One month.
The sparring sessions between Guy and Kitahara Kaede increased from once a week to three.
At first, it was pure taijutsu exchange. Later, Kaede began dropping bits of advice during their breaks.
He spoke about how to judge the advantages and disadvantages of terrain during a mission, what to prioritize the mont an ambush occurred, and how to deduce an opponent's behavior from their footprints...
Once he said it, it was over; he didn't think much of it.
Guy, however, took it all to heart.
Every single tip was ticulously recorded in a small notebook.
The changes gradually manifested during their missions.
When Guy ran point, he would instinctively close the gap when encountering narrow paths, and when hitting open ground, he would glance back at Kaede's hand signals before deciding his speed.
No shouting was necessary. No reminders were needed.
Kurenai Yuhi saw every bit of it.
One day, on the road back to the village after a mission, she walked up beside Kaede.
"Captain, I want to join your training too."
Kaede glanced at her.
"I don't know genjutsu. I can't teach you."
"That's fine," Kurenai replied earnestly. "The things you're teaching Guy are useful for as well."
Kaede thought about it for a mont, then nodded.
"Fine. Join in."
From then on, training as a trio beca the norm.
Kaede couldn't help Kurenai with the technical side of genjutsu, but she picked up the non-jutsu elents—combat rhythm, positioning, and observation habits before engaging the enemy—even faster than Guy.
In subsequent missions, the three of them beca increasingly synchronized.
When they encountered two stranded Stone Village scouts in the forest, Guy engaged one head-on, Kurenai's Tree Binding Death immobilized the other, and Kaede swept in from the flank to finish them.
From first contact to the end: ninety seconds.
On the way back to the village, Guy pulled out his notebook and earnestly wrote a line:
"Coordination synergy improved—keep working hard!!"
Kaede caught a glimpse of it but said nothing.
...
At his apartnt.
Kitahara Kaede sat at his desk, balancing his books.
The rewards from five missions totaled 550,000 Ryo.
Combined with the nearly 1.8 million he had already saved, he had a total of 2.35 million.
He was still about 2.65 million short of his five-million goal.
Kaede put down his pen.
At this rate, reaching five million was a distant dream.
B-rank mission rewards had a ceiling; no matter how many he ran, the pay was fixed.
Higher-ranked missions required a Jonin to lead the team, but he had virtually no social connections within the village.
Unless the war expanded.
If the front lines required a massive increase in troops, the overall rank of available missions would shift upward, allowing Chunin to take on high-paying battlefield assignnts.
The Cloud Village and Stone Village had been making increasingly bold moves along the borders recently.
According to the original tiline, the joint declaration of war by those two villages against the Hidden Leaf should happen around this ti.
If a full-scale war broke out, the rewards would more than double.
The question was—would he be placed on the frontline roster?
Currently, he was in the general mission pool with no fixed attachnt. If he were assigned to rear-guard rotation or internal village defense, it would be a wasted opportunity.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Kaede!!"
Kaede closed his ledger and stood up to open the door.
Guy stood there, forehead drenched in sweat, having clearly run all the way.
"Don't forget our sparring session tomorrow!"
"I won't. You remind every single ti."
Guy gave a goofy grin and rubbed his hands together.
"I've been practicing a new combo string lately, but the transition feels slightly off. I want you to take a look at it for ."
"Sure. We'll talk about it then."
Guy gave a thumbs-up and turned to run off.
Three steps in, he skidded to a halt and shouted back.
"Oh! My dad said you should co over for dinner this weekend! He's refined the curry recipe from last ti!"
"Okay."
Only then did Guy disappear into the distance.
Kaede closed the door and sat back down at his desk.
His mind returned to the previous thought.
If the Cloud Village actually moved, how would the Hidden Leaf deploy its forces?
After thinking for a while, he realized there was no way for him to know. It wasn't a decision he could influence.
Kaede stared blankly out the window for a while, then turned off the lights.
'Forget it, I'll just sleep.'
What will be, will be.
...
The following afternoon.
On his way back from the training ground, Kaede felt sothing was wrong.
The frequency of ANBU flickering across the rooftops was several tis higher than usual.
At the gates of the Ninja Academy, parents had arrived early to pick up their children.
A crowd had gathered in front of the Mission Assignnt Office. A new notice had been pinned to the board:
*All shinobi are to suspend the acceptance of new missions and enter standby status.*
After reading it, Kaede turned and headed back to his apartnt.
