Since the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War, the Hidden Leaf Village had entered a state of war. Although this was the case, the impact on the lives of ordinary citizens was not very significant. Regardless of the purpose for which the Hidden Leaf Village was established, it could not change the fact that it was still a military organization. Therefore, the village had long considered how it should operate once war broke out.
Thus, apart from all necessary wartime measures, the lives of the citizens seemed to be no different from before. At most, when they went out, they would often hear news of the Hidden Leaf Village's battles outside—this was handled by the Hidden Leaf Village's propaganda department. From its inception, the propaganda department was responsible for the village's external and internal news dissemination. Even without leaving the village, citizens could receive information from the outside world.
In addition to internal news, the propaganda department also collaborated with merchants to establish corresponding news agencies in various places, all under the department's leadership. They produced newspapers and spread this new form of information. Wherever living conditions were relatively good, people could obtain news written by the propaganda department. Merchants from other countries also saw the potential and contacted their respective ninja villages to imitate and learn.
Currently, the Hidden Leaf Village's war situation was very favorable. The propaganda department was working diligently in this regard, promoting the heroic ninjas and the righteousness of the village's actions to the citizens, while also disparaging and condemning the Hidden Sand Village and the Hidden Mist Village, giving the citizens a deeper understanding.
As citizens living in this village, they naturally cared greatly about the war situation. Every time they heard good news from the battlefield, they would be very happy. Some would breathe a sigh of relief, feeling that their lives could continue as before. Others would rush to the taverns opened in the village to celebrate, praising the village's strength while mocking the overconfident Hidden Sand Village and Hidden Mist Village.
Recently, news from the Land of Wind battlefield came back, and the propaganda department was once again busy. Besides the usual propaganda about battlefield victories and outstanding ninjas, they focused on depicting the cruel order issued by the Hidden Sand Village. As fellow ninjas, the people in the propaganda department naturally felt very angry, never imagining that the Hidden Sand Village would be so deranged. In the Hidden Leaf Village, they had never conceived of such an order.
Originally, condemning foreign invaders was an important task for the propaganda department, as it benefited the Hidden Leaf Village's positive image. Now that the Hidden Sand Village had committed such a major transgression, not to mention the citizens of the Land of Fire, even citizens of other countries might not be able to tolerate it. The most skilled writers among the ninjas put their minds to work, writing furiously to portray the cruelty of the Hidden Sand Village.
According to the village's orders, this news and public opinion were to be spread to the Land of Wind, to make the citizens there and ordinary Hidden Sand ninjas understand how inhumane and outrageous the Hidden Sand Village's tyranny was, thereby internally dividing the Hidden Sand Village.
The first to know about these matters were the citizens of the Hidden Leaf Village, who received this news immediately. Seeing the contents of the newspaper, every citizen gasped, never imagining that the Hidden Sand Village would commit such acts.
After the Ninja Academy began recruiting civilians, and after more than twenty years of development, most families had someone serving as a ninja in the village. Seeing that the Hidden Sand Village was unwilling to spare even the families of those captured, the families of these ninjas all felt extremely afraid, grateful that they lived in the Hidden Leaf Village and not the Hidden Sand Village. After the fear, came strong condemnation of the Hidden Sand Village.
"Sigh, to think there would be such a ninja village, it's truly unimaginable."
"Lord First Hokage established the ninja villages for peace, but the ninja villages of other countries have completely forgotten this purpose. Not only do they wage war, but they also disregard their own villagers. It's truly…"
"Exactly. I wonder if the people in their village regret settling in such a place and fighting for it."
"I feel quite sorry for those Hidden Sand ninjas. The newspaper also said that many Hidden Sand ninjas are very brave and worthy of respect, yet they are forced to come as invaders. If they are unfortunately captured, even their families will suffer."
"Sigh, luckily we live in a good ninja village."
"Exactly, exactly."
In the Ninja Academy, this order from the Hidden Sand Village was also used as a negative example, conveyed by teachers to young students. Teachers always taught students to love the village, the country, and their families. Any sacrifice or dedication was based on their own identification with the village and the protection of their homeland and loved ones. They never used family to coerce ninjas into sacrificing their lives regardless of their own safety.
