By noon, after traveling all morning, Tsunade and Kitazawa's group finally reached the southeastern border of the Land of Fire.
"Tsunade-sama."
Hyuga Hiashi came forward with a number of jōnin to receive them.
Ordinarily, the Hyuga clan's main family doesn't leave the compound in order to protect the Byakugan, let alone take on missions. War is the exception—no one is exempt, not even the main family.
Ao of Kirigakure got his Byakugan from a Hyuga main-family member during the Third Great Ninja War.
"Mhm." Tsunade nodded. "How are things on your side?"
"Other than a large ambush right when we arrived, it's been small-unit skirmishes," Hiashi replied.
"So Kirigakure suddenly slowed their pace?" Tsunade mused. "Who's commanding them?"
"Kisame Hoshigaki led the vanguard. Once the main force arrived, command shifted to Ao," Hiashi said, face steady.
In truth, he wanted nothing more than to kill Ao. The reason Ao became famous was that stolen Byakugan—his name was made by stepping on the Hyuga clan. If a chance arose, Hiashi would gladly pay any price to take it back.
"No wonder. Ao's style is on the cautious side," Tsunade said as they walked. "Which, for us, isn't exactly good news."
She hated tug-of-war battles—too fussy and too time-consuming. Konoha far outmatched Kiri in overall strength. In her ideal world, they'd settle it in one decisive fight. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to happen.
They entered a large tent—the command tent. A huge map hung inside.
"This is their main base," Hiashi said, pointing to an island on the map. "Sea on all sides. Easy to defend, hard to attack."
"One look and it screams war of attrition," Tsunade said with a shake of her head.
"Kiri's weaker than we are. Attrition makes sense for them," Hiashi wasn't surprised. A full-scale raid from Kisame would actually be the weird play—one misstep and you risk annihilation. Granted, success would pay off big. Luckily, Tsunade had sent Kitazawa and the others to hit back in kind, and they'd evened the score.
Kitazawa stroked his chin. In the original timeline, Genshi, Ao, and Mei Terumi were clearly aligned. They all opposed the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi's tyranny. Unlike Jūzō Biwa and Zabuza Momochi, though, they didn't defect. In the end, with Ao's Byakugan exposing the truth, they toppled Yagura.
Kitazawa had thought the Mist commander this time would be Fuguki Suikazan; turns out it was Ao. Clearly, there'd been a power struggle within Kiri, and Genshi's faction had gained some ground. Yagura might be Mizukage, but he was just one man—and his declaring war was shaky to begin with. Landing a frontline command slot wasn't a shock for people like Genshi and Ao.
Now Kitazawa understood why Ao wanted attrition: stall for time.
What could he do? Approach Ao or Mei Terumi? Not great. He couldn't explain how he knew about Yagura's situation, and they wouldn't trust a Konoha shinobi anyway. For now, they'd have to fight. Once Konoha had absolute momentum, he'd break Uchiha Obito's genjutsu, clear his system quest, then either negotiate—or accept Kiri's surrender—secure a hefty war indemnity, and pick up the stolen Byakugan along the way.
If Kiri were truly wiped out, Kumogakure and Iwagakure would jump in, and that would mean a Fourth Great Ninja War. Kitazawa didn't have the strength for that yet and didn't want a conflict that big. Not with Akatsuki lurking in the shadows.
"Tsunade-sama, here are the details." Hiashi handed over a scroll.
"Kitazawa, go get some rest," Tsunade said as she glanced through it. "I'll call you when I have a mission."
They'd struck a Mist outpost overnight and only slept two hours since. With nothing urgent for the moment, there was no need for them to hover. From here, it was Tsunade's job: assign each squad based on battlefield needs. Shinobi wars aren't like conventional wars—they're mission-driven. Thousand-on-thousand melee brawls are rare.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Kitazawa, Uchiha Hachidai, and the others turned to leave.
Hiashi's eyes flicked to Kitazawa. He'd received the Anbu report that morning detailing Kitazawa's successful raid on the Kiri stronghold, and once again, he was shaken by Kitazawa's growth.
In just a year, his impression had been rewritten over and over—from a regular academy teacher, to Tsunade's student, to a formidable jōnin. He used to resent how close Hinata was to Kitazawa; now it seemed like the opposite—a good thing. If only Hinata could become Kitazawa's formal student, all the better.
