72: The Start of the Shura Field

The truce with Sandyin will be a few days later.

　　This time, the place where the armistice agreement was signed was re-determined. The mission that Konoha sent was not attacked. The scene of the armistice agreement passed calmly.

　　Although the war has passed, the national border of the country of fire still has to arrange ninjas to be stationed there.

　　Moreover, it is not a matter of one or two days to evacuate and return to the village. Unused materials need to be counted, and there are many wounded people who also need to be taken care of.

　　There are also the bodies of the victims, whose identity must be verified and transported back to the village.

　　Sakumo's team has nothing to do now, the war is over, and there is no need to go to the rear of the sand hidden camp to carry out sabotage work.

　　Leaving aside the other three, Shiraishi was being requisitioned because he was a medical ninja, and he had to stay in the medical unit every day.

　　When the injuries of these wounded improve and return to Konoha, it will be much smoother.

　　On this day, Shiraishi worked in the medical unit as usual, working with the rest of the medical ninjas to treat the wounded ninjas.

　　In fact, it is the other medical ninjas who do the operation, and the medical ninjas who performed surgery are all experienced and skilled adult ninjas.

　　Shiraishi didn't complain about this, so his workload would be much easier.

　　These kinds of days continued until early December, when the Konoha ninjas on the front lines began to pull out camp and return to the village, and Shiraishi finished his medical team work.

　　Returning to the village from the front line, it took a total of three or four days to return to the village due to not walking very fast.

　　During this period, we must take care of the wounded and protect the important supplies that havent been used up. We must not act too fast, otherwise we would return to the village within a day.

　　When he returned to the village, Shiraishi was also treated as a 'hero' for the first time.

　　The high-level Konoha headed by the three generations of Hokage, led a large number of Konoha ninjas, and the villagers of Konoha Village around them to welcome the ninjas who returned from the front line.

　　After a day's rest, Konoha held a large burial ceremony the next day.

　　Only more than 500 people were able to be brought back as a corpse, and among them, less than one tenth of them was able to preserve the integrity of the corpse.

　　And there are still many corpses that cannot be found, or the corpses are so mutilated that they cannot be identified as their own, or the corpses of Shayin's ninjas. There are even more ninjas in this part.

　　The weather in December is already very cold.

　　In addition, on the day of the burial ceremony, the weather was not very sunny, and the sun was rarely seen.

　　The four members of the Sakumo team wore pure black mourning clothes and stood in front of the newly added tombstones, expressing silence.

　　This time, the war with Sandyin lasted for more than two years. It was even worse than the War in the Kingdom of Rain. In terms of sacrifice rate, it even surpassed the War in the Kingdom of Rain.

　　The comprehensive level of the ninjas in the formation of Sandyin is far beyond that of the ninjas in Hidden Rain Village.

　　"I didn't see Tsunade Jonin."

　　Ayane looked around and said in a low voice.

　　Shiraishi also circled around, Orochimaru and Jiraiya from the three ninjas came, and even Jiraiya's disciple Minato was there, but Tsunade was the only one who didn't come.

　　"After all, this war has directly caused her to lose two of her closest people. It's only natural that she doesn't want to attend this kind of funeral. However, after everyone leaves, she will come here secretly."

　　I don't want others to see the fragile side of Sannin. In Shiraishi's view, Tsunade's heart has become weak.

　　However, people have different levels of inner strength, and their tolerance for bad news also varies from person to person.

　　Shiraishi completely understands this.

　　"You go back first, I'll go to Hokage-sama to discuss something."

　　After the funeral, Sakumo dropped this sentence and walked towards the location of the three generations of Hokage and other high-level executives.

　　The three of Shiraishi did not object, they looked at each other and left the graveyard.

　　"It seems that this year's New Year's ceremony will be very deserted."

　　Ayane said something while walking on the road, as if she was regretting it.

　　After Shiraishi and Ruri heard this, they also nodded slightly.

　　It is now December, and many families have been torn apart because of the war. Although the festival will be held as usual, it is certain that the liveliness will not be as good as in previous years.

　　Not only civilians, but also many ninjas sacrificed in the major ninja tribes.

　　"What are you going to do next? The war is over, it always feels very sudden."

　　"That's because our team has never participated in a head-on war, so I think so."

　　Shiraishi answered Ayane's emotion.

　　"You two, don't take it lightly because the war is over. If you die, it will be very difficult to find a ninja who can match my rhythm."

