During the years Asuna was away, Satomi meticulously maintained her room, and now it looked exactly as it did when Asuna left.
Asuna changed out of her combat uniform into casual clothes, then let down her tied-up hair, finally feeling a sense of her old self returning.
Asuna leaned back, falling onto her bed, and let out a deep sigh.
No matter what, her own bed was always the most comfortable.
In the Land of Rain, due to Hanzō's care for the Hidden Leaf Village, living conditions were generally good.
However, after the war broke out, things changed completely.
Conditions on the front lines deteriorated significantly, and it was predictable that as the intensity of the war increased, these conditions would worsen further.
Asuna lay there for a while, quietly dozing, before finally getting up, intending to go out and see if there was anything she could help with.
As soon as she opened the door, Asuna felt someone pounce on her.
She instinctively adopted a defensive stance, but feeling no hostility, she was embraced by the other person.
"Wow, it really is Asuna! It's been so long!" The person hugged Asuna, then looked her over, and joyfully rubbed her cheek.
"Sister, let go of me, don't be like this," Asuna was a little unaccustomed to the other's enthusiasm.
Even though her sister had always been a very warm person, she had never been this effusive.
"After all, I haven't seen Asuna in ages." Akemi, seeing her sister's silent refusal, let go with a hint of regret.
"Asuna has grown up too."
"We were born on the same day," Asuna tidied her slightly disheveled clothes.
"Sister, why are you back so soon? Mother said the R&D department has been very busy lately, hasn't it?"
"Yes, because war with the Land of Lightning is very likely to break out, the village requested confirmation of those targeted ninja tools.
It wasn't that urgent initially, but then everything was suddenly put on the agenda."
Akemi took her sister's hand and sat down at the table, smiling as she said, "Although it's a request, it's not extremely urgent.
Since Asuna is back, I can put it aside for now.
After all, I've been working overtime these past few days."
"Ah, war with the Land of Lightning is about to break out?" Asuna didn't know about this, and hadn't seen any signs on the street, so she said in surprise.
"Yes, the village has already organized some ninja squads and they'll be heading north soon," Akemi nodded and said, "Ah, the battlefields in the other two places haven't ended yet, and now we have to face another country.
Father must be very annoyed, he hasn't been home much lately."
Asuna couldn't help but worry.
Although the village hadn't committed all its forces and was already subtly suppressing the other two countries, now that the Land of Lightning was joining in, the pressure on the village would surely increase significantly.
Her sister had also mentioned that their father hadn't been home much lately.
She knew that in the past, her father always managed to make time to come home and be with them, ensuring their childhood wasn't spent without a father.
Seeing Asuna's expression, Akemi patted her shoulder and said, "Don't worry, the village was able to win the last Shinobi World War, so it's even less likely to lose now.
The current situation is quite similar to the last Shinobi World War, that's what everyone in the village says."
Seeing her sister's reassurance, Asuna thought about it, and her worries seemed to disappear by more than half.
Seeing this, Akemi continued, "Let's not talk about such unpleasant topics at home, forget about it, forget about it!
I'm actually quite curious, what did you do during your internship in the Land of Rain?
Tell me about it."
Asuna also didn't want to be tense at home, so hearing her sister, she temporarily pushed the war aside and began to talk about her years away.
Akemi listened with great interest, asking about the details.
She wasn't just listening; she also talked about some of her experiences in the R&D department.
Although she couldn't reveal specific details, she could describe the goals of the secret techniques the R&D department was currently researching, and how much the village's strength would increase once they achieved results.
It was said that the chakra storage blocks developed by the R&D department played a very significant role on the battlefield.
After some time, Satomi returned with groceries.
She had specifically bought Asuna's favorite foods.
Seeing Asuna and Akemi chatting happily, she couldn't help but smile.
Even after several years, the sisters' bond had not diminished at all, which made Satomi very happy.
Taking off her shoes, she teased, "Heh, Asuna just got back, and you immediately ran home.
It seems Mother isn't as dear as your sister."
"That's not what I meant," Akemi was a little embarrassed.
It was just that Asuna had been away for many years, while she saw their mother every day, so naturally, she wasn't as eager.
Although she knew her mother was teasing, Akemi still ran over, hugged her mother's arm, and acted spoiled, seeking her mother's understanding.
Satomi had only said it casually, and seeing Akemi acting spoiled, her heart softened.
