Naruto: From Novice to Grave

Inside the hot springs of a small town in the western part of the Land of Fire, hot springs flow and mist rises.

For some reason, there are a lot of hot springs in the ninja world, especially in the Land of Hot Springs, where the quality is the highest and the service is good. As long as you are willing to pay, you can even hire a few pretty girls to bathe with you. It is Jiraiya's paradise and the source of inspiration for "Make-Out Paradise".

Makoto Higashino and his son, Gekko, lay lazily in the bathtub, relaxing their nerves after the mission.

Uzuki Yugao was on the other side. This wasn't a mixed-gender bathhouse. You can't trust any hot spring resort in the ninja world that uses mixed-gender bathing as a gimmick; it's full of old people or monkeys.

No matter how well you adapt to killing, it's always necessary to relax after each mission. This is beneficial for your physical and mental health, a recommendation from the experience of the Jonin who leads the team.

If a ninja doesn't have his own way of relaxing, his taut nerves will eventually snap. At that point, he won't be talking about money and breasts anymore, but about making the world feel pain.

Therefore, the original three leaders of Akatsuki did not learn their teacher's most important skill.

A ninja who is constantly involved in killing not only needs to know how to make money, but also how to spend it. Don't take Red Hot Chili Pepper's advice to his son seriously, and forget about the three ninja taboos.

Moonlight Cloud saw that Mingming hadn't put in any effort, but was completely absorbed in enjoying herself. With a towel covering her face, she muttered, "Wow, time flies. It's been two months since you graduated."

Makoto Higashino: "It's pretty fast. The life of a ninja is really colorful. Meeting different people and solving problems that ordinary people can't handle is very interesting."

"So this is what it's like to be a ninja. But soon you'll be facing a different kind of life."

Higashino Makoto had a premonition, but still asked, "Teacher, what kind of life are you referring to?"

"Oh? Let's talk about it during dinner."

Moonlight Gale's face was rosy, and his brows were slightly furrowed; he had roughly guessed it.

Nothing is more enjoyable than a relaxing hot spring followed by a luxurious meal.

The prerequisite is that your team leader, a Jonin, doesn't have a serious face the whole time.

Because of his never-so-big appetite and his father's earlier words, Gekko Hayate didn't enjoy his meal very much. Uzuki Yugao, on the other hand, knew nothing and had a good appetite.

Higashino Makoto didn't care about his speculations, so he ate happily. Even if the world ended tomorrow, it wouldn't affect his eating right now.

When they had almost finished eating, Gekko Unmi said, "You guys know about the Chunin Exams, right?"

Uzuki Yugao perked up immediately: "I know, there are two exams every year, one in the middle and one at the end of the year. Speaking of which, there's less than a month left until July, right? Does the teacher mean we'll be able to become Chunin very soon?"

"Well, that's how it should be, but have you forgotten that the ninja world is still at war?"

"Isn't it almost over?"

Higashino reminded her, "You are on the western front now. It has been two years since the war ended here, but have you forgotten that our father is still on the northern front? Also, Kirigakure on the eastern front has not surrendered."

"That's true, but Xiyan isn't wrong either. The war is almost over, and that's the assessment of the village's higher-ups as well."

But, like the ferocious beasts you hunt, they always try to fight back before they die.

Moonlight Gale looked at his father: "Teacher, has the war situation changed recently?"

After thinking for a moment, Gekko Unkan revealed some information to his disciple: "Yes, intelligence indicates that Iwagakure and Kumogakure on the northern front are rebuilding their strength. In order to cope with this, Konoha will also increase its defensive efforts."

The Hidden Mist Village on the eastern front seems to have found a new target and has become active again. Perhaps this is the last struggle of the villages in this war.

If the balance of power cannot be broken, then the war may end there. But if something unexpected happens, it's hard to say. Well, anything can happen in the ninja world; who can say for sure?

Moonlight Gale remained silent, no longer speaking. He had long been mentally prepared for going to the battlefield.

Uzuki Yugao was also there, but she was still a little sullen: "I thought we would be lucky enough to miss it this year, but I didn't expect to run into the tail end of the war."

