In the middle of Konoha's forty-seventh year, the Western Front suddenly quieted down.
Sunagakure's own backyard was on fire—the Third Kazekage had been missing for months, and the village had sent large numbers of its elite shinobi out to search for him, leaving its defenses riddled with holes.
Cloud Village seized the opportunity and swept through the heart of the Land of Wind, driving a blade straight into Sunagakure's supply lines.
Caught between two enemies, Sunagakure was forced to abandon its offensive against the Land of Fire and retreat across the entire front.
The fighting was over.
Kitahara Kaede sat in his tent and emptied his money pouch, counting its contents again.
Three hundred and fifty thousand ryō.
With what he'd saved before, that made one million eight hundred and fifty thousand.
He was still three million one hundred and fifty thousand short of five million.
Now that Sunagakure had retreated, there wouldn't be any more high-paying missions on the Western Front.
To fill that gap of more than three million, he'd have to move somewhere else.
That afternoon, the assembly signal sounded.
The shinobi in the camp lined up in neat rows on the open ground.
Dan Katō stood at the front with a roster in hand.
"Sunagakure's main force has retreated. On Lord Hokage's orders, the Western Front will switch to a defensive posture as of today. Our forces will be rotated in stages. Those whose names I call next will be on the first list of shinobi returning to the village for rest and recovery."
As the names were called, Kitahara Kaede's came somewhere in the middle, toward the back.
Just as he'd expected.
Nearly five months, eight high-difficulty missions.
By any measure, whether casualties or fatigue, he belonged on the first rotation list.
As soon as