"How's Kakashi doing?" Minato Namikaze asked in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the young ninja who had just regained consciousness. His question was directed at Nohara Rin, the team's medic.
Not far from the heart of Iwagakure's operations in the Land of Grass, Kai Uchiha and his group took shelter in a damp, shadowy cave. Kai had lost count of how many such hideouts they'd used since entering this contested territory.
But this time, things were clearly worse. They were deep in enemy territory—practically behind enemy lines—and danger could strike at any hour, even any minute. Discovery by Iwa-nin was inevitable if they lingered too long.
Kakashi's condition was particularly concerning. Minato had considered using the Flying Thunder God Technique (Hiraishin no Jutsu) to return Kakashi to a safer location in Konoha. But Kakashi's injuries were too severe; his body wouldn't survive the spatial warp. Attempting it could kill him before they arrived.
So Minato had no choice but to have Rin stabilize him here, even if it meant remaining in danger. Once Kakashi was stable enough, Minato would send him back to Konoha's forward position immediately.
Despite everything, Kakashi's resilience was impressive. A prodigy who graduated the Academy at five and became a Chūnin by six, his instincts in battle were near-reflexive. Even in his injured state, he managed to make split-second evasive maneuvers and deploy chakra for basic defensive techniques.
It was largely thanks to Uchiha Kai that Kakashi had survived the ambush. Their enemy, Loess—a powerful Iwa-nin and likely the subordinate of Kitsuchi—had underestimated Kakashi in favor of Kai. That underestimation, along with Kai's tactical decisions, helped Kakashi make it out alive.
"I've stabilized him for now," Rin whispered. "But we need to send him back soon. I can't do much more than keep him alive here."
Minato nodded. "I'll make arrangements. Him and Hyūga Aya."
Compared to Kakashi, Aya Hyūga's injuries were manageable. Her arms had taken the brunt of the damage, and while they were broken, her life wasn't in danger. Her biggest issue came from internal trauma—after a fierce clash with a rock-nin named Yuanmu, her internal organs had suffered damage, and Rin detected some internal bleeding.
But on this battlefield, injuries like Aya's were unfortunately common. Rin gave her basic treatment, then shifted all attention back to Kakashi, who was in far graver danger.
With both Kakashi and Aya incapacitated, only Kai Uchiha and Kenta Imai remained to continue the mission.
Minato let out a quiet sigh, patted Rin gently on the shoulder, and stepped outside the cave. He needed to reassess the situation. Kenta was capable, but Minato couldn't afford to relax—not with the squad this deep in hostile territory.
Kai Uchiha stood watch, hidden among tree branches, his Sharingan scanning for movement. Minato appeared beside him, almost ghost-like in his silent arrival.
"How's the situation?" Minato murmured.
"Not good," Kai answered, shaking his head. "Kenta's already dealt with three squads—each one full of Chūnin. But if this keeps up, we won't hold out much longer."
Iwa-nin weren't foolish. Eventually, they'd notice missing patrols, narrow down the search radius, and close in on their position.
Minato frowned, considering his next move.
Kai, meanwhile, observed Kenta below. The boy was a revelation. Kai had known he was strong, but until now, hadn't seen the full extent of Kenta's capabilities.
Kenta's swordsmanship was razor-sharp—fluid, fast, and brutal. His chakra reserves were impressive, and he recovered quickly. While his ninjutsu was minimal, his physical prowess and perception made him devastating in close combat. His ambushes were nearly as effective as Kai's teleportation-based strikes.
But his weakness was clear: a lack of versatile jutsu. Not surprising, though. Kenta came from a civilian background—one of the many who didn't belong to prestigious clans.
Not everyone was like Minato Namikaze. Even with unmatched talent, Minato had also been lucky. Jiraiya had taken him as a student, and that mentorship—alongside his skill—led to mastering space-time ninjutsu like the Flying Thunder God.
In many ways, Minato was a symbol of the Third Hokage's policy of "equality," handpicked to inspire others. But the truth was that such ideals rarely extended beyond a handful of cases.
The shinobi world often preached about love and understanding, but in reality, most of that rhetoric served political needs. Only a few—like Jiraiya, Minato, and later Naruto Uzumaki—truly believed in those ideals.
The clans held most of the power. During peacetime, they talked of unity. In wartime, they clung to power and resources.
Even during Naruto's era, the influence of bloodlines and clan names persisted. Among the famed "Konoha 12," how many truly came from civilian backgrounds?
Rock Lee was an exception, a rare outlier. The rest—Hyūga, Nara, Inuzuka, Akimichi, Aburame—all came from noble clans. Even Sakura Haruno, despite her background, had a unique place. She stood between Naruto and Sasuke—bridging them, completing the triangle that defined Team 7.
And what about the other genin who graduated with them? They weren't featured, rarely seen. Most were likely shuffled into squads without elite jōnin, given missions that slowly turned them into cogs in the machine—or casualties.
Without elite instruction or resources, most civilian shinobi never stood a chance.
As Kai pondered this, his eyes suddenly narrowed. Kenta had drawn his blade and vanished in a blur, heading toward something unseen—
An enemy, perhaps.
The battle wasn't over.