Chapter 9: Did You Already Guess?
"You're safe now."
As Uchiha Kei cut through the ropes binding the battered and bloodied Konoha shinobi, he dispelled the genjutsu they were under and offered them a rare note of reassurance.
The Iwagakure jōnin they'd encountered had ultimately fallen under the combined assault of Kei's team. No matter how skilled that enemy was, facing off against three well-trained ninja—each of at least chūnin rank—was too much to handle. And none of these three were pushovers. After a prolonged and grueling battle, the Iwa ninja finally met his end.
"Thank you… damn those Iwa bastards," muttered one of the rescued Konoha shinobi, offering his gratitude while cursing their captors in the same breath.
"How are your injuries?" Kei didn't waste time with pleasantries. His real concern was whether these shinobi could still move. "This place isn't safe. We need to leave immediately. We still have a mission to carry out."
"A mission?" The rescued ninja looked stunned. "Wait… wasn't your mission to rescue us?"
"Rescuing you was just a bonus," Kei replied bluntly, shattering the man's hopeful assumption. "We have our own objectives. Helping you doesn't interfere with them—and in fact, you might be of use to us."
Send a full squad just to rescue captives? Ridiculous. Konoha was stretched too thin on the warfront to spare that kind of manpower. The only reason Kei even bothered was because these captives held enough potential value. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lifted a finger.
Such is the cruelty of war—what once seemed like simple kindness or empathy becomes a rare luxury on the battlefield. Kei didn't enjoy operating like this, but he didn't have the luxury of idealism. Not in this era.
The Konoha shinobi was momentarily taken aback by Kei's words, but he quickly composed himself. A seasoned soldier of the frontlines, he understood exactly what Kei meant. With the White Fang incident still fresh in everyone's mind, no one dared repeat such a "mistake." As long as a ninja had value, they remained relevant.
He flexed his limbs, testing his mobility. Though weak, he quickly assessed his condition.
"I'll manage. Just a little weak. The others should be fine too—mostly just exhausted."
Kei nodded. That was good news.
Fresh captives typically only endured genjutsu interrogation, which rarely yielded useful intel. The real torment would've come later—when they were transported to the rear for full extraction procedures.
Kei tilted his head slightly, eyeing the man with mild curiosity. His name had caught Kei's attention. Yamanaka—a name he was quite familiar with. That clan rarely operated alone. Typically, they'd be accompanied by members of the Nara or Akimichi clans. Yet, there were no pinecone-haired tacticians or round-bellied powerhouses in sight. Either they were dead—or had managed to escape.
Not that it mattered.
Seeing the flames from their earlier fire jutsu begin to spread, Kei turned sharply. "We're leaving." With the others in tow, including Yamanaka Masato, they disappeared into the trees.
Moments after their departure, several Iwagakure tracking squads arrived on the scene. Unfortunately for them, both Kei and Masato were no amateurs. They had no intention of leaving easy trails behind.
They weren't like those greenhorn genin a decade or so down the line—those who barely knew how to hide their tracks. One glance at the chūnin exams years later would be enough to see how far the standards had fallen.
Thanks to Hyūga Ayaka's Byakugan, the group of nine skillfully avoided all enemy patrols. Eventually, they found refuge in a cave nestled in the mountains.
Kei's team was still in good shape, but the rescued shinobi were clearly reaching their limits. They had been surviving on sheer willpower—and now they needed time to rest and recover.
"Captain Kei," Masato said as he chewed on a piece of jerky—whose expiration date was anyone's guess—yet to him, it tasted like a five-star meal. "Can you tell us what your actual mission is?"
"We need your help," Kei said, giving a short nod. "That's why we rescued you in the first place. Our mission is to create a diversion—to draw out and pin down Iwa's defensive forces so that the Namikaze squad can complete their operation."
"...A decoy mission?" Masato paused mid-chew. Then, his expression blank, he simply continued eating. "I see. Understood. We'll cooperate."
"Glad to hear it."
Kei gave him an approving glance. As he scanned the cave, he noticed the mood had grown noticeably heavier since revealing the mission's nature. Understandable, really. Their task was essentially a suicide run—but if such missions existed, it only meant they were absolutely necessary.
Everyone knew Namikaze Minato. Given his reputation, the mission he was assigned must be incredibly dangerous as well. Still, Kei found a silver lining in all this—these Konoha shinobi were surprisingly "naive" in a good way.
They didn't argue. They didn't protest. That alone made Kei feel better.
Even Masato, a member of the well-known Yamanaka clan, simply accepted the situation. Considering the clan's long-standing ties to Konoha leadership, it made sense.
Kei recalled how in the original story, the Third Hokage had assigned the next generation of Ino-Shika-Chō to Sarutobi Asuma. Preparing the next generation… it wasn't hard to imagine what he was thinking. Anyone would make such arrangements for the future. Not everyone was like the Second Hokage, after all.
After a few more exchanges, Kei stepped out of the cave to keep watch—precautions were necessary. Careless mistakes could bring disaster.
To his mild surprise, both Imai Kenta and Hyūga Ayaka followed him out. Ayaka, without mincing words, got straight to the point.
"Kei… you've already guessed what the Namikaze squad's true mission is, haven't you?"