A certain inn.
A girl around sixteen or seventeen years old with light blonde hair opened the door and walked into the room. She brushed back her single ponytail, then touched her flat chest. Raising her right hand, she quickly formed a hand seal.
Poof!
A puff of white smoke flashed.
Her ponytail loosened, turning into light blonde hair cascading down her back. Her previously flat chest suddenly became full and prominent. The once lively teenage girl transformed into a mature beauty.
"Phew, finally managed to shake them off."
Tsunade tidied her hair and let out a sigh of relief.
Shizune followed her into the room, staring at Tsunade's chest for a moment with a slightly strange expression in her eyes.
She knew Tsunade had disguised herself as her younger self to avoid debt collectors, but what puzzled her was how Tsunade had gone from being flat-chested in her teens to developing such an impressive figure now.
Tsunade sat down at the table, glanced at Shizune, and said, "What are you staring at? Hurry up and close the door."
"Yes!"
Shizune snapped out of it and quickly responded, turning to close the door.
Tsunade picked up the teapot on the table, poured herself a cup of cold tea, took a sip, and suddenly remembered something.
"That ninja from earlier today, who was he?"
"Mm, he was a classmate of mine, Hatake Kaede."
Shizune made a soft noise in reply, knelt down in front of Tsunade, and answered.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise. "So that was Hatake Kaede? Hmm… he does look a bit like Sakumo."
During the Second Great Ninja War, Sakumo Hatake, renowned throughout the ninja world, served as the commander of the front lines in the Land of Rain. At that time, the Sannin had yet to gain their fame and were a generation younger than Sakumo.
As she mentioned this, a flicker of sorrow passed through Tsunade's eyes.
Back then, Sakumo had looked out for her a few times. She hadn't expected him to commit suicide over a mission. After hearing the news, she had even returned to Konoha once to pay her respects at his grave.
As for Sakumo's son, Hatake Kaede, she had heard a bit about him. But the one who had left a stronger impression was Sakumo's other son, Kakashi, graduating at five and becoming a chunin at six. That had surprised her back then and made her feel the White Fang of Konoha truly had a worthy successor.
"Kaede is really amazing."
Shizune hugged a pillow as she sat in front of Tsunade, a glint of admiration flashing in her eyes. "During the Chunin Exams, he single-handedly eliminated all his opponents, and even Lord Orochimaru took notice of him and accepted him as a student."
"oh?"
A spark of interest appeared in Tsunade's eyes. She said thoughtfully, "I remember his talent being fairly average compared to Kakashi's."
"That's just because Kaede doesn't like to show off."
Shizune smiled instinctively. "From what I've learned, Kakashi's always been trying to catch up to Kaede, but he's never once managed to beat him."
Tsunade gave Shizune a sidelong glance and suddenly asked, "You like him?"
"Eh? Eh?!"
Shizune's expression instantly turned awkward, flustered. "Wh-why would you suddenly ask that…"
"Like it's not obvious."
Tsunade clasped her hands on the table, fingers interlocked with a bit of swagger. "If you like him, then go after him boldly. So what if he's Orochimaru's student? You're my student too."
"It's not, it's not like that…"
"Not like that? Your face says otherwise. You're going to lie to me now?" Tsunade snorted. "Still, I'm a little curious, what's so special about that kid that even you don't dare go after him boldly? And he even got taken in by Orochimaru."
The image of Kaede from earlier that day flashed through Tsunade's mind. She rested her fingers under her chin, looking thoughtful.
…
Elsewhere.
Kaede had no idea that the brief glimpse earlier had already piqued Tsunade's interest. If he had known, he probably would've smiled, because getting close to her later on would now be a bit easier.
After a night spent training chakra, the group resumed their journey the next day.
After passing through several more small towns, they finally arrived at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. The boundary between the two countries was marked by a river that ran from east to west.
"Once we cross that river, we'll be in the Land of Grass."
urabe Daisuke looked at the fast-flowing river ahead, his expression relaxing a little. Making it this far already meant they were mostly safe.
Kaede paused to observe the river for a few seconds, then turned to look at a stone bridge to the northeast. "We're not at the end point of the escort contract yet. Let's keep moving."
"Alright."
Daisuke nodded and followed Kaede forward.
The group reached the stone bridge. Kaede led the way, Might Duy bringing up the rear. The nine of them quickly crossed without incident.
However, just after crossing, Kaede's eyes grew cold. He stared at the nearby bushes and spoke slowly:
"You're not even trying to hide anymore, huh?"
His words caused Daisuke and the others to suddenly pale.
Might Duy was also startled but quickly moved and landed beside Kaede.
"There's no need to."
A calm voice came from the bushes.
Then—
Ten figures emerged from the undergrowth, all wearing Iwagakure headbands, weapons like kunai and shuriken in hand.
"Hidden Stone ninja?! How…"
Daisuke's face changed drastically. He suddenly turned his head and glared at a few members of their own group, fury in his eyes.
It couldn't be a coincidence that an Hidden Stone ninja squad just happened to be lying in wait at the Land of Grass's border, and judging by their stance, they'd been waiting for a while.
There was a traitor in the group!
"Damn it, who is it?!"
Daisuke drew a dagger, glaring at everyone. The rest of the group also looked angry, casting suspicious glances at each other.
Kaede ignored the commotion behind him and said calmly, "There's no point in trying to find the traitor now. He won't come forward… You've been hiding something important. This situation doesn't match a C-rank mission."
"…"
Daisuke's face turned ashen.
He glanced at the ten approaching Hidden Stone ninja. His heart sank. Someone had betrayed them and leaked their location, and the other side had hired a squad of Hidden Stone ninja to ambush them. Meanwhile, they had only hired a two-man team from Konoha.
There was no way they could handle this!
The only hope was if the enemy's mission wasn't to kill them, but to take them alive. That would at least give them a slim chance of survival.
Daisuke clenched his teeth and shouted at the Hidden Stone ninja, "What's your mission? Are you here to kill us? We'll pay you double the fee!"
"Our mission is… to capture him alive."
The Hidden Stone ninja squad leader sneered, pointing at the young man behind Daisuke. "As for the rest of you, go to hell."
Changing mission objectives for money was something only low-tier ninja villages would do. As one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, Iwagakure wouldn't tarnish its name like that.
Whoosh! Whoosh!!
As soon as he finished speaking—
Three Hidden Stone ninja charged at Kaede, and another three went for Might Duy, all of them wearing cold expressions and wasting no words.
"…"
Daisuke's face went pale.
Even though the enemy didn't intend to kill their young master, if they all died here and the boy was taken and imprisoned, there'd be no turning the situation around. The position of daimyo in would certainly fall to the other contender.
He had never imagined that even among the daimyo's most trusted subordinates, there would be a traitor.
one wrong step… and everything was lost.