"Haori, you're here."
At the Konoha camp in the Land of Grass, Namikaze Minato greeted Haori with a warm smile.
"Sorry I'm a little late."
Haori gave Minato an apologetic look. He really was a little late, arriving just in time.
The journey from Konoha to the Land of Grass wasn't short. And since Haori knew a little about the circumstances surrounding this mission, he hadn't been in much of a hurry.
After all, he needed to think carefully about one thing: Uchiha Hikari's identity.
Leaving that issue unresolved was troublesome enough. It would be even worse if Danzo got the time to turn his attention to it after the war.
Fortunately, Haori had come up with an idea. The battlefield was the most chaotic place of all, and finding the right person and identity wouldn't be difficult!
Chatting along the way, Haori and Minato soon arrived at a small wooden cabin.
Kakashi, Rin, and the others had already gathered there. Quite a few other shinobi were ready as well.
Among them were many members of the Uchiha Clan. To Haori's surprise, he even spotted that kid, Uchiha Shisui!
"So he's here too. They're really taking this seriously."
Haori mused to himself, though when he thought about it, it made sense.
If the clan leader wanted to compete for the position of Hokage, then the whole clan would naturally have to cooperate with this operation.
Uchiha Fugaku had even brought his eldest son to the front lines. So whether they were hawks or doves, they would all lend their support.
"All right, it looks like everyone's here. Let's get started."
Minato glanced around at everyone present, then spoke.
"This mission is very important, and it's also extremely dangerous. But everyone here is capable, and you've all come prepared to face the risks.
"Still, I have to remind you to be careful. Besides the Kirigakure shinobi we're searching for, you'll also need to watch out for the Iwa shinobi."
Everyone nodded. They understood how dangerous this mission was.
Just as Minato had said, they had all come prepared to face the risks.
Seeing this, Minato gave them a few final instructions and rearranged the teams.
Then he handed each of them a specially made kunai and left. He had other matters to attend to.
"Haori, looks like we're teamed up again."
After Minato left, Kakashi and the others gathered around. Rin spoke with a happy smile.
Haori didn't have a permanent team. Last time, he'd been temporarily teamed up with Might Guy and Aoba.
Now that the two of them had returned to their own teams and weren't being called up for this mission, Haori had to find a new one.
Perhaps because they had fought together before, he hadn't joined the Uchiha. Instead, he'd been assigned to Kakashi's team.
"You've got so many people from your clan here. I didn't expect you not to team up with them."
Asuma, a blade of grass between his teeth, shrugged from nearby.
"They already have a fixed team, so I didn't want to get in their way."
Seeing Asuma, Haori couldn't help teasing him.
"But you're the surprise. I didn't expect you to come too. Isn't Lord Hokage worried about your safety?"
"Tch. Just because that old man doesn't want me to come, you think I'll stay behind?"
Asuma didn't mind Haori's teasing. He was used to this sort of thing.
His father was the Hokage, but Asuma wasn't exactly a "daddy's boy."
Of course, perhaps the Third Hokage wanted him to set an example. Or maybe he was already going through his rebellious phase.
Haori remembered that Asuma's rebellious phase had lasted a long time—and that he'd been very rebellious.
"By the way, Haori."
Asuma glanced at Kurenai beside him, then seemed to think of something.
"We never got the chance before, but let's have a proper contest this time. Let's see who finds those Kirigakure shinobi first!"
He'd wanted to compete with Haori for a long time. Haori used to be pretty bad, but ever since they'd gone to the battlefield, his reputation had changed dramatically.
Especially after the last mission in the Land of Grass, which had made him a hero of Konoha.
Plenty of people in the village talked about him every day. Listening to it made Asuma feel like he was hearing about the "neighbor's kid" all the time.
And the worst part was, Kurenai talked about Haori every day too...
That made Asuma a little jealous. But he knew his limits. He probably couldn't beat Haori in a fight, but surely he could win at finding people, right?
"Sure."
Haori shrugged and smiled. He didn't mind, though he did give Asuma a reminder.
"If you're up for it, let's see how it goes.
"But like I said, the mission comes first. Don't get carried away.
"I'm sure you understand better than I do what this mission means to Konoha."
"I know."
Asuma pressed his lips together, though he was grumbling inwardly. Why was an Uchiha like Haori buying into that old man's nonsense?
Asuma's rebellious streak had its reasons. Growing up in the Hokage's family, he couldn't help hearing and seeing plenty of things.
Those experiences had shaken his faith in the so-called Will of Fire. In the end, he'd even become a rebel and joined the Guardian Shinobi Twelve.
After chatting for a while, they finished getting ready and left the camp.
Although Kakashi was technically the leader of this mission—he was, after all, a bona fide jōnin—he clearly remembered Haori's fearsome performance behind enemy lines last time. So he was more than happy to follow Haori's lead.
That made things much easier for Haori. Hikari couldn't enter the Konoha camp right now, so she was waiting outside.
Haori could take Kakashi and the others in that direction, let Hikari find them, and have her follow behind.
"Haori, I didn't expect us to be teamed up again so soon."
The three of them raced through the forest. Rin looked at Haori with a smile.
"I wonder what we'll run into this time. It should be better than last time, right?"
"We won't have to go deep behind enemy lines this time, so things should be much better. Nothing like what happened last time will happen again!"
Kakashi nodded in agreement. The circumstances this time were far better than before.
Come on. This mission really did end up like last time—and even worse...
Haori looked at the two of them and grumbled inwardly.
"Don't get too optimistic. If Kirigakure is trying to sabotage the negotiations, the people they send won't be ordinary shinobi."
He spoke seriously, but then he smiled.
"Still, don't worry. I'll protect you."
"Don't make promises you can't keep. I'm a jōnin. I should be the one protecting you."
"Haori, I'll protect you too."
Kakashi and Rin immediately chimed in. Their gazes were especially resolute.
As far as they were concerned, they had moved on from what happened to Obito.
It still hurt, of course, because they hadn't been able to protect their teammate.
But Haori had once told them that people had to keep looking ahead.
They also had to live on with their teammate's faith and will. That way, when they eventually entered the Pure Land, they could tell him with a smile that his sacrifice hadn't been in vain.
So they had made up their minds: whatever happened, they wouldn't let what happened to Obito happen to them again!
Haori wasn't Obito, and he couldn't replace him.
But in their hearts, Haori had already begun to surpass Obito!
His gentleness, thoughtfulness, and humor, along with his intelligence and decisiveness when the moment called for it, had deeply impressed them.
They had lost one Uchiha, and then heaven had sent them another. Naturally, they cherished him all the more.
"All right, enough of that. Whatever happens, we'll face it together."
Haori shrugged, then smiled.
"After all, we're teammates."
"That's right. We're teammates."
Kakashi and Rin nodded together. That was all they needed to hear.
Sunlight spilled down, stretching the shadows of the three of them long across the ground.
They looked like a true team, one built on mutual trust.
Madara had witnessed the scene too, and he couldn't help nodding in satisfaction.