Three days ago, at the Mission Assignnt Center.
Kitahara Kaede stood before the announcent board, his gaze scanning from top to bottom.
S-rank: Out of his league.
A-rank: Squads already full.
In the B-rank column, seven mission scrolls were pinned. He flipped through them one by one.
Frontline outpost defense support—long-term deploynt. Not suitable.
Behind-enemy-lines reconnaissance—solo operation suited him, but the reward was only sixty thousand.
Escorting supplies to the northeast front—
He plucked this one off the board and flipped it over.
B-rank. Three-man squad. Escort sealed supplies to the frontline base in the direction of the Hidden Cloud. The total route was approximately one hundred and sixty kiloters, with an estimated travel ti of three days.
The reward: one hundred and twenty thousand Ryo.
One hundred and twenty thousand wasn't a fortune, but it was steady. The route was fixed, the objective clear, and it didn't require deep infiltration into enemy territory or rotting in a frontline trench.
He glanced at the map.
The route passed through the hilly regions of northeastern Land of Fire, cutting through a canyon midway, roughly forty kiloters from the combat zone with the Hidden Cloud.
The last line of the mission briefing was marked in red ink:
"Supply route confird safe; no signs of enemy activity along the way."
Kitahara Kaede lingered on those words for a mont.
Folding the mission slip, he walked to the counter and signed his na.
"Three-man squad. Where are the other two?"
The Chunin behind the counter flipped through a ledger. "You're forming a temporary team; teammates are allocated from the assignnt pool. The list will be posted at the South Gate on the day of departure."
"Fine."
Kitahara Kaede tucked away his receipt and walked out of the center.
He couldn't let the situation with Danzo force him to hide within the village. That would be the sa as locking himself in a cage. He needed to earn money, utilize his strength, and build up his B-rank mission record.
As for those eyes watching from the shadows—
Let them watch.
***
Three days later, at the South Gate of the Hidden Leaf, in the afternoon.
As Kitahara Kaede arrived carrying the supply crates, a rhythmic thudding sound echoed from beside the gate pillar. Soone was doing push-ups.
"Ninety-seven! Ninety-eight! Ninety-nine—!"
A blur of green sprang up from the ground and shouted at him.
"Kaede!!"
Might Guy.
Kitahara Kaede checked the ID tag on Guy's chest; it matched the one on his mission list. Since the assignnt pool was random, it wasn't surprising to be paired with Guy. During warti, manpower was tight, and a physical monster like Guy was easily slotted into escort missions.
"You're in this squad too?"
"Yes! I almost jumped for joy when I saw the list!" Guy brushed the dirt off his hands. "Since I'm on a mission with you, I did three extra sets of weighted runs to warm up!"
"You don't need extra training right before a mission..."
"How so? The body must be kept in peak condition!"
"The way to maintain peak condition is through rest, not by doing a hundred one-handed push-ups at the starting line."
Guy opened his mouth to argue, but found no reason to. "...I'll keep that in mind for next ti."
Kitahara Kaede's gaze shifted past Guy's shoulder.
Standing on the other side of the pillar was a woman. Her black, center-parted curly hair draped over her shoulders, and her red pupils were striking in the afternoon light. She wore her deep green ninja uniform impeccably, with a tool pouch fastened to her right leg.
Yuhi Kurenai.
Kitahara Kaede ran through her information in his mind. In the original story, she was a Hidden Leaf Jonin, a master of genjutsu, and Asuma's wife. Right now, she was still just a Genin.
Noticing his gaze, Yuhi Kurenai stepped forward.
"Captain Kitahara, I am Genin Yuhi Kurenai."
Without unnecessary pleasantries, she imdiately reported her capabilities. "Specializing in genjutsu, supported by taijutsu. Standard ninja tools equipped, and I have a three-day supply of Military Ration Pills."
Kitahara Kaede nodded. "Understood."
He pulled out the mission slip and spread it across a stone plinth by the pillar.
"The mission is simple: escort supplies to the front. We plan to complete the trip in three days." His finger pointed to the route map. "Guy, vanguard. You clear the way."
Guy nodded.
"I'll take the center and guard the supplies." His finger moved back. "Yuhi Kurenai, rear guard. What is your sensing range?"
"Fifty ters in a normal state, eighty when fully extended."
"Keep it at normal. Don't max it out right from the start; it's a long road."
Yuhi Kurenai acknowledged him. She didn't speak, but her gaze flickered quickly between the three positions.
Vanguard, center, and rear.
The most dangerous position, the vanguard, was given to Guy, the strongest in taijutsu. The sensor was placed at the very back, and the captain stayed in the center to protect the cargo and coordinate.
The three of them complented each other perfectly.
A fifteen-year-old Chunin who had only recently been promoted, yet his tactical deploynt was clean and efficient.
"Move out."
Kitahara Kaede packed the mission slip and took the lead.
Guy bolted forward, reaching the front in three strides, and looked back. "What's the pace?"
"Standard marching speed. Don't waste your energy."
"Roger!"
Yuhi Kurenai followed at the end, her footsteps steady. As they left the gates, she glanced at Guy. During their years at the Ninja Academy, her impression of Guy had always been soone chasing Kakashi, shouting, "I'm going to challenge you!"
