It took Kiyosuke most of the day to find the way back to the main Konoha encampment.
And another whole day to actually locate the camp.
Asuma, Kurenai, Torifu, and Hizashi all watched him closely, making sure everything was fine before finally letting out a collective sigh of relief.
Torifu exhaled, smiling with obvious relief.
"You're finally back. We've been looking for days—we even started to suspect that Kirigakure had captured you. It's good you're safe. Really good."
Naturally, it was a relief that Kiyosuke made it back. Letting a child step onto the battlefield had already been a heavy decision, and having him hunted down like that? It wasn't something Torifu wanted to see happen again.
"Captain Torifu, you and Shibi... you're both okay, right?"
"If it hadn't been for that storm a few days ago forcing Kirigakure to retreat, we'd probably still be running for our lives."
With several members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen dead, it made perfect sense for Kirigakure to go after the ones responsible.
But thankfully, they'd made it back safely.
Now, with only one Swordsman left, Kirigakure's morale had plummeted. Konoha was beginning a counterattack, aiming to drive Kirigakure completely out of the Land of Waves.
"I see... that storm saved my life too," Kiyosuke said, omitting any mention of Terumi Mei. It wasn't worth bringing up.
"You should write up a report," said Torifu. "Document everything that happened these past few days. Shibi and I already submitted ours. And you? You did something truly incredible."
Kiyosuke had taken down three—maybe even four—of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. That would be impressive for any shinobi, let alone a child. Sure, they had helped, but the fact that his attacks could kill even one of them proved his strength.
It wouldn't be long before the news spread across the ninja world. Kiyosuke would become a rising star in Konoha—undeniably brilliant and shining.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted. Why do I still have to write a report? Captain Torifu, can I copy yours and tweak it a little?"
The moment he heard the word "report," Kiyosuke's face dropped. He was definitely not excited.
Torifu laughed and shook his head.
"No can do. You'll have to write your own. But since you just got back, I'll let you hand it in a little later."
"Oh... Asuma, you help me then."
"Huh? Help you how?" Asuma blinked, surprised. "What's this got to do with me?"
"I mean, you write it. I don't feel like moving."
"You're seriously that lazy?"
"C'mon, we're best friends, right? What's a little help between friends?"
"Fine, fine... I was hoping to slack off a bit myself."
After a good night's sleep, Kiyosuke washed up in the camp's facilities, put on clean clothes, and tied on a new forehead protector.
"Hmm... Clothes are getting tight. I'll need to get some new ones that actually fit."
He was growing quickly these days, and it was hard to keep up.
Back in the tent, he flopped onto the bed.
"Okay, I'll talk, you write."
"Go ahead," Asuma said, spreading out a scroll and picking up a brush.
"Ahem. Konoha Special Jōnin Asakawa Kiyosuke, along with Akimichi Torifu and Aburame Shibi, executed a special mission..."
He gave a brief account of their assassination of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the pursuit by Terumi Mei, and his time stranded on the island. Naturally, he skipped over the parts involving Terumi Mei. She was from Kirigakure, after all, and if Konoha's higher-ups found out, it would just create unnecessary trouble.
Even when he returned earlier today, he'd been questioned repeatedly—Inoichi's clan had even sent someone over to check for genjutsu tampering.
During wartime, strict investigations were only natural. So he chose his words carefully in the report.
"Ugh. Your handwriting is awful."
Kiyosuke frowned as he looked at Asuma's crooked scrawl.
"If you don't like it, write it yourself!"
"Hmph! If my handwriting looked decent, I wouldn't be making you do it in the first place. Should've asked Kurenai. Whatever, I'm turning this in."
...
"Excuse me."
After getting permission, Kiyosuke stepped into the command tent. Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were seated just as they had been the day he left, like nothing had changed at all.
"This is my report for the past few days."
Homura took the scroll, opened it, and scanned it quickly. Nothing looked out of place. He gave a rare smile and nodded.
"Well done. Talented young shinobi like you are the future of Konoha. We old-timers are past our prime. As for your reward, you'll have to wait until the war ends. But in the meantime, your squad has been assigned a special mission."
"A special mission?"
Koharu's tone was warm and gentle.
"It's not particularly difficult. You'll be escorting the corpses of Kirigakure shinobi and the intel we've gathered back to the village. Think of it as a special vacation."
Missions like this gave them a few days of rest in the village—basically a short break. They'd have to return to the front lines afterward, but it was still a rare bit of reprieve.
And with the kind of accomplishment Kiyosuke had just pulled off, no one was going to argue.
"In addition," said Homura, pulling out a scroll, "this is a confidential message for the Hokage. Make sure it stays secure."
The scroll was marked with the character for "Secret" and surrounded by sealing scripts—clearly heavily encrypted.
It detailed losses and other developments on the Konoha–Kirigakure front. If it fell into enemy hands, Konoha's entire strategy would be compromised.
"I understand."
Kiyosuke's expression turned serious. He summoned a thick snake, handed it the scroll, and watched as it swallowed the message and vanished.
Even if he died, the scroll would remain protected.
"Then depart at once. I know you're tired, but once you're back in Konoha, you can rest properly."
"Understood."
These people were seriously squeezing every last drop out of him.
But what choice did he have? He was just another cog in the machine.
Back at the tent, he looked at Asuma and Kurenai.
"Bad news. We've got another mission."
"You've got to be kidding me! You just got back!" Asuma said.
Kurenai looked just as puzzled.
"Shouldn't they at least give you time to rest?"
"It's an escort mission," Kiyosuke explained. "We're delivering some things back to Konoha. Which means... we're on vacation. Let's go to the intel division and pick up our cargo."
"Vacation?"
Both of them lit up at the word. They hadn't expected time off so soon.
"Let's move! Vacation's waiting! I'm heading back to start training in Water Release."
"You use fire, don't you? Why learn Water Release?"
"Because I got schooled by Water Release. Time to learn from the enemy."
Master the enemy's strengths to beat them at their own game. Fire was still his specialty, of course—but who said you couldn't play with water too?
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
+100 chapters and support me on Patreon(.)com/Jixo