As Ryusei picked up his new subordinates and finally met Kanae and Renjiro again, they set out together on the road.
Somewhere in between the march, he was told where exactly they would be stationed.
It turned out not to be far from his previous position, still within the Land of Hot Water.
Fugaku's southeastern front had the majority of the forces concentrated on that peninsula and the continental intersection between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.
But Kirigakure had recently started launching raids into the southern coast of Hot Water as well, striking from the sea.
That was why Ryusei was being sent there, reinforcement duty, so Fugaku could keep his attention on the main battlefield.
Kanae, Renjiro, and Ryusei talked about this as they traveled, and about many other things that had happened in the last few months.
Mostly, the focus stayed on Ryusei, on everything that had happened to him since they had last been together, but more precisely.
Kanae listened to everything in silence. At first, her expression barely shifted, but when Ryusei finished, she actually let out a small, dry laugh.
"So let me get this straight. Back there, when we parted ways, you first 'sensory pinged' a complete stranger as your last hope… and that stranger just happened to be the legendary Tsunade Senju, from the same bloodline."
"Then she really did save you, for some reason, and before long, you somehow had the Daimyō himself hostage through one of your clones and a few lost clansmen. After that, you trained with her for months in peace."
Ryusei gave his narrow-eyed look, lips barely curving.
"When you say it like that, it sounds a little too clean. But yes, more or less."
Renjiro whistled, "And then you didn't just hide either. You went and joined the most important operation and turning point of this entire war so far for Konoha. You got dragged into Orochimaru's mess, killed enemies left and right, and now, apparently, your name's spreading on other fronts too. Not bad."
Ryusei shrugged. "Rumors are faster than the truth. Not that I exactly mind."
Renjiro smirked. "Still, not bad for a guy who used to dodge sparring with me."
Ryusei glanced at him sideways. "I don't recall dodging. I recall choosing my timing."
Kanae's pale eyes lingered on him longer than usual.
Outwardly, she was calm, but the weight of her stare made her intent clear.
"It's unbelievable," she said softly. "But after hearing it first-hand, it's harder not to believe."
Ryusei's expression didn't shift.
"Unbelievable is useful. The less people believe, the less they can prepare."
Renjiro chuckled, folding his arms.
"Either way, I'm convinced. Following you looks a lot smarter than I thought."
Kanae said nothing, though her hands tightened faintly at her sides.
'The more he accomplishes, the more it feels possible… that even a seal everyone calls absolute could be broken.'
The thought flickered in her mind before she calmed it down.
Ryusei shifted the focus back toward them."And you two? What about your progress during this time?"
Kanae answered without hesitation, her tone as flat as ever.
"I finally mastered Rotation. Completely. And I've refined my Gentle Fist of Healing. I can apply it in battle now, to an extent."
Renjiro gave a sharp grin. "My conditioning drills worked out too. Using your training principles, I pushed my body further, and I can already pull off the Lightning Body Flicker."
Ryusei nodded once, his narrow-eyed look unreadable.
"Good. Then at least I wasn't the only one who spent these months usefully."
Outwardly, his voice stayed calm, but inwardly, his thoughts clicked through.
'If that's true… then both of them leveled up as well. Renjiro's probably reached Elite Jōnin now. Kanae should be a High Jōnin. Not bad at all.'
Soon after, Ryusei shifted his attention outward again, stretching his senses across the southern reaches.
Hours passed as the company advanced, and he gradually sensed another, but much larger, scattered group of around one and a half hundred shinobi moving in the same sector across the south of Hot Water Country.
"So these are the forces tasked with repelling Kiri's rear attacks… and that girl, Kiyomi, is here too." His lips curved into a faint smirk.
He remembered that before leaving Konoha, he hadn't seen her for months.
Most likely, her clan had kept her restrained, forbidden her from roaming freely. And yet here she was, finally within reach again.
"Maybe this is the time to finalize my imprint on her. Fugaku's 'gift' will be put to use."
Still, he didn't think Fugaku was being foolish. This rear line was dangerous, and only the strongest elites were being gathered here.
Kiyomi's presence made sense. So did his own. And with fifty men under him, his role here was anything but strange.
"In the end, what matters more? Preventing ambiguous contact, or performing in the war? For Fugaku, the choice was obvious."
Ryusei's smirk deepened as he recalled the broader picture. Both Orochimaru's and Jiraiya's northern fronts still dwarfed the two southern ones in size. The real pressure was there.
Which only made the southern battlefield all the more useful for his own plans.
"Maybe I should pay her a visit next…" Ryusei grinned to himself.
He had already been informed by Fugaku where he would be stationed permanently in this smaller theater, on the way. The intent was obvious.
Fugaku wanted to use him as a passive buffer, keeping this stretch of land secure against Kiri incursions so the main forces could focus below, the more decisive place in this southeastern campaign, for Fugaku's own merits.
But Ryusei had no intention of being boxed in like that. He hadn't come here to sit and wait. He came to do many things, and he would do them.
This area was small, the coastline narrow, the pockets where Kirigakure could operate even smaller. Perfect terrain for him.
With his sensing stretched across it, he could root out every hidden squad that had already slipped ashore, then strike them down with the help of the larger force stationed here.
Judging by her positioning, within this smaller theater, and her aura, he felt, those forces were probably all under Kiyomi's command now for some reason. It fit. She was the strongest, both literary and politically, one here.
That gave him an opening. If he reached some agreement with her initially, and they joined forces, not only could he rack up another battlefield merit, but it would buy him even more perfect breathing room on this stretch of land, and perhaps let him move into other southern fights as well whenever he wanted.
"Maybe Fugaku also didn't plan for us to meet by assigning me separately. But who could stop me now, really?"
His Stealth Shadow Clones, pre-programmed with the logic of absolute concealment yet functioning like ordinary shadow clones in strength, combined with his world-class Sensory Mode, gave him freedom.
Freedom to move where he wanted, act as he wanted, the instant this was under his feet.