Konoha: Offer your heart to the Hokage!

June of the same year.

The battle situation has taken a new turn.

Bad news: Kirigakure, which had been watching from the sidelines since the outbreak of World War I, has finally decided to join the war.

Good news: It's not just targeting Konoha.

The ocean is Kirigakure's strongest barrier. Based on this, Kirigakure follows a strategy of maintaining a balance of power on the continent and befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones. They directly dispatch ninjas by ship to bypass the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, and launch a surprise attack on Sunagakure and Iwagakure on the other side of the continent.

They looted supplies, killed the stationed ninjas, and launched guerrilla warfare operations by landing small groups, moving like the wind, just like pirates.

The Hidden Stone Village and the Hidden Sand Village were furious about this, but there was nothing they could do about it.

With the formidable enemy Konoha at hand, they couldn't very well bypass Konoha and turn around to attack Kirigakure, could they? They could only grit their teeth and swallow their anger, waiting for the day when they could settle scores with Kirigakure.

Although Kirigakure did not form an alliance with Konoha, it was more like an alliance. As the only major ninja village that was not affected by the war, Kirigakure gained a lot of benefits.

They even obtained information from Konoha and Akatsuki's ANBU.

The Hidden Mist Village is secretly collecting chakra metals throughout the ninja world, while also making secret contact with renowned swordsmiths in various small countries. Their true purpose remains unknown.

But Shen Er was well aware of this.

Hozuki Gengetsu was a visionary Mizukage who recognized the value of special operations amidst the chaos of the First Shinobi World War. He then devoted the entire village's resources to forging seven unique ninja swords, intending to establish a dedicated assassination squad.

This assassination squad was none other than the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who would later become infamous for wiping out Uzushiogakure in a single night during World War II.

The ninja sword is already being forged.

Shen Er was closely watching this, preparing to seize it once the ninja sword was forged.

These seven ninja swords are treasures of Kirigakure, especially the great sword Samehada, which has the characteristic of absorbing chakra. If it is compatible with the user, it is equivalent to a humanoid tailed beast.

...

After confirming that bodily fluid contact could enhance Uchiha Chiri's Mangekyou Sharingan, he gradually became more active at night.

But on this day, Zhili unusually refused him.

The reason is simple: there are still many things to do the next day.

With the new semester about to begin at the Ninja Academy, Principal Chiri needs to be there early to prepare for the start of the semester.

"The new semester is about to begin..."

She was slightly distracted.

Tsunade, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Might Guy, Hiruko, and all the other children were already six years old and had reached the age to enter the Ninja Academy.

The gears of their destiny have begun to turn.

Shen's second phase of planning will officially begin with their enrollment. As members of the new Team 7, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hiruko each have unique missions assigned to them by Shen.

That night.

Shen Er said to Zhili, "There are three children, and I hope to put them in the same class."

"Three?" Zhili was somewhat surprised. "Besides Tsunade and Orochimaru, who else is there?"

“A child named Beiluhu.”

“Hiruko? Okay, I’ll remember that.”

Without asking why, Zhili immediately agreed. She couldn't help but wonder how this child, whose name she'd never heard of, had captured her husband's attention.

Silent all night.

the next day.

Chiri had already left home early.

After washing up, Shen Er prepared to pick up Orochimaru and take him to school to register as his guardian.

Just then.

Zero received a call request from Uchiha Yan after a long absence.

Shen Er entered the meditation room and switched the perspective to Akatsuki Village.

Uchiha Yan cut to the chase: "According to top-secret intelligence from the Akatsuki ANBU, the Sky Ninja and the Grass Ninja Village are entangled together."

Shen Er didn't show much surprise on his face.

The Sky Ninjas are a nomadic group. After being expelled from the Akatsuki Village, they had no choice but to seek refuge in other small countries, so it's not surprising that they wandered to any particular place.

Even now, he still remembers his grudge against Kong Ren.

When he transplanted the Four-Tails, his hands were burned by the Lava Release technique; later, he was assassinated by Shennong, which destroyed one of his hearts. Long before the war broke out, he planned to eliminate this threat in advance and seize their technology, secret techniques, and the Zero-Tails.

However, the Kongin were elusive and difficult to track down, and it wasn't until a year into the war that their whereabouts were finally discovered.

Since we're already hanging out with the Grass Ninja, let's just take the Two-Tails back from them while we're at it.

"Wipe out both the Sky Ninja and the Grass Ninja."

Even though his tone was flat, as if he were talking about something completely unrelated.

As she spoke, she walked to the wardrobe and casually picked out an outfit for the opening ceremony.

Am I alone?

"My clone will be with you. You will need to control the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and transfer him."