This was true for both older and younger teachers. The former, having experienced the brutal First Shinobi World War and accepted the teachings of the First Hokage, naturally could not tolerate such behavior. The younger teachers, having grown up in the context of the revival of Ninshu, likewise could not endorse such tyranny.
"This is the true face of invaders, they are all heartless and unrighteous people. I thought they were already cruel enough, but I never imagined they wouldn't even spare their own comrades from the same village." A student said this. He was a child from the Uzumaki clan. After the Uzumaki clan migrated to the Hidden Leaf Village, these age-appropriate children were sent to the Ninja Academy for education. During the Battle of Uzushio, he witnessed the brutality of the Hidden Mist Village, thinking that was the cruelest thing in the world, but reality far exceeded his expectations.
The other students all knew that he and his family came from Uzushio. The current Uzushio was practically a fallen nation. Originally, there would be some rejection, more or less, towards outsiders, but because of Uzushio's tragic fate, they quickly gained the sympathy of the native residents, and that slight rejection ceased to exist.
For these young students, passion still surged within them. The education they received from a young age was completely different from the actions of the Hidden Sand Village, and thus they intensely detested the Hidden Sand Village. They wished they could graduate immediately and go to the battlefield to teach those invaders a good lesson.
For a time, the entire school was enveloped in this atmosphere. Of course, no matter how strong their desire, the school could not actually send them to the battlefield. There was no shortage of manpower now; the Hidden Leaf Village still had many forces that had not been deployed. Perhaps only if the Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Cloud Village simultaneously attacked the Hidden Leaf Village would the Hidden Leaf Village potentially be forced to send students to the battlefield, but at least for now, it was far from reaching that point.
When Hashirama Senju established the village, his initial wish was for the children of his clan not to go to war, and only then for peace in the ninja world. Although peace in the ninja world was once again shattered, at least Hashirama Senju's initial wish had not been destroyed, which was perhaps something to be grateful for.
Although the school did not agree, the hot-blooded students did not give up. The older students gathered together and began to discuss signing a petition to persuade the school to allow them to go to war. It was unlikely for the younger ones, but for those who were close to graduating or had already graduated, it was still possible. The leader of this initiative was a student named Fugaku Uchiha.
Fugaku Uchiha was a newly graduated genin. Born into a prestigious family, he performed exceptionally well and was a rising star in the clan. His father was also a master in the clan back then. Due to his powerful strength, there were rumors that if Uchiha Kagami had lost his position as heir due to Madara's defection, then according to the Uchiha's tradition of respecting strength, Fugaku Uchiha's father might have become the heir at that time.
Of course, such rumors only circulated for a while during the most difficult times. As Uchiha Kagami's position solidified, these rumors died down. And as for Fugaku Uchiha's father, Uchiha Kagami also trusted him greatly because of his strong abilities and his ideological leaning towards Konoha.
As a member of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha also had warlike blood flowing in his veins. He was a member of the new generation, having never witnessed what a true war was like. Driven by his passion, he temporarily abandoned his plan to join the police force and instead wanted to participate in the war.
After Fugaku Uchiha gathered some people, he felt he needed more influential individuals. Hearing that there were some outstanding students who, although not keen on participating in the war, he personally went to visit them, inviting them to sign the petition together. After successfully persuading several people, he set his sights on the next person, Minato Namikaze. Minato's grades were also excellent; although he wasn't the best in every subject, his scores were consistently at the top. However, his personality was not as overtly ambitious, and in this atmosphere, Minato Namikaze remained completely unmoved.
Minato Namikaze was a year younger than Fugaku and was also a student close to graduation. With his grades, he was practically ready to graduate at any time; all he lacked was the formal examination. The Ninja Academy was very strict in this regard, a system reportedly established by the Third Hokage. No matter how good one's grades were, without going through the proper procedures, completing all subjects, and reaching the appropriate age, one would not be allowed to graduate.
