That afternoon, in the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen had just finished processing a mountain of paperwork; the tea on his desk had long since gone cold.
The door pushed open.
Danzo walked in, clutching a folder in his hand.
"The deploynt list for the reinforcents heading toward the Cloud Village."
Danzo placed the docunt on the desk and took a seat.
"I ran into Koharu on the way and brought it along for her."
Hiruzen glanced at him but didn't acknowledge the comnt, simply flipping open the folder.
Jonin, Special Jonin, Chunin—na after na passed beneath his gaze.
As he reached the middle of the third page, he paused.
"Kitahara Kaede?"
Hiruzen looked up.
Danzo leaned back in his chair, one eye half-closed.
"What of it?"
"He was only promoted to Chunin a few months ago."
"You said it yourself," Danzo replied in a slow, asured tone. "In a state of war, everyone Chunin and above is subject to reassignnt. Anyone with the capability must serve."
Hiruzen remained silent.
Danzo continued, "I've reviewed his record. Even as a Genin, he could complete Chunin-level missions independently, and with perfect results. Not to ntion his current standing." He paused. "Leaving that kind of combat power in the village to run errands is a genuine waste."
Every point was sound. Every argunt was airtight.
Hiruzen closed the file and leaned back.
He could vaguely guess Danzo's motive. The previous attempt to leak intelligence had failed, so Danzo had simply changed his tactics.
Once sent to the front lines, Kaede would either be worn down by high-intensity combat or survive and earn great rit.
And whose na would be on the recomndation list for that rit?
Danzo's.
When the ti ca to reward his achievents upon his return, Danzo would reach out, and it would be difficult for the boy to refuse.
Hiruzen set the docunt aside.
"Is there anything else?"
"Nothing."
Danzo stood up and walked to the door, pausing for a mont.
"Hiruzen, I am simply helping you utilize your assets."
The door clicked shut.
The office remained silent for a long ti. Hiruzen did not light his pipe.
He opened the file once more and looked over the line containing Kitahara Kaede's na.
"Co forward."
A dark silhouette flickered out from the shadows.
"Summon Kitahara Kaede to see ."
***
At the training ground.
Guy kicked the third wooden post, splitting it open. He turned back and flashed a bright, white smile at Kitahara Kaede.
"How was that!"
"The transition is still half a beat too slow. There's an extra adjustnt movent between the second and third kicks."
Kitahara Kaede stood five ters away. "In a real fight, that half-second is enough for an opponent to react. Let the power flow from your waist; don't let it break at the knee."
Guy stared at his feet for three seconds, then turned around to practice again.
On the third attempt, the post split clean down the middle.
"I see it. Keep going. Don't get cocky."
Kurenai Yuhi sat on a nearby stump, fiddling with a few leaves in her hand. As she leaned closer, Kitahara Kaede happened to withdraw his gaze.
"Captain, I've thought of a solution to that killing move you used on last ti."
Kitahara Kaede nodded. He then posed several difficult problems for Kurenai, leaving her to ponder them to the side.
Kitahara Kaede turned his head. There was movent in the canopy.
He knew soone had been watching him from the shadows this whole ti. An owl soared past the treetops, and a dark figure dropped from the branches.
A cat mask.
"Kitahara Kaede, the Hokage requests your presence."
Guy and Kurenai stopped their movents. Guy turned, face drenched in sweat, his mouth opening to speak, but seeing the mask, he swallowed his words.
"Training ends here for now," Kitahara Kaede said, clapping his hands. "Guy, practice those transition movents fifty more tis. Kurenai, you've done enough."
He gave a slight nod to the ANBU mber.
"Let's go."
***
On the way to the Hokage Tower, Kitahara Kaede walked half a step behind the ANBU.
A personal summons from the Hokage.
The last ti they had spoken was a re formality after the Chunin Exams. This ti was different.
News of the Cloud Village's declaration of war had spread two days ago, and the village was on full alert. To be summoned at a critical juncture like this—
He couldn't quite figure out why.
But it didn't matter. If they were sending him to the front lines, it would actually save him a lot of trouble.
By the ti he reached the tower...
***
In the office.