But just now, when Kitahara Kaede said "vanguard," Guy simply beca the vanguard. There was no "Leave it to !", no thumbs-up, and no impulsive insistence on taking the lead. He did exactly as he was told.
***
Once they left the borders of the Hidden Leaf, the trees along the road grew denser. Their marching rhythm remained steady. Guy led the way, occasionally calling back to them, while Kitahara Kaede followed at a asured pace in the middle.
"Kaede, can we increase our sparring sessions to twice a week after we get back?"
"No."
"Once and a half?"
"What does 'once and a half' even an?"
"One formal session and one ninety-minute session!"
"That's just two sessions. No."
Guy scratched his head, muttered a few words, and stopped pushing. After a mont of silence, he spoke again.
"Last ti you said I pull back too early on the second strike of the Leaf Hurricane. I've been practicing it."
"Fixed it?"
"Not completely. After the first rotation, there's a pause in my body. I can feel it, but I can't adjust in ti."
"Then practice it slowly. Drop the speed, break it down strike by strike. Once your body rembers the movent, then increase the speed."
Guy pulled a palm-sized notebook from his pocket and began writing as he walked.
Watching from behind, Yuhi Kurenai's brow twitched.
Guy was taking notes.
Might Guy was actually taking notes.
She had been in the sa academy year as Guy for several years; that man's mind contained nothing but "train" and "train more." When had he ever cared about thodology? Yet now, he was diligently writing down every word Kitahara Kaede said.
Yuhi Kurenai withdrew her gaze.
***
They marched for most of the afternoon. The hilly terrain began to undulate, the field of vision opening and closing. The entire journey was peaceful, filled only with the sounds of birds and insects; they hadn't encountered a single soul.
Yuhi Kurenai's fifty-ter sensing radius had remained empty. However, she noticed sothing.
Kitahara Kaede walked in the middle, quiet and unassuming, appearing no different from any other ninja on a march. But every ti they passed a fork in the road, a high point, or a bottleneck where the vision narrowed, his pace would slow by a fraction of a beat.
His eyes would scan the area, then return.
If she hadn't been watching him from behind, she would never have noticed.
This was a B-rank escort mission. The intelligence departnt had signed off on the safety confirmation, stating there were no signs of enemy activity along the route. Any other captain would likely have just followed the path chanically, perhaps setting up a few basic periter alarms when camping.
Kitahara Kaede was different.
He checked every place that needed checking, and after doing so, he said nothing.
Yuhi Kurenai silently pushed her sensing range from fifty ters to sixty.
***
At dusk, the three of them stopped by a shallow stream to set up camp.
Guy went to gather firewood.
Kitahara Kaede knelt by the stream to wash his face, then took out the map to glance at tomorrow's segnt before folding it and slipping it into his pocket.
Yuhi Kurenai sat nearby organizing her tools, her gaze inadvertently drifting toward his profile.
Guy returned with a stack of dry firewood, crouched down to pile it, and swiftly started a fire.
Once the flas rose, the three of them gathered around.
Kitahara Kaede chewed on so Military Ration Pills.
Guy did the sa, though his face twisted into a grimace after a few bites.
"Every ti I eat these things, it feels like I'm chewing on sawdust."
"Just make do with them."
"I didn't say I wouldn't eat them, I'm just making an observation!"
Guy swallowed hard and took a large gulp of water. "Kaede, is this what you eat every ti you're on a mission?"
"I eat whatever is available."
"That's too rough. Next ti, I'll bring a bento and share a portion with you."
"Don't add extra weight to yourself."
"How heavy can a bento be!"
Kurenai Yuhi didn't interrupt. She pulled a cloth bundle from her bag and opened it to reveal several rice balls.
She handed one to Kitahara Kaede first.
"Captain, please have one. I made them this morning."
Kaede glanced at it and took it.
"Thanks."
Guy's gaze instantly locked onto that rice ball.
Kurenai handed the rest over to him.
Guy took them, devouring one in two bites, and nodded vigorously.
"Kurenai, I'll treat you to ran when we get back!"
"No need."
"I must! A favor received must be repaid! That is the rule!"
"It was just a rice ball."
"It is still a favor!"
Kurenai didn't respond further, but the corner of her mouth curled slightly, a flicker that vanished almost instantly in the firelight.
The three of them ate in silence for a while.
The fire crackled and popped, and the sound of a nearby stream flowed in the distance.
After finishing his food, Guy leaned against a rock and stretched his neck.
"Kaede, is there a canyon in tomorrow's stretch of the road?"
"Yeah."
"Is it narrow?"
"Narrow."
"Then I'll kick my focus up a gear when I'm leading the way."
Kitahara Kaede gave him a look.
...
Deep into the night.
Guy and Kurenai took turns keeping watch.
Kitahara Kaede leaned against a tree trunk with his eyes closed, his breathing steady.
But he wasn't asleep.
They would enter the canyon by noon tomorrow.
If soone wanted to make a move on this route, the canyon was the perfect spot.
Kaede opened his eyes.
Kurenai was currently on watch.
She sat by the fire, her red pupils reflecting the flas as she stared at the tree line in the darkness.
Sensing his gaze, Kurenai turned her head.
The two locked eyes for a second.
"Can't sleep, Captain?"
"We're almost at the canyon."
Kaede closed his eyes again.
"Before we enter tomorrow, I have a few things to go over."
...
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