In a sparse section of the forest, a dozen figures blurred through the trees, leaping between branches. Occasional bursts of water and roaring flames erupted, accompanied by the intermittent tremors of the earth. One by one, the hostile shadows vanished.
"Is that the last of them?"
The movement finally ceased when only five people remained. As they converged, Tatsuma wove the Ram seal and pressed two fingers to the ground. After a moment, he nodded. "The Rain Ninja signatures are gone."
"How are you injured again? Do you just pretend your left shoulder doesn't exist?"
Tsunade stepped up to Tatsuma's side. As she began applying medical ninjutsu, she grumbled with clear dissatisfaction. Tatsuma glanced at the scratch—barely the length of a toothpick and shallower than its width—and sighed.
"It was just a stray shuriken. It's nothing."
"And if their weapons were coated in poison? The main camp has seen plenty of casualties from toxins lately."
Tsunade's tone remained sharp. Tatsuma gave his teacher a flat, somewhat judgmental look. After all... the shuriken that had nicked him was one she had thrown.
The projectile had been deflected by a Rain Ninja and had happened to whistle past Tatsuma's left shoulder while he was engaged with another enemy. It was textbook friendly fire, though it had technically triggered the effects of his Combat Transcendence.
Within seconds, the wound was completely gone. Orochimaru, having finished inspecting the corpses of the Rain Ninja, returned to the group.
"Scouts and messengers," Orochimaru reported. "Likely an advance unit for their rear forces. From the intel they were carrying, they still have no idea the Land of Iron has decided to mobilize."
Jiraiya nodded. "Good. We need to get back to the village as quickly as possible. Every country along the way has agreed to grant us passage. Our mission is officially complete."
He turned to Tatsuma and Minato with a grin. "Congratulations, you two. You've likely just broken the record for the youngest shinobi in village history to complete an S-rank mission."
Minato offered a modest smile, not placing too much weight on the record. Tatsuma cared even less; in his mind, he had already completed an S-rank mission last year, even if the village couldn't officially acknowledge it.
Over the course of twenty days, they had navigated five different nations, convinced the Land of Iron to go to war, and persuaded the Land of Sound and Land of Grass to allow military passage. Since this mission directly reshaped the strategic landscape of the entire war, it was more than worthy of an S-rank designation.
Orochimaru's voice drifted over them, cool and somber. "It merely alleviates some of the pressure. The Sand, the Rain, the Cloud... even the Mist, whose movements remain a mystery, are all watching us like starving wolves. I suspect this conflict is already reaching the scale of the last Great War."
The brief spark of joy from completing the mission vanished. Orochimaru continued, "According to the intel from two days ago, Sensei is preparing to move up the Academy graduation exams and is encouraging early graduation. There's also the Chunin Exams; they won't be open to other villages this time. It'll be an internal promotion cycle. They're even planning to send the Uchiha and other clans to the front lines just to swap Sakumo-senpai back home."
"The Chunin Exams..." Jiraiya looked at Tatsuma and Minato. "Do you two want to participate? With your strength, it's just a formality, but raising your rank wouldn't be a bad idea."
Tatsuma immediately grasped Jiraiya's intent. With the three-front war looming, Jiraiya didn't want the two of them to be part of the first wave sent to the front.
Though the Chunin Exams were being fast-tracked, the logistical preparations would take at least two weeks. Add the duration of the exams and the subsequent unit reorganization, and a month or more would pass. By then, the wars against the Rain and the Cloud would have been active for a while, and the first wave of shinobi would have returned with vital intelligence.
That intelligence would be the key to increasing the survival rate of every squad that followed.
Currently, Danzo Shimura was in charge of the Sand front. Even if the Sannin were redeployed as commanders, they would likely be sent against the Rain or the Cloud.
This meant the experience Tatsuma and Minato had gained fighting the Sand last year wouldn't be as applicable. Delaying their deployment was a strategic move for their safety—a bit of personal favoritism on Jiraiya's part.
Tsunade and Orochimaru nodded in agreement. Tatsuma considered the situation.
He knew Kumogakure likely wouldn't commit to a full-scale invasion just yet; they were mostly posturing to stretch Konoha's resources thin while waiting for an opening. This meant that when he and Minato eventually deployed, they would likely follow the Sannin to the Land of Rain. Fighting the Sand in the rain was one thing, but fighting the Rain Ninja was another beast entirely.
The Sand Ninja were unfamiliar with rainforest terrain; their jutsu and elemental affinities were often suppressed by the environment. That was exactly why Danzo had forced the battlefield into the Land of Rain in the first place—it was an effective way to crush the Sand.
