"You're here, Feiyu."
The Third Hokage greeted him with a warm smile, looking every bit the kindly old leader as he regarded the notoriously troublesome Uchiha in front of him.
The matter of Feiyu injuring an ANBU operative had already reached Hiruzen's ears, of course—but unsurprisingly, the old man didn't care in the slightest.
What did surprise him, however, was Feiyu's demeanor.
The boy who normally lacked any motivation now stood before him with a faint but noticeable sharpness in his attitude—serious, focused, almost… driven.
"Lord Hokage, do you have a mission for me?"
The question stunned Hiruzen for a moment.
If he remembered correctly, this was the first time the famously cowardly Uchiha had ever asked about a mission proactively.
"Ahem… it's nothing major," Hiruzen finally replied, regaining his composure. "I simply wanted to ask whether you have any desire to advance your ninja rank."
"I heard that during your last assignment, you encountered a Sand shinobi squad. You eliminated their captain and two members. Subsequent investigation confirmed that you killed one Special Jōnin and two veteran Chunin."
"With your current strength, remaining a genin is a waste. So I intend to promote you. What do you think?"
Feiyu's response was calm and direct:
"Once I'm promoted, I won't be able to stay with my three-man squad anymore, correct?"
Hiruzen nodded helplessly. There was no fooling him on this.
"In other words, Lord Hokage wants me on the battlefield, yes?"
"Mm. The clashes between Konoha and Sunagakure have cooled compared to the early phase. If you're willing, you could undergo valuable combat experience there."
"With your strength—at least elite Jōnin level—you are unlikely to face serious danger."
Feiyu ignored the persuasion and instead asked:
"The commander of the forces against the Sand right now… should be Orochimaru, yes?"
"That's correct."
Hiruzen couldn't help raising a brow at that question, but once Feiyu received the confirmation, he nodded.
"In that case, I don't mind participating in the war. When do I leave?"
His decisiveness caught Hiruzen off guard, and for a brief moment, the Hokage hesitated.
This sudden enthusiasm…
Did the boy have ulterior motives?
If Feiyu performed brilliantly on the battlefield and gained overwhelming fame, it could shift internal power dynamics. He bore the Uchiha surname—if he rose to prominence, even as a fringe member, the clan might rally behind him.
And that possibility was something Hiruzen had to consider.
Still…
To deliberately sideline a combat asset of this quality during wartime would be foolish. And knowing Feiyu's personality, if Hiruzen tried to "store him away," the boy would absolutely take the opportunity to slack off for the remainder of the war.
After a moment's thought, Hiruzen nodded.
"I didn't expect you to be so eager this time. Rest for two days. The day after tomorrow, depart with the support unit heading to the front."
"Also…"
He pulled out a green flak vest.
"From today onward, you are a Chunin."
After informing his teacher and teammates—and sharing a farewell meal—three days later Feiyu donned the Chunin vest and joined Konoha's reinforcement squad.
The group was small, barely over a hundred people. Shinobi did not favor large-scale formations.
Leading them was a Jōnin, assisted by two Special Jōnin. Ten Chunin formed the mid-level command, while the nearly one hundred Genin consisted entirely of experienced adult shinobi.
Unless absolutely desperate, Konoha would not send children to the front lines. Everyone understood the concept of not killing the chicken that lays the eggs.
Unless a young ninja had extraordinary talent, those under fourteen usually handled logistics during the early war stages—not direct combat.
The force moved silently and efficiently. Within a day, they reached Konoha's front.
The battlefield between Konoha and Suna was not in the Land of Fire, but in the Land of Rivers, a small nation sandwiched between the great powers. Such countries always became battlegrounds, suffering devastation while the big nations mostly lost manpower.
No wonder nations like the Land of Rain harbored deep resentment—whenever the great powers fought, the small countries were practically ground to dust.
The front line here bore a familiar name—
Kikyō Mountain.
Feiyu vaguely remembered a "Battle of Kikyō Pass" from his previous life's knowledge of Naruto, in which Konoha eventually emerged victorious.
At least it wouldn't be like the war against Iwagakure—the one where Konoha burned everything down to embers, saved only by Minato's Flying Thunder God. Without him, the entire front would have been wiped out.
Even if Konoha won that conflict, fewer than one in a hundred survived. It was a massacre.
Feiyu, even now desperate for sacrificial souls, wouldn't be insane enough to participate in that battlefield.
Upon arrival, the Jōnin commander and the two Special Jōnin reported to Orochimaru.
The remaining shinobi were quickly scattered and reassigned.
Feiyu was still considering how to arrange a meeting with Orochimaru when the Jōnin returned and called out:
"Chunin Feiyu! Lord Orochimaru requests your presence in the command tent!"
Feiyu's eyes lit up.
He had underestimated the weight of elite Jōnin-level combat power.
In the manga, battles always featured elite opponents, making that level seem common—but in reality, even on the front lines, there were only four shinobi of that caliber, and that was because the war had only just begun.
In a few years, once multiple great villages committed fully, each front would likely have:
one Kage-level commander
at most two or three elite Jōnin
That was all.
Which was why—even though Feiyu was only fourteen and merely a Chunin by rank—Orochimaru would still summon him personally.
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