Two days later, the three of them found a boat with a single wagon of supplies, and by the third evening they reached the forward camp.
Uchiha Jin and Nara Kazama were casually assigned a tent.
They borrowed a stretcher, hauled Ishikawa Itsuki to the medics, then returned to their tent.
"Are you sure that story of yours will hold up?"
Jin kept his voice low once he was sure no one was nearby. "We lost two whole wagons. You are certain no one will come after us?"
"Relax. It is fine," Kazama said with a grin. "This sort of thing is common. Everyone does it."
"No one has gotten in trouble yet. Even without a scapegoat it is usually a scolding, maybe it dents promotion for a while."
"In wartime it is all atonement through merit, so even promotions are not really affected."
"We already picked a fall guy. There is nothing to worry about."
"Trust me. Not even a scolding."
"Two wagons are nothing in a war."
"The truly ruthless siphon an entire depot, then torch it when the enemy raids and report that the enemy did it."
"That is called battle loss."
"The depot here? In peacetime it holds over five billion ryo in stock."
Jin blinked, stunned.
He had tried to imagine the bottom of the barrel, but he had still given people too much credit.
What a move.
It felt very familiar.
Still, he could not figure out why he had never heard of any of this since he transmigrated.
"This does not add up."
"I am Uchiha. That makes me a noble in the Leaf."
"How have I never heard of this?"
Kazama's look turned complicated.
He frowned, as if weighing his words.
Jin cut him off.
"We bled together and we are teammates now."
"Just say it."
Kazama sighed. "You already said the reason. Because you are Uchiha."
Jin understood at once.
Of course.
He knew Uchiha better than anyone. Stubborn, proud to a fault.
These were open secrets among the upper ranks. Everyone played the game.
Even the great clans. Even the Sarutobi, and they took the biggest bite.
The logic was simple.
The supplies belong to the village, funded by the daimyo.
If they vanish, you ask for more.
That was why Uchiha could not fit in.
If the clan learned of this, they would refuse to go along and make a scene, all to prove their honor.
Uchiha were proud.
That pride meant they would never drink from the same pot as the other families.
In his past life he had never quite understood it.
Uchiha had plenty of fools, but even so, did Sarutobi Hiruzen have to wipe them out?
The radicals were loud, but could they really topple the Third?
Ridiculous.
Most clans were neutral. The Ino-Shika-Cho were on the Hokage's side.
If the Uchiha rebelled, Tsunade and the other Sannin would stand with Sarutobi.
ANBU and Root would move. Even the moderates inside the clan, maybe even the clan head Fugaku, would side with the Hokage.
So why extermination?
Leaving Uchiha alive would still be useful. In war, you could throw them at the front.
He had chalked it up to Sarutobi being an idiot.
Now he saw it.
At the core, it was a clash of creeds.
Everything else was noise.
No wonder an Uchiha never became Hokage.
Put an Uchiha in that chair and could anyone keep skimming the village's assets?
Jin let out a crooked smile.
"All right. No need to say more."
"I finally get why Uchiha cannot be Hokage, and why everyone targets them."
"Tobirama was right. Truly the evil Uchiha."
Kazama looked awkward.
Hearing an Uchiha call his own clan evil was a first.
He had only nudged the door, yet Jin had walked straight through and down the corridor. It surprised him.
Since when did Uchiha have this kind of brain?
More strange still, even after seeing the truth, Jin did not seem angry.
That last line sounded like a sigh.
For once the Nara could not explain it. He filed Jin under: not Uchiha-like at all.
"Ahem, that is your conclusion."
"Not mine. Do not spread it."
"Or I am dead."
Kazama grimaced.
He had not expected Jin to be this sharp. If he had known, he would not have said as much.
If this made the clan of hardheads finally realize why they were frozen out of the Hokage seat and the village's networks, the fallout would be terrifying.
He felt his scalp prickle.
But it was done.
He could only hope Jin was not a blabbermouth.
"Relax. I am not the meddling type," Jin said with a lazy smile. "I will not make trouble for you."
Even so, Kazama kept frowning and sighing. Jin's promise did not quite soothe him.
Elsewhere, Kudo Shin followed a guide into the command tent.
He dropped to one knee before Miyamoto Yukie.
"Lady Jounin, my apologies."
"Our squad encountered two Mist strike teams. Ishikawa Itsuki disobeyed orders, and the mission failed. We barely saved a single wagon."
"Here are the details and the sealed corpses of the Mist."