Of course, Kaito still refused the offer. He had zero interest in gambling and even less interest in becoming a thorn in anyone's side.
This time Tsunade didn't even bother pretending. With a bright smile, she poured Kaito a full cup of tea.--- Hurry up and leave if you're done, brat.
Kaito shamelessly ignored her irritation and continued sitting in her living room, drinking tea with leisure.
Meanwhile, in the next room, a certain boy was fast asleep, making up for yesterday's exhaustion.
"Third-class field commanders—normally only jōnin can take that post," Tsunade explained. "Even special jōnin don't qualify, except the Nara clan. No one else has ever met the requirement."
"And look at you. Still calm."
Seeing Kaito sipping tea with his usual carefree air, Tsunade finally began to take him seriously.
Cry at home, break down at home… act in public? Child's play, Kaito thought.
Only a jōnin possessed a 99.99% guarantee of not betraying the village.
Battlefield commanders wield enormous authority.
Which was why the Hokage's office assigned such positions with extreme caution.
A commander needed excellent judgment; a bad decision could mean dozens—hundreds—of shinobi dying.
They also needed enough strength and mobility to stay alive.
And if escape became impossible—they had to be prepared to die first.
A commander knew far too much classified information.
"Since the village trusts me, and the Hokage values me," Kaito placed his empty teacup down and met Tsunade's gaze, "I can't shrink back now. But I've never commanded a unit before, so I need to understand the basics—battlefield tasks, authority limits, and procedures."
"So that's how it is."
Tsunade had assumed he came to see Nawaki or to thank her for something he heard from Orochimaru.
Turns out he came to study.
"The work isn't complicated," she said.
"You listen to orders from above, then execute or delegate missions accordingly."
"…You don't need to take notes, you know."
Because Kaito had taken out an actual notebook and was writing diligently.
Tsunade stared at him blankly.
"Battlefield work isn't as complicated as you think," she sighed.
"It's just… exhausting."
Kaito paused his writing, nodded in understanding, and continued:
"The appointment letter says I can choose my subordinates. When does that happen? Now, or on the front line?"
"Either works."
"You can go to the Hokage Tower now and ask the old man for the reinforcement roster going to the front."
"Oh—right. One more thing."
Tsunade suddenly remembered the medical file she needed to hand to the Hokage.
"Nonō—Yakushi Nonō—is coming to the front with me. She'll be assigned to medical logistics."
Kaito's pen froze again.
He looked at Tsunade, then nodded calmly.
"I understand."
Tsunade was slightly surprised.
She had expected a stronger reaction.
But Kaito already knew—anyone with exceptional talent would inevitably be sent to gain battlefield experience.
Especially medical staff: top priority to protect, but always at the front.
After collecting all the information he came for, Kaito stood and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade—Tsunade-nee."
She waved him off. "Yeah, yeah."
That Night
After leaving the Hokage Tower with a confidential roster—one only field commanders could access—Kaito returned home.
Hiruzen had instructed him repeatedly: memorize every face, then burn it.
Lying on his bed, Kaito flipped through the unburned notebook, deciding who he wanted.
A third-class commander had authority to assign missions. Without enough people, he'd have to do everything himself.
"Combat strength isn't the main point… what matters is who listens to me."
Hiruzen had explained that selection was two-way. Even if Kaito chose someone, they could refuse. And forcing someone into his unit would only create a potential liability.
Ninja weren't ANBU—they didn't always follow orders.
"Yūhi Ryuun should be fine… a Hyūga would be good, at least one Byakugan user… Uchiha—dammit, I can't pick support-division members?! And why are there so few Uchiha? Even Shimura clan members have more."
Kaito had wanted to pick Mikoto, but she was assigned to a special Uchiha support brigade under First-Class Commander Uchiha Kishin.
"Forget it."
"Nonō can't be selected either."
"Kitada… oh, that's Hama. Yeah, I'll take him."
"A medical assistant? Fine, pick one."
"Already have Suiton—so let's grab a Fūton user."
"And then…"
After going through most of the list, Kaito planned to visit each clan and civilian ninja the next day to request cooperation.
He had only two days left—day four was departure.
Half a Month Later — Land of Rain
Shadows flashed through the forest as wind and drizzle whipped through the air.
Land of Rain seemed to have forgotten what sunlight was.
Mist hung heavily, and there was always the danger of Hanzo's poison mists or hidden traps.
Kaito stood on a trunk, black hair stirred by the damp wind.
Behind him appeared two kunoichi in chūnin vests: one gentle girl with black curls and red eyes, and one cold girl with a single black ponytail.
At Kaito's side stood a fourteen-year-old Hyūga branch girl—Hyūga Suzuka—Byakugan active.
Soft-spoken. Timid. Overlooked by her clan.
They had no objections to Kaito selecting her.
If anything, they were relieved.
"Any signs of enemies in Sector 8?" Kaito asked.
Since Suzuka hadn't issued a warning, he didn't use coded signals.
Shimura Yūko shook her head. "Found one corpse trap. Nothing else."
She had witnessed Kaito and Nawaki capture a jōnin as genin—so she joined his team without hesitation.
"And tailers?" Kaito asked Suzuka.
She shook her head timidly, lips moving without sound.
"Good. Let's head back."
Ten days into deployment, Kaito had adapted.