"This is my first time seeing the ocean," Uchiha Izumi said as they exited the tent, eyes drawn to the sea.
"It's beautiful," Kabuto adjusted his glasses, "shame the other side of it is the enemy."
"Beat Kirigakure, and you'll have all the time in the world to stare at the waves," Kurenai Yūhi said with a smile.
"Mm." Izumi nodded.
"Gear up. If nothing changes, our squad gets a mission tomorrow," Kitazawa yawned. "For now—sleep."
"Yes, Sensei," the three answered in unison.
Because they were one squad, their tents were side by side. Normally a squad shares one tent—on missions or in wartime, you keep it simple: sleeping bags, clothes on, no separate quarters for men and women. But given Kitazawa's identity and standing, they'd been assigned two tents: Kabuto, Torune, and Izumi in one; Kitazawa and Kurenai in the other.
Holding Kurenai's soft form and breathing in her light scent, Kitazawa drifted off.
They woke in the afternoon. After eating, they didn't idle; they trained. Kitazawa used the time to shore up the jutsu he'd copied with his three-tomoe Sharingan in last night's fight: two Water Release and two Earth Release—Water Release: Water Fang Blade, Water Release: Hiding in Mist, Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet, and Earth Release: Subterranean Voyage.
Copying only meant he could perform them; mastery was a ways off. Fortunately, with his proficient Water and Earth nature transformations, getting comfortable wouldn't take long.
Hiding in Mist felt the most useful to him—devastating against non-Kiri opponents. But Mist shinobi were used to heavy fog, and they had their signature Silent Killing. Who'd get the edge then was anyone's guess—unless Kitazawa learned Silent Killing too.
But that's technique rather than ninjutsu. In the original Wave arc with Kakashi and Zabuza, even with the three-tomoe Sharingan, what he copied were Water jutsu, not Silent Killing.
Morning came. Kitazawa woke on time, sat up, and stretched.
"Morning," Kurenai opened her eyes and greeted him.
Being at the front meant they kept things restrained. She hadn't tired herself out last night and had slept well; feeling him move, she woke naturally.
"Still sleep better at home," Kitazawa said after a beat. "Feels weird not teaching class."
"Your students are probably the ones really feeling weird," Kurenai laughed. She knew just how popular Kitazawa was with them. Her comment made him miss Naruto and Hinata a little. Shame they were too young; otherwise he'd have brought them along.
He shook his head. He wasn't Uchiha Fugaku—he wouldn't send kids to war. Even if Naruto and the others were already as strong as most chūnin, the battlefield's cruelty leaves scars too easily. If they all turned into Itachi-types afterward, Kitazawa would snap.
After washing up, they had breakfast with the trio.
"Kitazawa-sama," an Anbu suddenly appeared, "Tsunade-sama requests your presence."
"Got it. Thanks." Kitazawa stood and headed for the command tent.
Shinobi bustled in and out at both sides, picking up mission scrolls. Only special missions came directly from Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama," he called from the entrance, and entered when permitted. Inside were only Tsunade and Shizune.
"Pick one," Tsunade pointed to the scrolls on the table. "All A-rank or S-rank."
"You really do think highly of me," Kitazawa chuckled.
"Your squad has two jōnin—we're going to use what we've got," Tsunade said. She'd planned to keep Kitazawa at her side, but after the successful raid, she changed her mind. Strength like his shouldn't be wasted, and this was a perfect chance to make a name. She was grooming him as a Hokage successor now. Step one to becoming Hokage: a towering reputation.
"And Kurenai," Kitazawa reminded her.
Normally a squad is four people; with Kurenai they were over the limit. But if the frontline commander was fine with it, no one would object.
"She's already accounted for," Tsunade sniffed.
"As expected, Tsunade-sama—always five steps ahead."
"Less flattery. Pick your mission."
Kitazawa flipped through the scrolls. There were four types: defense (manning Konoha strongholds and outposts), reconnaissance (locating Kiri's), combat (taking outposts or hunting Mist squads), and infiltration (slipping onto Kiri's island to sabotage or harass medical/logistics).
"I'll take this one." He handed over a scroll.