　　Ruri poured cold water on the side.

　　Shiraishi snorted and said, "It's okay, safety first has always been my code of conduct."

　　The end of the war does not mean that ninjas have lost their usefulness.

　　In peacetime, ninjas also perform missions, but compared to wartime, the difficulty of the mission will be much lower.

　　Shiraishi thought that he had not tried to accept a normal mission, and the missions he had been doing all along were fighting enemy ninjas.

　　The lowest level is also a B-level task, and the routine is an A-level task. Occasionally, I follow Sakumo to perform S-level tasks, and paddle behind to receive merits.

　　Thinking that both Ruri and Ayane in the team were already Chunin, he was the only one in Sakumo's team who was the lowest level Genin, and Shiraishi was thinking about when it would be better to be a Chunin.

　　After all, Genin felt a little out of place in the elite Sakumo squad.

　　After chatting for a while, the three also parted ways and went home.

　　"Speaking of which, uncle and aunt, will they come back this year for the Chinese New Year?"

　　"I'll send something back."

　　"Really? Don't you feel lonely?"

　　Shiraishi asked.

　　"It doesn't matter."

　　"Looks like it's us two together again this year."

　　Shiraishi put his hands behind his head and said casually.

　　"Yeah, another year without any expectations."

　　Ruri said this, and then her eyes swept to the gray sky, dazed.

　　◎

　　December passed quickly, and since Konoha and Sandyin signed an armistice agreement, nothing major happened in the ninja world.

　　During this period, the Sakumo team only performed two tasks, both of which were relatively simple C-level tasks, to suppress a robber stronghold in the country of fire, and to escort a caravan to the neighboring country of the country of wave.

　　Compared with the calm Ninja world, some minor things happened in Konoha Village.

　　That is, Tsunade resigned from the Konoha Hospital and turned to the ninja school's business of cultivating medical ninjas.

　　This makes many people feel baffled.

　　Among them, Shiraishi was the one who was suspicious.

　　Because of Tsunade's excellent medical ninjutsu, in today's ninja world, no one can surpass him.

　　The strongest among the ninjas is naturally the 'Five Shadows'.

　　But in the medical ninja world, the strongest person today is undoubtedly Tsunade.

　　In the eyes of medical ninjas, Tsunade is the pinnacle they want to surpass.

　　With Tsunade's ability, it is completely possible to work at Konoha Hospital while training medical ninjas for Konoha in the ninja school. The functions of the two are not in conflict with each other.

　　After all, working in Konoha Hospital only occasionally requires her to do some difficult operations, most injuries, the rest of the medical ninjas can handle.

　　In this regard, the high-level side did not have any explanation, but only expressed respect for Tsunade's own wishes.

　　Although he gave up his position at Konoha Hospital, Konoha's medical ninjas can still go to Tsunade to ask for some difficult medical knowledge.

　　Tsunade didn't say anything about it.

　　It can be said that she is the greatest authority in the field of medical ninjas.

　　She herself is also very keen to train more excellent medical ninjas for the village.

　　Compared with the other two of the three ninjas, Tsunade's prestige is undoubtedly stronger and has an extremely large mass base.

　　The various drugs she developed for Konoha, during the war, cracked all the poisons of the elder Chiyo of Sandyin, and with her own power, greatly reduced the poisonous attack ability of Sandyin's puppet troops.

　　Not to mention, in the war, the Konoha ninjas who were rescued by her surgery were innumerable, and many Konoha ninjas were grateful to her.

　　If one of the three ninjas is most likely to become the future Hokage, Shiraishi thinks Tsunade is more likely than the other two.

　　Inheriting the excellent bloodline of her grandfather's first Hokage, she has a solid backing. She has rescued countless patients from her surgery, and her strength is outstanding.

　　But this is just Shiraishi's opinion, because Konoha's political environment is very... um, how can I put it, it's very special.

　　Shiraishi really couldn't find the right words to describe it, and could only use 'special' to describe Konoha's political environment.

　　The power of Anbu, the direct subordinate unit that Hokage relies on most, is divided into Anbu and Root.

　　The root is not in the hands of Hokage, but it has the right to act freely with the Anbu.

　　Uchiha controls Konoha's garrison, and in some powers surpasses Hokage's direct subordinate Anbu.

　　For example, Anbu needs a Hokage order book to arrest people, and the garrison can detain suspects before the Hokage order book is issued.

　　As a ninja, Uchiha's power is very powerful.

