"Lord White Fang." A group of ninja knelt on one knee before him.
It seemed that someone of White Fang's stature would always receive such a reception upon arriving at the frontlines. It was also necessary to let the local ninja understand who was in charge here.
However.
Compared to the thunderous cheers and dense crowds Jiraiya had encountered, Kin scanned the sparse number of ninja and fell into silence.
There were roughly 48 people—sixteen squads.
Wasn't that a bit too few?
With this number, were they trying to pick a fight with the Cloud Shinobi, or were they just tired of living?
After watching White Fang dismiss the group to return to their duties, Kin hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
"There must be others on separate missions, right?"
He even chuckled at his own words.
That had to be the case. Sixteen squads on a frontline battlefield couldn't possibly stand against the Cloud Shinobi—they wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
"Nope." White Fang looked equally puzzled. "Everyone's here."
The Hokage hadn't withheld a single person assigned to him. He'd memorized them all.
"Oh." Kin nodded in understanding. "Then you must have reached the third layer of the Foundation Internal Art. No wonder."
After all, with that level of strength, one could sweep across the entire shinobi world.
Nowadays, whichever side had a powerhouse that achieved the third layer would gain an overwhelming advantage.
But when Kin pulled up White Fang's information, he didn't see any knowledge of a breakthrough to the third layer.
Had the Golden Finger malfunctioned?
That couldn't be.
"No, I'm still far from it."
White Fang shook his head. Among those closest to the third layer of the Foundation Internal Art, he was the most recent.
He'd forced his way through sheer willpower, but he was still lacking in chakra. Although the requirements were significantly lower than usual, it wasn't something he could accumulate overnight.
There was no hope for it in this war.
Kin fell silent.
His expression darkened.
Then, in a flash, he leaped up, grabbing White Fang by the collar and yanking him down to eye level.
"Are you fucking trying to get me killed!?"
"What are you planning to stop the Cloud Shinobi with!? Your fucking head!?"
"I'll twist it right off your shoulders right now, you believe me!?"
White Fang merely picked at his ear, completely unfazed, and patted Kin's shoulder.
"Relax. I've got a secret weapon to deal with the Cloud Shinobi."
He thumped his chest confidently.
"Besides, the Cloud Shinobi won't commit too many forces."
White Fang could at least guarantee that much. The Cloud Shinobi still hadn't recovered from the First War.
Thanks to the presence of Senju Tobirama, the Leaf's losses had been primarily limited to the Hokage, while other damages were far lighter compared to the Cloud's.
That was also the key reason the Leaf could still hold its ground against the other villages.
"Hope you're right."
Kin's face was so dark it looked like water might drip from it.
Worst case, he could just defect.
He wasn't even afraid of the Leaf—there was no way the Cloud Shinobi could kill him.
But leaving now would feel like a waste.
He released White Fang and stormed off.
Just seeing that bastard made his head hurt. He should've taken the Jonin exams first.
As a Chunin, he couldn't refuse orders from a Jonin—let alone an Elite Jonin.
Watching Uchiha Kin leave, White Fang allowed a faint smile to cross his face.
He really did have a secret weapon.
Kin cursed under his breath as he entered the camp and claimed his assigned tent.
He still couldn't figure it out.
Why was White Fang so fixated on him?
As a Chunin, he couldn't disobey orders from a superior.
"Overthrowing the higher-ups" was an unspoken taboo in the shinobi world.
"One day, I'll tear all this shit apart."
Kin gritted his teeth.
If only his strength were sufficient now.
"Kin, long time no see."
A voice suddenly sounded beside him.
"Who's there!?"
Kin turned to see a former classmate.
"Aburame Shibi?"
A boy with his face tightly wrapped and wearing sunglasses stood not far away, hands in his pockets. The most noticeable thing about him was the large jar strapped to his back.
"It really has been a while. I didn't even notice you."
Kin scratched his head awkwardly.
This boy was one of his true contemporaries.
The Aburame clan's heir, Aburame Shibi.
As the designated future head of the Aburame clan, Shibi shouldn't have had anything to do with a Class B misfit like Kin.
But the Aburame clan had a powerful passive ability: invisibility.
During the entrance exams for the ninja academy, despite scoring near the top, Shibi had been completely overlooked by the instructors.
Combined with his naturally silent demeanor, he'd almost missed enrollment entirely.
In the end, an Aburame Jonin had to intervene before the academy realized their mistake.
But by then, Class A was already full, so the academy placed Shibi in Class B.
Because of his tendency to be overlooked and Kin's own reputation as the "laughingstock Uchiha," the two had formed a decent friendship.
"By the way, on the frontlines, I haven't seen any of our other classmates."
Kin had always wondered about this. Their Class B had been sizable, with an unusually high graduation rate—only two or three students had been held back.
He'd been one of them.
Aburame Shibi fell silent for a moment.
"They're... all dead."
Kin pressed his lips together.
He hadn't expected that answer.
This war had been raging for over a year, and the death toll was far from small.
"Why did you come here?" Kin changed the subject.
"My family believed serving under Lord White Fang would better hone my abilities, so they sent me here."
The Aburame clan didn't have as many issues as the Uchiha or Hyuga.
But Shibi had a strict father.
Naturally, he was held to the highest standards.
Kin was aware of this.
"You've had it rough."
"Surviving is enough."
Shibi's voice was muffled, his expression unreadable behind his wrappings.
"And... it's good to see you."
The words left Kin baffled.
Only Shibi understood. As a normally graduated ninja, hearing about the deaths of his classmates one by one had been a heavy blow.
If he were an Uchiha, he'd have awakened the Sharingan by now.
Seeing his only close friend still alive genuinely made him happy—he just wasn't good at expressing it.
"Good to see you too."
After all, they'd been friends for years.
But still.
"War, huh."
Most of Class B had been civilian-born ninja, their talents inherently limited. In the end, their sacrifices were almost inevitable.
Yet, Kin couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
That night, just as Kin was preparing to sleep, the tent flap was abruptly thrown open.
White Fang strode in without a hint of remorse.
"Lately, I haven't wanted to see your face. Could you stop wandering around in front of me?"
Kin glared at him with undisguised disgust.
White Fang wagged a finger. "No, no, no."
"I'm here as your biggest client."
"Biggest client?" Kin narrowed his eyes, then suddenly grinned.
"Please, Lord White Fang, do elaborate."
White Fang sighed, though he'd expected this reaction.
"You're really something else."
...
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(End of Chapter)