She walked in with the groceries and said, "Since your sister is back, I'll make a delicious meal today.
Asuna, you just look forward to it."
Asuna glanced at the groceries her mother was carrying and knew what her mother was going to make.
Its origin, she would say, came from her father.
For people in the ninja world, it might be hard to understand Kazamori Masaki's taste in food.
When he first arrived, he wasn't very accustomed to the traditional dishes of the ninja world.
Later, he personally tried some dishes from his previous life.
Although his body didn't adapt immediately, he still ate happily, and Satomi also learned how to make them.
In the Land of Rain, it was obviously impossible for anyone to make such dishes.
Asuna hadn't eaten them for several years.
She hadn't learned how to cook them herself, nor could she make them.
This time, seeing that her mother was making these for dinner, the taste from her memories immediately resurfaced, and she couldn't help but feel a little greedy.
"By the way, will Father be back today?" Asuna asked.
She had learned from her sister that their father had been leaving early and returning late recently.
Now that she was back, would he make some time to come home?
"Him? He'll be staying in the Hokage's office building these days, he won't be back.
Don't worry too much about it," Satomi said.
"Is it because of the war?" Asuna didn't expect her father wouldn't even plan to come home, and couldn't help but be very surprised.
This was the first time since she could remember.
Could this war with the Land of Lightning be so severe that even a father like him couldn't spare any time?
"It's not that serious," Satomi's expression seemed unbothered by Kazamori Masaki's decision not to come home, appearing very calm.
"Asuna, Akemi, you must believe in your father's abilities.
Some things were already within his predictions, and he will certainly be able to resolve them properly.
Let's not worry unnecessarily, and just do our own things well."
As their father's closest confidante, their mother naturally knew more than her two daughters.
Seeing her mother's calm expression, Asuna and Akemi truly relaxed, feeling that no matter what the situation was, their father would be able to resolve it.
"Mother, let me help you," Relieved, Asuna saw her mother walk into the kitchen and quickly got up to help.
Satomi glanced at her, smiled, and said, "Alright, first, help me wash these vegetables—"
On this day, every Konoha ninja who returned to the village enjoyed a delightful dinner with their families, as if war had never happened, and everything was still in an era of peace.
However, it was not true peace.
Just three days after the Konoha ninjas returned, the newly organized Konoha ninja forces began to march north.
This Konoha ninja army would be commanded by Akimichi Torifu, who was stationed in the north.
Their purpose was to deter the enemy.
The village and the Land of Lightning were still in the negotiation process, so war would not break out immediately.
If negotiations failed, this ninja force would become the defensive line against the enemy.
With the deployment of these Konoha ninja forces, the village's resource allocation became even more strained.
Of course, it hadn't reached a critical point yet, and the lives of the civilians remained stable.
The returning Konoha ninjas all knew about the potential war with the Land of Lightning, and discussions were rife.
Hatake Sakumo was also very concerned about this matter, hoping to get some information from his teacher.
Unexpectedly, when he went to the Hokage's office building intending to meet his teacher, he was stopped and informed that the Third Hokage was very busy and inconvenient to meet anyone.
If anything was needed, Hatake Sakumo would be informed.
So, Hatake Sakumo went to his teacher's home, hoping to see him, but Asuna replied that his teacher hadn't been home at all.
This made Hatake Sakumo a little puzzled.
What kind of matter could keep him so busy that he didn't even have time to spare?
Even if the Land of Lightning was about to enter the battlefield, it shouldn't be this busy.
And then, Hatake Sakumo felt he had guessed the reason, because two days later, the Land of Earth announced that it would launch a war against the Land of Fire.
This immediately stirred up a storm in the Hidden Leaf Village.
Initially, the potential involvement of the Land of Lightning already made people feel the situation was dire, but now even the Land of Earth was joining the war, and it was an invasion war against the Land of Fire.
Those young Konoha ninjas felt their faces were severely slapped.
They had once believed that the Hidden Stone Village would uphold righteousness, just like in the last Shinobi World War, assisting the Hidden Leaf Village against the invaders.
However, they unexpectedly turned to join the ranks of the invaders.
While feeling the pressure of three countries declaring war, the Konoha ninjas felt even more anger.
Compared to the three countries that appeared as invaders in the last Shinobi World War, the Land of Earth's behavior was even more outrageous, like a betrayal of their own side, especially since these Konoha ninjas had previously believed that the Land of Earth could be an ally in the war.
