Seeing Seimei's solemn expression and his silence, Kobayashi Junji finally calmed down and cautiously asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"
"Oh~"
Seimei snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the voice and waved dismissively. "It's nothing!"
Indeed, the reaction from Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Village) upon learning this news was predictable.
In fact, it wasn't just Kirigakure—both Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village), which was currently at war with Konoha in the Land of Rain, and Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village), which had been clashing with Konoha, would likely respond in kind.
But so what?
The general trend in the ninja world was peace. After nearly three years of war, everyone—whether ordinary people or shinobi—was tired of it.
Under these circumstances, even if the leaders of these villages wanted to continue fighting, it would be difficult to sustain.
Besides, if the sky fell, the taller ones would hold it up. The reactions of other villages were naturally a matter for Konoha's higher-ups to deal with. As a mere soldier, why should he trouble himself with such concerns?
Thinking this way, Seimei immediately felt a sense of relief.
He instructed Kobayashi Junji to ensure the night watch and patrols were well-organized and not to let their guard down. Then, he returned to his temporary quarters.
Seimei didn't waste his time or energy joining the other shinobi in their revelry. As soon as he hit the bed, he quickly fell asleep.
---
**The Next Day**
Morning.
Seimei woke from his slumber.
After quickly freshening up, he assigned his subordinates their tasks for the day and prepared to head out for his own training.
However, just as he was about to leave, a messenger Chūnin hurried into the temporary camp and sought him out.
At first sight of the messenger, Seimei thought something major had occurred, his heart sinking as he worried his training plans might be disrupted. But after the messenger handed him a sealed letter and he skimmed through it, he was finally at ease.
The letter contained two main points:
1. It formally announced that Konoha and Sunagakure (Hidden Sand Village) had agreed to a ceasefire. According to the letter, the two sides' leaders had reached a preliminary agreement, and a peace treaty would be officially signed within the next couple of days.
2. It informed him that reinforcements from the Sunagakure front would arrive within a week, two at the most, and instructed him to remain vigilant against any potential counterattacks from Kirigakure during this time.
Seimei wasn't too concerned about any counterattacks. After all, the Konoha shinobi stationed near Yuzin Port weren't just him and his subordinates.
At least 80% of the Konoha shinobi in this war zone were currently in the vicinity, with countless pairs of Byakugan monitoring the Mist shinobi in the port.
Any movement on the enemy's part would be immediately detected, so there was no need for him to worry.
What he was more interested in was the arrival of the reinforcements.
Perhaps when they arrived, he could leave this battlefield and return to the Blackstone Base, or even the Eagle Cliff Base.
Compared to this battlefield, he much preferred those two bases.
First, there were fewer shinobi with special abilities among the allies at those bases, allowing him to act more freely.
Second, the enemies there were weaker, making it easier for him to harvest chakra.
After all, many of his skills required external chakra to improve, and those enemies would make excellent targets.
For now, though, such considerations were premature. Everything depended on the arrival of the reinforcements and the decisions of Nara Kikou.
Seimei temporarily suppressed these thoughts, put the letter away, and told the messenger Chūnin, "Got it. I've received the letter. You can return to report back."
"Yes, Captain Seimei!"
The Chūnin responded crisply and used the Body Flicker Technique to vanish.
Watching him leave, Seimei also prepared to depart.
But after taking just two steps, he turned back.
Although everyone in the camp had already heard rumors of the ceasefire, they were just rumors. Since he now had official confirmation, it was only right to inform them.
"I wonder if they'll get excited again this time?"
Seimei thought to himself.
As it turned out, he had underestimated how eager the Konoha shinobi were for peace. When he officially announced the news, the camp predictably erupted with excitement.
Watching the jubilant crowd, Seimei shook his head, reminded them to remain vigilant, and left the camp to resume his training in the forest.
---
Four days quickly passed.
**Day Five**
Noon.
While Seimei was training as usual, an eagle's cry suddenly echoed through the air.
In an instant, Seimei opened his eyes and looked up to see a hawk circling above him, screeching occasionally.
After a few loops, the hawk seemed to confirm his position and dived toward him.
Recognizing the hawk, Seimei's expression shifted slightly.
This hawk belonged to one of his Chūnin subordinates and was used for communication with the camp.
The hawk would only disturb him if something urgent happened.
Given the recent tense atmosphere, Seimei could already guess what had occurred.
Wasting no time, Seimei grabbed the hawk and retrieved a scroll from the tube on its leg.
Unrolling it, he saw just a few words:
"**Mist Shinobi attack. Return immediately!**"
Reading these six words, Seimei's expression became one of unsurprised resolve.
Ever since news of Konoha's ceasefire with Sunagakure spread, the Mist shinobi in Yuzin Port had grown restless.
Two days ago, when the peace treaty was formally signed, their unease had only intensified.
From that point, Seimei had known an attack was inevitable.
And now, his prediction had come true.
The Mist shinobi had bided their time, but they were finally ready and had launched their assault.
Still, Seimei wasn't particularly nervous.
With his current strength, even if Konoha were to suffer a complete defeat, the Mist shinobi wouldn't be able to threaten him.
On the contrary, Seimei saw this as an opportunity.
After all, many of his skills were waiting for chakra to be enhanced.
If he could take advantage of the chaos to harvest a batch of chakra, it might not be enough to perfect all his skills, but leveling up one or two was definitely feasible.
With this thought in mind, Seimei wasted no time. He released the hawk and dispelled his Shadow Clones.
Instantly, the clones training throughout the forest vanished.
At the same time, Seimei's mind was flooded with memories and experiences from their training.
Closing his eyes, Seimei quickly absorbed and processed the experiences, converting them into proficiency for his skills. Then, he activated Wind Release: Wind Wings and Chakra Cloak, flying swiftly toward the camp.