Before cloning technology matures, this is the safest approach at present: first, use genjutsu to control the Jinchuriki, and then transfer the Tailed Beasts into them one by one once the cloning technology is perfected.

At this point, Shen Er seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "Don't rush this matter. First, send someone to gather information on all the Grass Ninja and distinguish between the 'Grass Fruit' and 'Grass Flower' groups."

"Those who belong to the Grass Fruit, I'll kill them. But the members of the Grass Flower, I'll let them live."

"what is that?"

"Kusa no Hana is the steady one of the Kusa Shinobu."

He only gave a brief explanation, without elaborating on the deeper reasons behind it.

Another resurrection technique in the ninja world, the Dragon Life Reincarnation, was developed and passed down by the conservative faction of the Grass Ninja. If these people are also killed, this resurrection technique will disappear from the ninja world.

This exposes a backward and ignorant aspect of the ninja world.

It seems that, apart from Konoha and Kirigakure, other countries and ninja villages can choose any name they want, and you can't tell blood relations from the names alone. This is far less civilized than Konoha, where if they say they'll exterminate a clan, they really mean it; no one with a surname in their name can escape.

After explaining, the connection was disconnected.

Donning the Hokage-style half-sleeved haori, he went to attend the opening ceremony for the Silver Generation ninjas.

Chapter 147 The Land of Fire has no homelanders, but Konoha has its own.

The area in front of the ninja academy was packed with parents dropping off their children and new students preparing to enroll, with a number significantly higher than in previous years.

The fighting on the front lines was fierce.

However, Tsunade's generation of children was born during the Golden Age of the Shinobi World, when Hashirama was alive. And those who died in battle were all adult ninjas, so it would not affect the number of children in this generation who enrolled in school.

The effects of World War I will probably not become apparent until World War II.

The number of Konoha ninjas really began to decline significantly around the time of the Third Shinobi World War.

Starting from this period, the academic year was shortened from six years to three years, and the graduation standards were lowered.

Many children under the age of ten were sent directly to the battlefield after graduating from the Ninja Academy. The continuous wars exhausted the potential of a generation of Konoha people, resulting in a severe gap in the population structure.

By the time Naruto lived, the number of active ninjas and newborns in Konoha had reached their lowest point.

No matter what the future holds...

Today, the ninja academy is still a vibrant and thriving place.

This is all thanks to the demographic dividend that Konoha achieved during Hashirama's era.

Shen Er glanced at the list and estimated that the number of students enrolling this year would likely exceed five hundred. This number wasn't exaggerated; it was within his expectations.

After all, by the time of the final battle, the ninja world had amassed nearly 90,000 soldiers, with the five great ninja villages making up the majority of them. It wouldn't be surprising if Konoha had amassed 7,000 or 8,000 soldiers.

These seven or eight thousand people were accumulated from the new students of the Ninja Academy generation after generation, and after eliminating those who died in battle or were old and lost, they gradually settled down.

Shen Er led Orochimaru to the freshman registration area.

Six-year-old Orochimaru possessed a cold and sinister aura, with long black hair cascading over his shoulders. His yellow vertical pupils and purple eyeshadow increasingly resembled those of his mother. He looked just like a real snake.

Prior to this, Orochimaru had been interning at Evangelion Hospital for nearly a year, exuding a maturity far beyond his years, which was somewhat out of place with the noisy and bustling school atmosphere.

Orochimaru tucked his hands into his wide sleeves, his eyes scanning his surroundings. To him, the Ninja Academy was a strange and unknown territory, and the unknown meant interesting.

"Master!"

Another person with social anxiety also arrived.

Tsunade waved excitedly at Jin.

She was wearing a light green short haori, with the Senju clan crest printed on the back.

The pigtails were styled into a high ponytail.

Having changed his outfit, and having not seen him for a while, Shen Er had the illusion that he had grown up overnight.

Tsunade waved her hand, then suddenly changed her tune, lunging forward to hug Shen, but he stopped her by pressing a finger against her forehead.

"Tsunade, mind your manners."

"What does it matter?"

Tsunade covered her forehead, puffed out her cheeks, and complained softly.

"Tsunade, how dare you be rude!"

The princess brought Tsunade to the school for registration, and upon seeing Shen, she respectfully bowed.

Tsunade and Orochimaru were taken to the freshman registration area together.

This year's enrollment of new students has reached a record high, resulting in a shortage of staff at the school. With the ongoing war, the village couldn't spare any extra ninjas to assist with school affairs, so Jiri simply assigned outstanding senior students to help.

This not only relieved the pressure on the ninja school, but also fostered a sense of honor in the passing down of skills between the old and new generations.

Coincidentally, the people in charge of receiving Jinji and his party were Hatake Sakumo, who had already entered the sixth grade, and Senju Ken'yu, who was in the fourth grade.