Preparations before departure

Once the elite squad's members were decided, the jonin meeting soon ended.

Orochimaru had the other ninja leave, keeping only Chihane from the elite squad and the three jonin from the Uchiha Clan behind.

"This is the intelligence we've gathered on Kakkō of Iwagakure. Take a look."

With that, Orochimaru spat a scroll out of his mouth and handed it to Chihane. Chihane had seen this countless times before, but it was a first for the Uchiha beside him.

Their stomachs immediately lurched! They all had questions. How had he swallowed something so long and thick, then spat it back out? Didn't it hurt his throat?

Chihane, who was long accustomed to the sight, shook the slime off the scroll as usual, unrolled it, and spread it across the table.

Name: Kakkō

Elite jonin of Iwagakure

Proficient in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu

Extremely capable in every area, ranking among Iwagakure's strongest fighters.

Weapons: blades (two extremely sharp blades strapped to his forearms)

Combat record...

As Uchiha Fugaku read the intelligence on the table, his expression shifted, a bitter look creeping onto his face. In truth, he didn't believe Chihane possessed the strength of an elite jonin at his age either.

He had intended to give Orochimaru face by letting Chihane lead in name while he actually dealt with Kakkō himself.

But judging by this intelligence, Kakkō's abilities were far too well-rounded. He had no weaknesses and had defeated many renowned opponents. Fugaku usually worked in the Konoha Military Police Force and rarely left the village, so his combat experience certainly couldn't compare to Kakkō's.

If Kakkō tied him down until other powerful Iwa shinobi arrived, things would turn ugly.

But the proposal had already passed unanimously at the meeting. It was too late to say anything now. Uchiha Fugaku made up his mind. If he truly couldn't defeat Kakkō, he would take his fellow Uchiha and retreat from the battlefield.

He couldn't let the clan's elites die here. He had to safeguard the Sharingan and keep it from falling into outsiders' hands.

Of course, Chihane knew nothing of Uchiha Fugaku's thoughts. But seeing that Kakkō used blades had already piqued his interest. He intended to face him properly and hoped Kakkō could withstand a few of his slashes.

Night.

The Hatake Clan.

"Haha, Kakashi, won't Chihane be surprised when we head to the front this time?"

Obito Uchiha stood where Chihane usually trained, grinning as he spoke to Kakashi, who was practicing Hatake Swordsmanship in the middle of the courtyard.

Indeed, Obito had now moved into the Hatake Compound. His parents had died on the battlefield long ago, and his grandmother had raised him. After Chihane left, Kakashi was the only person remaining in the entire Hatake Clan, watching over the vast compound alone. Feeling terribly lonely, he had invited Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha over yesterday.

Rin Nohara had noticed his loneliness after dinner, and once she told Obito Uchiha about it, he had taken it upon himself to move in.

Although the lonely Kakashi said he didn't want him there, his actions betrayed him: he never drove Obito away.

"..."

Kakashi continued training.

"Hey, Kakashi, if I take out the enemy commander the moment I reach the battlefield, won't everyone see me in a whole new light?"

"..."

Kakashi was still training. Obito had already grown used to his silence.

"Everyone will definitely see me differently then. Maybe Sonoko will even start chasing after me."

Kakashi paused. Still saying nothing, he went into the house, retrieved a book, and handed it to Obito. Then he returned to the center of the courtyard and resumed practicing his swordsmanship.

"The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi? Kakashi, why are you giving me this? Don't you know I hate reading?"

Obito Uchiha looked at the book in his hands,

then asked Kakashi in confusion. "This is Lord Jiraiya's book. It contains the secret to his strength. If you learn it, you might become the rooftop conqueror of a hundred." Kakashi finally answered him, then coolly resumed his training.

"Conqueror of a hundred! I'm the conqueror of a hundred!"

All Obito Uchiha heard was that it was Jiraiya's book and something about conquering a hundred. He remembered nothing else. Delighted, he clutched the book and went inside to read.

Seeing that Obito had finally quieted down, Kakashi stopped training too and fixed his gaze on the White Fang short blade in his hand.

Brother, we'll be fighting side by side now! Father, I'll make sure I live up to the title of Konoha's White Fang!

The pure white moonlight glittered against the bright blade, as though his father in heaven were answering him.

The Land of Fire's border.

Orochimaru's camp.

"Chihane, now that you've read the intelligence on Kakkō, are you confident?"

After dinner, Orochimaru sat at the head of the command tent, reviewing documents as he questioned Chihane, who sat to his left polishing the famous sword in his hands.

"If he's only as strong as the intelligence says, he's no match for me. Even if he's stronger than that, I'll still be stronger than him."

Chihane polished the Wado Ichimonji as he answered Orochimaru's question.

"I know. But I have another piece of intelligence here!"

At that, Orochimaru raised his head and pulled a report from the bottom of the documents in his hands.

Orochimaru handed the report to Chihane. Chihane accepted it and studied it carefully for a moment, finding only four names written on it.

Squad leader: Kakkō, member: Mahiru, member: Taiseki, member: Sumashi

"What's this?"

Chihane looked at the report before him and asked in confusion.

"Kakkō, Mahiru, and Taiseki are all elite jonin of Iwagakure. Sumashi is a special jōnin exceptionally skilled in Earth Release. You could say his Earth Release is stronger than that of an ordinary jonin."

"If I had presented this report earlier, Uchiha Kageyama would never have agreed to raid the supplies."

Seeing Chihane's puzzled expression, Orochimaru patiently explained. He knew that with Chihane's limited experience, he certainly wouldn't recognize those names.

"Three elite jonin?"

Orochimaru's words sent Chihane into thought. Orochimaru remained silent, watching him quietly. After conducting experiments with Chihane for several months, he understood Chihane's strength better than anyone. Chihane might fall short of top-tier fighters in genjutsu and ninjutsu, but in sheer offensive power, he was fully on par with the vast majority of Kage-level fighters.

Even three elite jonin would be no match for Chihane.

"Three elite jonin... What if they run?"

After a long while, Chihane voiced the question troubling him. He wasn't afraid of facing three elite jonin, but he was afraid they would flee.

If all three fled at once, he would have to gamble on which one carried the supplies. And if he guessed wrong, the Iwa shinobi would become vigilant, making another opportunity like this extremely difficult to find.

"We have no choice now. We can only take the gamble. From what I know of Uchiha Kageyama, he sent his son, Uchiha Fugaku, because he doesn't trust you. Tomorrow, he'll probably have Uchiha Fugaku take charge of the fighting."

"If Uchiha Fugaku faces Kakkō, he won't be able to beat him, but he should be able to hold out for a while. You need to finish Mahiru and Taiseki as quickly as possible, then come back to support Uchiha Fugaku. Otherwise, I'm afraid he'll take the Uchiha ninja and flee once he realizes he can't win."

"If we lose this opportunity, we really will have a serious problem on our hands."

Orochimaru put down his work, stood, and walked to the window at the edge of the tent. Gazing at the full moon hanging in the sky, he spoke with a sigh.