"Not afraid of dying, are you?" Tsunade asked after a glance.
"Just putting my skills to best use," Kitazawa smiled. "I'm confident in infiltration."
"Then be careful."
"I will." He took the scroll and left.
[Once you're on the battlefield, it's time to put on a show.]
[Current Mission: Lead your squad to complete ten A-rank or S-rank missions.]
[Reward: Composite Ninjutsu—Blazing Wind Wild Wave.]
[Accept?]
The moment he stepped out, four lines of text floated before his eyes. Sudden, but expected. The reward was the only surprise: Composite Ninjutsu: Blazing Wind Wild Wave—the combo of Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work and Wind Release: Pressure Damage from Kakuzu. Surprising, but undeniably powerful. In Kitazawa's view, Kakuzu was the gatekeeper to "top-tier"—anyone stronger than him counted as truly top-tier.
"Mission?" Kurenai asked when he returned.
"S-rank. Sabotage Mist's supply convoy," Kitazawa summarized.
"Starting with something that hard?" Kurenai's face tightened. Supply convoys usually have jōnin escorts. And that wasn't the worst part: the route ran from the Land of Water to Kiri's main base—deep in enemy backline, with Mist shinobi everywhere.
"Hard, yes, but tailor-made for us." Kitazawa looked at Aburame Torune. "We're counting on you for this one, Torune."
"Yes," Torune blinked, then answered quickly.
"Move out," Kitazawa said as he walked. "Think about how to make this as quick and easy as possible."
They left Konoha's forward base and reached the shore.
"Our destination is an island in the Land of Water," Kitazawa said, unrolling a map. "According to the scroll, the convoy will dock and rest there."
"How many Mist shinobi on the island?" Kabuto asked, thinking aloud.
"It's deep in their backline, so only one squad," Kitazawa replied. "One special jōnin and three chūnin."
"I have an idea," Kabuto said as something clicked. "We disguise ourselves as them and hit the convoy by surprise."
"Not bad," Kurenai nodded.
"Then we'll do it your way," Kitazawa rolled up the map. "Stay on me. Torune, you're on the perimeter."
He slipped on a pair of sunglasses, took one long stride, and skimmed out onto the sea.
Running would cost more chakra than a boat, but boats were slow and obvious. Kitazawa picked a route dotted with islands; they could rest as needed.
They reached the target island smoothly. Besides Torune's Rinkaichū scouts, Kitazawa occasionally activated the Byakugan. Thanks to both, they never bumped into Mist patrols—where another squad might've fought several times already.
"There are four Mist shinobi on the island," Torune reported after scouting with his Rinkaichū.
"They're yours," Kitazawa waved. "I'll watch for the convoy's ship so we don't get blindsided."
Kabuto glanced at Kurenai.
"You're the jōnin—your call," Kurenai said, self-aware enough not to micromanage Kitazawa's students just because of her relationship with him. After this long together, she knew: of Kitazawa's three, Torune and Izumi spoke for themselves, but Kabuto was at least stronger than she was—especially in medical ninjutsu and strategy.
"Torune, open with a sneak attack," Kabuto ordered. "Kurenai-senpai and Izumi, prep genjutsu."
The four slipped onto the island and headed for the outpost—a small stronghold. Being deep in the rear, there were no traps nearby.
Inside, the four Mist shinobi were doing lazy circuits, attention drifting. Unseen, four Rinkaichū crept to their feet, then lunged.
The special jōnin—a middle-aged man—felt danger coming and reflexively used the Body Flicker. His three students weren't as lucky. With strangled cries, they turned purple-black and dropped, dead on the spot.
"What—?!" Shocked and furious, the man sprang onto the roof. One look told him his students died of poison.
Just then, petals bloomed out of thin air. Alarm bells rang in his head, and he quickly spotted Kurenai. His eyes widened. What were Konoha shinobi doing here?
He blinked—just a heartbeat—and Kurenai vanished. In her place, a pair of scarlet Sharingan: Uchiha Izumi stood where Kurenai had been.
"Sharingan?" He snapped his hands into a seal. "Genjutsu—Release!"
Kurenai dropped from above, Rasengan already formed, and slammed it into him. He couldn't react in time and was blasted backwards.
~~~
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