The tobacco in the pipe had just been lit as Hiruzen sat behind his desk. Kitahara Kaede knocked, entered, and took a seat.
"Your recent missions have been handled well."
Hiruzen took a puff of smoke. "I've read several of your reports. Your capabilities are stronger than many veteran Chunin."
"Thank you, Lord Hokage."
"Minato has praised you as well. That is no easy feat."
Kitahara Kaede didn't respond.
Hiruzen set the pipe on the desk.
"I've reviewed all of your mission records." He looked at Kitahara Kaede. "Over a dozen missions, from start to finish, you haven't used a single ninjutsu."
Kitahara Kaede remained still.
"You rely entirely on taijutsu and battlefield judgnt. Kunai, traps, terrain—you use everything except ninjutsu."
Hiruzen paused.
"Why?"
"Because I don't have any," Kitahara Kaede answered directly. "I had no resources and no one to teach ."
Hiruzen fell silent for a mont. Then, he opened a drawer, took out a piece of paper, and placed it on the desk.
"Take it."
Kitahara Kaede's gaze fell on the paper.
Chakra-sensitive paper.
When chakra is infused, the paper reacts according to the attribute. Curling for Lightning, dampening for Water, burning for Fire, cutting for Wind, and crumbling into clumps for Earth.
He currently possessed three attributes: Lightning, Water, and Fire.
Since the paper provided a passive reaction, all attributes would manifest the instant chakra was poured in.
Kitahara Kaede quickly weighed his options. Three attributes were indeed rare for a fifteen-year-old commoner, but not impossible. Hiruzen himself possessed all five. Moreover, having multiple attributes only proved high talent; it didn't reveal his specific repertoire of jutsu.
What would actually be suspicious was hesitation. If he dared not use the test paper in front of the Hokage, that would be a problem.
Kitahara Kaede reached out and took the paper.
He infused his chakra.
The paper reacted from three corners simultaneously.
One corner curled. One corner beca damp. One corner ignited.
The three transformations spread across his fingertips until the paper dissolved into ash on the desk.
Hiruzen stared at the debris.
Natural triple attributes.
In itself, this wasn't incredibly rare. But for it to appear in a fifteen-year-old commoner, combined with the battlefield prowess he had already displayed—this boy's ceiling was going to be incredibly high.
Hiruzen looked up. Kitahara Kaede's expression remained neutral.
"Impressive." Hiruzen brushed the ash aside. "However, you should keep these three attributes to yourself."
Kitahara Kaede nodded.
*Don't draw attention.* He understood the aning behind the words.
A commoner Chunin with three attributes, no clan protection, and no master to lean on—such a person would either be recruited or used up the mont they caught the eye of soone ambitious.
And soone had already noticed him.
"After you return, I will have the ANBU deliver several ninjutsu scrolls to you," Hiruzen said in a calm tone. "Basic to interdiate techniques for Lightning, Water, and Fire. Practice them well."
Kitahara Kaede was montarily stunned.
Ninjutsu scrolls.
For clan children, the clan provided these. For a ninja of common birth like him, interdiate scrolls were virtually unobtainable through normal channels.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Kitahara Kaede bowed slightly.
"Additionally—"
Hiruzen opened the deploynt list on the desk.
"The front lines toward the Cloud Village need reinforcents. Your na is on the list. You depart in three days."
Ninjutsu scrolls and a front-line deploynt. These were exactly the two things he needed most.
As for who had slipped his na onto that list—he could guess, but the result favored him, so there was no need to dwell on it.
"Understood."
Hiruzen watched him.
Preparations for War
"Go and prepare yourself."
Kitahara Kaede rose, bowed politely, and turned to leave.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and took a long drag of his cigarette, the exhaled smoke swirling and dissipating in the light.
Fifteen years old.
He had been told he was being sent to the primary battlefield of a war between two nations, yet he hadn't hesitated or asked a single question.
"Prepare three sets of scrolls," Hiruzen commanded the shadows. "Lightning, Water, and Fire. Everything from basic to interdiate, including the most common interdiate combination formulas."
He paused for a mont.
"Ensure they are in his hands by tonight."
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