"I didn't expect you to come," Shin greeted Kaoru with a yawn, standing near the port where the early morning mist was already thinning. The sea air carried the familiar dampness of the Land of Water, but today, even in the soft light of dawn, the warmth was pressing.
"I needed to leave," Kaoru replied flatly, adjusting the collar of his robe with one hand, opening it slightly at the chest to let the sticky heat escape. The clinging moisture felt like a suffocating blanket, and for someone who despised hot days as much as Kaoru did, the mix of warmth and damp was almost unbearable. He exhaled through his nose, as if trying to vent not only the heavy air but his restless mind as well.
"Isn't it a bit soon?" Shin stepped closer, his sharp eyes involuntarily measuring Kaoru's frame as he spoke. The boy he once taught was now nearly his own height, and even through the loose robe, the traces of hardened muscle were impossible to miss. Shin allowed himself a brief smile, not at Kaoru's words, but at the simple sight of his student growing stronger.
Kaoru shifted, but chose not to acknowledge the question. Instead, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly and changed the topic. "Sensei… why are we going to the Land of Fire?"
He felt a little embarrassed admitting he hadn't even bothered to read the full mission briefing. With everything else gnawing at his mind, his focus had been solely on one thing - leaving Takimura.
"A group of rogue shinobi from the Land of Water managed to escape before we could catch them. They stole one of Noda clan's secret techniques." Shin kept his voice even as he watched Kaoru's eyes gain a cyan glow, moisture that clung to his body gathering and flowing toward the sea.
As he finished speaking, the ship they were waiting to board finally docked in front of them, the wooden planks creaking as it settled.
"How much?" Shin asked the man waiting at the ramp, already fishing out a pouch of Ryo.
"Ten thousand for both of you."
'So Takimura also has rogues now…' Kaoru analyzed as they boarded the vessel, finding a quiet spot near the bow, where the breeze was strongest. 'It was inevitable. No matter how much better life is in Takimura compared to Kiri, there will always be those who are never satisfied. Those who want shortcuts to power, wealth, or revenge… there's no shortage of them anywhere.'
He stood beside Shin, leaning slightly against the railing to feel the wind brushing against his face, cooling him down from the oppressive air back on shore. The sea always smelled like freedom, and for a brief moment, the heavy knot inside him loosened.
"Sensei, why isn't anyone from the Noda clan coming with us?" Kaoru asked, glancing toward Shin.
"They sent their own team," Shin answered calmly, unwrapping a piece of candy from one of his many pockets, a colorful sweet wrapped in glossy paper bearing Takimura's signature flower emblem. "They'll move quietly, without informing Konoha or the Uchiha. Meanwhile, we're traveling in plain sight. Both Konoha and Uchiha are already aware of our arrival."
He offered the candy to Kaoru. "Want one?"
Kaoru's lips twitched into a faint smile. "No. I'm not allowed to eat sweets," he grumbled.
Shin blinked, genuinely surprised. He knew better than most how much Kaoru loved sweets. Seeing the disbelief on his sensei's face, Kaoru sighed, adding dryly, "Grandpa Iseki and Grandpa Ogashi made me promise to follow a strict diet. I'm in the final stage of refining my chakra pathways. They said I need to maintain exact nutritional balance to keep my body in optimal condition."
The words rolled off his tongue as if reciting a carefully rehearsed script. His tone, however, made it obvious that while he understood every word, he disagreed with every part of it.
Shin chuckled quietly, popping the candy into his own mouth as the ship slowly pulled away from shore, heading toward the open sea.
"Sensei, Uchiha have gained status of the village?" Kaoru asked, lowering his voice slightly as the scent of cherries drifted toward him from the candy Shin was enjoying. The sweet aroma made his mouth water involuntarily.
"No. Not by other villages. But we acknowledge them," Shin replied with a small grin, but it quickly faded into an expression of tiredness as he stretched, yawning long and wide.