However, once the enemy became the Rain Ninja, the advantage flipped. The Rain Ninja were masters of their own territory. They knew every swamp and canopy; they were experts at ambushes, traps, and guerilla tactics.
Mapping out the Rain Ninja's combat styles and defensive lines would cost countless Konoha lives. In that kind of "meat grinder," not even a Jonin could guarantee their own safety, let alone two kids.
Tatsuma took a deep breath and spoke plainly. "I understand. Minato and I will stay in the village for the Chunin Exams."
Minato looked slightly confused but didn't object. In their duo, Tatsuma had always been the decision-maker, and Minato trusted his judgment implicitly.
Tsunade nodded, satisfied. She had been worried Tatsuma might refuse or give some hollow, self-sacrificing speech about "following orders" while secretly resenting the delay. His frank acceptance of their protection made her find her student even more endearing—he lacked the hypocrisy so common in the village's power structures.
Orochimaru added, "The Chunin Exams are usually for three-man squads, but given your circumstances, I'm sure Sensei will make an exception and arrange things properly."
If he had his way, Orochimaru would have kept the two of them out of the war entirely. Given the talent they had shown, it was only a matter of time before they caught up to—or even surpassed—the Sannin. War was a volatile environment; it could forge legends, but it also snuffed out geniuses before they could bloom. Orochimaru was far too invested in their potential to see them die young.
"Haha! Good. Let's get back home. Oh, and remember to brush up on your code-breaking and cipher translation. The Chunin Exams place a lot of weight on that."
Jiraiya's boisterous smile returned, but Orochimaru rolled his eyes. "This coming from the man who misread the village ciphers two days ago and had to ask Tatsuma and Minato to correct him?"
Jiraiya's face flushed red. Snarling in embarrassment, he glared at Orochimaru and mimicked his cold tone. "And who was it that said they never use petty metaphors or insults when they can just be direct?"
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "If you insist, I shall oblige. You, Jiraiya, are a total failure—a 'dead last' who needs two students to correct his translations. Satisfied?"
"Satisfied?! I just had a bit of eye strain! It wasn't a translation error!"
Jiraiya jumped in frustration. Their bickering brought smiles back to the faces of Tsunade, Tatsuma, and Minato, effectively shattering the somber mood.
After a brief rest to mask their trail, the five of them set off again toward the Hidden Leaf.
They encountered several Rain patrols and rogue ninja on the return trip. With their lineup, four of them usually cleared the encounters without a scratch, while Tatsuma would inevitably walk away with a minor injury—the kind that would heal itself before he could even reach for a bandage.
Orochimaru eventually began teasing him, treating "Tatsuma" and "Tatsuma's Left Shoulder" as two separate entities. He even joked that Tatsuma's brain lacked a full map of his own body, leaving the left shoulder completely unprotected.
Orochimaru had been hoping that his advice would trigger another leap in Tatsuma's growth. Unfortunately, it seemed the "Left Shoulder Magnet" was a constant law of physics. The only progress was that the wounds were getting smaller, but even a scratch could be lethal in a world of poisoned needles, so Orochimaru remained unimpressed.
Near the end of the journey, Orochimaru even offered to spar with Tatsuma to teach him some practical defense. Curiously, during their spars, Tatsuma never left his shoulder exposed. It was only in the chaos of a real battle that the flaw reappeared.
After some thought, Orochimaru concluded it was a psychological issue—Tatsuma's nerves were too tight in real combat to maintain his "sparring" composure. The solution? More experience. Once a ninja learns to treat a life-or-death battle as just another day at the office, the nerves would settle.
Three days later, they arrived back in Konoha. This time, Tatsuma and Minato were included in the debriefing. However, they mostly just stood there like they were in a school assembly while the Sannin did all the talking.
At the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi activated his "Genjutsu: Will of Fire"—unleashing a long-winded patriotic speech—and the boys finally got a few lines of participation. As for rewards, however, Hiruzen didn't breathe a word.
Once the debriefing ended, Jiraiya dragged Minato off to train before their next deployment. Tatsuma prepared to head home to dive into the Second Lord's notes, but...
"Sensei, Lord Orochimaru, is there something else? If not, I'll be heading out."
"There is," they said in unison.
Tatsuma froze as he turned around. He found himself staring directly into Orochimaru's shimmering, hungry eyes.
"Tatsuma-kun, we haven't done your physical exam yet," Orochimaru said, his voice carrying a strangely gentle—and therefore terrifying—quality. "Your teacher and I might be leaving the village soon. We must ensure your body is in perfect health before we go."
Between the pale complexion and the over-enthusiastic glint in those eyes, Tatsuma's only thought was: I don't believe a word of that!
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