Hearing that, Minato's face changed.
Not far away, Mikami Yuu and the others—who had all perked up to eavesdrop—also stiffened.
"Sunagakure and Konoha signed an alliance treaty. A one-sided invasion like this is basically a declaration of war, isn't it?" Minato said, frowning.
"That's right."
The jōnin continued, "And judging from various signs, Konoha's deployment information in this area may already have been leaked. That's probably why our patrol squads have been getting hit so often lately. I'm going to immediately arrange manpower to adjust the defense line. Please, Namikaze-sama, deliver this information back to the village and request reinforcements!"
People's understanding of war is often delayed.
Aside from Mikami Yuu, a transmigrator, no one could recognize at the very start that "the Third Great Ninja War is beginning." They couldn't even tell whether this was just a standard local clash or the beginning of a drawn-out conflict that would engulf the entire ninja world.
But Sunagakure was one of the Five Great Villages.
Even if it was one of the weaker ones, once it broke the alliance and declared war, it had to be treated seriously.
Mikami Yuu and the others couldn't hear the rest clearly.
When Minato returned,
Obito was the first to raise his hand and ask nervously, "Minato-sensei, is there really going to be a war? Are we going to the battlefield too? When?"
"…What are you saying, kid?"
Minato smiled gently. "The situation hasn't reached the point where children under ten like you need to go fight on the front lines.
"As Konoha's new generation, what you need to do now is return to the village and work hard to improve yourselves. That's how you'll let the warriors on the front lines fight with peace of mind. As for the day you really go to war… it would be better if that day came as late as possible."
Then he paused, glanced at Mikami Yuu, and spoke with a bit of hesitation.
"Oh, right, Yuu. Your father is on rotation duty in this area, isn't he? I asked the officer just now. He said… your father was supposed to finish his term a month ago, but because they were short-handed, he volunteered to stay. Not long ago, he went missing during a patrol mission. His whereabouts are currently unknown…"
"..."
Mikami Yuu fell silent.
Back at the beginning of the year, Mikami Tajima had written to him and Mikami Aoi saying that he'd be able to rotate home in two months.
Now those two months had long since passed. It was almost April, and he still hadn't returned. Mikami Yuu had already been wondering if something had happened to him, but didn't know who to ask. He hadn't expected to get the news here instead.
"Missing, fate unknown" usually meant dead.
That kind of thing was common enough in wartime.
Still, it was hard not to feel a little shaken.
Rin and Obito both looked at Mikami Yuu with sympathy.
Minato let out a breath and added, "The situation doesn't look good, but don't be too upset. I already asked the officer in charge to help look into your father's whereabouts. If there's any news, I'll find a way to let you know."
"…Thank you, Minato-sensei."
Mikami Yuu said.
Other than Minato, none of them were sensory-type ninja, nor did they understand the border situation in detail. And now that Sunagakure had launched a full invasion, war could break out in this area at any moment. For safety reasons, there was no way they would be allowed to stay and help, much less search for anyone.
So all they could do was understand the situation, then leave with somewhat heavy hearts.
Along the way back,
Rin tried several times to comfort Mikami Yuu.
Obito, for once, was unusually gentle too. While they stopped to eat on the road, he even rushed to help set up the pot and boil water for Mikami Yuu.
Since someone else was willing to do the work, Mikami Yuu was happy to take it easy. He practiced swordsmanship while mentally drafting what he might say later to help his mother, Mikami Aoi, "grieve and accept fate"…
However—
just a few days after they returned to Konoha, Mikami Yuu got news that completely caught him off guard:
"Huh? Dad? You're not dead??"
…
The place was Konoha Hospital.
A noisy inpatient ward.
Mikami Yuu and Mikami Aoi stood beside a hospital bed, staring in shock at Mikami Tajima, who was wrapped up like a mummy, with his right leg in a cast.
As soon as Minato returned to Konoha, he had gone to see Hiruzen and reported the news of Sunagakure's invasion.
But Hiruzen had actually received that information even earlier through his personal Anbu.
So—
several of Konoha's top leaders immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond to the Sand Village's invasion.
No one knew what was said in the meeting, but afterward, a force of one hundred ninja was urgently assembled. It was said that one of the Sannin, Jiraiya himself, would lead them to reinforce the western and southern borders within the next few days, stop the Sand invasion, and bring back front-line personnel who had been too badly injured to keep fighting.
After that, news of the war spread through Konoha like wildfire, causing a huge uproar:
"Those damned Sand bastards! 'The Third Kazekage went missing'? Who are they fooling? That's obviously just a random excuse to invade us! Hell, I could also say my son got lost in the Land of Wind!"
"Why is there another war already? It's only been a few years of peace!"
"Fight! Beat the hell out of those Sand bastards!"
"Man, if only White Fang-sama were still around. His swordsmanship was the natural enemy of puppet techniques…"
"My parents are both stationed on the southwestern border. I heard some of the outposts there have already fallen. They might have… Father! Mother! Your child is unfilial! Waaah!"
The news of war, combined with the sight of ninja units moving constantly through the village, made Konoha deeply uneasy.
The streets, shops, and clan compounds were all filled with talk of the conflict. Even little kids who couldn't yet read could sense the shift in the atmosphere and became much less noisy.
Then, when the first batch of severely wounded who could no longer fight were brought back from the front, the discussion only grew fiercer. Hiruzen had to personally give a calming speech just to settle people down a little.
Faced with war, aside from a few hotheaded fools who had never really suffered through one and still dreamed of earning glory on the battlefield as heroes of Konoha, most people felt fear.
Especially newly graduated genin like Mikami Yuu and Rin.
Mikami Yuu had originally assumed that the best possible outcome for his father would be returning in a square little box.
He never imagined…
that his father would actually survive, be found by a Konoha search patrol, and somehow be brought back to the village.
Though not without a price—
"Aoi… Yuu… I'm so glad I'm still alive to see you both…"
Mikami Tajima, with his honest-looking face, forced a smile as he looked at Mikami Yuu and Aoi standing beside the bed.
"The border's been in chaos lately. The squad I was with got ambushed during patrol. The other three teammates were all killed. I was the only one who made it out, but my right leg was blown off by an explosive tag. I'm afraid… I'll never be a ninja again."
~~~
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