Chapter 204: It was just normal at that time

A small tent was set up by the Nanhe River. The tent was very small, barely able to accommodate one person. It was gray-green in color and was the wartime tent that the Konoha Ninja Village had used for decades.

Many years ago, Ye Shan sorted kunai, shuriken and other supplies in a tent like this, enduring physical and mental torture in this narrow space, falling asleep and waking up here, and spending one war after another.

Now, he sat quietly in the tent, writing and drawing with a pencil in his hand, his brows furrowed and his expression solemn. He seemed to have become a novelist, showing his talent and literary grace in his own world.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Ye Shan had stayed by the Nanhe River for a full half month. Every day, he drank river water when he was thirsty and ate the food sent by the Anbu when he was hungry. He devoted himself to his plan until dozens of Anbu ninjas knelt outside.

"call"

Ye Shan let out a long sigh, supported himself with his hands and stood up, walked to the curtain step by step, and then suddenly opened it. The scorching summer sun rushed into the narrow tent, lighting up the originally dark space, and also made Ye Shan squint his eyes slightly.

Looking at the Anbu ninja half-kneeling on the ground in uniform, Ye Shan had already guessed what had happened. He moved his lips a few times and finally asked in a hoarse voice, "Is there news of another defeat at the front?"

Although Ye Shan had been staying in the tent for half a month, Anbu ninjas delivered battle reports here every day, allowing him to have a clear grasp of the situation on the front line.

In general, Konoha is already unable to stand on its own. The staggeringly high casualty rate of ninjas and the news of continuous defeats all indicate that the end is imminent.

The ANBU ninja kneeling in the front hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took off the raccoon cat mask from his face, revealing a face with sharp edges and corners that was about thirty years old. "The captain of the first ANBU battalion, Ukyo Toushi, leads all the remaining ANBU to see you, sir."

"It's you!"

Ye Shan suddenly realized that on the night when Konoha White Fang Hatake Sakumo committed suicide, he had met Ukyo Toushi once in the courtyard of the Hatake clan. He knew that the other party was one of Hatake Sakumo's few staunch followers, but they had never met since then. He did not expect that the scene would be like this when they met again.

Although Hatake Sakumo clearly pointed out before his death that Yeyama was the successor to everything he had, it seems that his subordinates do not agree, otherwise they would not have been out of contact for so long.

Of course, Ye Shan doesn't need their support, nor does he blame them for it. He does have some magnanimity.

"It's been a long time since I last saw Lord Yeshan." Ukyo Toushi bowed his head respectfully.

"I remember you were the squad leader. How did you become the captain? Did you get a promotion?"

Ukyo Daozhi said bitterly: "I was still the squad leader last night, but the captain died in battle, so I took his place."

Ye Shan was silent. The captain of the first ANBU team was a powerful ninja in the village. Not only was he highly regarded by the Hokage, he also had the power of life and death over ordinary ninjas. He could arrest anyone who was not good for the village without permission. He was like the village's Jinyiwei. Now that such a ninja was dead, it was clear how dangerous the village was.

"Sir," Ukyo Toshi took a step on his knees, "The village's sky has collapsed!"

Under the sunlight, Ye Shan's shadow on the ground seemed to fluctuate, but his voice was calm: "Speak carefully."

"We received a report from the frontline last night that the Tsuchikage Ohnoki of the Hidden Rock Village suddenly arrived at the northern front and launched an attack together with the Third Raikage. The Hokage...died on the spot!"

"Lord Jiraiya fought bravely despite his injuries, but the situation was already hopeless and we were defeated!"

"The northern ninjas were almost wiped out in the battle. The defense line is useless. The Hidden Cloud Village will soon be under the command of the enemy."

The choked voice of a thirty-year-old man told the tragic news from the front line. Many kneeling Anbu ninjas whimpered, adding a touch of coolness to the summer sun.

