Chapter 128 (Patreon)

Another dozen days passed, bringing them to the end of September.

Ever since Hinata awakened the Tenseigan, she and Mihawk had been completely occupied with her training.

Hanabi seemed to understand how important that training was and rarely disturbed them.

She would occasionally come to Mihawk and act spoiled, but whenever she noticed that he looked tired, she would deliberately try to cheer him up in her own way.

The rest of her time was spent attending classes at the Ninja Academy and training either at the Hyūga compound or Mihawk’s home.

By now, news of the Fourth Shinobi World War had spread throughout the shinobi world.

From shinobi to ordinary civilians, everyone knew that war was approaching.

Countless shinobi had thrown themselves into training, hoping to improve their strength as much as possible during the remaining time and increase their chances of surviving the coming battles.

No one trained harder than Hinata.

A little over a month ago, Hinata had only just crossed into Kage-level strength.

Compared to who she had been then, the current Hinata was almost an entirely different person.

Her progress after awakening the Tenseigan had been astonishingly fast.

Even Mihawk found it difficult to believe at times.

Today, a solemn atmosphere hung over Konoha.

Mihawk and Hinata woke early and carefully prepared themselves.

Inside the bedroom, Hanabi sat on the edge of the bed and watched them in silence. Her voice trembled slightly when she finally spoke.

“Mihawk-nii-san, Onee-san… can you promise me that you’ll both come back? Please don’t leave me all alone.”

Sensing the fear hidden in her voice, Mihawk stopped adjusting the collar of his white coat and walked over to her.

He gently stroked Hanabi’s hair before leaning down and kissing her forehead.

“I promise,” Mihawk said with a reassuring smile. “Neither of us will ever leave you alone.”

“Mm…”

Hanabi wrapped her arms tightly around Mihawk’s waist and buried her face against him.

Hinata stood beside them and silently stroked her younger sister’s hair.

After comforting Hanabi for a while, Mihawk and Hinata finished putting on their shinobi sandals and prepared the rest of their equipment.

Hinata suddenly remembered something.

She took the ordinary Konoha forehead protector from Mihawk’s hand, opened a drawer, and removed two new forehead protectors. Each one bore the kanji for “shinobi” instead of the Leaf Village’s symbol.

“Shizune-san delivered these,” Hinata explained, handing one to Mihawk. “Everyone in the Allied Shinobi Forces must wear this forehead protector until the war ends.”

Mihawk nodded, accepted it, and tied it around his upper arm.

Once they were ready, Mihawk and Hinata stayed with Hanabi for a little longer.

They repeatedly reminded her to return directly to the Hyūga compound after class or come straight to Mihawk’s house. No matter what happened, she was not to leave the village.

Only then did the two leave the house and head toward Konoha’s main gate.

“You’re too slow, Mihawk!”

The moment they arrived, Nara Shikamaru greeted them with a complaint.

Shikamaru and the others had already finished their preparations and were waiting to depart.

With his sword resting against his left hip and a red umbrella held in his right hand, Mihawk looked more like a young nobleman setting out on a journey than a shinobi preparing for war.

“We’re only travelling to the Land of Lightning,” Mihawk replied calmly. “Stop talking as though the fighting will begin the moment we arrive.”

“Tch! Do you really have to look that composed?” Kiba Inuzuka complained. “We’re going to war, not on vacation!”

Mihawk gave him an indifferent glance.

“Don’t judge me by your standards, Kiba. Some of us were simply born with better looks.”

Kiba choked on his response.

Instead of becoming angry, he looked around as though he had discovered something incredible.

“Did everyone hear that? Since when did Mihawk’s tongue get this sharp?”

“No…” Shikamaru, as Mihawk’s closest friend, immediately sided with him. “I don’t think he was trying to insult you. He was probably just telling the truth.”

“You two…”

Kiba turned away in frustration.

“I’m never talking to either of you again!”

The others burst into laughter at the sight.

As the rest of their generation assembled, more and more Konoha shinobi arrived at the village gate.

Before long, the entire area was packed with shinobi.

Nearly all of them wore green flak jackets and the forehead protectors of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Among the crowd, Hinata’s kimono and Mihawk’s white coat stood out immediately.

However, the Byakugan was the unmistakable symbol of the Hyūga clan, while Mihawk was one of Konoha’s heroes. His white coat and sword had long since become part of the image people associated with him.

No one intended to force either of them into a standard flak jacket.

“Has everyone arrived?”

After several minutes passed without any more shinobi appearing, Shizune, who was responsible for leading the detachment, appeared before the assembled group.

Her expression was unusually serious.

“Squad captains, begin the roll call and confirm that every member of your unit is present.”

As soon as she finished speaking, more than a dozen squad captains, including Nara Shikamaru, produced their roster sheets and began calling out names.

War might inspire fear, but desertion was considered dishonourable in every nation.

Konoha would never tolerate it.

This was not the first detachment to gather at the village gate, and the roll call was completed in approximately ten minutes.

Shizune looked over the assembled shinobi.

“Everyone, follow me! We’re departing for the Land of Lightning!”

“Yes!”

Their unified response echoed throughout Konoha.

Whoosh!

The next moment, countless afterimages shot forward like a volley of arrows and disappeared into the forest.

The main battlefields of the Fourth Shinobi World War would be located in the north, while the Allied Shinobi Forces’ headquarters had been established in the Land of Lightning.

It would take several days for the Five Great Shinobi Countries to mobilize their full fighting forces, gather in the Land of Lightning, and organize the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Detachments from the various nations continued arriving one after another.

Mihawk’s group travelled for more than a full day before finally reaching Kumogakure.

Not long after their arrival, Shizune approached Mihawk while he was speaking quietly with Hinata.

“Mihawk, Tsunade-sama and the other Kage are asking for you. Come with me immediately.”

Mihawk paused and looked at her with mild surprise before nodding.

“Understood.”

He handed his red umbrella to Hinata, left the group with Shizune, and made his way to the Five Kage’s conference chamber in Kumogakure.

Inside, Mihawk saw the Five Kage and Mifune of the Land of Iron.

Kakashi Hatake, Darui, Nara Shikaku, and Kitsuchi were also present.

They appeared to have been discussing something before his arrival.

When Mihawk and Shizune entered, Tsunade was the first to speak.

“Mihawk, you came at the right time. There’s something I need to discuss with you.”

Mihawk approached them with a faintly puzzled expression.

A moment later, his voice echoed throughout the chamber.

“No. I refuse!”