Once the team was assembled, Kazekaze was nominally the one leading everyone to the destination. But in reality, he knew nothing about Konoha's border operations and had to rely on Uchiha Kagami to navigate the way.
As soon as they left the village, Uchiha Kagami reminded everyone to stay vigilant. Even in an era of peace, caution was never a bad thing.
"Our destination this time is a border outpost near the boundary between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning."
Considering that Kazekaze and the others were still young and inexperienced in patrol missions—especially Kazekaze— Although he was already a Chūnin of the Hidden Leaf, he was only seven years old and still lacked basic understanding of shinobi duties.
Therefore, Kagami believed that while he was technically Kazekaze's subordinate, Lord Tobirama's true intention was to have him mentor Kazekaze— helping him develop an understanding of Konoha's border defense system.
Thus, along the way, Kagami began to explain:
"The Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning don't actually border each other. There are small nations between them, like the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost. But these small countries don't provide any real separation."
Because of this, the Land of Fire's border defense system was critically important. If the Hidden Cloud Village were to launch a war, their shinobi could quickly pass through the Lands of Hot Water and Frost to invade Konoha! Unless the Hidden Leaf obtained intelligence in advance and deployed shinobi as soon as the Hidden Cloud made a move—The battlefield would end up spilling into the territories of the two smaller nations.
"They don't border each other?" Kazekaze blinked. He had always assumed the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning shared a border.
After all, judging from the storylines in Naruto, the Cloud-nin had no shortage of infiltration and kidnapping attempts in the Hidden Leaf.
But now that Kazekaze thought back—Although many wars broke out in the ninja world, very few battles actually occurred within the Five Great Nations. Like the Land of Rain during the Second Great Ninja War—Or the Land of Grass during the Third Great Ninja War.
These small nations had almost no sovereignty over their own lands. Besides that, the relationship between the Daimyō and the Kage was also extremely delicate. First of all, they weren't in a superior-subordinate relationship—it was more of an employment contract. This meant that the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf fought on behalf of the Fire Daimyō—for pay.
If the Fire Daimyō couldn't afford to pay—Or if someone else offered more—The Hidden Leaf could very well side with another faction.
And such events weren't uncommon in ninja world history. For instance, in the legendary duel between the Second Tsuchikage and the Second Mizukage—Not only were their nations separated by an enormous distance, but the most powerful village, Konoha, sat between them. If not for a commissioned assignment, would they have traveled all that way just to fight?
Because of all these complex factors—The Hidden Cloud Village actually wielded significant military power! Their Raikage could bypass the Daimyō of the Land of Lightning entirely and deploy shinobi directly into the Land of Hot Water.
"Judging by that, the relationships between countries are completely chaotic." Kazekaze couldn't help but complain.
"Exactly. That's why patrol work is extremely important." Uchiha Kagami concluded his explanation with a gentle smile. "For Lord Tobirama to entrust such a critical task to you must mean he has high expectations."
Sakumo nodded in agreement.
Kazekaze, after all, was no ordinary child— He was the grandson of the First Hokage. It would actually be stranger if Lord Tobirama didn't have high hopes for him. Although Kosuke hadn't spoken with Kazekaze before, he had heard about him, so he wasn't particularly surprised. After all, Kazekaze's battle with the Third Kazekage during the Chūnin Exams had been absolutely spectacular.
"Maybe." Kazekaze neither confirmed nor denied it.
He knew very well that this mission was thanks to his status as the Hokage's grandson. While Kazekaze wasn't opposed to pulling strings to get ahead, he also knew not to show too much enthusiasm about it. After about half a day of travel, the group arrived at the border outpost.
There were nine shinobi stationed here—two squads of four, all at Chūnin level— And one Jōnin who managed the entire outpost. Kazekaze's team would become the third squad.
"Hello, my name is Masakawa. I'm the Jōnin in charge of the border operations in this sector." Masakawa introduced himself.
But when he saw Kazekaze and the others, he was momentarily speechless. Just a few days ago, during a routine patrol, his subordinates had spotted shinobi from the Hidden Cloud Village. After investigating, they confirmed that the Hidden Cloud was reinforcing its border security.
Worried that something might be brewing, Masakawa had immediately reported the matter to the village— Hoping Lord Tobirama would take it seriously and send reinforcements. But what he hadn't expected was… The reinforcements they sent were beyond comprehension.
Kosuke aside—he stood two heads taller than Kazekaze and Sakumo. Even though Masakawa didn't know how strong he was, at least he looked dependable. But— What was the deal with these two brats, Kazekaze and Sakumo? They looked like they were only seven or eight years old. Were they really ninja?
"You're the captain of this team, right?" Masakawa turned to Uchiha Kagami. "Mind explaining the current situation to me?"
His eyes flicked briefly to Kazekaze and Sakumo. The implication was clear— He had requested reinforcements from Lord Tobirama, and this was what he got?
In truth, it wasn't really Masakawa's fault for misunderstanding. In this era, communication systems were primitive. To contact the village, they still relied on messenger pigeons. Unless absolutely necessary, there was almost no contact with the village.
So Masakawa had no idea that Kazekaze had already been promoted to Chūnin. What's more, Chūnin and higher-ranking shinobi were issued standard uniforms. But Kazekaze was only seven years old and had broken the record for the youngest Chūnin in Konoha history. The village didn't even have a Chūnin uniform that would fit him—it had to be custom-made. Due to time constraints, Kazekaze could only come in civilian clothes.
So when Masakawa addressed Kagami, the latter responded with an awkward but polite smile.
"Sorry, I'm the captain." Kazekaze stepped forward and revealed this shocking truth.
The shinobi standing behind Masakawa all gasped in unison, doubting their ears— Or wondering if they'd fallen under a genjutsu. Kazekaze actually said he was the captain! Which meant—he was a Chūnin!
"N-No way… he looks like he's only seven or eight...He's gotta be joking. Someone that short can't be a Chūnin. Hey, look at the clan crests on those two!"
At someone's reminder, the Chūnin finally noticed— Kazekaze and Uchiha Kagami both wore family emblems. One bore the crest of the Senju Clan! The other, that of the Uchiha Clan! Masakawa looked even more baffled.
A… seven-year-old Chūnin?
Just who the hell is this kid!?