Koharu Utatane felt very tired.
She wasn't sure when it had started, but the divide between her two close friends, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, had grown far too wide.
She let out a sigh. If Kagami had been chosen as the Third Hokage, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out this way.
In her memory, Kagami had loved the village just as much as Hiruzen, but he wasn't as naive. He had the decisiveness of Danzo, but he wasn't as ruthless.
When she was younger, she had thought that with the support of the Uchiha clan and his status as a direct disciple of the Second Hokage, Kagami should have been the one to take the position of Hokage.
Unfortunately, she later realized that the Second Hokage had never even considered allowing an Uchiha to take that role.
For a brief moment, Koharu found herself entertaining the thought of retiring. But as soon as the idea surfaced, she dismissed it.
Ninjas don't have the privilege of choosing to leave. She had known this from the very first day she became one.
With a small chuckle, she shook her head.
Tatsumi, sitting across from her, noticed her faint smile and couldn't help but feel a bit confused. However, the moment Koharu met his gaze, her face immediately returned to its usual stern expression.
She had no idea how to talk to children. That much was clear.
After a long silence, she finally spoke, albeit somewhat awkwardly.
"By the way, how is your injury?" she asked stiffly.
"Tsunade-sensei told me that it's almost healed. I should be discharged before school starts."
"That's good. Well..." Koharu hesitated.
"What's wrong?" Tatsumi asked.
"Do you want to switch teams? Perhaps transfer to Tsunade's?"
Tatsumi frowned slightly.
"Orochimaru's team is too dangerous. He doesn't know medical ninjutsu. If something happens, he won't be able to help you," Koharu added.
"The current team is fine. There's no need to switch," Tatsumi replied without hesitation.
"But I remember you and that Uzumaki girl get along quite well. Why not reconsider?" Koharu pressed.
Tatsumi was speechless. Did the Konoha higher-ups really have so much free time that they were meddling in team assignments for personal reasons?
And since when did being a ninja come with matchmaking benefits? If that were the case, wouldn't it have been simpler to just remove Nawaki from the team instead of making this whole process so complicated?
Koharu herself felt that her words had been a little inappropriate, but she genuinely wanted Tatsumi to transfer to Tsunade's team.
As the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Kushina would almost certainly be kept away from the battlefield. This meant that her team would rarely, if ever, be sent into combat.
If Tatsumi joined that team, he, too, would avoid the battlefield.
Tatsumi shook his head. "I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine where I am."
"Alright, alright," Koharu sighed, sounding slightly regretful. "But please be careful. Don't get hurt like this again. Out there, no one can guarantee your safety."
Tatsumi narrowed his eyes slightly. One word in particular caught his attention—battlefield.
Sensing his unspoken question, Koharu nodded.
"That's right. A Jonin meeting is happening right now. The Third Hokage will soon announce our declaration of war against the Land of Rain."
Tatsumi nodded. He had expected this.
But something still seemed off.
"A declaration of war against the Land of Rain?" he repeated.
"Yes," Koharu confirmed.
"Only the Land of Rain?" Tatsumi frowned.
He had nearly died at the hands of the Sand ninjas. And yet Konoha wasn't taking action against the Land of Wind?
At first, he had been somewhat impressed by the Third Hokage's decisiveness in moving forward with the war so quickly.
But if they were only targeting the Rain Country... what was that supposed to mean?
The so-called strongest nation was just empty words at this point.
Hiruzen Sarutobi—are you a pacifist? Or a Buddhist monk in a Hokage's robes?
Still, after thinking it over, Tatsumi understood.
The Sand Village was currently considered the strongest of the Five Great Nations after Konoha. They had been stationed at the border for a long time, itching for a fight.
At this point in history, they had yet to suffer the devastating defeats of the Second and Third Ninja Wars.
They weren't the financially crippled village whose Daimyo would later cut funding, forcing them to adopt an "elite soldier policy" out of sheer necessity.
No, the current Sand Village was still a powerful, well-funded military force—a dangerous opponent.
If Konoha were to fight both the Land of Wind and the Land of Rain at the same time, it would be dragged into a grueling war on multiple fronts.
You have to pick your battles. And the Land of Rain?
It was a small country, sandwiched between multiple great powers, politically unstable, and strategically vulnerable. A soft target.
So if you had to fight someone first, the Land of Rain was the obvious choice.
Still, just because Tatsumi understood didn't mean he liked it.
He clenched his fists slightly, but at the end of the day, small fish don't get to choose their battles.
Koharu pursed her lips, watching him carefully.
She wanted to explain things in a way that wouldn't make him resent the village. But how could she? Should she just come out and say, This is politics, kid?
In the end, she forced herself to say, "There will be a battle with the Sand Village sooner or later. It's just not the right time yet."
Tatsumi nodded, signaling his understanding.
The room fell into an awkward silence.
Koharu sighed internally. She had completely botched this conversation.
It felt like a stepmother meeting her stepson for the first time—wanting to leave a good impression but somehow making things worse instead.
Just as Tatsumi was trying to figure out how to shift the conversation, the door suddenly opened.
A girl stepped inside. She had dark hair tied into a neat ponytail, her delicate features bright with warmth.
"I'm coming in, Tatsumi."
Mikoto, carrying an oversized lunchbox, entered the room.
She took one look at the strange atmosphere between Tatsumi and Koharu and hesitated.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting?" she asked politely, bowing slightly before starting to turn back.
"No... no," Koharu quickly stopped her.
The older woman studied Mikoto carefully, then glanced at Tatsumi before nodding in satisfaction.
"Alright, I should be going too," she said, standing up. "Tatsumi, get plenty of rest. And Mikoto—take care of him."
Before leaving, she reached out and gently patted Mikoto's head.
Walking down the corridor, Koharu felt her mood improve significantly.
Another girl. And earlier, she had seen that Hyuga girl visiting as well.
She nodded to herself in satisfaction.
Even she had to admit—Kagami's son certainly had a way with women.
As expected of Kagami's son.
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