of their status.
Upon hearing this, the Konoha ninjas in the camp immediately became excited. Even those from ninja clans, unless they were of extremely high status, would not have the opportunity to see the Hokage. They also held an idealized yearning for the Hokage, especially among civilian ninjas.Fumori masaki, who always prioritized the status and interests of civilian ninjas, was their most supported figure.
For a time, the entire camp was extraordinarily lively. Squad members who knew each other talked about it, discussing what they should say when they saw the Hokage, or what the Hokage would say to them. They couldn't help but imagine all sorts of things, which would only be met with friendly smiles from others.
Asuna didn't expect her father to suddenly show up here. Her current rank was only Chunin. Even as the Hokage's child, she wasn't privy to information about the Hokage's movements. Now, hearing about this, Asuna couldn't help but worry. She fearedFumori masaki would once again bring up her excessive use of natural energy last time. Although her father was very open-minded about some things, he wouldn't be indifferent about this, would he?
However, Hatake Sakumo guaranteed he wouldn't tellFumori masaki about this and had also spoken with Tsunade and Inuzuka Shigeru. Anyway, Asuna was fine now, and Hatake Sakumo and Tsunade had already reprimanded her, and Asuna had expressed her remorse. There was no need forFumori masaki to bring it up again.
The next day,Fumori masaki appeared to express his condolences to the entire camp. Accompanied by high-ranking ninjas like Inuzuka Shigeru, he visited each squad in the camp, asking questions. Although not everyone could speak to him,Fumori masaki treated every ninja equally, especially those who had contributed.
Fumori masakii had memorized the names of all the ninjas with outstanding performances in the entire camp overnight yesterday. Those sent to the village for him to know were ninjas with significant contributions. While there were also ninjas with relatively minor performances, he left those for Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to handle. He didn't know their names yet, and some hadn't even been reported.
As long as there were merits,Fumori masaki would say a few words, expressing his recognition of their efforts. He deeply understood that improving the status of civilians wasn't about suppressing clan ninjas, but about placing them on an equal footing. Military achievements would be an equal standard that no one would complain about.
Whether civilian ninjas or clan ninjas, facing the Hokage's earnest condolences, they all felt a sense of inner satisfaction. The Hokage's status was too high. As long as they knew that their efforts were always seen by the Hokage and would be remembered by the village, they would have fearless courage.
This was one of Fumori masaki's goals: to further enhance the cohesion of the entire camp, which would naturally lead to a significant increase in combat power, and also boost their sense of belonging to the village, among other benefits. The other goal was for others outside Konoha Village.
Although Fumori masaki was expressing condolences, normal vigilance and other tasks did not stop. Meeting the Hokage during busy work also brought a sense of satisfaction. Among them, some ragged, refugee-like people were escorted by Konoha ninjas. They looked like civilians being transported, but in reality, these were Sand Hidden ninjas captured during front-line operations. To ensure secrecy, they were disguised in this manner.
At this time, the Sand Hidden ninjas indeed sawFumori masaki meeting with many ordinary ninjas, and they truly saw his condolences to those ordinary ninjas. Suddenly, all the Sand Hidden ninjas felt an inexplicable sadness. This was a sight never before seen within Sand Hidden Village.
From a cultivation perspective, Sand Hidden Village had been benevolent towards its ninjas, and it couldn't be said that they treated the ninjas within the village entirely harshly. Otherwise, Sand Hidden ninjas wouldn't have maintained a sense of belonging to the village even when faced with such cruel orders, after all, there were also some caring ninjas within the village.
However, no matter what, it couldn't change the inherent situation of Sand Hidden Village. After entering wartime, to further stimulate war potential, the Sand Hidden high command adopted a high-pressure policy, coercing the ninjas under their command to fully exert their combat strength. In such a process, there was naturally no room for warmth.
In the memories of the Sand Hidden ninjas, although the Sand Hidden high command would inspect the camps, they never expressed earnest condolences. If they did, it was only to those high-status ninjas within the village. Ordinary ninjas simply couldn't receive condolences from the high command. But now, it seemed that the Hokage of Konoha Village—which could be seen fromFumori masaki's attire and the attitude and address of others—would express basic condolences even to ordinary ninjas. This alone made many Sand Hidden ninjas envious.
Originally, after being captured in battle, these Sand Hidden ninjas were in agony. They all knew the village's attitude towards prisoners. Once the people in the village knew about it, not only their own lives but even the lives of their families might not be safe. Some even wanted to commit suicide, but because all their ninja tools had been taken, and they had no strength due to their injuries, many could only rest in bed. Very few succeeded in committing suicide.
Although the village's orders were to take good care of the prisoners, Konoha ninjas didn't particularly stop Sand Hidden ninjas who sought to commit suicide. If they were discovered in time, a life would be saved. If not discovered, then they couldn't be blamed; it could only be said that the person himself had bad luck.
To be honest, if it weren't for the village's orders, Konoha ninjas wouldn't bother with their lives or deaths. The attitude of high-ranking officials like Inuzuka Shigeru was also very clear: tell them the village's intentions. Those who understood would naturally not commit suicide and would obey. For those who didn't believe Konoha ninjas and insisted on committing suicide, their wishes would be granted. The words had been spoken; if they still insisted on seeking death, they couldn't be expected to act as babysitters. Conveniently, some ninjas already had opinions about the treatment of these Sand Hidden ninjas, and those who sought death also allowed them to vent their frustration.
After hearing about Konoha Village's attitude towards the captured Sand Hidden ninjas, and being informed that two hundred Sand Hidden ninjas from the Land of Rain campaign had been properly resettled in the rear, the currently captured Sand Hidden ninjas were half-believing. Although some still committed suicide, most did not have the urge to die, which also madeFumori masaki breathe a sigh of relief.
InFumori masaki's heart, these Sand Hidden ninjas had great use. In the future, the relationship between Konoha Village and Sand Hidden Village would depend on these people. Sand Hidden ninjas who had tasted the cold and warmth of the world, after accepting the correct ideological guidelines, would become pillars for maintaining peace.
Fumori masakii could see that most of these Sand Hidden ninjas came from very low backgrounds, and their treatment in the village was certainly not good. They best represented the interests of Sand Hidden Village and the vast civilian population of the Land of Wind. As for the old Sand Hidden figures like Chiyo, these warmongers had already been decided to be cleared out. When these representatives of grassroots interests took power, they would not, for their own selfish reasons, go against Konoha Village—as long as Konoha Village adhered to the principles of peace and friendly development, these people would always remember Konoha Village's benevolence and strive to maintain peace.
And Fumori masaki's goal had been achieved. Upon seeing Fumori masaki's earnest condolences to ordinary ninjas, the hearts of these Sand Hidden ninjas were shaken. After entering the Land of Fire and meeting the Sand Hidden ninjas undergoing labor reform, their thinking would inevitably undergo earth-shattering changes.