Vanguard Unit

Reunions never lasted long. Before the warmth of his blankets had even worn off at home, the Third Hokage summoned him. First came a few words of encouragement, then he handed Kaede a sealed letter and told him to deliver it to Orochimaru.

Once this sort of thing started, it never seemed to end.

Kaede became a happy courier shuttling between Konoha and the front line in the Land of Rivers. He didn't need to venture onto the dangerous battlefield; all he had to do was deliver classified intelligence safely to both sides.

Aside from his last infiltration mission, he hadn't received any other assignments in a long time. That changed soon enough.

Konoha and the Sand Shinobi had been facing off along the border for far too long, and both sides had run out of patience. The Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth had just agreed to a temporary ceasefire, and both had turned their attention toward the Land of Fire. To send troops to reinforce the other two fronts, Konoha needed to decide the outcome of its conflict with the Sand Shinobi soon.

Inside Konoha's Central Command Tent, Orochimaru, the commander-in-chief, said, "The Hokage's orders have arrived. We must fight our decisive battle against the Sand Shinobi by the day after tomorrow at the latest. If there are no objections, I'll begin assigning missions."

As soon as he finished, he continued, "It seems no one has any objections. Then I'll assign the missions." He gave no one a chance to react. He was forceful, to say the least.

Watching Orochimaru calmly assign missions and direct the proceedings, Kaede realized that in a serious setting like this, Snake Uncle was actually quite normal. He came across as an excellent commander, not the mad scientist of the Shinobi World.

But the little goodwill Kaede had just developed vanished the next moment.

"Kaede... Kaede, they're talking about you." Someone behind him poked him, trying to get his attention as his mind wandered.

He blinked blearily and saw everyone in the tent looking at him. At the head of the table, Orochimaru's eyes were narrowed as he gave Kaede a distinctly hostile look.

Someone had dared to zone out while he was assigning missions, to ignore him. It was just like Kaede to steal his experimental corpses and disregard his threats. Fine, then. He'd give him a difficult mission.

"Kaede-kun, I want you to lead the Vanguard Unit in a surprise attack on the Sand Shinobi camp." Orochimaru's expression was serious. No one could accuse him of abusing his authority to settle a personal score.

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes glinted with amusement, and his lips curled in a kindly smile. But Kaede felt a chill in his heart. What was the Vanguard Unit? It was the unit known as cannon fodder, and this was the most dangerous mission on the entire battlefield.

Jiraiya looked troubled, but he couldn't openly challenge Orochimaru at a time like this. Orochimaru was in command, and he wasn't wrong: given Kaede's abilities, he was indeed a suitable candidate for the Vanguard Unit. Hadn't the three of them always handled this kind of work before? What was Orochimaru playing at?

Even Tsunade, who didn't like Kaede, glared at Orochimaru. The assignment seemed reasonable on the surface, but it wasn't appropriate to put a ninja who was still only a Genin in charge of the Vanguard Unit—even if that Genin was undeniably capable.

"Orochimaru, Kaede is only a Genin. He's not qualified to lead the Vanguard Unit. And strictly speaking, he isn't even under your command." Tsunade was still Tsunade. If she saw something she didn't like, she couldn't help stepping in.

"Heh heh. Kaede-kun did an excellent job on his last infiltration mission. His promotion to Chunin has already been approved. Besides, this battle will decide the outcome of the entire war, so I have the authority to requisition every ninja in the camp—even a messenger.

"And if he completes this mission well, I can recommend him for promotion to Jonin. Should I congratulate you in advance, Uchiha Kaede, future Jonin?"

Out of consideration for their shared status as Sannin, Orochimaru explained himself to Tsunade. It certainly wasn't because he was afraid that petty Tsunade would hold a grudge and cause him trouble.

Orochimaru's explanation was perfectly reasonable, leaving Tsunade with nothing to argue. All she could do was give Kaede a look that said he was on his own.

"Yes, I understand," Kaede replied.

What else could he do? He'd just have to remember this and settle the score later. There was a long road ahead. They'd see.

Joining the Vanguard Unit was dangerous, but with his current strength, even if he couldn't win, he could still escape with Flying Thunder God. He could hang back on the fringes; as long as he didn't flee in the middle of battle, he'd be fine.

After the meeting, Kaede had barely stepped out of the tent when Jiraiya whisked him away to a secluded spot. "Kid, do you have any idea how dangerous the Vanguard Unit is? How could you accept that mission so easily?"

Kaede could hear the deep concern in his words. His tone was sharp, even reproachful, but Jiraiya really was worried about him.

"Teacher Jiraiya, it's all right. Someone has to step up, don't they? Protecting the village—that's what you've always taught us. You have to trust me. I'll come back alive." He gave Jiraiya a sunny smile and turned around to reassure him.

The boy's sunny smile and sense of responsibility left Jiraiya lost in thought for a long while. Only now did he realize that maybe his student wasn't so bad after all.

Jiraiya put a firm hand on Kaede's shoulder and looked at him solemnly. "You've spent a long time in camp, but you've never actually been on a battlefield. You don't know how cruel the real thing is. The Vanguard Unit has an especially high death rate. You're in danger of dying at any moment.

"You have to be careful. Remember to come back alive."

Kaede had never seen Jiraiya this serious before. It was so unlike his usual carefree self.

"Mm. I will." Kaede held out his fist and bumped it against Jiraiya's.

A knowing smile spread across both their faces. In that moment, the teacher and student, bound together in name, finally grew a little closer. They no longer seemed like strangers.

That night, Kaede lay awake for a long time. He knew ninja wars were brutal, but he had never seen one for himself. Since he had never taken part, he couldn't truly understand what it was like.

"Tomorrow, or the day after at the latest, the battle will begin. Strange... I'm actually a little excited. Guess I'm not the stay-at-home type after all." Kaede muttered to himself with a wry smile.

In the middle of the night, an order to assemble woke Kaede. Orochimaru had never intended to wait a couple of days before attacking. He'd only said that to mislead the enemy's informants.

Kaede wore a close-fitting outfit that made him look tall and lean. He didn't look like a kid who hadn't yet come of age, but more like an adult. Standing at the head of the Vanguard Unit, he fit right in.

The atmosphere was so heavy and oppressive it was hard to breathe. Everyone knew what joining the Vanguard Unit meant. "Facing death without fear" might be a compliment, but Kaede knew no one wanted to die. They were simply the unfortunate ones assigned to this unit.

So it really was a cannon-fodder unit.

This was the kind of unit that didn't need much in the way of clever command. All it had to do was charge forward, probe the enemy's strength, and provide tactical support for the main force behind it. Their mission was to carve out a safe route of advance with their own bodies.

Unfortunately, he was one of them now.