Between villages, tensions soared. Small skirmishes and border disputes became commonplace. Everyone was on edge as the war approached.
Hiruzen had made a few attempts to contact the other Kage. He hoped to find a way to avoid the war. Unfortunately, he never even received a response. Sitting at his desk, he was torn. On one hand, he was somewhat relaxed. Using Nawaki's suggestion, he distributed the paperwork responsibilities and only handled the important stuff. On the other hand, he was stressed to no end. Many would die in the upcoming war and he did not want to accept it.
Someone knocked on the door. He said, "Come in." Koharu entered the room and said, "Hiruzen, I have just received a scouting report from our teams in the Land of Gra.s.s. Iwa has started to mobilize their troops. It appears the war will begin soon. I will inform you when I find out more."
Hiruzen sighed and said, "Thank you. Send out a summoning to convene the war council. The meeting will start in 1 hour. You are dismissed." Koharu nodded and said, "Hai, Hokage sama."
An hour went by and all of the officials filed into the conference room. All of the major clan heads, Hiruzen, his advisors, some division heads, and some high ranking jonin were present. It was time to get started.
Hiruzen stood up and said, "I am going to a.s.sume that you all read the small briefing that was included in your summon. With that, let's begin. In the coming war, it appears that there will be 4 fronts. Our goal is to keep our defensive line from being pushed back into our borders. Our first order of business will be to allocate our forces between these fronts and establish the chain of command."
The meeting went on for a few hours as they ironed out most of the details. With the added forces of the Uzumaki clan, Konoha would not be as thinly spread as they would have been. In addition, they gained a large amount of sensor types and medic ninja as well. One other important topic that they discussed was that every mission from then on would require a team to have at least one person with medical training.
It was a quiet afternoon in Konoha. Despite everyone being busy, there was not too much noise. A young jonin sat in the lotus position on top of a blanket. He was in a small clearing inside a park on the outer edges of the village. The ground was covered in a thin coating of snow.
On the ground around him, several foxes relaxed as they basked in the comforting and warm energy that convened on that spot. One of the foxes picked up its head and said, "It's amazing how it is so cold but just laying next to you keeps me warm."
Nawaki opened his eyes and turned to the fox saying, "Natural energy really is something special. I don't think I'll ever get over how peaceful it makes me feel." The fox laid its head back down and said, "My mom once told me stories about special humans that are one with natural energy. I always had my doubts but after meeting you, everything she said appeared to be true."
Nawaki chuckled and said, "I don't know if I'd call myself special for that reason. I would say that I'm special because I can talk to animals. How many humans have you met that can do that?" The fox snickered and said, "I believe you're the first I've encountered at least."
Nawaki had come to enjoy speaking with animals. He found it relaxing. It was an escape from all the depressing news that came each day. The wild life didn't have a care in the world as they only worried about food and their children. He envied how lucky they are.
Closing his eyes again, he stretched out his sensor capabilities. He then noticed that his mother was arriving home. He opened his eyes and knelt on the ground as he said, "Well, I'm gonna go home now. See you later!" He disappeared in a flash.
Reappearing at the gates of the Senju estate, he stood up. He could have easily teleported to his room but he enjoyed taking in the scenery. Nawaki wanted to enjoy the privilege of stopping to smell the roses before it would be taken away from him. He strolled through the grounds.
The snow covered ground, the small paw prints from animals, the icy trees, and the frozen ponds. They all emitted a sense of stillness and peace. It was truly relaxing.
After his walk, Nawaki stepped onto the porch and entered through the front door. He called out, "Okaa san, I'm home!" Toka then said back, "How convenient. Join me for lunch, will you?" He smiled and trotted into the kitchen to join his mother.
As he entered the kitchen, he noticed that she was taking out various ingredients to make a sandwich. Nawaki smiled and said, "Hey, go sit down. I'll make the food."
Toka stood back up and sighed saying, "You're the sweetest." She turned to the counter and grabbed the tea pot that was heating on the stove. Bringing it over to the table, she sat down and poured two cups of tea.
Nawaki got right to work. He grabbed a frying pan and some b.u.t.ter. After heating up the pan, he melted the b.u.t.ter in the pan before putting in four slices of bread. After browning each side of the bread slices, he melted a slice of cheese on two of the slices. As the cheese began to ooze, he scooped up the bread slices with a spatula and placed them on a cutting board. He ripped a few pieces of lettuce and placed it onto the cheese covered bread. Then he took a few slices of turkey and evenly spread it across the other pieces. In a fluid motion, he flipped the bread, lettuce, and cheese onto the turkey and finished the sandwich. He then grabbed a large knife and gently cut the sandwiches diagonally before placing them onto two places in a pac man like shape.
