"That's true," Ren said with a thoughtful nod.
Kakashi had previously served as Team Minato's assistant instructor. But after the recent Chūnin Exams, all three official members of Team Minato had been promoted to Chūnin, while Ren had gone one step further and become a Special Jōnin.
Technically, their team no longer required an assistant instructor.
Kakashi had most likely been assigned to other missions by the village.
Even so, Ren did not believe he would remain separated from them forever. Kakashi's distant personality made it difficult for him to express his feelings openly, but his bond with Obito had already become far stronger than he was willing to admit.
If Team Minato returned to the battlefield, there was a high chance Kakashi would eventually fight alongside them again.
As the conversation moved on, Asuma finally emerged from his contemplation. His earlier frustration had faded, replaced by a genuine desire to improve.
"Ren, there's something I want to ask you about ninjutsu," he said, lowering his pride enough to seek advice. "When I'm shaping Wind-nature chakra, the flow becomes unstable as soon as I try to increase its cutting power. How do I keep it concentrated?"
Raidō Namiashi seized the opportunity to ask several questions of his own, though his interest was naturally focused on swordsmanship.
Raidō was one of the few ninja in their class who intended to specialize in the sword.
In the original timeline, he would eventually become a Special Jōnin and habitually wield a black-bladed katana. His ability would earn him a place among the elite guards protecting Konoha's Hokage.
Unfortunately, his record as a bodyguard would be somewhat troubling.
He would first serve as one of Minato's guards—only for Minato to die during the Nine-Tails' attack.
Afterward, Raidō would serve Hiruzen Sarutobi, who would also die during Orochimaru's invasion of Konoha.
Years later, while confronting the Akatsuki's Immortal Duo, Raidō would fight alongside Asuma—and Asuma would die as well.
One could reasonably suspect that Raidō possessed some sort of supernatural curse. Anyone he was assigned to guard seemed destined to meet an unfortunate end.
Following that logic, even Tsunade's near-death experience during Pain's assault might somehow have been connected to him.
Of course, the present Raidō was still young. His swordsmanship had not yet developed its distinctive characteristics, and he was currently practicing the same Konoha Style sword techniques used by Yūhi Shinku.
Because of that, defeating him would not count toward Hatake Swordsmanship's special event. Ren had already defeated Konoha Style swordsmanship once. Repeating the same challenge against a weaker practitioner would accomplish nothing.
Still, Ren did not dismiss Raidō's questions.
He answered both boys carefully, drawing upon his own combat experience to explain how they could improve their chakra control, timing, footwork, and ability to judge an opponent's movements.
How useful the advice would be was difficult to predict.
A significant portion of Ren's strength came from the gala system. Even if Asuma and Raidō devoted the same amount of time and effort to training, they would struggle to reproduce his rate of progress.
The system granted Ren advantages that ordinary practice could not replicate.
At the very least, however, his battlefield experience was real. The mistakes he had witnessed—and the ones he had nearly died making—could help them avoid unnecessary danger.
Obito was probably the exception.
He had stopped listening almost as soon as the explanation became technical. Judging by his expression, he was still mentally replaying the earlier battle and trying to invent a dramatic new technique that would defeat Ren next time.
As Ren continued answering Raidō's question, his ears suddenly twitched.
The faint rustle of disturbed leaves reached him from the forest bordering the training ground.
His hand moved instinctively toward his sword as he turned his head.
A figure wearing the uniform of Konoha's Anbu stood silently upon a tree branch. An animal mask concealed the ninja's face, and not even a trace of chakra had been noticeable before they revealed themselves.
The Anbu member looked directly at Ren.
"Special Jōnin Ren, the Third Hokage has summoned you. Please report to the Hokage Building immediately to discuss reinforcements for the southwestern battlefield."
Ren raised an eyebrow.
Beside him, the others immediately became alert.
"Is it finally our turn?" Asuma asked quietly. The expectation of this summons had troubled him for days, but now that the moment had arrived, a strange calm settled over him.
"It happened faster than I expected," Raidō admitted. Like Asuma, he had suspected that passing the Chūnin Exams would result in deployment. Knowing it was now inevitable almost came as a relief.
Obito reacted very differently.
"Hahaha! It's finally here!"
He sprang to his feet, clenched both fists, and grinned with undisguised excitement. The anxiety and frustration from the previous spar disappeared as if they had never existed.
"And we're going to fight our old enemies from Sunagakure! This time, I'm not a Genin anymore. I'm an official Chūnin!"
Obito pushed his goggles higher on his forehead.
"I'll show those Sand ninja the true power of the Uchiha clan. We'll beat them so badly they'll run all the way back to the desert!"
Compared with the members of Team Asuma, Obito could already be considered a veteran of war. He had survived multiple encounters with enemy ninja and witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield firsthand.
Yet rather than becoming afraid, he seemed eager to prove how much stronger he had become.
Only Rin remained silent.
Worry clouded her face. Her father had departed for the southwestern battlefield that very morning, and now Ren might be ordered to the same place.
The Anbu member offered no further explanation. After confirming that Ren understood the order, the masked figure disappeared into the forest, merging with the shadows as silently as they had arrived.
Ren looked toward his companions.
"It's getting late. Everyone should return home and rest."
His gaze became serious as it passed over each of them.
"Check your equipment while you still have time. Inspect every kunai, explosive tag, and roll of wire. Replace anything damaged, and make sure you have enough medicine and emergency supplies."
"We'll probably be leaving soon. Once the deployment order arrives, there may not be enough time to prepare properly."
The others nodded.
Obito's excitement also settled slightly. Even he understood that enthusiasm would not save someone who entered a battlefield without adequate supplies.
