Kisuke turned his head to assess the current situation. He spotted Kenta , who had just stopped dodging and suddenly picked up speed, rushing straight at a Chūnin.
The sudden acceleration was effective. The Chūnin was clearly not prepared for the change in pace and couldn't react in time. He raised his arms to block with the kunai in his hand, but Kenta adjusted his movement at the last second. His knife shifted slightly and avoided the kunai, cutting cleanly across the Chūnin's throat. The two passed by each other, and the Chūnin collapsed as blood spilled from the wound. The strike had been quick and efficient.
Not far from there, Aya was engaged with another opponent. Both figures were moving quickly through the trees, but with her Byakugan and precise control of her Gentle Fist technique, she wasn't at any real disadvantage. She could hold her own even against a special Jōnin, so a Chūnin wasn't a serious threat. As expected, after exchanging a few moves, she found an opening. She struck the man with a palm to the chest. The hit forced blood from his mouth and sent him flying backward until he crashed into a tree and stopped moving.
The fight was nearly finished. One Jōnin and two Chūnin had been eliminated. Earlier, Kenta had also been tricked into killing a Genin. Now, only two Genin remained, standing in place with their kunai drawn, visibly shaken and unsure of what to do.
Watching the scene, Kisuke was reminded of his own early experiences in battle. He felt a brief moment of sympathy, but it didn't change anything.
"Clean up the area. The blood stench is too strong," he said, keeping his tone calm and neutral. "Also, be more decisive next time."
"Yes, captain." Kenta replied with his usual relaxed smile, as if he had already forgotten how he'd been misled earlier.
"Hmph." Aya snorted and narrowed her white eyes at Kisuke. "Kisuke-kun's skills are surprising. That body flicker of yours is fast. You'd be dangerous even without the Sharingan."
She wasn't really praising him but mocked the fact that he didn't open the Sharingan yet.
Kisuke didn't react much since he already opened his eyes secretly. "The Sharingan is useful. Even people outside the Uchiha want it," he said casually. Then he added, "But personally, I value freedom more. Don't you agree, Aya-san?"
He wasn't subtle, but he didn't need to be. His words were aimed directly at her identity as a branch member of the Hyūga clan. As expected, her expression darkened, and a faint ripple of chakra spread from her hands.
"What's the point of pretending?" Kisuke continued, unbothered. "If you really wanted to hit me, you wouldn't hesitate."
Then he gave a slight smile. "My bad. Maybe I should've said it more politely."
"Captain, Aya-san—what should we do with those two?" Kenta asked, scratching the back of his head. "They're just Genin, but they might know something."
"Hmph. No need," Aya said coldly. "That Chūnin's still alive. He's the one we should question. Not these two."
Before anyone else could speak, she stepped forward and struck each of the Genin in the chest with quick, clean blows. They dropped instantly. Kisuke didn't need to check. He already knew they were dead. It was obvious she was venting her anger.
He didn't comment. It didn't matter to him.
He walked over to the downed Chūnin and checked his condition. The man was barely alive, breathing weakly. In reality, Chūnin and Genin weren't as fragile as they seemed in the comics. A Jōnin couldn't kill one without effort unless the opponent made mistakes. But this one had lost his team and faced someone like Aya. At that point, resistance didn't mean much.
Kisuke confirmed the Chūnin wouldn't wake up anytime soon. They would need to take him with them for now.
"Kenta," Kisuke said, standing up. "Carry this guy. He won't wake up soon, but we'll need him."
"Alright, I've got it," Kenta replied after a short pause, then gave a faint grin.
"Aya, find a cave nearby. We need rest."
"Hmph. Fine," she said. She paused, then glanced at Kisuke. "And what about you?"
"Me?" Kisuke answered plainly. "I need to plan our next steps. And rest, of course. Don't forget—I'm the one who killed the Jōnin."
***
As a member of the Uchiha clan, the task of interrogation naturally fell to Kisuke. The assumption was obvious: Uchiha equals genjutsu. It wasn't entirely accurate, but it was a belief so ingrained that no one bothered questioning it anymore. Not every Uchiha was good at illusion techniques. Even activating the Sharingan didn't magically turn someone into a genjutsu expert. At best, it gave a slight edge—some resistance, some convenience. That's it.
Still, Kisuke didn't argue. He simply did what was expected.
