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Three months.
The most exciting thing Kitahara Kaede had done was help a villager track down a cat that escaped from their backyard.
D-rank mission.
Pulling weeds, hauling bricks, finding cats, clearing drainage ditches.
He now knew the drainage network from Konoha’s east district to the south district better than he knew his own home.
Tsunade and Jiraiya cracked first.
“I’m going insane.”
Hokage’s office.
Tsunade slapped the mission report onto the desk hard enough to rattle the hallway.
“Sensei, have you forgotten we graduated three months ago?”
Hiruzen sat behind the Hokage’s desk, his brush hovering midair.
He wasn’t just their teacher.
He was also the Hokage.
The two roles stacked on top of each other, and dealing with these three students was giving him a headache unlike any other.
Jiraiya sat cross-legged on the windowsill, arms folded.
“Sensei, I’ll be honest, if we keep this up, I’m worried I might roast that cat.”
“You tried to catch that cat three times and failed every single time.” Tsunade shot him a sideways look.
“…It’s too slippery!”
“You’re too stupid.”
“Tsunade, you—”
“Enough.”
Hiruzen set down his brush and leaned back, pipe resting unlit between his teeth.
His gaze passed over the two bickering students and settled on Kitahara Kaede, leaning against the doorframe at the back.
Not chiming in.
Not trying to stop them.
This student had always been like that.
When he stayed quiet, he understood better than anyone what he was waiting for.
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
An eleven-year-old shouldn’t be this old.
“Alright.”
He pulled a file from the stack of dossiers on his desk and tossed it in front of them.
Tsunade’s eyes lit up.
Jiraiya dropped off the windowsill.
“C-rank.
Out-of-village mission.”
“Land of Birds.” Hiruzen tapped his pipe.
“A band of wandering samurai has taken up in a village on the southern border, harassing locals, robbing them blind.
The Land of Birds’ feudal lord has hired Konoha to drive them out.”
“Wandering samurai?” Jiraiya rubbed his hands together.
“How many?”
“Seven to ten.
No ninjutsu capability.
Swords, mostly.”
Tsunade scoffed, flipped the file over, and skimmed it.
“This is supposed to be a mission?
I could handle it alone.”
“You are Genin.” Hiruzen’s tone flattened.
“Out-of-village missions require a Jonin escort.
Elite Jonin, Murakami Takuya.
South gate, this afternoon.”
“Murakami Takuya?” Jiraiya tilted his head.
“Never heard of him.”
“There’s plenty of Elite Jonin you’ve never heard of.” Tsunade was already reaching for the commission scroll.
“As long as we can head out, who cares who he is.”
Kitahara Kaede didn’t move.
His gaze had settled on the upper right corner of the dossier.
Commission date, two and a half months ago.
Going by the filing number sequence, Konoha should have entered it into the mission system about two months back.
A C-rank expulsion mission.
Sitting untouched for two months.
The average holding period for a C-rank was under two weeks.
Either the pay was too low and no one took it.
Or someone had taken it and handed it back.
He didn’t say anything.
Tsunade turned around, commission scroll in hand, and waved it at him.
“Kaede!
C-rank!
Out of the village!
No more catching cats!”
The corners of her mouth kept pulling upward.
Even her voice sat half a pitch higher than usual.
Kitahara Kaede looked at her and nodded.
“Yeah.”
Tsunade rolled the scroll and stuffed it into her ninja tool pouch.
Clean, practiced.
“South gate this afternoon.
Don’t be late.”
“When have you ever seen me late?”
Tsunade didn’t answer.
She turned and walked out, her ponytail cutting a sharp arc through the air.
Jiraiya bolted after her, already shouting questions about what gear to bring.
The office went quiet.
Kitahara Kaede didn’t leave.
Hiruzen looked at him.
“Something to say?”
“That commission has been sitting for two months.”
Hiruzen’s pipe-tapping hand paused for just a beat.
Then he smiled.
“That’s why I assigned an Elite Jonin to lead.”
Kitahara Kaede held his gaze for two seconds.
He turned, walked to the door, and stopped.
“If the intel is wrong—”
“Kaede.” Hiruzen cut him off.
His tone wasn’t hard, but it was solid as an old tree root.
“This is your first real combat mission.
Some things can’t be taught in a classroom.”
A short silence.
“Understood.”
He pushed the door open and walked out.
The hallway was empty.
Hiruzen struck a match, lit his pipe, took a slow drag.
Smoke curled and spread.
“Takuya.
Keep an eye on them.”
…
Outside the south gate.
Kitahara Kaede crouched by the roadside, going through his ninja tool pouch one last time.
Kunai, explosive tags, military ration pills, bandages, smoke bombs.
He counted them, fastened the buckle.
Enough.
Just as he snapped it shut, a line of text appeared in front of him.
[Side Quest Triggered: The First Baptism]
[Objective: Complete the Land of Birds expulsion mission.]
[Special Restriction: Ensure Tsunade’s safety.]
[Reward: Settled based on completion rating.]
His gaze stayed on “Special Restriction” for three seconds.
The last time a protect-Tsunade mission had popped up was during the Academy exercise, when they’d run into that rogue ninja.
That time, he’d walked away with two broken ribs and a kunai through his right hand.
The system never issued missions without reason.
Wandering samurai.
Seven to ten.
No ninjutsu capability.
He didn’t believe it.
“Kaede—!”
Tsunade’s voice hit him from behind, footsteps quick and loud.
She came sprinting over with a bulging backpack, the excitement on her face even brighter than it had been upstairs, like a kid going on her first real trip away from home.
Jiraiya followed behind her, a massive pack slung over one shoulder, swaying with every step.
Kitahara Kaede stood and frowned at him.
“What did you pack?”
“Snacks, spare clothes, medical tools, ” Tsunade started counting on her fingers.
“I was asking him.” Kaede looked at Jiraiya.
Jiraiya squared his shoulders.
“Notebooks.”
“…”
“For material!
First out-of-village mission, what if we run into a beautiful, ”
Tsunade’s fist was already up.
“Finish that sentence.”
“, beautiful landscape!
Landscape!
That’s what I meant!
The landscape!”
Tsunade stared at him for three full seconds, then slowly lowered her fist.
Jiraiya wiped his forehead and exhaled.
The sentry at the south gate watched these three kids and pressed his lips together hard.
A few minutes later, a figure walked in from inside the village.
Early thirties.
Deep blue ninja uniform, Konoha forehead protector tied across his brow, short sword at his hip.
No wasted movement.
His pace wasn’t fast or slow, but every step placed him at an angle where he could get in front of the three of them before anything could close the distance.
Veteran.
“Murakami Takuya.” He stopped in front of them, gaze sweeping across each face in turn.
It paused on Kitahara Kaede for half a beat longer.
“From this point on, I’m your squad leader.”
Short.
No small talk.
No smile.
Kitahara Kaede met his eyes for a moment.
Tsunade didn’t pay any of that much attention.
Her gaze was fixed on the road ahead, the one that led beyond the village walls.
Three months of drainage ditches and fat cats.
Today, they were finally walking out.
“Move out.”
Murakami Takuya turned and stepped onto the road.
Tsunade followed, quick and light on her feet.
Jiraiya jogged to catch up, still muttering about his notebooks.
Kitahara Kaede brought up the rear.
As he passed the south gate pillar, he stopped for a beat and looked back at Konoha’s main gate.
Sunlight fell across the lintel.
The word “Konoha” sat there, quiet.
He turned around and caught up with the team.
Two days to the Land of Birds.
…
➤ Next: The Birds Stopped Calling