Seeing that Higashino Makoto was still eating, he immediately puffed out his cheeks: "Hey, Makoto, aren't you scared? We might die."

Higashino wiped his hands with a towel, and, unusually, ruffled her hair like he did when they were kids: "Don't worry, I won't die, and neither will you. I'll protect my comrades."

The girl was infected by the girl's strong confidence, and she became happy again: "Yes, I believe that I will protect you too."

Moonlight Cloud felt greatly relieved: "Oh my, the bond we built in our third class is really good. Don't worry, I will protect you. With the strength of our team, survival is not a problem."

Hayate Gekko wasn't good at expressing his feelings, so he simply asked, "Teacher, when do we set off?"

"Go back and rest for a couple of days today, get ready, and wait for the village's arrangements."

----------

In fact, the third squad, which Higashino Makoto belonged to, had five days off.

During this period, the intensity of the battles between Kumogakure and Iwagakure on the northern front increased, and the battlefield gradually shifted towards the Land of Fire.

The meaning is clear: drag Konoha into this. We're fighting, so don't just stand around doing nothing. Don't even think about trying to pick up the peaches.

In order to deal with this, Konoha had no choice but to rely on the Hyuga clan, ordering Hyuga Hiashi to lead some clansmen and a portion of the troops from the eastern front to the northern front to provide support, so that the barbarians of Kumogakure and the bumpkins of Iwagakure could witness the terror of a group of Byakugan ninjas with X-ray vision.

The Hyuga clan's individual strength may not be outstanding, but this thing is strategic, ignoring all sneak attacks and traps; anyone who uses it knows how effective it is.

There's bad news: "The red-eyed clan of Kirigakure can interfere with the Byakugan."

There's good news: "This group of boys and girls, who were on par with the Snow Clan, were wiped out by their own people in Kirigakure before the Third Shinobi World War."

As for the Hyuga main family going to the battlefield, with the war going this far, how could you possibly stay in the rear and enjoy yourself?

With the defensive forces on the eastern front weakened, the madman, Mist Shadow, began to stir again.

However, having lost the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, according to Kakashi's intelligence report, the higher-ups also knew that they had lost most of their Anbu and the Three-Tails, making them a toothless tiger.

Konoha squeezed out some more forces from the village, along with the new recruits who had graduated in the last two years, and then dismissed them.

Higashino's third class is one of them. After all, they just graduated this year, and in other people's eyes, they are the newest of the newest.

They received the news on the fourth day of their rest, giving them a day to prepare. Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao had already gone home to cram for the upcoming battle.

Higashino really didn't have much to prepare. His current strength had reached a bottleneck, and what was limiting his progress in cultivating natural energy was his 9-year-old body.

These are factors that require time to accumulate, and they are things he cannot solve for the time being.

Now, he will focus his main energy on chakra nature training.

On the last day of her break, Higashino Megumi, unusually, didn't work overtime and came home early, cooking a table full of her signature dishes for Higashino Makoto.

But she remained sullen.

This feeling persisted until after the meal. Who would believe that a particularly strong person, even one with medical expertise, could accidentally break several dishes while washing them?

"Sigh, I never thought even you'd have to go to the battlefield. Has Konoha really come to this?"

"Mom, the fighting on the Eastern Front isn't intense. It's a good thing for us to go and get some exercise."

"But...but..."

"Don't worry about my safety."

"You are my child, my only child, how could I not worry?"

Suddenly, Higashino Makoto's body defied gravity and floated freely in front of Higashino Megumi. Looking into his mother's eyes, he said, "Don't worry, Mom. I assure you, if I want to leave, no one can stop me. So please put your worries aside."

"..." Higashino Megumi looked at her son, who could levitate, in astonishment. She had no idea how to describe her feelings at that moment.

Ninjas who can fly are extremely rare in the ninja world. The only one she had ever heard of was the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, but she had never seen him.

Those were the village's Kage, figures on par with the Third Hokage. In the eyes of ordinary ninjas, they were among the top ninjas in the ninja world.

And Makoto Higashino is not even 10 years old!

All she wanted to say at that moment was: Husband, come back quickly and watch the immortals with me.