The propaganda department of the Hidden Leaf Village released a new newspaper at this time, which strongly condemned the actions of the Land of Earth, calling it a traitor colluding with invaders.
In its rhetoric, its maliciousness was countless times worse than that of other invading countries.
It stated that the Hidden Leaf ninjas must sanction such a country and called on all Konoha ninjas not to fear difficulties.
They were fighting a just anti-invasion war, and no matter the situation, under the leadership of the Third Hokage, the Hidden Leaf Village would surely defeat all invaders and uphold justice in the ninja world.
This issue of the newspaper immediately ignited the anger of the young Konoha ninjas towards the Land of Earth, spreading like wildfire.
They all requested to participate in the war, and the ninja forces to deal with the Land of Earth were quickly assembled, even faster than before.
Unlike other ninja villages, the Hidden Leaf Village's ninja composition was more diverse, without fixed chakra attributes.
Because of this, they could form corresponding ninja forces based on the enemy's characteristics, though in terms of scale, they were certainly not as strong as the enemy's ninja forces with clear attributes.
For some experienced ninjas, they were somewhat worried whether the Hidden Leaf Village could truly persevere against the combined attack of four countries—of course, the Land of Lightning had not yet declared war, and war had not truly broken out, but everyone speculated that it might.
As ninjas living in this village, they naturally had great confidence in the village's strength.
The fact that a partial force was able to suppress the Hidden Mist and Hidden Sand Villages was a clear indication.
Even with various worries in their hearts, in the face of the prevailing public opinion in the village, they could not show any sign of fear, otherwise, they might be labeled as cowardly or weak by others.
They also had their dignity, and they indeed had confidence in the village, unless a truly major crisis emerged, they would not show any wavering attitude.
Hatake Sakumo and others were also incorporated into the ninja forces and were about to return to the battlefield.
For now, the Hidden Sand Village, due to the rainy season, was unable to advance in the Land of Rain, posing no threat for the time being.
However, on the other side, the territory of the Land of Earth was also very close to the Land of Rain, making them equally threatening enemies.
While ensuring the combat organization to deal with the Hidden Sand Village, only a certain amount of troops needed to be deployed, including the combat units temporarily unable to engage in battle, to deal with the Hidden Stone Village.
This was the conclusion reached by the wartime established General Staff.
Although the time spent in the village was not long, Hatake Sakumo, Asuna, Maki, and Yamanaka Risa had already enjoyed a comfortable life.
Now was the time to fight for the village and the country, otherwise, if the war did not end, they would not be able to continue such a daily routine.
Currently, the ninja force dealing with the Hidden Mist Village was called the First Ninja Force, the one dealing with the Hidden Sand Village was called the Second Ninja Force, the one dealing with the Land of Lightning was called the Third Ninja Force, and now the one dealing with the Hidden Stone Village was the Fourth Ninja Force.
The Fourth Ninja Force's organization was not as robust as the other ninja forces, and it had no designated commander, being under the unified command of Uchiha Mirror, the commander of the Second Ninja Force.
The Second Ninja Force and the Fourth Ninja Force rendezvoused within the Land of Rain.
After planning, the territories for each squad and team within the ninja force were arranged, with Hatake Sakumo being responsible for heading to deal with the Hidden Stone Village.
Originally, Hatake Sakumo's chakra nature was not suitable for dealing with the Hidden Sand ninjas, yet even under such unfavorable conditions, Hatake Sakumo was able to achieve astonishing combat results.
Needless to say, against the Hidden Stone ninjas, he was therefore transferred to that side, and Asuna and others under his command were naturally also moved there.
The Land of Earth and the Land of Fire were separated by the Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, and the Land of Waterfalls.
The Land of Waterfalls, having a Tailed Beast as its backing and no intention of participating in the war, was avoided to prevent forcing it to side with the Hidden Leaf Village.
Also avoiding the Land of Rain, which was in its rainy season, the Hidden Stone Village chose to advance through the Land of Grass.
And the Konoha ninjas of the Fourth Ninja Force similarly chose to resist the Hidden Stone Village in the Land of Grass.
The members of the Fourth Ninja Force were mostly those with the strongest anti-Land of Earth sentiments.
The General Staff believed that with their combat will, they would be able to deliver a crushing blow to the Hidden Stone Village's vanguard forces.