The interrogation was quiet and methodical. The Chūnin had a strong will, but between his injuries from Aya and a few subtle tricks from Kisuke, he gradually started to break down. Kisuke wasn't proud of the time it took—almost a full day—but he got what he needed. Along with some information he hadn't expected.
"There's an escort team moving Konoha's prisoners of war to Iwagakure's rear lines," he said flatly to the others. He didn't give the full report at once. That wasn't his style.
He paused to think. The world he lived in wasn't the one portrayed in those optimistic wartime stories. In the show, everything was about friendship, trust, and putting comrades before missions. Nice slogans, if you weren't the one doing the killing. In real life, comrades were only useful if they could take a blade or jutsu for you. Kisuke had no illusions about that.
Hatake Sakumo was the perfect example. A man with strength, morals—and a grave. People said he betrayed the mission for his comrades, and sure, that might've been true. But it was war. The price for a mistake was death. His suicide hadn't been about shame. It had been a message: don't hesitate. Do your job, or die trying.
In peace, ideals mattered. In war, orders did.
Still, Kisuke wasn't just some tool. He knew the war was ending soon, and he knew about the Third Hokage stepping aside for Namikaze Minato. That wasn't just a change in leadership. It was a shift in thinking. Minato supported people like Sakumo. And, well, Minato was also the one training Kakashi. It wasn't hard to guess where things were heading.
When Kisuke shared the intel, he kept most of those thoughts to himself. But it was enough to get a reaction.
"Captain, you don't seriously want to go save them, do you?" Aya gave him a cold, mocking look. "Don't forget the mission. Or are you trying to be the second Hatake Sakumo?"
"We follow them into the rear," Kisuke said calmly. "We might get more intel while they're distracted."
Aya's expression tightened. "You're insane. Are you trying to get us killed? Or do you just want to skip the mission and go straight to a court martial?"
Kisuke shrugged. "No, and no. Think about it. We're still alive, aren't we? That says something. I want to stay that way, and I'm pretty sure you do too. So let's stop wasting time."
Aya didn't respond immediately. Even Kenta, who had been sitting off to the side with his usual easygoing expression, turned serious.
They all understood the same thing. Like it or not, they were in this together. Survival came first. Loyalty, politics—those were secondary.
What they didn't realize was that Kisuke had already started thinking ahead. If he could act on this information, maybe he could turn it into something useful. Not for the mission. For himself.
But for now, he kept that to himself.
"Let's hear it, then," Aya said, sitting down with a sigh. She lazily flicked a kunai into the half-dead Chūnin's shoulder, earning a small twitch. "If you want to go after the rear lines, say so. Just don't expect me to volunteer for a suicide mission. I've still got time left to live."
"I'm not interested in getting killed either," Kisuke replied. "I'm thirteen. Not looking to become a legend just yet. The escort team's taking prisoners to Iwagakure's rear. But according to what our guest said before you decided to nearly finish him off, there are other holding sites. Not all the prisoners are being moved together."
"Of course," Aya muttered, arms crossed. "It'd be stupid to keep all the Konoha prisoners in one place. Iwagakure doesn't even specialize in sealing techniques."
She stopped halfway through her sentence and went quiet. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced back at Kisuke, then looked down in thought. Kenta, still silent, stopped smiling and tilted his head, focused.
Holding prisoners separately made tactical sense. It reduced the risk of a breakout. But it also spread out the guards. And with most Iwa forces tied up on the frontlines, it was likely the guards left behind were the weaker ones—possibly even Genin. Their main job would be to "clean up" the problematic prisoners, then gather the rest for trade or negotiation.
The real question was whether those prisoners had been collected yet. But if Kisuke was bringing this up, it meant the Chūnin must've let something slip.
"How much time do we have?" Aya finally asked. "And who was that guy, anyway?"
"He was part of a garrison team," Kisuke said. "Got the order to move two days ago. Met us yesterday."
Aya exhaled slowly. "So we're not too late. If we move fast, we could intercept them."
"It's worth the risk," Kisuke said.
Kenta finally spoke again, wearing that same harmless grin as before. "Then let's go. Rescue our comrades, finish the mission."
Kisuke didn't answer. He was already thinking several steps ahead. Saving people wasn't the goal. But the benefits that came with it?
Those were worth considering.