"Here. The decryption scroll on the Iwa patrol routes."
Tonbo handed the sealed scroll to the silver-haired boy standing before him.
"Hn."
Kakashi Hatake didn't waste words. He took the scroll, secured it in his vest, and turned to leave. His single visible eye was cold, focused entirely on the mission ahead.
"Man, he's an iceberg," Tonbo muttered, watching the young Jonin disappear into the trees. "I guess Obito and Rin haven't managed to melt that heart of his yet."
Delivering this intel was a direct order from Inoichi Yamanaka. Ostensibly, it was because Tonbo was the most reliable courier available. In reality, Tonbo suspected Inoichi was trying to give his brain a break. His mind-reading success rate was so high that there was a genuine risk of his own memories blurring with those of his victims.
But in war, manpower was a resource to be spent, not saved.
Kakashi was already a Jonin. That meant he could lead teams and operate independently. And judging by the frequency of these intel drops between the front lines and the Analysis Team, something big was brewing.
"The communication traffic is spiking," Tonbo analyzed. "The Battle of Kannabi Bridge is about to start."
His prediction was accurate.
Half a month later, news exploded across the front lines. A commando unit led by the Yellow Flash had severed Iwagakure's critical supply line at Kannabi Bridge.
Minato Namikaze's fame skyrocketed overnight. The "Yellow Flash" became a name whispered with reverence by allies and terror by enemies.
Konoha seized the momentum, launching a massive counter-offensive to drive the Stone forces back.
Even the non-combatants of the Analysis Team were dragged into the fray. Tonbo found himself deployed as a field sensor, tracking retreating enemy squads through the dense forests.
Swish! Swish!
"Gah—!"
"It hurts! Make it stop!"
Three Iwa ninja fell to their knees, clawing at their own heads, their faces twisted in unnatural agony.
Tonbo stood on a branch above them, his hands held in the Ram seal. He was projecting Psycho Mind Transmission: Trauma Spike. He wasn't just stunning them; he was flooding their neural pathways with the condensed memory of a torture session he had extracted weeks ago.
Thwack! Thwack!
Seishi dropped from the canopy, driving his kunai into their exposed chests. The screaming stopped.
"Haha! Tonbo, your Genjutsu is getting terrifying!" Seishi laughed, though his eyes lingered on the corpses with a hint of unease.
"Don't celebrate yet. Another squad is approaching from three o'clock," Tonbo said, his voice flat. "Move."
He was exhausted.
Even though they were only mopping up the stragglers of a defeated army, the constant vigilance was draining.
Why is the Analysis Team doing grunt work? Tonbo grumbled internally as he leaped to the next tree. I'm supposed to be a desk jockey. I'm a brick—move me where you need me, fine, but this is ridiculous.
Despite his complaints, Tonbo performed flawlessly. To the village, he was a model shinobi. To his superiors, he was a prodigy.
"Tonbo Tobitake is a rare talent," Mawari Dokuraku reported, standing at attention in the command tent. "His memory retention, analytical speed, and combat application are all performing at Chunin levels. He's only been with us for three months."
Inoichi Yamanaka tapped his finger on the desk, considering the report. He smiled faintly. "This is the Will of Fire, Mawari. Where the leaves dance, the fire burns..."
He stamped a document. "I've already petitioned the Hokage. Given his exceptional service during the Iwa offensive, the Third has approved a field promotion."
"What? I'm a Chunin?"
Tonbo stared at Mawari, the news hitting him like a physical blow.
"That's right," Mawari grinned. "Lord Third signed off on it personally. You're officially a squad leader now."
Is it really that simple? Tonbo thought, stunned. In the anime, the Chunin Exams were a deadly gauntlet. Here, in the meat grinder of war, if you survived long enough and killed enough people, they just handed you the vest.
"Also," Mawari added, his tone lightening, "The Iwa front is collapsing. We're packing up. We'll be back in the village within the week."
"Finally..." Tonbo let out a long breath, his shoulders slumping. "I can go home. Those damn memories... they're starting to give me nightmares."
He wasn't lying. Reading minds wasn't a superpower; it was a curse. To sift through the thoughts of dying men required a level of mental fortitude that most adults lacked, let alone a teenager. He envied the transmigrators in fanfics who got "Systems" that filtered out the trauma.
Tonbo had to filter it himself, one scream at a time.
The march back to Konoha was a somber victory parade.
Wagons loaded with wounded and supplies trundled down the dirt roads, flanked by weary ninja.
"Thank god for the Yellow Flash," a Chunin whispered nearby. "If not for him, we'd still be stuck in the mud out there."
"Yeah. And his team... Kakashi, the White Fang's son."
"I heard he lost an eye."
"Worse. I heard one of his teammates died saving him. Crushed by rocks."
"Tragic. But that's war. I've gone through three teammates myself."
Tonbo chewed on a dry ration bar, listening to the gossip.
So it happened.
Obito Uchiha was "dead." Madara had his pawn. Kakashi now possessed the Sharingan.
Tonbo felt a pang of jealousy, but he quickly squashed it.
If I had a Sharingan... what would I do?
Honestly? He'd probably trade it.
If he walked into the Hokage's office and offered a pristine Sharingan in exchange for Tobirama Senju's forbidden jutsu library, he'd take that deal in a heartbeat. The Second Hokage had created Genjutsu specifically designed to counter the Uchiha.
That's more my style, Tonbo thought. A bloodline limit like that is just a target on your back. I'll stick to the shadows.
He knew the plot. He knew who survived. Tonbo Tobitake, Seishi, Mawari Dokuraku—they all made it to the Boruto era. They were the background characters who lived.
Wait.
A cold sweat broke out on his neck.
In the Fourth Great Ninja War... doesn't the Ten-Tails fire a Bijuu Bomb that vaporizes the Alliance Headquarters?
Inoichi. Shikaku. Everyone in the Intel Division died in that blast.
Tonbo stopped chewing.
I need to get stronger, he realized with sudden, terrified clarity. I need to ensure that either I'm not in that building, or that the bomb never hits it.
"Captain Tonbo! What are you brooding about?"
Seishi slapped him on the back, grinning.
Tonbo winced. "Call me Tonbo. Or Tobitake. Just don't call me 'Captain'."
"Why? It has a nice ring to it!" Seishi laughed.
"It sounds ridiculous," Tonbo muttered. It reminded him of some bad anime superhero. Captain Tonbo. It made his skin crawl.
"Focus on the patrol, Seishi. Don't get distracted."
"What is there to worry about?" Seishi shrugged, gesturing to the peaceful forest. "The war with Iwa is over. I bet Lord Orochimaru has the other fronts handled too. We're practically on vacation."