"Hinoyama Kaede, Tsukishima Haruto, Hoshino Aoi. Team instructor: Yamanaka Kenji."
Hearing his own name, Kenji raised his hand and looked toward the line of fresh Academy graduates. Three kids stepped out almost immediately, two boys and a girl. They spotted his raised hand and hurried over.
"Good afternoon, sensei!"
The three of them bowed in unison.
"Alright, stick close for now. Once team assignments are finished, we'll do proper introductions."
Kenji nodded and gestured for them to stand beside him. They lined up obediently, trying to look professional. Within minutes, all dozen new teams had been sorted out and merged with the larger group of ninjas preparing for deployment.
Then Hiruzen stepped forward again for another speech.
More talk about duty, sacrifice and the Will of Fire. Kenji found it exhausting to listen to, but forced himself to pay attention because everyone else was.
Around him, several ninjas were actually getting fired up. A few even had tears in their eyes.
Kenji made himself look similarly inspired, mimicking their expressions. Standing out as the one guy who wasn't moved by the Hokage's words would be stupid, better to blend in and play along.
When the speech finally ended, the deployment officially began.
Their destination was the forward camp near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Once they arrived, specific combat assignments would be distributed based on need. The main force would head out first at full speed. The new graduates and their instructors would follow at a slower pace.
"Let's move out," Kenji said to his three students.
They fell into formation behind him as the massive group of ninjas began moving. He set a steady pace.
Ninjas could travel quickly by channeling chakra to enhance their physical abilities. A chunin could maintain speeds that would exhaust a regular human in minutes. But that assumed you had the chakra control and reserves to sustain it.
Fresh Academy graduates had neither.
Within the first hour, he could already see his students struggling.
"Conserve your energy," Kenji called back to them. "We've got a long way to go. So don't burn out in the first few hours."
Around him, the other instructor groups were having similar problems. Some of the kids were stumbling, others were visibly exhausted. The main force had already pulled ahead, their figures disappearing into the distance as they maintained speeds the genin couldn't match.
After another thirty minutes, a jonin appeared at the front of their group. He looked to be in his late twenties, with sharp eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor. Kenji recognized the vest markings, this guy was their designated squad leader.
"Alright, stop!"
Everyone halted immediately.
"I'm Kazama Takuma, jonin, and I'll be overseeing this group until we reach the camp. The main force is moving at combat speed. You kids can't maintain that pace, so we're splitting off. Instructors, let your students rest and recover their chakra. We'll move at a sustainable rate."
Thank god, Kenji thought. At least this guy has some sense.
He turned to his three students. "Sit down, and catch your breath."
They dropped to the ground gratefully. Haruto sprawled flat on his back, chest heaving. Aoi sat more carefully but was clearly winded. Kaede looked like he might throw up.
"Is it... always like this?" Haruto gasped between breaths.
"Yeah, pretty much," Kenji said. "You'll adapt. Give it a few weeks and this'll feel normal."
Assuming you live that long, he added mentally.
Around them, the other teams were doing the same thing. Genin scattered across the clearing, instructors standing nearby and keeping watch. Some of the kids were already meditating, trying to speed up their chakra recovery. Others just lay there looking miserable.
He found a tree and leaned against it, using the break to observe his students more carefully.
Haruto had spiky black hair that stuck up at odd angles, probably naturally rather than styled. His forehead protector was tied around his head properly, but his uniform already had dirt on it from where he'd hit the ground. Enthusiastic but clumsy.
Aoi had her dark hair pulled back in a practical ponytail. She sat with better posture than the boys, already trying to regulate her breathing. Conscientious type, probably a good student at the Academy.
Kaede had distinctive white hair that made him stand out. His forehead protector was tied loosely around his neck instead of his head. He was the smallest of the three, probably the youngest. Right now he looked absolutely miserable.
None of them seemed exceptional. Just regular Academy graduates thrown into a war they weren't ready for.
"Sensei?"
Kenji glanced down. Haruto had pushed himself up on his elbows and was looking at him.
"Yeah?"
"What's it like? The front lines, I mean."
The other two perked up at the question, clearly curious about the same thing.
Kenji considered how to answer. He could sugarcoat it, or he could be honest.
"Loud, and messy. People die. Sometimes for good reasons, other times for stupid ones. Your training helps, but it's not the same as real combat. Nothing really prepares you for it."
The three of them stared at him with wide eyes.
"That said, you've got me as your instructor. I'll do what I can to keep you alive while you learn. But you need to listen when I give orders. Hesitation gets people killed out there."
"We'll listen, sensei," Aoi said quietly. The boys nodded agreement.
"Good."
Some of the genin had already recovered and were getting restless. Takuma eventually called everyone back together.
"Alright, we're moving out again. Same pace as before. Instructors, keep your teams together. If anyone falls too far behind, signal and we'll adjust."
They set off again, this time at a more moderate speed. The genin still struggled but managed to keep up.
As the sun began to set, Takuma called for another rest. This time they'd stop for the night. No point running the genin into the ground before they even reached the camp.
"Set up basic camp. Instructors, your teams are responsible for their own area. We'll rotate watch shifts through the night."
Kenji found a decent spot and had his students clear the ground of rocks and debris. None of them had camping experience beyond maybe a single overnight training exercise at the Academy.
