Chapter 199 (Patreon)

War was coming.

Konoha had made no formal announcement, but everyone already knew. From the clan shinobi and jōnin who had attended the high-level mobilization meeting to the ordinary chūnin and genin, they could all sense what was approaching.

On the surface, life in the village continued as usual. Beneath that calm exterior, however, preparations were already in full swing. The more experienced shinobi had begun making arrangements before they were sent to the front.

Oikawa Kimiyama, a twenty-one-year-old elite chūnin, was also preparing for the coming war as he made his way through the village streets.

His family had settled in Konoha during his grandfather’s generation, but Kimiyama was the first among them to become a shinobi. With no experienced elders in his family to guide him, he could only rely on advice from his colleagues and several kindhearted seniors, along with the experience he had accumulated over his years of service.

Under Konoha’s usual wartime procedures, every shinobi deployed to the front would receive a standard combat kit from the Logistics Department.

Each kit contained kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, military ration pills, antidotes, and various other auxiliary tools.

Shinobi who specialized in unusual weapons—such as ninja swords, weighted chains, or axes—could also place custom orders through the Logistics Department. During wartime, those weapons could be purchased at heavily subsidized prices that were normally unavailable and sometimes even far below their production cost.

Kimiyama had never specialized in any particular weapon. His fighting style was the most conventional kind, built around standard ninja tools and traditional shinobi tactics.

His trip into the village that day had only one purpose: to purchase additional ninja tools from a weapons shop.

It was not because the equipment issued by Konoha was insufficient or of poor quality. On the day he received his combat kit, Kimiyama had carefully inspected and tested every item inside. All of them were well-made, reliable tools.

He simply preferred to be cautious—almost excessively so.

From the day he graduated from the Academy and became a genin until now, Kimiyama had maintained a one-hundred-percent mission completion rate while consistently earning the trust of his teammates. He owed it all to his careful, methodical approach.

Whether it was a simple D-rank assignment or an important A-rank mission, the highest level he had been entrusted with so far, Kimiyama always prepared a thorough plan before taking action.

And he never prepared only one.

There would be an ideal course of action, a contingency plan in case something went wrong, and then another contingency in case the first one failed.

Whenever he received a mission, Kimiyama would usually formulate between three and five different plans.

That was not the limit of how many he could devise. It was simply the most he could prepare during the time between accepting a mission and setting out to complete it.

If he was this cautious with ordinary missions, then he naturally took the prospect of war even more seriously. The risks were far greater, unexpected situations were inevitable, and he had never experienced a war before.

Purchasing additional ninja tools was merely one part of his preparations.

In addition to the set he normally carried and the one issued by the village, Kimiyama intended to buy at least three more complete sets. That way, even if Konoha’s supply lines encountered trouble and could not deliver replacement equipment in time, he would not be left without weapons.

Although all kunai and shuriken were produced according to the same standards, Kimiyama believed that subtle differences would always exist. A shinobi needed time to inspect each weapon, practice with it, and become accustomed to its balance.

Rather than enter battle with unfamiliar weapons hastily supplied at the front, Kimiyama preferred to prepare several additional sets and familiarize himself with them beforehand.

It would cost him more money, but money could always be earned again. If an unfamiliar weapon caused him to make a mistake because he had not properly inspected or practiced with it, he could be injured—or even killed.

Money could be replaced.

A life could not.

“Ah, Kimiyama. You’re here. I’ve prepared all the ninja tools you ordered!”

Akiya, the owner of the weapons shop, immediately recognized his longtime customer.

“Thank you, Uncle Akiya.”

After thanking him, Kimiyama approached the counter and opened the box Akiya had placed there.

Akiya merely watched with a smile as Kimiyama carefully examined every ninja tool inside.

It took Kimiyama nearly half an hour to finish inspecting the entire order. Only after confirming that there were no problems did he hand Akiya the remaining payment.

Without even bothering to count it, Akiya turned around and placed the money in the middle drawer of the cabinet against the wall.

“Kimiyama, wait a moment!”

Akiya called out just as Kimiyama picked up the box and prepared to leave.

Kimiyama stopped and looked back, wondering what the shopkeeper wanted.

“This is for you.”

Akiya took a wooden box from the display cabinet, placed it on the counter, and pushed it toward him.

Kimiyama looked down at the box before raising his eyes in confusion.

“What is it?”

“There are fifty explosive tags inside.” Akiya’s broad, round face carried the warm smile of a benevolent temple statue. “The war is coming, and explosive tags will be among the most important tools on the battlefield. I set some aside especially for you.”

Under normal circumstances, a single explosive tag cost between seven hundred and one thousand ryō. For a disposable ninja tool, it was extremely expensive.

Now that war was approaching, the prices of ninja tools had begun to rise. Although Konoha had already taken measures to stabilize the market, the price of an explosive tag had still climbed to roughly fifteen hundred ryō.

The fifty explosive tags Akiya had given him were worth approximately seventy-five thousand ryō in total—the equivalent of the reward for a B-rank mission. It was far from a small sum.

More importantly, at a time like this, it was almost impossible for a shinobi without clan backing or personal connections to obtain fifty explosive tags at once.

By giving them to Kimiyama, Akiya had, in effect, given him half a life.

That was hardly an exaggeration. With Kimiyama’s cautious fighting style, those fifty explosive tags could increase his chances of surviving the battlefield by at least thirty percent.

“Thank you, Uncle Akiya.”

Kimiyama did not offer any hollow refusal. He accepted the wooden box and thanked Akiya with complete sincerity.

“You must come back alive!”

Akiya nodded with a smile. Those simple words carried his heartfelt wish for every Konoha shinobi preparing to march into battle.

Kimiyama nodded solemnly. Holding the larger box in one hand and the wooden box of explosive tags in the other, he left the weapons shop.

Akiya rested both hands on the counter and watched him disappear down the street. The smile on his face slowly faded, and he released a quiet sigh.

He had run this weapons shop for more than ten years.

During that time, he had seen far too many customers purchase ninja tools and never return.

Some had simply begun shopping elsewhere. When Akiya was younger, he would complain whenever he discovered that one of his customers had gone to another store.

But as he grew older, he found himself hoping that every shinobi who never returned had merely chosen another weapons shop.

After leaving the store, Kimiyama intended to head home immediately and organize everything he had purchased, especially the fifty explosive tags Uncle Akiya had given him.

He had only taken a few steps when an ANBU shinobi wearing an animal mask leaped from a nearby rooftop and landed in front of him.

“Oikawa Kimiyama. The Fourth Hokage has summoned you. Come with me.”

Kimiyama’s heart tightened as countless questions surfaced in his mind.

He was only a chūnin—a shinobi from an ordinary family with no clan backing. What could possibly make him worthy of the Fourth Hokage’s attention?

“Excuse me, but may I return home and put these away first?” Kimiyama asked carefully. “They’re ninja tools I just purchased.”

The ANBU shinobi glanced at the two boxes in his hands before nodding.

Despite their fearsome reputation, ANBU shinobi were not entirely unreasonable.