[Hokage] Summer Festival

It was dusk when I followed Hatake Sakumo back to the Konoha camp. It was supposed to be a town at the foot of the mountain, but because of the war, it was shrouded in a gloomy gray.

Haruna greeted her and asked:

"Where did Captain Shuo Mao and Xia Zi go?"

Hatake Sakumo remained silent behind him, waiting for his answer.

He spoke calmly and said:

"I inspected the surrounding area and found nothing abnormal."

Looking at his back, he couldn't help being stunned for a moment.I didn't expect him to tell such a lie with integrity like him.But it can also be seen that he is really a considerate man.

Needless to mention his abnormality in the battle, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Haruna smiled slightly:

"Captain Shuo Mao is too cautious."

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was full of exhaustion. It seemed that the mental power consumed in the battle was extraordinary.

Most of the ninjas around her had the same look as her.

While speaking, Shen Ye trotted over from elsewhere:

"Captain Shuo Mao and Xia Zi are alright?"

Hatake Sakumo was safe and sound, and there were a few shallow scratches on his arm, which were insignificant.What's interesting is that he who asked this sentence had a thick bandage wrapped around his shoulder and a hemostatic patch on his left cheek.

Konoha, who lost a lot of troops in the previous war with Sand Yin, once again fell into a bitter battle with Yun Yin.The blood shed by ninjas these days is probably enough to flood several Konoha villages.

Sakumo Hatake said:

"Tonight's vigil, let's go to bed early."

Shen Ye was reluctant at first, saying things like "it's just a small injury and nothing serious" and stubbornly insisted on joining the night watch team.

Hatake Sakumo said straightforwardly:

"This is an order."

The unquestionable tone made Shen Ye feel aggrieved but also helpless.

Haruna seemed to want to say something else, Hatake Sakumo waved:

"Let's go back to the tent."

There was thunder in the sky, and the rumbling sound was particularly loud in the vast wilderness and mountains.After a while, the dark clouds closed abruptly, and the low pressure seemed to be gradually approaching the ground.There was not even a whiff of wind, and the air was very dull.

"It's going to rain."

A ninja said this to his companions, and they quickened their pace.

The weather in the Land of Thunder is like a child's face.

After a while, the bean-sized raindrops fell down.

It was about seven o'clock, and I fell asleep to the sound of raindrops hitting the outer wall of the tent.Haruna next to her breathed evenly, and fell asleep almost as soon as she touched the ground half an hour ago, probably because she was really overtired.Shinya, who was half a meter away from us, was the same as her.

There are no beds or tatami in the camp, and the ninjas sleep on the ground with their backs against the tents.There was only one candle burning in the tent, and the dim yellow candlelight was flickering and mottled.

Sometimes when waking up from a dream, I can't help being in a trance for a moment and can't tell which world I am in.

In this world, there are televisions, refrigerators, and washing machines, but there are no telephone networks, modern means of transportation, and no high-rise buildings like steel forests. The houses and buildings maintain the ancient Japanese style. Two simple English words such as "thankyou" and "OK".

If it weren't for the war, probably this would be a rich and beautiful world.

It was midnight when I woke up, and the candle had burned to a short length of less than five centimeters.The others were still sleeping quietly, and walked out of the tent lightly, only to feel that the air at this time had swept away the muggy heat of the evening, and it was very refreshing and cool.

The rain stopped at some point, and the water on the ground dried quickly. It didn't look like there was a heavy rain just a few hours ago.

Stretching in front of the tent door, as soon as he turned his head, he saw a figure sitting cross-legged beside a cliff tens of meters away, with his back facing the direction, his spine as straight as a bamboo as usual, and his broad shoulders It looked very reassuring.

As far as the eye can see, besides him, there are three or five ninjas on vigil.

There are about four or five hours before dawn.

After thinking about it, she walked over and sat down beside him.The vast sky above the head is like the bloody mouth of a giant beast, and the dark bottomless throat swallows the stars that should have been scattered all over the sky.The camp of Yunyin Village in the distance on the opposite side was hidden under the night, and only a vague outline could be seen vaguely.

"Let's take a break, Senior Shuo Mao." He said.

It took him a while before he retracted his gaze that didn't know where it was in the distance, and turned his head to respond lightly:

"Ah, no need."

Then there was no more sound.If it was Haruna and Shinya, they would definitely persevere in persuading him to rest.But I think that Hatake Sakumo is sometimes more stubborn than ten cows.

Maybe it's because they've gotten acquainted with performing missions together recently, so the silence doesn't feel awkward.The night wind at the end of summer was as cool as water, blowing on the face and blowing away the drowsiness brought out from the tent just now bit by bit.The man beside him still sat motionless, holding his dagger in his hand.

This war that doesn't know when it will end is more disturbing than the abyss under the cliff where you can't see the bottom.

How many more lives must be killed, how many struggles and hesitations must be experienced to survive in this world?How I wish there are prophets and sages who can tell what the end will be if this way goes on.

Occasionally, a night watch ninja passed by, greeted us, and walked away.

I don't know which rock came from behind two or three frog calls. When I turned my eyes in the direction of the sound, I couldn't see anything clearly in the dark area.