Kaoru chuckled, watching him with amusement. 'He hasn't changed at all.' Even after being gone for nearly a year and a half, Shin was still Shin - same mannerisms, same lazy posture, same habit of slipping into drowsiness whenever he found a chance. Just like nothing had ever happened.
'Maki said Sensei developed a new technique.' Kaoru's grin deepened slightly as the thought crossed his mind. 'I hope we face someone strong on this mission and he's forced to use it. If not, I'll ask to spar when we return.'
For all his growth, Kaoru knew some things inside him hadn't changed either. His obsession with new techniques, especially those he wasn't supposed to learn, remained strong as ever. He'd even resorted to sneaking into Ogashi's and Iseki's archives on occasion, attempting to steal a few scrolls after they repeatedly refused to teach him new techniques. Unfortunately for him, most of those scrolls were either too trivial to be useful or written in a language he could not even understand.
"Sensei, didn't Konoha protest when we acknowledged the Uchiha?" Kaoru asked again, more to keep Shin awake than out of curiosity. He noticed his teacher's eyelids starting to droop as the ship rocked gently beneath them. The early morning mist had thinned now, leaving nothing but the calm sea ahead, the ship slicing smoothly through it.
"Of course they did," Shin muttered, his voice already softer, his words slower. "But not too much. It was mostly for appearances. Everyone knew Takimura would recognize the Uchiha immediately. Honestly, it would've been more surprising if we hadn't."
With that, Shin dragged a deep chair made of tightly woven straws, positioning it near the ship's railing where the wind blew cooler. He shifted until his body sank comfortably into it, adjusting his weight with a long exhale. The creaking of the chair mingled with the soft hum of the sea.
Kaoru opened his mouth to keep the conversation going, but Shin beat him to it.
"Rest a little. We'll talk more when we arrive." His voice was barely audible now, his eyes already half-lidded. Within seconds, his breathing slowed, face settling into a peaceful, almost childlike expression as sleep pulled him under.
Kaoru stayed silent, watching him for a moment before shifting his gaze to the open water stretching endlessly ahead. The calm sea mirrored his own brewing thoughts. 'It looks like I have time to plan my next move.'
Though this mission was important, there was one person Kaoru wanted to find even more - a man who had spent years training on Mount Myoboku, someone who might have the knowledge Kaoru desperately needed. Someone who might know how to locate the mysterious beasts, specifically the ones Mizuki trained with.
Jiraiya…
…
"Sensei, why aren't we going to Konoha?" Kaoru asked carefully, choosing his words with caution. He tried to keep his tone casual, masking the deeper interest. The Hidden Leaf was not where their mission lay, but his thoughts were already pulling him there.
"Because the Uchiha are closer, and they're the best trackers," Shin replied flatly, flickering across the open field as he spoke. The tall grass swayed gently under the breeze, their footsteps leaving barely visible trails as they advanced. "We'll hire one of them to search for traces of the rogues."
Kaoru frowned slightly, his mind racing for an excuse that might sway Shin's plan. "I thought we needed to retrieve that secret technique without revealing its contents. With Uchiha involved… isn't that risky? They'll learn too much." He deliberately injected a hint of concern, hoping to push Shin toward a different decision.
Shin didn't respond immediately. "Hyuga have better visual range than Uchiha," Kaoru pressed on. "I heard Byakugan can see farther, and can detect everything, even chakra signatures underground."
Shin gave a small nod of acknowledgment, but his voice remained calm and decisive. "True. Byakugan has better range and precision. But this isn't just about visual tracking. Finding and interpreting faint traces - footprints, displaced leaves, broken fibers, that's the Uchiha's specialty. They've trained hard to read signs others overlook."
He flickered again, reappearing a few steps ahead of Kaoru. The Land of Fire had more forests and open fields compared to the Land of Water. Even now, the distant sound of birds echoed softly from the forest nearby.
"Besides," Shin continued, his voice lowering just a notch, "we aren't actually relying on them to find the rogues. It's more for appearance. We're here as backup, and to give the Noda clan a cover story. If their operatives get caught."