　　However, Uchiha with such great power, the headquarters of the garrison is not the Konoha center, but in a relatively secluded part of the village, which is not conducive to the function of the garrison.

　　There are also many issues of principle that, in Shiraishi's view, need to be changed.

　　Although the first Hokage established Konoha and the second Hokage created the development pattern of Ninja Village, there are also many regulations that cannot be adapted to the times in what they left behind.

　　If changes are not made in the future, some lamentable tragedies will inevitably occur.

　　Thinking about it carefully, Shiraishi felt that he was a little unfounded.

　　Organizational matters have been formally laid out.

　　The five people he dispatched are currently following the business group established by Ruri's parents, and have purchased a huge site in the land of ghosts that can be used to establish a base.

　　As long as Shiraishi waits for the next more intense war to come, he can break away from Konoha and go his own way.

　　His philosophy, his way of thinking, are incompatible with this village.

　　◎

　　January, the beginning of the new year.

　　In order to avoid suspicion, every time during the New Year, I attend festivals with Ruri.

　　Now that Ayane has joined Sakumo's team, she can naturally be together in an open and honest way, so as not to cause unnecessary suspicion.

　　A unit established in the form of a squad is also a connection of fetters in a sense. Every member of the squad is like a family.

　　"Happy New Year."

　　Wearing a brand new white kimono with pink cherry blossoms on it, Ayane, who had been waiting on the street for a long time, bowed slightly to Shiraishi and Ruri who were walking towards her.

　　"Happy New Year."

　　The two of them also bent down slightly, and Ruri didn't show her any face.

　　Unlike Ayane, Ruri was wearing a light blue kimono with a blue headband on her hair, and the clothes between her hair and neck were a bit empty, and her snow-white and slender neck could be seen from the side.

　　The three exchanged red envelopes with each other, which were considered gifts this year.

　　Because last month they were still at war, even in the new year.

　　Konoha's New Year's celebration this year, it is natural to be a little deserted.

　　It is not yet time for the night festival to start, but there are also many festive things hanging on the road.

　　For example, the symbols are made of straw rope, and some people put pine and bamboo in front of their own door.

　　On the street, there are already children holding toys, running on the road, and they can still hear their laughter.

　　Hearing the laughter of these children, even the sadness brought by the war was washed away a lot.

　　"Ruri, your kimono is beautiful."

　　"Well, yours isn't bad either."

　　Ruri glanced at the kimono on Ayane's body. The kimono with white as the base material and pink cherry blossoms as the pattern really fit Ayane's pure and gentle temperament.

　　"Yeah, after all, this is the best gift I've received this year."

　　Ayane said with a smile.

　　"By the way, where are you two going to play?"

　　After hearing Ayane say those words, Shiraishi hurriedly changed the subject skillfully, fearing that she would say something unnecessary at this time.

　　"I heard that there are a few new shops in the village. Let's go there and have a look. After playing enough, we will go to eat barbecue with Sakumo-sensei in the evening."

　　Thinking that there will be an incomparably sumptuous meal in the evening, Ayane is looking forward to the festival tonight.

　　Shiraishi and Ruri have no opinion on this.

　　The focus is on the evening roast.

　　For this reason, Shiraishi and the three planned not to eat anything during the day.

　　To be honest, Shiraishi is not very interested in shopping, but he also knows that the fun of shopping for Ruri and Ayane lies in the atmosphere, not really buying anything.

　　Ruri aside, Ayane's family environment is not bad, and she is not too obsessed with material pursuits.

　　Otherwise, with Ayane's appetite, ordinary families would have already been eaten up.

　　After all, he was the poorest one.

　　Ruri and Ayane were there to evaluate and communicate about a certain product. Occasionally, Shiraishi would also intervene and give some opinions. The atmosphere was very harmonious, and it was quite family-like.

　　Time passed unknowingly, and the sky began to darken.

　　More and more people came to the street.

　　The thin white snow began to fall from the sky, adding a bit of coldness, but after the number of people increased, the coldness could not be felt at all.

　　The ninjas who are usually busy at work also took off their ninja clothes and put on new clothes to participate in the night festival together.

　　Gradually, the lively atmosphere rose.

　　There are open-air dramas. The people in the play wear strange clothes and ghost masks, and perform bizarre stories of ghosts and gods, attracting the attention of many children.

　　The children on the street were jumping and jumping, and even the shouts of adults were heard.

　　"I hope I'm not too late."

