The next morning, at dawn.
By the gates of Konoha, a crowd of ninja had already gathered.
Most of them wore eyes full of longing—clearly fresh graduates, nothing more than cannon fodder. Only those who had truly seen combat before, or came from established clans, carried tense, wary expressions.
Time ticked by.
Kudo Shin led Uchiha Kai and the other two members of their squad over to their commanding Jounin, Miyamoto Yukie.
"Miyamoto-sama, Team Seven from Class B, reporting!"
"Mm. Go wait over there."
Miyamoto Yukie gave a simple nod, dismissing them without ceremony.
Once they had moved to a corner, Kudo Shin's tone grew heavy.
"Let me make this brief.
Right now, Hidden Blood Mist Village hasn't officially declared war on us.
But since the other fronts can't spare manpower, we're being sent to guard the former Land of Whirlpools."
"This mission will be under Miyamoto-sama's command.
You don't need to understand the politics—just remember this: on the battlefield, once an order comes down from above, you must complete it no matter what."
"For now, we wait.
Once the forces are assembled and the supply convoy arrives, we'll set out."
Nara Kazama and Uchiha Kai both nodded gravely.
They understood perfectly well—on the battlefield, discipline was everything.
A shinobi was a weapon.
Unfortunately, Ishikawa Itsuki didn't share that mindset. He straightened up and declared firmly:
"Don't worry, everyone. With me—Ishikawa Itsuki, one of the top three in our class—around, I'll protect you all.
All you need to do is trust me!"
Kai and Kazama both twitched at the mouth.
Their squad leader was standing right there, and yet this guy was already itching to play captain?
Where did that leave Kudo Shin?
They hadn't thought much of Itsuki before, but after this, they were left speechless.
They had seen fools before—but never this kind of fool.
And on the battlefield, people like him tended to die the fastest.
So both of them quietly resolved—stay far, far away from this guy.
Kudo Shin's expression was even more complicated.
But he didn't bother saying anything.
As a veteran of war, he knew very well—people like Itsuki didn't live long. No point in arguing with him.
Just then—the crowd's vision blurred.
When they blinked again, a figure had appeared before them: a man with a longsword at his hip, the Uchiha fan crest embroidered on his clothes.
Uchiha Shisui.
"Lord Shisui?"
"Greetings, Lord Shisui."
"…."
The group quickly bowed.
Even though he hadn't yet earned the title Shisui of the Body Flicker, his frequent presence on the battlefield had already given him considerable renown in Konoha.
Unlike them—ordinary shinobi, or clan dropouts—Shisui was a true Uchiha prodigy.
Smiling, Shisui nodded.
"I'm here for a private matter with Kai."
"Captain, I'll be right back," Kai said with a frown, turning to Kudo Shin.
Kudo Shin nodded without hesitation.
As the two walked off, Kudo Shin and Nara Kazama exchanged glances filled with unspoken meaning.
So… Kai actually had a personal connection with Uchiha Shisui?
They had never expected that.
This teammate of theirs was clearly not as simple as he seemed.
A short distance away, Shisui solemnly handed Kai a mesh undershirt.
"I forgot yesterday—so I brought this today.
The battlefield is extremely dangerous, and since this is your first time, as your older brother I have to make sure you're fully prepared.
"This is a chainmail inner armor, woven with a bit of meteoric iron and refined steel.
Go on—put it on so I can see."
"…."
Kai stared at the mesh armor, frowning slightly.
As a man, he really didn't want to wear something like this. Besides, he was confident that with his own abilities, nobody could even touch him.
But—what could he do?
Looking at Shisui's worried face, his feelings got tangled.
In all his years since transmigrating, he had never expected to feel this kind of genuine, heartfelt care.
Shisui was far too good to him.
And that only made him conflicted, considering how wretched Uchiha's future would become.
Still, after a pause, Kai took a deep breath and slipped on the armor.
"Mm. Looks good. That puts me a little at ease."
Shisui lowered his voice. "And let me tell you something in secret.
"Anbu just delivered word: Hidden Blood Mist Village officially declared war on Konoha yesterday. But this fact hasn't been told to your unit.
"The real purpose of your unit… is to buy time.
"The Hokage has already ordered our clan to mobilize elites. Fugaku-sama himself will take command of the Mist front.
"So all you need to do is endure.
If you can last half a month, I'll arrange to have you transferred into my squad."
Hiss—!
Kai's face instantly paled.
Even though he had guessed they were cannon fodder, hearing the truth laid bare still made his breath catch.
This wasn't just cannon fodder—it was real cannon fodder.
Hidden Blood Mist Village had already declared war, while Konoha was still gathering forces.
Their role was crystal clear: delay the enemy.
Which meant… the chances of anyone surviving this deployment were vanishingly slim.
But even so, Kai's heart warmed at Shisui's words.
This information was undoubtedly top secret—yet Shisui had still chosen to whisper it to him. That alone proved the depth of Shisui's care.
Taking a deep breath, Kai gave a firm nod.
Though he was a master of lying low, since Shisui trusted him so much, he decided to return a little trust in kind.
Just a little—enough to ease Shisui's needless worrying.
Lowering his voice, Kai said quietly:
"Shisui, don't worry.
I'll tell you something—but you mustn't breathe a word. Not to the Hokage, not even to the clan head.
"I'm not as useless as I look.
Uchiha Yoshio and the others… I killed them."
"…"
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