Day six, morning.
Higashino Shin slipped into his favorite Ninja-tool shop well before roll-call.
He still had shuriken and Kunai, and once you reached the front the Village supplied such gear in bulk—no need to spend your own ryo.
With no idea how long he'd be stuck on the eastern front, he wanted to stock up on blade oil.
His short-sword was a priceless Chakra weapon, not some expendable scrap of steel; it demanded constant care, and the special oil it needed wasn't something the quartermaster handed out.
Only a few customers were inside. Suzu was serving them while her husband, Tetsuen—still young yet already a master smith—was off somewhere; during wartime he was busier than a shadow clone.
Neither parent had the knack for Ninjutsu; how their daughter Tenten would one day choose the shinobi path was anyone's guess.
Perhaps it was simply the air of Konoha—here, growing up to become a Ninja was every kid's dream.
Tenten had been born in early March; among the future konoha 12 she'd be the eldest. Right now her future teammates were still in their mothers' bellies, and the other nine hadn't even been conceived.
At three months she was already crawling around her cot, thwarted only by the railing that kept her from toppling out.
Kids of the Ninja World start life with batteries included.
Shin pinched her plump cheek; the instant she spotted the new toy she grabbed his finger and tried to gum it to death.
"Ee-ya, ee-ya!"—a protest when she found the finger too elusive to bite.
"Shin, she really likes you!" Suzu said, coming over once the other customers had left.
"I'm not exactly scary, and she's not shy. She sees strangers in here every day—she's used to it."
"Fair enough. So, what do you need today?"
"Blade-care kits—four boxes."
"That many?" Suzu blinked, then nodded. "I'll fetch them."
Chakra-weapon oil sold so poorly it was kept in the back; she disappeared into the storeroom.
"Thanks." Kits stowed in his pouch, Shin reached for his wallet.
Suzu stopped him. "Shin, buying in bulk… you're heading to the front?"
"Yeah."
"Then consider these a gift from your big sister. Promise me you'll take care of yourself—no heroics out there."
Shin smiled. "Don't worry, Suzu-nee. I still want to see whether Tenten ends up looking more like you or like him."
"Definitely me—if she takes after her father she's doomed!"
—
Konoha's main avenue was already filling with the support unit.
Villagers lined both sides, come to see off husbands, wives, sons, daughters—some exchanging last words, others standing alone.
In a world of constant war not everyone had kin left; Ninja battles killed so fast there was often no time even for a medic-nin's patch-up.
Shin found his squad and surveyed the departing force: few adults, mostly kids who'd graduated in the last couple of years.
The youngest, like him, weren't yet ten; the oldest maybe twelve or thirteen.
Konoha had no choice—plenty of grown shinobi remained, but the Village had to keep enough strength at home.
Ninja weren't a regular army; their speed and stealth made them perfect for back-line decapitation strikes, so stripping the Village bare was suicidal.
He spotted familiar faces: Might Guy and his two teammates, Shiranui Genma with a senbon between his teeth, Ebisu behind those trademark shades.
Thanks to Might Duy's heroics last year, Guy had become a personal project of the Hokage; when fighting eased he'd been rotated home for extra training.
Now they were all marching back into the meat-grinder.
He wondered if Genma had a younger sister called Mai—something to ask later.
Another shades-wearer stood nearby; someone called him Aoba—clearly Yamashiro Aoba—while his partner's crimson eyes and natural perm screamed Yuhi Kurenai.
With Kurenai here, the prematurely world-weary face beside her had to be Sarutobi Asuma, currently glued to her side.
If the Sandaime sent his own son, who could complain?
Also present were Gekko Hayate's classmates Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu; their partners Shin didn't recognize.
Shin's own circle had always been tiny; he preferred studying at home, so apart from Hayate and Uzuki Yūgao he rarely bumped into familiar faces—until today.
These kids would one day be Konoha's pillars.
No sign of Umino Iruka or Hayate's female classmate Tsubaki—lacking the talent, they hadn't graduated early.
Iruka's parents, solid chunin who'd made Jonin during this war, were important voices for civilian-born Ninja in the Jonin Squad.
Their son, however, hadn't inherited their Ninjutsu knack—book-smart only.
Yūgao had been pulled aside by her mother for last-minute advice; Higashino Megumi simply stroked her son's head, words unnecessary.
Once Yūgao rejoined the column, Uzuki Sakura told Gekko Yun Jian, "Big brother Yunjian, please look after the kids."
"Relax. I'll keep them safe—no need to worry."
Megumi, who already knew her son's strength, added, "Shin, protect your teammates."
"I will, Mom."
—
When the hour struck, farewells ended and the column moved out.
Past Konoha's gate they fanned out, vanishing into the roadside forest—standard Ninja march: no main roads, no clumping together.
Two or three friendly squads formed mutual-support clusters; clusters kept their distance, creating a loose yet interlocked whole.
One reason: to keep an enemy ambush from wiping them all out with a single map-clearing jutsu.
Unlikely, since the reinforcements' departure was public knowledge—but their route was top secret.
Shin's cluster contained old classmates who'd graduated early: Hyuga Tokuma and Aburame Muta.
Their teammate was an Inuzuka girl—Inuzuka Meiko—accompanied by a half-grown… husky?
Shin's eyes twitched; the road ahead suddenly looked a shade darker.
"Hey, what's with that look? Got a problem with me?" The husky's senses were sharp.
"Swear I don't!" Shin denied instantly.
"Better not, or I'll take a bite out of you."
Great—now he was arguing with a talking husky. He knew the Ninja World was weird, but this was pushing it.
Their Jonin Squad-leader was from the Sarutobi clan: Sarutobi Jitsugetsu.
He laughed. "Cloud-Glimpse brats, relax—Rocky's reliable."
A dog named Rocky? Do you have fists like mortars, mutt?
Gekko Yun Jian added with a smile, "Shin, Inuzuka hounds are trusted partners for us Konoha Ninja."
"I know, sensei."
He believed it; he'd just been startled by the living room-wrecker's glint of intelligence.
Still, the makeup of Tokuma's squad felt familiar—wasn't this the future Team 8 of the konoha 12?
A dog-handler, a bug-user, and a pair of Byakugan eyes.
Looked like a recon unit.