　　After shopping in the afternoon, the three of Shiraishi waited at the agreed place, and it didn't take long for Sakumo in casual clothes to appear in front of the three of them.

　　He was also holding a two-year-old child in his arms, huddled tightly in Sakumo's arms, where he kept warm.

　　"No, it's still half an hour before the scheduled time. Is this Sakumo-sensei's child? It's cute."

　　Ayane looked at the child in Sakumo's arms, who, like Sakumo, had white hair.

　　He was looking at Ayane with curious eyes.

　　"Okay, you can come down, Kakashi."

　　Sakumo put the child in his arms down.

　　The child already had the ability to walk independently. After being placed on the snow by Sakumo, he stood there blankly, not knowing what to do.

　　Ayane went up to hold him in her arms, and didn't cry, but he hung the corners of his eyes, showing a very flat and arrogant expression.

　　Although the eyes are very energetic, this expression... as expected, it would be more comfortable to beat him.

　　Shiraishi didn't think such a kid was cute.

　　"This kid is very energetic."

　　Ayane said with a smile.

　　"Yes, he has always been healthy and will become an excellent ninja in the future."

　　"Sakumo-sensei, today is a rare celebration, can you not say such disappointing words? It's hard to break away from the busy task."

　　"Sorry, professional habit."

　　Sakumo said that subconsciously because he had a pair of eyes that could see through the essence of things.

　　"Ruri, do you want to give me a hug?"

　　Ayane looked at Ruri.

　　"No, this kid's eyes are too arrogant. It makes me want to flatten him."

　　Seeing Kakashi's eyes drooping from the corners of her eyes, Ruri felt a little unhappy.

　　Shiraishi nodded, and he felt the same way.

　　This kid has grown up and must be a bad guy.

　　"No, I think little Kakashi's eyes are proof of his spirit."

　　"Where is the spirit?"

　　"Oh, it seems that Ruri doesn't have the potential to be a good wife and mother."

　　Ayane seemed to laugh in a proud tone.

　　Ruri snorted and said in a disdainful tone: "The overflowing compassion will only harm others and oneself."

　　Saying that, she looked at Shiraishi with sharp eyes, as if asking him to give a fair evaluation.

　　"Okay, you two, let's enjoy such a lively festival."

　　Sakumo said.

　　Shiraishi breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced at Sakumo gratefully.

　　Sakumo patted Shiraishi on the shoulder, as if to say: I can only help here.

　　Things for young people are really complicated. With Sakumo's eyes, he could naturally see the ambiguous relationship between the three of Shiraishi, and he sighed helplessly.

　　Next, the four entered the barbecue restaurant not far away.

　　This yakiniku restaurant is the old place that the Sakumo Squad celebrated at when they were founded.

　　In this regard, Sakumo remembered.

　　Because of a meal, they ate his reward for an A-level task.

　　"Eat a little less, eating too much is bad for your stomach."

　　Before ordering, Sakumo said seriously.

　　For the sake of the health of the three of them, they are definitely not worried about their wallets.

　　He Konoha White Fang, after all, is also a famous Jōnin in the village.

　　A few hundred thousand taels...

　　Better to be careful.

　　"But the three of us didn't eat a grain of rice during the day in order to cope with tonight's big meal."

　　Ayane looked at Sakumo with innocent eyes.

　　"Is this the measure of Konoha White Fang(laughs)? What a disappointment."

　　The smile on Ruri's face was contemptuous.

　　"No way, after all, it's Konoha White Fang (laughs)."

　　Shiraishi also followed behind to fan the flames.

　　I've been hungry all day, so I must eat a lot tonight.

　　Sakumo couldn't help laughing and crying, these guys, except Shiraishi, the other two are not bad for this amount of money, why do they have to live with his wallet?

　　In his usual tasks, he should not have offended them, but instead took good care of them, right?

　　"Send them all up."

　　After everyone had chosen what to eat, Shiraishi called a waiter and asked him to go over and prepare.

　　The waiter saw the ticked ingredients on the order, as well as the quantity... I was worried about whether they could finish the table.

　　However, when he saw Ayane, a familiar little girl, he smiled knowingly.

　　Not only are the selected ingredients the most expensive and the best, but the portion is also very large, which can be said to be a big customer of their barbecue restaurant.

　　- Two hours later.

　　Everyone was full. When paying, Sakumo looked at the huge number on the bill, his eyes turned slightly white, showing a lifeless look.