Kaoru felt his throat tighten. Shin wasn't wrong, but it only frustrated him more. 'If I keep pushing, he'll suspect something.'
Shin suddenly slowed, then turned his head slightly to glance back at Kaoru. His gaze lingered on him for a while before asking what was on his mind.
"Kaoru…" Shin's voice was quiet now, but firm. "Is there any particular reason you want to visit the Hidden Leaf first?"
Kaoru tensed, his mind stumbling for a moment. He didn't want to lie, not to Shin. But telling the truth risked far too much. 'If I find Jiraiya and he happens to know something, Sensei won't let me leave… I can't have anyone standing in my way…'
"No… nothing." Kaoru finally answered, forcing his voice steady. But the words tasted bitter, and guilt gnawed at him even as he spoke.
Shin studied him for another moment before nodding faintly, letting the subject drop for now. "Alright then. We'll go see the Uchiha first."
…
The village Uchiha had created was a village in every sense of the word, exactly what Kaoru had anticipated. As he walked beside Shin, taking in the surroundings, it felt like stepping into a different world entirely. The main trail stretched forward from the entrance, paved neatly with polished stone slabs, each step softly echoing against the smooth surface.
Wooden houses lined both sides of the path, their paper sliding doors drawn open, allowing warm light to spill into the narrow street. Every home seemed carefully maintained, many of them accompanied by small gardens or trees - some ornamental, their blossoms swaying gently in the breeze, others heavy with fruit. Lanterns hung at regular intervals, casting a faint, steady orange glow over the road as the sun began to dip, making the village glow like a peaceful ember.
Children played freely in the open spaces, chasing each other with gleeful laughter that rang through the air, unburdened by fear or caution. The adults sat outside or tended to small shops, engaged in calm conversations, their faces relaxed in a way Kaoru distinctly remembered not seeing back in the Uchiha compound inside Konoha. There, the clan had always seemed tense, rigid, the weight of politics and suspicion pressing constantly on their shoulders. But here… here they looked free.
'It seems they've finally found some peace,' Kaoru thought, watching a pair of young boys run past, laughing as they dragged wooden toy swords behind them. His chest tightened slightly, but it wasn't from sadness. 'At least I managed to contribute to this. Even if just indirectly.'
His lips curled into a wide grin. The pride swelling in his chest made him practically want to pat himself on the back. But his growing smile seemed to make him appear more suspicious to some of the villagers. Several mothers nearby instinctively pulled their children closer as Kaoru and Shin passed, shooting them wary glances.
Kaoru didn't mind. This was their nature. The Uchiha protected their own fiercely. But any lingering suspicion melted away the moment a familiar voice called out.
"Kaoru!"
The warmth in her tone drew every head in the vicinity. The woman approaching was graceful, her long dark hair swaying behind her, eyes sparkling with joy.
"Lady Mikoto," Kaoru greeted with a bright smile, bowing deeply with genuine respect. Shin followed suit a moment later.
"I'm so glad to see you again," Mikoto said, her expression soft but lively. "Lord Shin, you honor us with your visit as well. I would invite you both to enter and dine with us, but..." she trailed off, reaching into her sleeve and producing a sealed scroll. "I believe you'll want to read this first."
Her voice lost none of its gentleness, but there was a weight beneath the words that made Kaoru's stomach turn.
Shin accepted the scroll, breaking the seal with a flick of his thumb. His eyes darted across the contents, face growing grim almost immediately.
"We will have to visit another time, Lady Mikoto. My apologies," he said abruptly, bowing once more, but this time his voice was clipped, urgency cutting through the formality. Without waiting for her response, Shin grabbed Kaoru by the sleeve and pulled him along as he flickered toward the village exit.
"We need to hurry," Shin muttered, already several steps ahead as they broke into a full run.
"What happened?" Kaoru called after him, his pulse quickening.
"The Noda clan's team has been caught."