"State the password."
The man speaking was Sarutobi Rōsuke, a jōnin of the Sarutobi clan assigned to the front.
He had once participated in the Uzushio intelligence investigation.
Standing over a hundred meters away, he eyed Might Duy—frozen stiff and sweating—then noted the lack of a green flak jacket.
Great… another clueless genin sent to die on the battlefield.
That was his honest thought.
Lately, many genin squads—even those guided by chūnin or jōnin—had been ambushed en route to the forward camp.
Injuries were considered lucky.
More than a few never made it alive.
"A-A-Aah… pass… pass… passwor—!"
This was Duy's first battlefield-class mission; the poor man had no idea what to say.
Behind Rōsuke stood three familiar figures:
Yūhi Ryūun (chūnin)
Shiranui Unma (genin)
Shimura Yūko (chūnin)
Ryūun and Unma covered their faces in shame—Duy was being painfully Duy.
Yūko's eyelid twitched violently: This idiot? The famous eternal genin? Why is he even on a battlefield mission?!
Without the correct battlefield password, Rōsuke would never acknowledge someone as an ally.
"Nin—nin—ninja—no, no that's not it…
It should be…"
Duy inhaled deeply and finally remembered what Orochimaru drilled into him.
"As shinobi of Konoha performing logistical duties, we must abide by Second Hokage-sama's Shinobi Rulebook.
We must memorize its teachings, uphold them, and never forget the will we inherit as shinobi of fire—"
He recited almost five to six hundred characters' worth of encoded phrases in one breath.
Keywords like—
logistics,
Second Hokage,
Will of Fire,
support corps,
—all acted as coded identifiers.
Only low-rank logistics personnel would mention "logistics."
Only Konoha shinobi would cite the "Will of Fire."
Only someone under the Second Hokage's doctrine would quote the Rulebook so precisely.
All of it matched.
Rōsuke finally lowered his guard.
"…My apologies," he said curtly.
Then he scanned the surroundings.
Nothing stirred.
"Where are your teammates?
You can't handle logistical tasks alone."
"Of course my teammates are—"
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands."
"AAAAAHHH—!!"
Screams erupted behind them.
The hissing of serpents.
The thud of bodies.
The sound of earth shifting.
All mixed together.
The four Konoha shinobi spun around.
There, emerging from the soil, stood a cold-faced figure in a green flak jacket—Orochimaru—his tongue flicking across his lips as serpents bound a struggling Iwagakure shinobi.
"Well done noticing me. As expected of Konoha's infamous 'Cold Serpent' of the battlefield, Orochimaru!"
Orochimaru smiled thinly.
"And you…
One of Iwa's specialized infiltration jōnin, master of silent burrowing and deep intel extraction—
The Silent Lizard."
"Heh—"
The Iwa jōnin laughed coldly, completely unbothered by being captured.
"Even if you caught me, you'll never—"
Puff!
He body-swapped into a log of smoke, reappearing among the serpents.
Orochimaru didn't even blink.
"I am not alone, you know."
"Silent Lizard."
…
One Kilometer Away
At that moment, the real Silent Lizard knelt in a forest clearing—
his eyes wide, unmoving,
surrounded by scuffed earth and shuriken embedded into tree trunks.
"It's over," Nawaki said.
He had used Earth Release to block all escape routes.
Kaito tested the jōnin with taijutsu and found him lacking.
Then, the moment his guard slipped—
Kaito sealed him with the genjutsu "Demonic Illusion: Bind."
Nawaki rushed in, quickly binding him with rope.
"Impossible!
I am the Silent Lizard!
How could two little Konoha brats catch me!?"
Kaito sensed movement behind him and released the genjutsu.
Just as the Iwa jōnin prepared to bite his tongue and die—
A serpent shot from the bushes
and sank its fangs directly into his neck.
"AAAAAHHH—!"
Footsteps followed.
Orochimaru approached with cold indifference.
"In the end…
You're just an infiltrator with good escape skills.
Even my students can handle you."
"Or—Orochimaru…"
The man who had spent three or four years stealing intelligence along Fire Country's northern borders…
was finally captured alive.
FWIP FWIP FWIP—
Rōsuke cursed sharply.
"No wonder I kept feeling watched!
It was HIM!
Damn him!"
This also explained why he attacked Duy earlier—
he had sensed pursuit and was testing for infiltration.
"Capturing him alive is far more valuable," Orochimaru said.
"Rōsuke, he's yours to escort to the village."
"Leave it to me."
As they sealed the Iwa jōnin with chakra seals and paralysis tags,
Kaito chatted with Ryūun about recent happenings.
Shimura Yūko watched with arms crossed, annoyed by their playful rapport.
Meanwhile, Nawaki bragged to Unma and a breathless Duy about his "heroic takedown."
After finishing their arrangements, both squads prepared to part ways.
Before handing the prisoner over, Orochimaru casually asked Rōsuke a question—
a password only battlefield jōnin would know.
Rōsuke answered perfectly.
The two squads split paths.
Four Days Later — Konoha Forward Base, Bugwood Gorge
Squad One finally reached the Fire–Rain border, arriving at the forward camp overseen by Aburame Shiken, clan head of the Aburame and first-tier commander.
"Orochimaru, thank you for coming. These are the frontline reports.
Nothing critically urgent, but they must reach the village."
"Mhm."
Orochimaru tucked the scrolls into his robe and stepped outside.
Shiken followed, stopping beside him as they looked toward the misty woods—toward the direction of Rain Country's Fog Valley.
"You can still hold this line, Shiken-senpai?"
Shiken nodded calmly.
"As long as the Aburame handle Fire's border surveillance, we won't fall."
"Good. Stay safe."
"You as well."
Orochimaru walked deeper into the camp, passing tents, storerooms, and latrines, until he reached a large white tent marked with the red-and-white Uchiha fan.