　　Although it won't make him bankrupt, this is just a barbecue, and it still makes him very distressed.

　　But if this kind of thing happens more than once a year, it's only a matter of time before his captain goes bankrupt.

　　"Thank you for your hospitality, Sakumo-sensei."

　　Seeing the satisfied faces of the three, especially Ayane, she was the one who ate the most happily.

　　"You three have to think about my wallet."

　　"But in our team, only Sakumo-sensei, you are a Jonin."

　　"After all, he is the most powerful Jōnin-sama."

　　"That's right, someone who can think about his teammates is a qualified Jōnin. Thinking about it this way, he is indeed Konoha White Fang."

　　Seeing that the three of them praised him in the next sentence, Sakumo had even more of a headache.

　　They also called him Konoha Baiya before (laughs), but his size is small.

　　The face-changing speed is too fast.

　　After joking for a while, Sakumo took Kakashi to play elsewhere, and the three of Shiraishi didn't bother.

　　It was about twelve o'clock, which was very late.

　　A thick layer of snow had accumulated on the road.

　　The festival also changed from lively to deserted, and many shops began to close.

　　"This year's festival is a little happier than before. After all, it's a little bit hard to let go when participating in the festival with the clan. It would be nice if it was like this every year in the future."

　　Ayane put her hands behind her back, lowered her head and stepped on the snow step by step, suddenly raised her face, and said to Shiraishi and Ruri with a smile.

　　"Certainly every year, we're buddies in a squad."

　　Shiraishi replied.

　　"Yeah. Speaking of which, I really like this year's present, so I'm here to thank you too, Shiraishi-kun..."

　　"What?"

　　When Ayane mentioned this matter abruptly, Shiraishi knew that things had become troublesome, and was about to use an excuse to divert the topic.

　　A piece of softness touched Shiroishi's cheek, and Ayane's delicate, white and crystalline side was in front of him, making him instantly stiff in place.

　　Ruri was also stunned and forgot to move.

　　"Although it's not the first kiss, this is the unique mark I left on Shiraishi-kun, and it's very memorable. So, goodbye."

　　Ayane smiled shyly, and ran away in the snow with light steps.

　　While Shiraishi was still in a daze, Ruri, who was beside him, was flushed with anger.

　　It was a kind of 'toy' that he cherished most, the humiliation of being snatched away by others without hesitation.

　　This humiliation filled her mind with dark thoughts that wanted to destroy everything.

　　No other ideas.

　　"This, this, this - shameless! How shameless! Filthy! Prostitute!"

　　Saying that, Ruri made a seal with her hands and gathered the chakra of her whole body.

　　"Go to hell! Huo Dun · Huo Huo-"

　　"Wait! Don't mess around in the village!"

　　Shiraishi reacted and immediately stopped Ruri, throwing her on the snow to prevent the fire escape technique from being displayed.

　　After all, it is not very auspicious for Anbu to come to the door for the Chinese New Year.

　　Ayane, who was some distance away, naturally heard the lively movement behind her, but her mind was no longer on it.

　　She touched her lips with her fingers, and there was Shiraishi's breath there.

　　This year will have a good start.

　　◎

　　Mid-January.

　　The four of Sakumo's team gathered at the gate of Konoha Village.

　　"The mission this time is to suppress an illegal organization in the country of fire. It seems that there are ninjas in it, so it is a B-level mission, and it can be upgraded to an A-level mission at any time. It is not a difficult mission, but it should not be careless..."

　　When Sakumo was explaining the mission, he suddenly found that the atmosphere in the team was a bit strange.

　　Ayane had a gentle and innocent smile on her face, as if she didn't notice the strange atmosphere in the team.

　　Ruri's extremely vicious eyes aimed at Ayane made Sakumo suspect that she would tear Ayane into eight pieces.

　　"Shiraishi, what happened to the two of them?"

　　Sakumo looked at Shiraishi, the most common and most normal medical ninja in the team.

　　"It's nothing, girls have it every month..."

　　Ruri walked directly to his side and stepped on Shiraishi's foot, leaving him blushing and speechless.

　　"Sakumo-sensei said that the mission is very dangerous, so don't get out of my sight, or I won't guarantee your safety."

　　Hearing Ruri's threatening words, Shiraishi had no choice but to nod in agreement.

　　Since that day, Ruri's face has become very scary.

　　It doesn't make sense to reason with an extremely angry woman.

　　Sakumo scratched his head, and for some reason, the team's running-in seemed to become difficult.