Toka was drooling in antic.i.p.ation as she smelled the gourmet sandwich that was placed in front of her. Without waiting for Nawaki to sit down, she dug right in. The first bite was magical. It had been too long since she was able to enjoy her son's cooking. The rich b.u.t.tered toast, the melted cheese, the crunch of the lettuce, and the cool feeling of the cold turkey slices blended together as she savored the meal.
Nawaki pouted and said, "Okaa san! I didn't even sit down yet!" Toka laughed almost choking on the huge bite she took and said, "I'm sorry honey, it just smelled so good. I couldn't resist!" They laughed again as he sat down and started to eat.
Since it was so delicious, they finished their sandwiches quickly. As they sipped their tea, Nawaki noticed a troubled look on his mother's face. He frowned and said, "What is on your mind?"
Toka sighed and stayed silent for a moment. Then she said, "The war is about to start. I don't want to believe that you are going to be sent into battle. I wished that you would never have to go through the horrors of war."
Nawaki put his head back and thought for a moment. He then looked back at his mom and said, "You don't have to worry Okaa san. I am strong. And when I can't protect myself, I have my friends to rely on. They'll always have my back."
Toka's expression lightened a bit. She then said, "I can't say that you are wrong. I am still your mother so it is my job to worry about you." Nawaki blushed and said, "Okaa san. I'll be fine. Anyways, is there anything you can tell me?"
Toka sighed and said, "I was told that the clans will be deployed together for the most part to simplify the chain of command. I want to recommend that our clan is deployed to the Iwa front. What do you think about that?"
Nawaki shook his head and said, "Nope. I won't be able to be at full power if I fight against Iwa. There is not as much forestry there. I would be much more helpful if I was able to fight in a dense forest or jungle. Would it be okay for me to go to the k.u.mo front? I've been looking at some maps lately and there are a lot of dense forests and jungles in the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Bears."
Toka smiled at this and said, "That sounds like a good idea. I'll try to make it happen. I presume that you'd want your team there as well?" Nawaki smiled and nodded his head.
Suddenly he remembered something and shot out of his seat, "c.r.a.p, I almost forgot. I gotta go! See you later!" Toka just shook her head as he teleported out of the house.
Soon after, Nawaki reappeared in front of Fugaku's house and knocked on the door. Koryu opened the door and smiled saying, "Nawaki, it's good to see you. Please, come inside and out of the cold." Nawaki bowed and said, "Thank you Koryu san." He then walked inside.
Koryu called out and said, "Sara! Nawaki is here!" She then called back saying, "Okay, coming!" He then turned back to Nawaki and said, "I know what you're up to boy. Remember, if anything happens to my daughter, you'll be answering to me." He flashed his mangekyo sharingan and leaked out a bit of killing intent.
Nawaki stumbled and said, "Hai, hai. Don't worry. I would never do anything to hurt her." Koryu deactivated his eyes and smiled as he said, "Great, you two have fun then. Just not too much fun…" Koryu then turned and walked away.
As he did, Sara came running down the hall and mauled Nawaki with a hug. She released him and then said, "So where to Nawaki kun?" Nawaki smiled and grabbed her in his arm as he teleported out of their house.
The two reappeared in an open field covered in a thin layer of snow. The sun had just begun to peak through the clouds. The ground was glistening as the rays of light spread across the snow. The emerging sun had provided a slight warmth that overtook the cold winter air.
Next to the two ninja, there was a blanket with a basket. Nawaki spun around with Sara in his arms and slowly sat her down onto the blanket. He then plopped down onto the other side of the blanket and opened the basket. He revealed two bento boxes and handed one over to Sara.
She blushed as she took it from him before removing the lid. She revelled at the smell that rose out of the container. She turned to him and said, "I'll never get over your cooking. Nothing else tastes the same."
Nawaki smiled and said, "It is a pleasure to cook for you. I get so happy seeing your adorable smile as you enjoy it. Totally worth the effort." Sara blushed and turned away. Then Nawaki said, "Come on, eat up! It's gonna get cold!"
They laughed and dug in. Unbeknownst to them, this would be one of their last peaceful moments for a long time.