Inside were bedrolls and exhausted Uchiha shinobi.
There, after greetings—
Might Duy finally noticed that Mikoto had secretly come to the battlefield…
and had even been promoted to tokubetsu jōnin.
Kaito feigned shock for one second.
Only one.
"Twelve years old and already a jōnin! You're amazing, Mikoto!"
Nawaki whispered—then realized the camp was full of resting, injured, or exhausted Uchiha.
He hastily lowered his voice.
Mikoto covered her lips and giggled softly—
the first genuine smile she'd shown in days.
Then she began telling them stories from the battlefield.
Mikoto's First Assignment
"When I first arrived, I was terrified.
My first mission was to help clean a recently finished battlefield—
checking for traps, confirming enemies were dead…
and collecting the bodies of our comrades."
When she had arrived, the Uchiha support team had over twenty members.
Now?
Only twelve remained.
"Then during a mission into Rain's Area Eight, a whole squad of Rain-nin suddenly ambushed us.
Kaede, Yuuki-senpai, and many others were surrounded instantly…"
Uchiha Yuuki—A tokubetsu jōnin.
Scout captain.
A third-tier commander under Kizuna.
Kaito scanned the tent.
Yuuki was nowhere.
When Mikoto finished her story, Nawaki and Duy were still absorbing the horror.
Kaito asked quietly:
"And Yuuki-senpai?
I don't see him.
I do see the girl who used to argue with you."
He glanced toward the corner—
Uchiha Kaede, bandaged, right arm injured, staring blankly at nothing.
Duy and Nawaki pricked up their ears.
Uchiha jōnin were rare; seeing one was valuable experience.
Mikoto's smile dimmed.
"Yuuki-senpai…
died on the last mission."
"…"
Silence fell.
Kaito spoke softly:
"…I'm sorry."
"He was a jōnin. How… how could he die?"
Nawaki burst out emotionally, attracting stares from the Uchiha.
Duy put a steadying hand on his shoulder.
"That's enough."
Kaito lowered his gaze to a line of marching black ants.
"On a battlefield, even a jōnin…
is just a larger ant."
"Chakra and stamina aren't infinite.
Every shinobi out here has survived more deadly moments than you can imagine."
He looked at Mikoto.
"All we can do…
is protect the people we care about."
"Mm…"
She nodded firmly.
FWIP—
The tent flap opened.
A tall black-haired Uchiha stepped in, glanced briefly at Kaito and the others, then spoke to Mikoto.
"There's a mission.
Prepare to deploy."
"How many are fit to fight?"
Only seven Uchiha were present—everyone else was out on assignments or dead.
"I'll go!"
"Me too!"
"I must avenge them!"
From the corner, Kaede pushed herself up, injured arm trembling.
"…I'll go as well."
Kizuna's eyes swept over them.
"Uchiha Support Squad—
you four.
With me."
Mikoto and three others immediately began checking weapons, pills, ointments, and rations.
Any shortages would be collected from the supply depot on the way out.
Kaede gritted her teeth.
"I can still fight!"
Kizuna didn't even look up from tightening his pack.
"You expect me to drag dead weight into battle?"
"Have some self-awareness."
Kaede's face twisted with fury.
Her two-tomoe Sharingan spun.
"I—
I have to avenge Yuuki-senpai!"
Kaito glanced at her eyes.
Still only two tomoe, huh?
If this were Obito, he'd be opening Mangekyō by now…
But not every Uchiha had that combination of talent, trauma, and sheer protagonist energy.
After Kizuna ordered his squad to the north gate, Mikoto exchanged a brief goodbye with Kaito before leaving.
Kizuna finally turned his glare on the group.
"You outsiders—
since you've received your mission, get out.
You're an eyesore."
Outside, Orochimaru was already waiting.
Nawaki grumbled about Kizuna's horrible personality.
Duy, however, admired him.
"As expected of someone who inherited the Will of Fire…!"
Kaito: Bro, what part of that was Will of Fire…?
Orochimaru asked them how the battlefield felt.
Nawaki clenched his fists.
"Too cruel.
I must become stronger—strong like Grandpa Hashirama!
I'll create true peace for the ninja world!"
Orochimaru & Kaito: "…"
Please don't say that outside. Someone will kill you.
Duy sniffled emotionally.
"Nawaki! I believe in you!"
"You do? Really?!"
Nawaki's eyes sparkled.
"Of course! Anyone who works hard will achieve their dreams!"
A cold laugh echoed behind them.
"Dreams? Effort?"
Kizuna stepped out from the fan-marked tent, backpack slung over one shoulder.
"Only exceptional talent determines your fate."
He eyed Nawaki and Duy with contempt.
"A weakling Senju brat and Konoha's eternal genin…
spouting childish fantasies on a blood-soaked battlefield."
"Try not to die on your way home.
You'll drag your teammates down."
Nawaki and Duy shriveled like scolded puppies.
"That's enough, Kizuna."
Orochimaru's voice cooled.
"You worry about your own mission."
"Hmph.
Good luck.
You'll need it."
With that, he departed toward the north gate.
"…I miss the old Kizuna," Orochimaru muttered.
"At least he used to be quietly cold, not loudly cold."
"Let's go."
"Right!" ×3
Eight Days Later — Return to Konoha
After about eight days, the return trip was shockingly smooth—
no ambushes, no accidents, no flags triggering.
Even Kaito couldn't believe it.
How the hell… did all those raised death flags not explode?
After submitting their mission report, Squad One took a well-earned two- or three-day rest to recover from the grueling travel.
Meanwhile, a high-level jōnin war council convened in secret—
to address the worsening Fire–Rain front.
To read advanced Chapters, head over to p@treon:
patreon.com/nani_kaito