"The war with Yunyin won't last long. We have to deal with both Yanyin and Konoha. With so many ninjas killed or injured, Raikage probably doesn't have much left to use."

I thought I would stay silent until dawn, but I didn't expect Sakumo Hatake to suddenly talk about the war.

"So many ninjas were killed, injured, and injured" is not only Yunyin Village, and the number of ninjas who died on Konoha's side is not much less than that of other ninja villages.

He changed his sitting posture, put his hands on his knees, looked at him sideways and said:

"Konoha will win. Senior Sakumo still firmly believes in that."

He smiled:

"If you don't even have the belief in victory, you will have lost the starting point if you haven't set off."

Indeed it is.

These authentic ninjas who have been obsessed with war since childhood, I am afraid that each of them went to the battlefield with the awareness of being loyal to the country and the village, and even dying.

Perhaps the desire for victory is also the biggest motivation for the long-lasting morale after many wars.

"But what is the war for? It's like a grand killing feast. After victory, will you really be proud of how many enemies you have killed? Does Senior Sakumo remember how many enemies died in his hands?"— —When I think of myself killing many, many, I will feel an uncontrollable fear and hatred.

Of course, the last sentence was not uttered. In fact, these words should not be uttered from the mouth of the ninja.Normally, I would not dare to express my war-weariness in such a clear way, maybe I would be regarded as a heretic and be reprimanded and purged.

However, it is probably because the killers during the day are constantly refreshing their cognition of the dark side of themselves, and their tense nerves urgently need an outlet for venting, or maybe it is the reassurance and trust in the gradually familiar Sakumo Hatake, believing that he will not would be classed as heretics because of these words.

He was silent for a long time, staring into the distance motionless, although only some vague scenes could be seen under the night sky.

Just when he thought he would not answer again, he turned his head and looked directly at him and said:

"It's hard to say what the war is for, but one thing is for sure. Killing is not the ultimate goal of war. If you insist on saying it, apart from the noble reasons of the country and the village, it is more worthwhile to fight for your companions. Fight to protect the comrades living behind us in the village and those who fight side by side with us. Killing the enemy is because I don’t want myself and my companions around me to be killed by the enemy.”

His voice was deep and clear in the silence of the night. After such a long sentence, there was no hesitation or wavering, and his tone was as firm as an oath from beginning to end.

Recalling his words in his heart, he couldn't help but overlap with what Aduan and Naoki had said to some extent - protect your companions, protect those around you.So he blurted out and asked:

"Is Sakumo-senpai's ideal also to become Hokage?"

He froze for a moment, then smiled and replied:

"No, it's not. Why do you ask?"

"Because they said they should protect everything around them, they made unremitting efforts towards the ideal of becoming Hokage."

He didn't ask who "they" were, but still smiled more relievedly:

"It's not that only by becoming Hokage can you protect everyone you want to protect..., and what everyone is doing, isn't it also trying to protect your companions?"

He said it so sincerely, as if his companions were his beliefs.

The night was too dim, and even if they were only a short distance away, it was impossible to see whether the smile on his face was as pleasant and full of the gentle mood of a May breeze as expressed in his voice.If it was under the sun, maybe it would be a nice smile.

I heard that when some people see beautiful butterflies emerging from their cocoons, they think of sad moths dying in flames.It probably belongs to this category, and some bad assumptions came to mind because of his words at this time——

——If one day you are denied by your own village and your own companions, if they regard it as a shame, if everyone no longer needs it, and you have always cherished all of this, what will you do?

——If you lose the most important belief in your life, if you no longer have any willing companions, will you regret trying so hard to protect them?

After all, the atmosphere was so good at this time, after all, he didn't say these words that would definitely cause trouble.

An old friend once said that he is a pessimist who will not please people, and the first thing he thinks of is the bad side.In that famous case, when seeing a half glass of water on the table, some would say "there is still half a glass of water" and some would say "only half a glass of water".And undoubtedly the latter.

I hope that all the "ifs" are not related to him.

I hope his companions respect and trust him as much as they do now, just as he puts them at the top of his mind.

***

About ten days later, the war with Yunyin Village was not yet over. One morning, an eagle circled over the camp and landed on Hatake Sakumo's arm.

It was a coded letter from Konoha.

After deciphering it, Hatake Sakumo and his friends said it was a new mission.The daimyo's birthday banquet will be held half a month later. The third team is dispatched to secretly protect the daimyo and his family during the banquet. After receiving the letter, they return to the land of fire and go to the daimyo's mansion immediately.

Haruna and Shinya frowned reluctantly.Hatake Sakumo didn't say anything else, he just told everyone to pack their bags and set off.He probably had some reluctance to leave his companions who were fighting desperately on the front line of the war and go to guard a banquet in a wine pool and meat forest.

There are mountains of corpses on the front line every day, while the dignitaries in the rear are still living a life of luxury and corruption.

The things that ninjas risk their lives to protect are as small as sand in front of these dignitaries.

The author has something to say: You are not mistaken, this is a long-lost update! !

←This is the portrayal of the author><Lie flat and slap QAQ

PS: I wish everyone a happy Children's Day in advance~~