On the eighth day of their mission—
Team Eleven finally delivered their client safely into a town within the Land of Hot Water.
The streets were lively, filled with all kinds of travelers.
Since the Land of Hot Water wasn't in conflict with Kumogakure, the region remained relatively peaceful.
The climate here differed from Iron Country—misty day and night, a little cold even with coats on.
Probably seven or eight degrees Celsius.
This town was famous as the hot spring capital of the Land of Hot Water.
Bathhouses everywhere, business booming.
After the Kumo ambush, Mizutani Shōto finally revealed his true financial power—
He invited the entire team to spend a full day and night at his personal hot spring resort.
Free of charge.
The ticket alone was worth 200–300 thousand ryō in local currency, or about 100,000 Fire Country ryō.
Kaito seriously considered selling it.
They could take the cash, book a cheap inn, and leave early next morning.
After all—
One of the basic shinobi rules:
Traveling at night is asking to die, especially during wartime.
"Dame!"
Mikoto and Nonō simultaneously crossed their arms in an X—absolute refusal.
Might Duy had the same idea as Kaito: Sell it! Sell it immediately!
"So troublesome… Why don't you three enjoy yourselves and we sell the tickets?" Kaito suggested.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Mikoto launched into dramatic fake sobbing.
"This is our last C-rank mission together as a team, Kaito-sensei! You can't be this cruel—uuu~!"
"Last one as a team, not the last C-rank," Nonō corrected inwardly, wondering why both her teacher and Mikoto loved saying ominous things.
No one believed Mikoto would fail the upcoming chūnin exams anyway.
So—
The four of them enjoyed a full day and night of luxury:
Staff scrubbing their backs, gourmet Hot Water Country cuisine, private hot spring suites…
Three Days Later — Mission Complete
The merchant personally added another 20,000 ryō to the reward and sent a several-thousand-word thank-you letter to the Hokage.
It now sat on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk.
"Kumo shinobi…"
Hiruzen exhaled deeply.
"Kaito, you really do surprise me."
Information in the ninja world leaked easily.
Just like how Zabuza once deduced Team 7's route in Wave Country.
But Hiruzen didn't suspect a leak.
He only wondered—
Did a crime syndicate suddenly have the money to hire Kumo-nin?
Regardless, this escort mission was no longer a simple C-rank.
Upgrading it to B-rank was appropriate.
What he still didn't understand was how Kaito's team managed to defeat the Kumo shinobi—and whether any of them had been jonin level.
These answers only the squad leader, Kaito, could give.
Still, Hiruzen could at least register all of them for the upcoming chūnin exams in advance.
One Day Before the Chūnin Exams
At Konoha's main gate—
Team Eleven dragged their bodies through the checkpoint, barely alive.
Kaito, meanwhile, looked completely fine.
If he hadn't slowed down for them, he would've reached the village days earlier.
"Registration for the chūnin exams is already closed," he told them.
"I'll go pull some strings.
For now, go home and rest. Don't forget—the first exam is tomorrow at the Academy conference hall."
"Thus concludes today's announcement."
Kaito ignored the resentful stares of Mikoto and Nonō.
During their nights on the road, he never allowed them to stop training—
And secretly copied two more C-rank jutsu from them.
As for Might Duy—
With his chakra reserves, forcing more training would have caused injuries.
But he'd finally achieved what a normal genin should: tree-walking chakra control.
In the original story, Naruto and Sasuke—both blessed with cheat-level chakra—still needed days of nonstop practice to learn the technique.
Duy, with his nonexistent chakra talent, faced a much steeper climb.
Hokage Building
After hearing Kaito's report, Hiruzen's pupils shrank at the description of "dual-blade Lightning Release users."
Kaito estimated the trio had likely been chūnin.
But Hiruzen knew of a certain Kumo jonin—
Codename Thunder Lion—who fit that exact description.
"Cough… Kaito," Hiruzen asked carefully,
"You didn't… happen to sell those two blades, did you?"
Kaito nodded honestly.
"Yes. They were enemy weapons. I sold them immediately in a nearby town to prevent tracking."
"Sold…"
Hiruzen covered his face.
Sometimes Kaito handled things perfectly.
Other times… too perfectly—making verification impossible.
"A squad normally needs a high-ranking shinobi as a leader to execute missions properly," Hiruzen said bluntly.
"So Kaito—"
"You did not fight chūnin."
"At minimum, they were special jonin."
Kaito widened his eyes, pretending to tremble—master-level acting.
A streak of pride flickered in his gaze before he forced a melancholy expression.
"Even so… I hope I can pass the chūnin exams tomorrow."
"You're already a capable chūnin," Hiruzen said gently.
But Kaito shook his head hard.
"Forgive me, Lord Hokage. I refuse shortcuts."
"If a ninja can't perform consistently in a normal exam, then he's not qualified to be a chūnin. Such a teammate would only endanger comrades on missions or the battlefield."
Hiruzen paused.
"…Then do you think Duy can become a chūnin?"
Kaito answered without hesitation.
"He can barely be considered a genin."
"Then why—?"
"Because his previous team broke his confidence. I'm only doing what a teacher should."
Hiruzen said nothing after that.
Even if Kaito never became a prodigy-level ninja, he had the heart of one who embodied the Will of Fire.
He would be a remarkable instructor someday.
"This mission reward is increased to 120,000 ryō and recorded as a B-rank mission."
Hiruzen briefed him on the exam schedule and dismissed him.
But not long after Kaito left—
His son, Sarutobi Shinnosuke, stormed into the office.
"What?! A B-rank mission?! Why?! It must've been that genius Uchiha girl! What does this have to do with Kaito?!"
Hiruzen took a long drag of his pipe, exhaling smoke.
Looking at his immature son, he couldn't help thinking—
If only Kaito were mine instead…
"Shinnosuke," he said, "don't think becoming jonin makes you invincible. You still have much to learn."
"Learn? From a genin who tripped in the survival exam?!"
"…"
"Kaito only performs badly in exams. His missions are flawless—"
"Then why don't you promote him to chūnin already? Or jonin?!" Shinnosuke shot back.
"…"
Hiruzen was silenced twice in a row.
"Geniuses have quirks," he finally said.
"If I force him, I might break his spirit."
Then came the question Shinnosuke had buried in his heart for years.
"Father… who is really your son?
Me?
Or Kaito?"
Hiruzen fell silent a third time.
—Do you know how rare jonin are?
—Do you know how few become jonin by sixteen?
—Do you know any fresh genin who can casually wipe out multiple jonin-level enemies?
—Do you know any genin who can shout at the Hokage in his own office?
—Do you know…
Meanwhile
Kaito returned home unaware of the father-son drama in the Hokage office.
He had more important concerns—like how to perform in the exam tomorrow.
"The five-element thing… only the three of them know right now."
He had asked them to keep it secret.
Revealing it during the chūnin exams would be far more dramatic.
Mikoto and Nonō had given him synchronized white-eye stares when he said that—
As if blessing him to never pass the exams in his lifetime.
"Well then… time to train."
Kaito stood before a full-body black-framed mirror.
His slim figure and handsome reflection stared back at him.
He formed a hand seal.
"Transformation Technique!"
…
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