You know, every Anbu ninja is an elite among elites, their will has long been tempered to the extreme, and the impression they leave on the world is cold and dark, so why would they burst into tears?

Ye Shan breathed heavily. He tried to tell himself to keep calm and not show panic no matter what. But he couldn't control himself. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Why did Ohnoki appear quietly on the northern front? Are all those intelligence ninjas blind and deaf? Are Orochimaru and the three thousand ninjas in the northwest just eating for free? Huh?"

"Ohnoki is too mobile, our intelligence ninjas don't have enough time to pass on the information!"

A feeling of dizziness came over him all of a sudden, and Ye Shan felt like a clown. The enemy was about to destroy his country and his home, but he was still ridiculously planning for an illusory future.

Ukyo Toshi threw away the mask in his hand, and knelt down two steps to the ninja he once despised. He hugged the other's left leg with both hands and said: "It is too early to pursue the responsibility now. The village has reached the brink of destruction. I implore you to come out and go to the north to stabilize the situation. Lord Yeshan, you are the only one who can turn the tide now!"

Ye Shan took out a cigarette box from his ninja tool bag, slowly opened the package and took out a cigarette. He looked down at the ANBU ninjas with red eyes. For some reason, he also felt sad. He rolled up the cigarette into a ball and squeezed it in his palm and said angrily: "Why are you crying? The village has not reached the level of the Whirlpool Kingdom yet. Hold back your tears!"

As he said that, he used his right leg to kick Ukyo Daozhi out. The opponent rolled on the grass for a few times before getting up and kneeling down again.

"You usually call yourselves elite, but when something happens, you look so miserable!"

"You guys are just wiping your tears while the village is still here. If you have the guts, go to the battlefield and slit the enemy's neck!"

After the reprimand, Ye Shan hesitated for a moment and said, "Is Kushina in the village now?"

Ukyo Toushi replied, "Kushina-sama has been on standby in the village."

"Very good, from now on, your mission is to protect Kushina, not a single hair can be harmed!"

It stands to reason that Ye Shan has no power to order the Anbu directly under the Hokage to do anything, but Sarutobi Hiruzen is dead, so the Anbu will naturally obey his orders: "Once the enemy really arrives at the village, you will directly unseal the Nine-Tails and let them taste the tailed beast."

"What about the civilians in the village?" asked Ukyo Toushi.

Ye Shan said calmly, "All the ninjas are dead, how can they care about the lives of ordinary people?"

"I will try my best to stabilize the northern front. Once you hear the news of my death, you will immediately send people to select a group of young talents to leave the village through the secret passage. Remember, do not bring any ninjas from the Uchiha clan or the Hyuga clan! Their bloodline boundaries are too obvious. If you bring them along, they will be exposed sooner or later."

Ye Shan looked up at the scorching sun and arranged the possible afterlife in an orderly manner: "After you leave the village, you can go to the Land of Waves or the Land of Snow. It is poor and sparsely populated there, so you should be able to hide there."

"When you get there, don't harbor any hopes for revenge. Just become a wandering ninja."

As soon as these words came out, the sobs that had just subsided suddenly became one, and Ukyo Toushi even cried and hammered his hands on the ground, saying sadly: "We still have you, sir, and the famous three ninjas. Even if things are bad, we can still occupy a small country to preserve our bloodline inheritance. Why should the country be destroyed and the race extinct because of the death of the Third Hokage?"

"Bullshit!" Ye Shan scolded, "As long as Konoha survives, the enemy will never stop! Those famous ninjas are shining targets, and they will die under the siege of the enemy sooner or later!"

"Being strong is a sin, being weak is even more of a sin. Once Konoha fails to regain its dominant position, it will be a luxury for you to become a ninja from a second-rate ninja village! Do you understand?"

"But I...can't bear to see the village destroyed!" The man in his thirties was extremely sad.

Ye Shan sighed: "Don't be so pessimistic, even if the Hokage dies, I am still here. What I just said is the worst possible outcome. Everything is prepared, and nothing is prepared. Do you understand?"