Fugaku Uchiha found Minato Namikaze's classroom. There weren't many people in the class; some were out playing or training. Those in the classroom were either reading or chatting. Thus, he quickly found the person. Minato Namikaze had golden hair and deep blue eyes, with a very delicate appearance. He was currently reading a book. From the cover, it appeared to be a book dictated by the Third Hokage and recorded by his wife, mainly analyzing some of the Third Hokage's theories.
"Hello, Minato Namikaze." Fugaku Uchiha walked up to him and said.
"Yes, that's me." Minato Namikaze closed his book, looked up at Fugaku Uchiha, and said, "I think you're… the top student of this year, Fugaku Uchiha, right?"
"Yes, it seems you know me. I'd like to discuss something with you." Fugaku Uchiha said.
"If it's about hoping I'll sign the petition, then there's no need." Minato Namikaze seemed to guess Fugaku Uchiha's intention and said.
"Why?" Fugaku Uchiha was a little surprised. "Don't you want to fight for the village?"
"Of course not, I am willing to fight for the village, but I also understand that the village does not have that intention." Minato Namikaze shook his head slightly and said, "I believe that since the village doesn't need us on the battlefield yet, we shouldn't act on our own initiative. Fugaku-kun, you should know that ninjas prioritize obeying orders, right? You are already a formal genin; you shouldn't misunderstand this principle."
Fugaku Uchiha was speechless. He, of course, understood this principle, but he had forgotten it for a moment, blinded by his eagerness to go to battle. Hearing Minato Namikaze say this, he hesitated for a moment, but he was clearly not so easily persuaded. Just as he was about to continue trying to persuade him, he heard other voices.
"How can you say that!" A red-haired girl ran over, seemingly having overheard their conversation. "As members of the village, we should try to contribute some strength to the village. Even if the village hasn't asked, we should still try to express our attitude."
This red-haired girl was Kushina Uzumaki. After reaching the appropriate age, she also came to the Ninja Academy to study. Aside from her training as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, her study life was largely similar to others. She could almost be considered to have grown up in this village and had deep feelings for the Hidden Leaf Village. In her essay about her future dreams, she boldly wrote that she wanted to be the Hokage's wife, which greatly surprised her teacher at the time.
Of course, Kushina also hadn't forgotten her hometown, Uzushio, where her parents were. Unfortunately, both her parents died defending against the Hidden Mist Village's invasion.
Because of this, Kushina deeply hated the Hidden Mist Village, and the Hidden Sand Village, as fellow invaders, also became a target of her hatred. Coincidentally, at this time, the trend of students requesting to go to war erupted, and she, too, was influenced and supported this action.
"But, Kushina, we aren't even ninjas yet." When Minato Namikaze saw the girl, his reaction was different from the calm, unfamiliar demeanor he showed to Fugaku Uchiha. Instead, he showed a wry smile, with a hint of helplessness.
"We'll be soon, won't we? It's just a matter of an exam. If we ask the school, maybe they'll just waive it." Kushina pouted and said, "Minato, you're not scared, are you? Your grades are so good, yet you're dragging your feet on this."
"It's not like that." Minato Namikaze maintained his wry smile.
Kushina glanced at him and lightly snorted. She actually found it strange that Minato Namikaze, despite his good grades, had no desire to show off and rarely had conflicts with others, unlike those students eager to display their strength. It seemed like a humble demeanor, but in Kushina's mind, she felt Minato Namikaze was a bit weak, especially with his delicate appearance, which made him seem a bit effeminate, reinforcing this impression.
"I think we are all too young and haven't even had any practical training. Right now, there are many experienced and powerful ninjas on standby in the village; there's absolutely no need for us. If we went to the battlefield, we might even cause trouble for others due to our lack of experience. Would that still count as helping the village?" Minato Namikaze asked.
"Well…" Kushina was momentarily unable to answer. What Minato Namikaze said seemed to make some sense, but she was unwilling to be deterred by the "effeminate" image in her mind, so she pondered hard, trying to find a point to refute him.
At this moment, a sudden cheer from many people came from the teaching building, attracting the attention of the three. They all went to the window and saw a person surrounded by students below. Even without a statue carved into the Hokage Rock, the students recognized that person through other channels. Kushina blinked and said, "Oh, it's Uncle Fumori."