Inside a nameless ravine, he and his unit wrote reports in a rocky cave.
Information units like his—Unit Two—were allowed to build small temporary rest stations, resupplied by their own teams.
"It really rains nonstop here…" Kaito muttered, watching the drizzle outside.
"Probably why it's called Land of Rain," Kitada Hama replied.
"You two," Kaito said, glancing at Yūko and Suzuka, "I'm counting on you again."
"Just deliver your mission scroll to the Cedar Grove Camp. Ignore every other squad's assignment."
Cedar Grove Camp, located in the south, housed over five hundred Konoha shinobi, commanded by Nara Shikayoshi.
"Understood!" the chūnin echoed.
The team consisted of:
Hyūga Suzuka — Byakugan, reconnaissance
Yūhi Ryuun — genjutsu, interrogation
Shimura Yūko — Fūton, combat
Kitada Hama — Suiton, combat
Inuzuka Umeko — medic + scout
Three more civilian chūnin rotated at the main camp for rest.
The next morning, the scheduled courier team left.
Kaito saw them off.
Once they were gone, he turned to Ryuun and Umeko.
"Pack everything. We're relocating."
"Right!"
A captured teammate might expose the station under interrogation—so Kaito never stayed in one base long.
Only he dared to operate this way.
Land of Rain — Sector 6
Months ago, this place had been obliterated by battle.
Then, after Konoha's frontline—commanded by Hiruzen and Orochimaru—was defeated, the area returned to temporary peace.
Shinobi law forbade harming harmless civilians.
A small family had secretly rebuilt a hut here, using leftover materials—just outside Sector 7.
Inside lived a young man named Ise, a medical-nin, and his red-haired wife, Fusō.
"War… I'm sick of it," Ise sighed.
Fusō smiled as she washed vegetables. "At least we found somewhere safe. And Sector 7 is close—we can shop there."
"But what if Konoha—"
BOOM.
They froze.
Explosive tags.
And then—
Shadows darted outside.
Two Konoha chūnin appeared, furious.
"That Rain shinobi vanished again?!"
"He killed Yūshirō and impersonated him—nearly killed us too!"
They calmed slightly.
"At least his transformation technique didn't match our codewords. Otherwise we'd be dead."
"If we can't find him soon, we retreat. Sector 7 isn't battlefield territory."
One suddenly paused.
"Wait… that building looks intact."
The two exchanged looks, drew kunai, and approached cautiously.
"Don't harm civilians," one reminded.
"Of course."
Inside a storage room, Ise and Fusō hid with their small son—Nagato.
"T-they're coming…" Ise whispered.
Nagato looked up anxiously. "What happens if they find us?"
"It'll be fine," Ise lied, trembling. "If we're quiet, we'll be safe."
Then—
Clink.
Nagato accidentally knocked over a jar.
The noise echoed.
Footsteps approached.
The door burst open.
Two Konoha shinobi stood there—
"Run, Nagato!!" Ise lunged forward, grabbing the nearest shinobi's arm to buy time.
"That's the enemy?!"
"Go, Nagato!!" Fusō cried.
Just as the Konoha chūnin were about to strike—
Two more Konoha shinobi rushed inside.
"Kaita—Commander Kaito! Ryuun!"
"Keita, Shinji. What are you two doing here?"
Kaito's arrival stunned everyone.
Ise stared at Kaito—the only calm adult in the room.
"Why… why save us?" he whispered.
Kaito's voice was level.
"Ninja law forbids harming innocent civilians. As commander, it's my duty to correct my subordinates."
Ise exhaled shakily.
Fusō held Nagato tightly.
Kaito glanced at the red-haired boy whose eyes were hidden by bangs.
Right… this really is a dangerous butterfly effect.
Nagato's parents would die no matter what—but Nagato would not.
Kaito decided not to interfere further.
"I can only step in when I see it happen. From here on… take care of yourselves."
Nagato watched Kaito's retreating back and whispered:
"…Thank you… big brother from Konoha."
Kaito continued his mission—the ruins now spanning the entire Land of Rain as the war expanded.
Another half-month passed.
Unit Two suffered heavy losses.
Yūhi Ryuun was gravely injured during an ambush.
Keita died protecting the team.
Shinji fell soon after.
Umeko remained at camp as a medic.
Only Shimura Yūko and Kitada Hama were still combat-capable.
"Captain," Yūko said—no longer the aloof girl she once was, but a hardened kunoichi who had watched comrades die.
"What is it?"
"Don't die. When we get back, dinner's on me."
Hama grinned. "Captain, I can introduce my sister to you too~!"
Kaito stared at their towering death flags.
"…I'll do my best."
"Let's go, Suzuka."
"Mm."
She waved to the others. "See you at camp."
"See you!" they called back, vanishing with Shunshin.
Kaito and Suzuka continued walking—they still needed to survey Sector 7 and confirm the absence of enemy forces.
Before long, they encountered three wandering children and a yellow dog.
Kaito sighed internally.
"So it really happened… Figures."
"There must've been a White Zetsu watching. Maybe even Uchiha Madara through Tobi's body…"
He felt relieved he had never exposed Fusō's Uzumaki bloodline or Ise's Senju ties.
After all—Nagato was a fusion of Senju and Uzumaki blood.
And destiny was already cruel enough.
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