A flame of hope ignited in Ukyo Toushi's eyes. He suppressed his sobs and said loudly, "I beg you to go to the front line to fight against the Tsuchikage and the Raikage!"

Dozens of Anbu ninjas pressed their foreheads against the grass and shouted in unison: "We beg you to fight the Tsuchikage and the Raikage!"

This was not the end. After hearing the news of the death of the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, thousands of ninjas and civilians who rushed to the Nanga River all knelt on the ground, shouting in unison, shaking the birds in the forest and scattering them: "I beg you to fight the Tsuchikage and the Raikage!"

Ye Shan's body trembled slightly. He looked up and saw that there were people kneeling there. They seemed like devout believers praying for a miracle to happen again. He could not help but be stunned.

At this moment, Ye Shan got a glimpse for the first time of Hatake Sakumo's determination to never regret until his death. It was a deep love that transcended life and everything else.

"Yayama, I said, ninjas are not anyone's tools."

"Before, when I was selecting the candidates for the second echelon responsible for regional blocking, I repeatedly emphasized the dangers that this team would have to bear. Yes, being a ninja is inevitable to face danger, but in the face of danger, sacrifice and being sacrificed are two completely different concepts."

"A ninja's sacrifice can only be because he wants to sacrifice, and it should never be sacrificed [for something]."

The conversation at the border in the past came to his mind, making Ye Shan sad.

“Why not choose to defect?”

Yes, Ye Shan, a guy who has no sense of honor or rules in his heart, asked it at the first opportunity.

Hatake Sakumo recalled that when he was a child, the Hatake family was at its peak. Even though it was an old mansion with decades of history, the clan members and servants would not allow such damage to appear in the dark.

He remembered his parents holding his hand as they walked through the ancient but still clean corridors and gates, through the streets that had only been built a dozen years earlier and were not very prosperous. He remembered the grand Obon festival within the clan, and the new Konoha that was full of vitality and attracted by the reputation and ideals of the first generation of ninjas who continued to come to join.

He remembered the saying - "Wherever leaves fly, fire will burn."

Hatake Sakumo was born and raised here. Behind this village, the blood of countless Hatake clan members was shed.

This blood has the same temperature as that of the countless Konoha companions who died on the battlefield to defend him from the enemy's swords.

——Yes, Hatake Sakumo, he loves this place, he loves the inspiring [Will of Fire].

A ninja is not anyone's tool. His sacrifice can only be made because he is willing to do so.

——Yes, he was willing to die for the village and for the ninja way in his heart.

Only in this way will the ancestors of the Hatake clan who are buried underground accept and protect him in the Pure Land; only in this way will his son Kakashi be proud of him when he grows up.

Even though the village he loves so much now has a dark side, it still cannot stop his love, nor change the reality for which his ancestors sacrificed their lives.

In the courtyard of the Hatake clan, Hatake Sakumo's thoughts flashed before Yeshan's eyes like a comic strip.

The sound of the mountains in his ears combined with the memories in his heart made Ye Shan burst into tears unconsciously.

The things he once regarded as shit have now taken root in his heart. Ye Shan feels ridiculous but also very fortunate.

"Things are different, people are different, everything is over"

“The will of fire should be like the breeze in the mountains, like the water in the streams. It can have thousands of forms, but it is always gentle and clear.”

Ye Shan wiped his tears, pulled out a ninja sword from behind the Anbu, used the smooth and sharp blade to adjust his expression, and then raised it high: "For the village, I'll bet everything!"

"For the village, we'll risk everything!" people knelt and shouted.

Hatake Sakumo was once a loser, but now he is a winner because he has planted a seed.

Ye Shan walked slowly towards the sunshine with firm steps, his mind filled with the voice and appearance of Hatake Sakumo.

"At that time I thought it was common, but now I think it is extremely rare."