"Finally back," Itsuki muttered as the massive gates of Konohagakure came into view.
Even now, he still found it difficult to believe they had actually returned from the battlefield.
After successfully completing the mission to retrieve Kakashi, the squad hadn't been reassigned or given a follow-up objective. Instead, they had received a direct order to return to the village.
The decision had puzzled Itsuki.
Even if the rest of the team had been recalled, his own chances of returning should have been slim. He was an Uchiha, and the Kirigakure front had effectively been designated as the Uchiha clan's responsibility. Under normal circumstances, he should have been reassigned to another squad and sent straight back to the front lines.
Yet Captain Shinku had been ordered to return as well.
That alone had raised questions.
The official reason was simple, Kirigakure's activity along the borders had suddenly decreased. Their aggressiveness had faded, and the number of shinobi deployed in the area had dropped sharply.
Shinku hadn't elaborated. He didn't need to.
Itsuki already knew the real reason.
The death of their jinchūriki.
The loss of a tailed beast.
Once that information surfaced, the Hidden Mist would have no choice but to turn inward. Investigations, purges, internal chaos, everything else would take priority over external warfare.
Captain Shinku clearly knew at least part of the truth as well. Still, he hadn't shared anything with the squad. There was always a risk of information leaking, and their rank was far too low to be trusted with details of that magnitude.
Even Kakashi had been different after waking up during the return to camp.
He had spoken only once and only to Captain Shinku.
After that, his eyes had remained hollow for the rest of the journey, unfocused and distant, as if something inside him had already broken beyond repair.
Of course, Itsuki knew exactly what had happened.
He felt a faint trace of pity for Kakashi.
And at the same time, a quiet satisfaction.
He was glad he had made the decision not to form deep bonds before becoming strong enough. Accepting goodwill was fine, connections, favors, cooperation. Those could be repaid in the future.
But attachments?
Those only became weaknesses when you lacked the power to protect them.
After passing through the village gate and completing the routine inspection, Captain Shinku finally spoke.
"You're all dismissed. Return home and rest until further notice."
There were no exchanges of pleasantries.
Without another word, Shinku turned and headed straight toward the Hokage Tower.
Itsuki could already guess why.
It had to be about the Three-Tails.
And about what Kakashi had told him regarding Rin.
While the elders might already possess fragments of the truth, especially after reports from the Kirigakure battlefield commander, Orochimaru, Shinku's presence would still be required. There would be questions. Doubts to clear. Details to confirm.
This wasn't something that could be handled through written reports alone.
Itsuki didn't linger. He didn't say anything to the rest of the squad, instead changing direction immediately and making his way toward the Uchiha clan compound.
After passing the Uchiha guards, he broke into a run, moving straight for the house he had inherited from his parents.
It was only a single-storey building, but the number of rooms made it more than sufficient.
He'd been given the keys when he was only five years old. Before that, he had lived with the other Uchiha orphans under clan supervision.
As he stepped inside, a strange sense of nostalgia washed over him. He had never met his parents, his father had died on a mission while his mother was still pregnant, and she, unable to endure the stress and grief, passed away shortly after giving birth. Because of that, there was no real emotional bond tying him to them. And yet, he couldn't deny his gratitude.
They had left him this house, their savings, a proper roof over his head, money to buy clothes to wear and food to eat, things that countless children in this world were never guaranteed.
He had seen life outside Konoha, and because of that, he knew just how fortunate he was, more blessed than over ninety percent of the shinobi world. Within the village walls there was safety and order. He never had to fear bandits or missing nin raiding his home in the dead of night, nor the possibility of being captured and sold as a slave.
That alone made all the difference.
"Now… what should I do?" Itsuki murmured as he lay back on the bed that had once belonged to his parents. His gaze remained fixed on the ceiling while his thoughts turned inward, carefully tracing the flow of the plot.
The war wasn't going to end anytime soon but the pressure along the borders would ease.
Every major village was already exhausted by losses. Soon, the Third Raikage would face ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi, a clash that would cripple both Kumogakure and Iwa's fighting strength. Kirigakure was already in chaos after losing their tailed beast, while Sunagakure had been weak from the very beginning. They had entered the war to suppress internal unrest after the disappearance of the Third Kazekage, and with their limited resources, they wouldn't be able to sustain prolonged conflict.
Which meant that, aside from a few border frictions, the overall scale of the Third Shinobi World War would begin to shrink.
Itsuki let out a slow breath as he reached that conclusion.
Should I become a bounty hunter? he thought. As the template Assimilation progresses, my power keeps rising. I'm not a complete novice anymore, but I still need real combat experience to get used to these new skills and learn how to apply them properly in battle.
He knew he couldn't go all out in Konoha. Even during team missions, revealing his true capabilities too early would only invite unnecessary attention. Solo missions were an option, but many required bringing back corpses as proof, which still carried the risk of information leaking.
That was why the idea appealed to him, creating a bounty hunter identity outside Konoha. A separate face, separate reputation. He could rely only on his newly acquired abilities, sharpening them through real fights while keeping his true self hidden.
"Phew… forget it," Itsuki muttered quietly. "I'll wait for the ten-card spin before making any decisions."
**************
Tang Hao(V1) rank in Naruto verse