Three years later.
The Land of Rain, Konoha camp.
Shin'un, who had grown noticeably taller, walked toward the center of camp, with his two teammates following behind.
Along the way, Shin'un frequently smiled and nodded, greeting the ninja he knew.
The Chunin and Genin all nodded to Shin'un with great respect, while the Jonin joked with him warmly.
It made for a somewhat strange sight.
Chunin in their twenties, still in the prime of youth, could be seen bowing slightly to Shin'un as they greeted him respectfully.
Veteran Jonin, clearly already middle-aged, could also be seen laughing and joking with Shin'un, decades their junior, as though speaking to a friend.
In the distance, even ninja who had never gone on missions with Shin'un clearly knew him, watching him from afar and discussing him.
A Jonin wearing a flak jacket spoke to a Chunin beside him who had just arrived at the front, eager to show off:
"Hey, see that person who looks like a little kid?"
"What?" The Chunin shifted his gaze and immediately spotted Shin'un's squad, which stood out in the crowd.
"I see him. What about him?"
"Do you know who he is?" The Jonin pointed at Shin'un from afar and asked the Chunin beside him with a mysterious expression.
The Chunin curled his lip and said disdainfully:
"How could I not know who he is?"
"I've only just arrived at the front, so I haven't met him, but Hirakawa Shin'un's reputation as a genius who became a Jonin at thirteen has long since spread throughout Konoha!"
"What?" The Jonin looked distinctly taken aback. "Hirakawa Shin'un's name has already reached Konoha?"
"Of course!"
Seemingly scornful of how outdated the Jonin's information was, the Chunin immediately filled him in.
"Every so often, a group of seriously wounded ninja who won't recover anytime soon returns to Konoha. Thanks to them spreading the word, Shin'un's name has long since spread throughout the village!"
"And after Lord Hokage heard about Hirakawa Shin'un, he said something right then and there in public, acknowledging Hirakawa Shin'un's talent."
Hearing this, the Jonin immediately looked at the Chunin curiously.
The tables had turned, and the Chunin said with a mysterious expression:
"Lord Third Hokage said..."
"Hirakawa Shin'un, this boy possesses exceptional talent, no less than mine at his age!"
Hearing this, the Jonin immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Hiss... this boy's talent actually earned the Third's praise. Truly terrifying!"
"..."
Walking through the crowd, Shin'un constantly monitored his surroundings with his keen senses and clearly heard the conversation between those two distant ninja.
Just as Shin'un felt embarrassed and quickened his pace to get away as soon as possible, Shiina Kō suddenly took a few steps forward from behind him, leaned close to his ear, and said with a smile:
"Wow... this boy's talent actually earned the Third's praise. Truly terrifying indeed..."
At Shiina Kō's teasing, black lines appeared on Shin'un's forehead. He was so embarrassed that his toes were about to dig a three-bedroom apartment into the ground.
Turning to glance at Shiina Kō, who was almost biting his ear, Shin'un pushed him away, inwardly speechless.
"Is this what you trained your hearing for?"
Seeing that Shin'un was about to lose control of his expression, Shiina Kō laughed, stopped teasing him, and turned to business.
"We only returned to camp after finishing a mission yesterday. We haven't even had time to replace our ninja tools and supplies at logistics. Why is Teacher calling us in again?"
"Is he sending us on a mission?"
Shin'un lowered his head, recalling the recent situation on the battlefields of the Land of Rain. He already had some idea of the answer.
"Probably. The situation has been getting more and more tense lately, and manpower is growing increasingly scarce."
"Under these circumstances, there's no helping it if we have to take on more missions."
Hearing Shin'un's words, Shiina Kō sighed helplessly, clearly feeling rather resigned.
"The war just keeps getting fiercer. Every ninja village has already suffered countless losses, yet they still rack their brains every day to send more people to the front."
After speaking, Shiina Kō looked at Shin'un beside him.
"Remember the Stone Ninja we fought on our last mission? The Genin in that Stone Ninja squad were only seven or eight years old."
"Those kids couldn't even hold a kunai steady, but they'd already been sent onto the battlefield. It's just..."
"I really don't know when this absurd war will finally end."
Watching Shiina Kō lament beside him, Shin'un pondered.
Naruto had never described the Second Shinobi World War in detail, and Shin'un did not know exactly how many years it lasted.
But the original story had focused on several important events that took place during the Second Shinobi World War.
For example, Sasori's parents died at White Fang's hands.
For example, the Sannin fought Hanzo of the Salamander, who bestowed the title of Sannin on them afterward.
For example, Tsunade's younger brother, Nawaki, died in an explosive tag trap, and her lover, Dan Katō, died, after which Tsunade developed a fear of blood.
There was also Jiraiya taking in three disciples in the Land of Rain as the war neared its end: the trio of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan.
Through these events, Shin'un could roughly judge whether the war was nearing its end.
Unfortunately...
The war had already been going on for three years, and the fighting had reached its most intense stage.
Yet Shin'un was very certain that, apart from Konoha White Fang killing Sasori's parents, which he could not confirm for now, none of the other events had happened yet.
From this, he could tell that the Second Shinobi World War still had at least two years left to go.
They arrived at the large tent in the center of camp.
Shin'un lifted the entrance flap and walked inside.
Compared with three years ago, Orochimaru had grown colder, and his once overly youthful face seemed to be starting to resemble his appearance when he first appeared in the original story.
"Teacher."
With Shiina Kō and Yūichi behind him, Shin'un walked over to Orochimaru and greeted him.
Then his gaze shifted, and he noticed a masked, white-haired Anbu standing beside Orochimaru.
Not paying much attention, Shin'un gave him only a cursory glance before looking back at Orochimaru.
"You're here..."
Seeing his three students come before him, even Orochimaru's cold expression could not help softening for a moment.
Apart from Shin'un, who arranged his own training, Orochimaru had often made time over the past three years to teach Shiina Kō and Yūichi, and they had gradually grown familiar with one another.
"Teacher, did you call us here for a mission?"
After three years of experience, Shiina Kō was far more capable than before. Knowing now that Orochimaru was cold on the outside but warm within, he simply stepped forward and asked directly.
"I'm sorry. You only went on a mission yesterday, and I've had to call you in again today."
"But there is indeed an unplanned, urgent mission that I need you to carry out."
"You know the recent situation. You're the only elite squad with sufficient combat strength that I can find on such short notice."
After speaking, Orochimaru pointed to the white-haired Anbu who had been standing beside him all along.
"You'll need to work with the Anbu to complete the mission. Ask this Anbu for the details. Once it's finished, you'll have an S-rank mission on your record."
"Are you willing?"