It was happening.
...
The next day.
The Hokage Tower, eting room.
People filled both sides of the long table.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in the center.
To his left sat Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado side by side.
To his right, Danzo leaned back in his chair, one eye half-closed.
Tsunade sat in the front row of the Jonin section, propping up her face with one hand and letting out a yawn. Behind her were a dozen Jonin representatives, including Shinku Yuhi.
Hiruzen spoke.
"This morning, the Cloud Village formally declared war on the Hidden Leaf."
The room fell silent for two seconds.
"Simultaneously, the Stone Village has massed heavy forces on the northern border, forming a pincer attack with the Cloud Village."
"A two-front war," Koharu Utatane was the first to speak. "Where is Jiraiya?"
Hiruzen didn't answer imdiately.
"Where is he at a ti like this?" Koharu's tone sharpened. "Does he still have any loyalty to this village?"
Hiruzen raised a hand.
"He is executing his mission; he cannot return imdiately."
Koharu pursed her lips and didn't press further, though her dissatisfaction remained written on her face.
Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses and took over.
"Let's discuss the war situation first. What about Sunagakure?"
"Sunagakure will not participate."
Hiruzen opened a docunt on the table. "After the Third Kazekage disappeared, Rasa took over as the Fourth Kazekage. He specializes in Magnet Release. He just repelled a Cloud Village invasion of their own village last month and is currently overwheld. They won't pose a threat to us in the short term."
Homura nodded.
"And the primary combat strength of the Cloud Village?"
"Intelligence sent back by Minato from the front—" Hiruzen handed a docunt to a nearby ANBU mber to be circulated.
"The Raikage's successor, A, and the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer Bee. Killer Bee has mastered control over the power of the Eight-Tails, and their coordination has beco highly refined. They have appeared frequently at the Cloud Village's frontline assembly points recently."
A Jonin whispered softly, "The A-B combo."
No one else responded.
A Jinchuriki ant a Tailed Beast. A fully controlled Tailed Beast on a battlefield was equivalent to a mobile natural disaster.
Sunagakure's Jinchuriki couldn't control the One-Tail, nearly destroying their own village. The fact that the Cloud Village's Killer Bee could wield the Eight-Tails—that was the truly troubleso part.
Hiruzen continued.
"To the northeast, the main force of the Cloud Village is expected to cross the border within two weeks. To the north, the Stone Village's vanguard has already entered the Land of Grass."
He pointed to two locations on the map.
"In the northeast, Minato will lead an elite force to intercept the main Cloud Village army; this will be the primary battlefield. On the northern line, separate forces will be deployed to hold the line and delay the Stone Village's advance."
Koharu Utatane glanced at the map.
"Fighting on two fronts simultaneously—do we have enough manpower?"
"No."
Hiruzen didn't beat around the bush.
"Therefore, we need to draw troops from within the village and the Western Front. All combatants ranked Chunin and above will be brought under centralized deploynt."
He looked toward Tsunade.
"Tsunade, what are the arrangents for warti dical care?"
Tsunade shed her lazy deanor and sat up straight.
"Field hospitals on the front lines will maintain their current configuration. Rear hospitals will vacate one-third of their beds for casualty transport. Our antidote reserves are sufficient for two months; I'll submit a report if we exceed that."
She paused.
"The Cloud Village favors Lightning Release burns and physical trauma; they don't use toxins much. The real pressure will be on mass casualty treatnt. Manpower is more scarce than dicine."
Once she finished speaking, Tsunade leaned back in her chair.
A war on two fronts, massive troop reinforcents, and the mobilization of every shinobi ranked Chunin or higher.
Her fingers unconsciously brushed the necklace at her collar before dropping away.
Danzo hadn't uttered a single word from start to finish. His lone eye scanned everyone in the room, finally coming to rest on Hiruzen.
Hiruzen closed the map.
"Koharu, Homura, compile the personnel lists imdiately and get them to by tonight."
He glanced around the room.
"The deploynt list for the front line will be announced tomorrow morning. eting adjourned."
The Jonin began to stand and filter out of the room.
Tsunade stood up, catching a glimpse of Danzo out of the corner of her eye. The old man was still sitting where he had been, motionless.
Without another look, Tsunade walked out of the conference room.
User Comments
0 comments from readers