Kenji showed Kaede how to properly set up wire traps around their camping area, simple things that would make noise if someone tripped them. Not enough to stop a real threat, but enough to provide warning.
When everything was set up, the four of them sat around a small fire. Aoi distributed rice balls and dried meat from their provisions. It wasn't appetizing, but it was food.
"Since we've got time, let's do proper introductions," Kenji said.
The three students perked up slightly.
"What should we say?" Haruto asked immediately.
"Name, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and hobbies."
He was basically copying Kakashi's introduction format from the series. It had worked well enough there, might as well use it.
"I'll go first. Name's Yamanaka Kenji, from the Yamanaka clan. What I like and dislike, I'd rather keep to myself for now. Dreams and hobbies, same thing. We'll talk about it later maybe."
"That's not fair! You barely said anything except your name!" Aoi protested.
"Yeah, exactly!" the boys chimed in.
Kenji shrugged. "My turn's over. Next."
He pointed at Haruto, who'd asked the original question.
"Fine, I'm Tsukishima Haruto! I like my family's dog, Budai. He's the best dog ever! I hate people who pick on others just because they're weaker. My dream is to become a really strong ninja, and my hobby is taking care of Budai!"
The kid's enthusiasm was almost painful to watch. So earnest and hopeful.
"Alright, Haruto's got a kind heart," Kenji said. "That's good. Next."
He nodded toward Aoi.
She stood up nervously. "My name is Hoshino Aoi. I like cooking and trying new recipes. I hate when food gets wasted. My dream is to become a great medical-nin like Lady Tsunade, and my hobby is experimenting with different ingredients and flavors."
"Medical-nin, huh? That's a solid goal," Kenji said. "We can always use more field medics. Sit down, relax."
Aoi sat back down, looking relieved that her turn was over.
Finally, Kenji turned to the white-haired kid. "Last one."
"I'm Hinoyama Kaede! I love dango, any kind except the ones with miso flavor because those are gross! My dream is to open the best dango shop in the entire shinobi world! My hobby is visiting every dango shop I can find and tasting everything they make!"
Kaede was drooling by the end of his introduction.
"So you're a dango enthusiast," Kenji said dryly. "Good to know."
He looked at all three of them, meeting their eyes one by one.
"Now that we know each other, we're officially a team. From here on out, we fight together. That means we look out for each other, support each other, and build trust. Understood?"
"Yes, sensei!" they responded in unison.
"Good. Finish eating and get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be another long day."
The kids settled in for the night. Kenji took first watch, sitting with his back to a tree and scanning the surrounding darkness. His thoughts drifted as the hours passed.
Three students... He was supposed to keep them alive while also completing whatever missions got assigned to them. The survival rate for fresh genin on the front lines was abysmal. Most teams lost at least one member in the first month. Some lost all three.
And he was a chunin instructor, not a jonin. The best he could do was teach them quickly and hope they adapted fast enough to survive.
It was a shit situation all around.
When his watch shift ended, he woke Haruto to take over and got a few hours of sleep himself. Dawn came too quickly.
They packed up camp and continued the journey. The pattern repeated, travel until the genin were exhausted, rest and recover, travel again. It took until the afternoon of the second day before the camp finally came into view.
The Konoha forward camp was massive. Hundreds of tents arranged in orderly rows, guard towers positioned at regular intervals around the perimeter, ninjas moving constantly between different sections. It looked like a small military city.
They stopped several hundred meters out. Takuma went ahead alone to coordinate with the sentry units. Security was tight near active war zones. You didn't just walk into a military camp without proper authorization.
After ten minutes, he returned and waved them forward.
"Alright, let's go. Single file, follow the path markers. When we reach the checkpoint, you'll each be inspected individually. Don't resist the process."
They moved toward the camp entrance. Kenji kept his students close as they approached the first checkpoint. Guards in ANBU masks watched from elevated positions. Other ninjas stood at ground level, performing inspections of everyone entering.
When Kenji's turn came, one of the inspectors looked him over carefully. "Name and rank?"
"Yamanaka Kenji, chunin."
"Purpose?"
"Team instructor."
The inspector made a note on his clipboard, then gestured to another ninja who performed a quick jutsu. Kenji felt the technique wash over him, some kind of chakra signature verification. After a moment, the second ninja nodded.
"Clear. Next."
His students went through the same process.
Once all four of them were cleared, he led them into the camp. The noise hit them immediately. Hundreds of people were talking, and supplies were being moved.
"Stay close and don't wander off," he told his students.
They followed the flow of people toward a designated assembly area. Other newly arrived teams were gathering there, waiting for their next orders. Kenji found a spot and had his students sit down.
"All genin wait here," Takuma announced to the group. "Team instructors, come with me to receive your squad assignments."
Kenji gave his students a final warning to stay put, then joined the other instructors. They followed Takuma toward a large tent at the center of the camp, clearly some kind of command post.
The moment they stepped inside, he was hit by the intensity of activity. Dozens of ninjas in standard uniforms moved through the space. Some were sorting through intelligence scrolls, or organizing information by priority. Others marked positions on large maps spread across tables, using special ink to track troop movements and enemy positions. A few were giving reports to officers who listened intently and issued rapid-fire orders in response.
This was the Intelligence Division, the operational core of the camp. These people didn't fight on the front lines, but they coordinated everything that happened there. Information came in, got processed, and turned into actionable mission assignments.