Soon.
Kaede and Shizune returned to their residence.
A masked ninja was standing before Tsunade.
When he saw Kaede walk in, he turned to him and said in a deep voice,
"Jōnin Kaede, the Hokage has issued an order for you to head to the frontlines at the Land of Lightning's border together with Lady Tsunade."
Kaede turned to Tsunade and asked,
"What do you think, Tsunade-sensei?"
Tsunade took a sip of tea, poured herself another cup, and drank again.
The room fell silent. Neither Shizune nor the Anbu said a word. After Tsunade had finished her second cup, she stood up and took a deep breath.
"With the three great ninja villages joining forces… I didn't expect the situation to become this dire. Even if I didn't want to get involved, it looks like I don't have a choice anymore."
She had no interest in war, but that didn't mean she could sit back and watch the major villages invade the Land of Fire. If that happened, even her peaceful life would be disrupted. She wouldn't even be able to find a decent place to gamble.
Only in times of peace could she enjoy the freedom of being a renowned medical ninja, curing rare and difficult illnesses for high fees and blowing it all at the casino.
"Well then, I'll take responsibility for the Hidden Cloud side."
Tsunade looked at Kaede and Shizune and said,
"Kaede, Shizune, pack up. We're leaving immediately!"
"I won't keep you, then."
The Anbu bowed slightly to Tsunade, then used a Body Flicker Technique. With a puff of smoke, he vanished on the spot.
Tsunade stood in place, staring in the direction the Anbu had disappeared, deep in thought.
"Are you worried about how this war will play out, sensei?"
Kaede walked over and asked as he looked at her.
Tsunade turned to look at him, a serious look in her eyes. She nodded.
"The Kirigakure's sneak attack wasn't a surprise, but I didn't expect the Stone and Cloud to join forces. This situation could be worse than anything we've seen before… I already said last time that it would be my final time going to the battlefield."
The situation was just that bad.
Bad enough that she was already deeply troubled before even reaching the frontlines.
Orochimaru was probably handling the Hidden Stone Village near the Land of Grass, but there was no way he could hold them off alone. At least Jiraiya or Danzo would have to back him up.
If Danzo went, then Jiraiya would have to handle the Mist forces. But he couldn't take them on by himself either, Minato would definitely need to be dispatched as support.
That left the Cloud side.
Even though her combat strength had fully recovered, and Kaede was immensely powerful as well, whether the two of them could hold back Cloud's forces was uncertain. And every other front was just as dangerous.
If the three great villages decided to go all-out, even using their Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki, then the situation for Konoha would turn even more catastrophic.
But worrying wasn't going to help now.
They needed to reach the frontlines as quickly as possible.
"No need to be too concerned."
Kaede spoke thoughtfully,
"Even though the three villages have formed an alliance, do you really think they'll cooperate wholeheartedly and launch an all-out assault? That's unlikely. Even if they suppress their instinct to betray each other, they'll still play it safe and hope the other villages wear us down first."
Tsunade looked at Kaede in surprise. She hadn't expected him not only to possess overwhelming strength, but also such sharp insight into the nature of war.
He had pinpointed the core issue in a single sentence.
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
If only Kaede were my younger brother... she thought. Their age gap wasn't that big, but his talent, strength, and analytical thinking far surpassed many veteran shinobi. Every ability he displayed was practically flawless. Even though he was still young, she could already see the silhouette of a future Hokage in him.
Still, she was glad to have taken him as a student. Even if he was also Orochimaru's student, he already held just as much weight in her heart.
Tsunade pushed aside her wandering thoughts and nodded.
"You're right. Even if they send large armies to our borders, they won't immediately launch a full-scale assault. Each village will wait for the others to make the first move. That's the key point Konoha has to take advantage of."
"Yeah."
Kaede nodded.
"I figure the strategy the Hokage has in mind is a delaying tactic, counting on the fact that the other villages won't commit to an all-out attack. Then we can use the Land of Fire's vast resources to drag the war out over a year or two. The longer it goes on, the harder it will be for them to sustain it."
Tsunade gave Kaede a strange look.
Seeing her stare, Kaede shifted uncomfortably and asked,
"Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"
"No…"
Tsunade shook her head.
"Not at all. It's just…"
She fixed her eyes on Kaede and said,
"You're not secretly Orochimaru in disguise, are you?"
The earlier observation was one thing, but even this level of strategic foresight, something she hadn't even fully thought through yet, Kaede had already deduced. And from her perspective, he was almost certainly spot-on. If she were the Hokage, she probably would've made the same decision, but only after long deliberation.
Kaede blinked, clearly confused.
"I'm not a clone of Orochimaru-sensei… And come on, this kind of analysis isn't that hard for a normal person, right?"
Tsunade continued to look at him strangely. He didn't seem to be pretending. In her heart, she couldn't help but wonder: Do you even know what a normal person is?
The truth was,
Kaede did have a bit of a skewed view of what was "normal."
From his perspective, he had a comprehensive understanding of the entire history of the Naruto world. He was intimately familiar with the strategies and styles of each major village during the Third Great Ninja War, so it was second nature for him to analyze the situation from a big-picture perspective.
But for the average ninja, this was nearly impossible. Only exceptionally elite shinobi, like Minato, or powerholders like Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo, could think on that level.
What seemed like basic deduction to Kaede required significant thought even for someone like Tsunade.
"Lady Tsunade, I've finished packing."
Shizune's voice came from behind them.
She had neatly gathered all the essentials and placed them in the center of the room.
"Let's go."
Tsunade lightly patted Kaede on the shoulder and walked toward the door.
Kaede had already shattered her expectations multiple times, and now he'd done it again. His far-reaching insight and strategic thinking may have even surpassed her own.
Watching Tsunade's back, Kaede's expression grew thoughtful.
He was finally beginning to realize, his idea of what was "normal" was vastly different from the norm in this world.
But that was fine.
With the strength he now possessed, there was no need to hide his exceptional talents, especially in front of Tsunade.
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