Asuma and Raidō collected their equipment and prepared to leave. Kurenai remained beside Asuma, speaking quietly to him, while Rin gave Ren a worried glance.
Ren returned it with a reassuring smile.
Then he took a slow breath, turned away from the training ground, and headed toward the Hokage Building.
A short while later, Ren entered the Hokage's office and discovered several familiar figures waiting inside.
The most noticeable was a tall, pale man with long black hair and golden eyes.
"Lord Orochimaru?"
Orochimaru turned toward him. A faint smile formed on his pale face, though it only made his appearance more unsettling.
"Ren. It has been a while."
Ren maintained a polite expression, but a quiet objection surfaced in his mind.
It had not been long at all.
Only one week had passed since the final stage of the Chūnin Exams. During that battle, Ren had personally gone to the Konoha Research Institute and helped Orochimaru deal with one of his escaped experiments.
At the time, Orochimaru's tone had been considerably less polite.
Still, there was no reason to mention that incident in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi. Orochimaru probably had no desire to discuss the details of his research laboratory before his teacher either.
Two other people stood in the office.
One was Shikaku Nara, Team Asuma's Jōnin instructor. He acknowledged Ren with a slight nod.
The other was Kakashi.
Rin had mentioned his absence less than an hour earlier, yet here he was.
From the dust staining his clothes and the exhaustion hidden behind his visible eye, he appeared to have returned from a long mission only recently.
Kakashi glanced toward Ren, gave the smallest nod, and then returned to silence. He offered no explanation for where he had been or what assignment he had completed.
Ren resisted the urge to question him.
Hiruzen sat behind his desk with his pipe in hand. Several maps had been spread across the surface before him, each marked with troop positions, supply routes, and the latest reports from the border.
The room smelled faintly of smoke and ink.
Hiruzen drew upon his pipe, exhaled a thin stream of smoke, and looked around the office.
"Now that everyone is here, let us begin."
Begin what?
Ren's eyes moved between the people present.
Before he could ask, Orochimaru stepped toward the largest map.
"Ren, Kakashi—the reason you were summoned is to discuss the situation on the southwestern battlefield."
His signature raspy voice filled the room.
"Teacher Hiruzen, Shikaku, and I have already reviewed the available intelligence. Konoha's current position is unfavorable."
Orochimaru placed one finger on the Land of Wind and another near the Land of Lightning.
"If Sunagakure and Kumogakure complete their encirclement, Konoha will be forced into a war on two fronts."
"We can maintain both fronts for a limited period. However, the longer the war continues, the greater the burden upon our personnel, supply lines, and medical resources."
Shikaku unfolded his arms.
"Konoha may have more resources than either village individually, but fighting both at once changes the calculation."
His eyes settled upon the map.
"Each additional battlefield requires its own command structure, reinforcements, food, medicine, weapons, and replacement personnel. Eventually, the cost will become unsustainable."
Orochimaru nodded.
"And that is only if the remaining villages stay out of the conflict."
His finger moved toward the smaller nations surrounding the Land of Fire.
"If another village takes advantage of our vulnerability—even a weaker power such as Kusagakure or Amegakure—it could threaten our trade routes and force us to divide our military strength even further."
Kirigakure and Iwagakure were even greater concerns.
Neither had made a decisive move yet, but if Konoha appeared weakened, that hesitation would not last.
The shinobi world respected strength. The moment a major village stumbled, every nearby power would rush forward to tear away a piece of it.
"Therefore," Orochimaru continued, "we must create a breakthrough before the worst possible situation develops."
His finger pressed down upon the southwestern front.
"And Sunagakure is the best target."
Ren immediately understood the strategy.
Konoha could not afford to fight two prolonged wars. It intended to strike one enemy with overwhelming force before turning its attention toward the other.
One decisive blow now could prevent a hundred attacks later.
Sunagakure had already been locked in conflict with Konoha for more than half a year. Its forces were exhausted, its supplies strained, and the disappearance of the Third Kazekage had almost certainly caused instability within its command structure.
Most importantly, Sunagakure believed Jiraiya was the only Kage-level combatant commanding Konoha's southwestern front.
Konoha intended to exploit that assumption.
Jiraiya would continue operating openly as the battlefield commander, maintaining the appearance that nothing had changed.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru would be deployed in secret.
Two of the Legendary Sannin would strike Sunagakure together.
The information gap could prove devastating.
If the operation succeeded perfectly, Konoha might rout Sunagakure's main army within one or two months and force the village to sign a surrender treaty.
That would free Konoha to concentrate its strength against Kumogakure.
Even if the campaign failed to end the war immediately, Jiraiya and Orochimaru could still eliminate a significant portion of Sunagakure's active forces and destroy its ability to launch further offensives.
Either outcome would improve Konoha's position.
Hiruzen remained silent behind his desk, allowing Ren and Kakashi time to process what they had heard.
Ren looked once more at the people gathered in the room.
The Third Hokage.
Orochimaru.
Shikaku Nara.
Kakashi.
And himself.
This was not a routine reinforcement assignment. There would have been no need to explain Konoha's overall strategy if Ren were merely being placed in an ordinary squad and sent to defend a supply post.
They intended to use him for something specific.
Perhaps the mission depended upon his medical techniques. Perhaps it required his lizard summon's ability to conceal a team. Or perhaps his recent Special Jōnin promotion had made him eligible for an operation that ordinary Chūnin were not permitted to know about.
Whatever the answer, one fact was clear.
Ren had not been summoned merely to reinforce the southwestern battlefield. He had been chosen to participate in the hidden strike that could decide the entire war.
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