Chapter 53: Jonin Saiki
Noon of the following day. Kael's team was resting by the side of the road. In the distance, the faint outlines of low-lying buildings marked the edge of a small town.
Kael, Tanabe Kaze, and Watanabe Toneri were all listlessly chewing on dry rations, their eyes unfocused. They had all trained late into the night, only to be woken up by Watanabe Musashi before dawn. The tedious journey was making them drowsy, especially now that it was past midday.
Only Watanabe Musashi was leaning against a carriage, alert, studying the map in his hand.
"By the way, why do we have to go through Yume City up ahead? It's crowded, and it's just going to add unnecessary complications to our mission," Tanabe Kaze complained, then choked slightly on the dry biscuit. He quickly took a large swig of water.
"I don't know, but when I was at the Mission Hall, Saiki-jonin specifically instructed me to," Watanabe Toneri replied flatly.
"Oh? He was at the Mission Hall? Doesn't he hate dealing with those merchants and nobles?" Tanabe looked surprised but didn't dwell on it. They were comrades from the same village; if there were special instructions, it was probably for their own good.
Only Kael was completely lost. "Saiki-jonin? Who are you talking about?"
"The other male Jonin in the village! Don't tell me you don't even know him?" Tanabe looked at him with an exaggerated expression.
"Oh..." Kael nodded slowly, a vague image of a cheerful, middle-aged man forming in his mind.
On the day Kael left the village...
Hidden Hot Water Village, Mission Hall.
The hall was spacious enough, but the decor was simple, almost crude. Several merchants who had come to post missions looked around with undisguised disdain.
That is, until a frail, elderly man appeared.
"Lord Jade!"
"I heard you were injured, sir! I was so worried about your health. But seeing you now, it seems I was worried for nothing. You look wonderful!"
"Indeed, Lord Jade, what brings you to see humble merchants like us today? I should have been the one to visit you with a gift..."
The hall instantly became boisterous and filled with fawning praise.
Jade walked in slowly, a gentle smile on his face. If Kael had been there, he would have seen that the Village Leader looked even more ancient and frail than when he'd last seen him. Two Hidden Hot Water shinobi followed closely behind him, their worried eyes never leaving his back.
In the presence of these wealthy patrons, Jade appeared to be in high spirits, cheerfully greeting the few merchants who had come to post missions. After a while, seeing that the Village Leader looked tired, the merchants tactfully took their leave.
Jade made a slow lap around the hall, preparing to leave. His visit today was simply to show his face, to use these merchants to spread the word that he was in good health. He had been out of sight for over a month, and rumors had begun to spread both inside and outside the village, causing unease among the residents.
His injuries from the battle with Jizo had mostly healed. But the severe internal damage had caused his physical condition to deteriorate rapidly. He was already sixty years old. Though he had survived, his strength was gone. He didn't even know if he was still capable of fighting.
Just as he turned to leave, someone in the hall caught his eye. He paused, then walked over to a Hidden Hot Water ninja sitting at one of the desks.
The Mission Hall was the place to accept commissions and assign tasks to the village's shinobi. As such, there were always one or two ninja stationed here. During busy times, there would be several, sorting through the requests from the Land of Hot Water's citizens and assigning them a rank before posting them for shinobi of the appropriate level. Given the village's size, the ninja stationed here were usually Genin. And now, with the cold winter not yet over, there were few people posting missions.
What Jade found strange was that, despite it being the off-season, the ninja on duty was a Chunin. And one he recognized.
Jade had built the Hidden Hot Water Village from the ground up. While he might not know every Genin by name, he was familiar with every single Chunin. He had either personally recruited them or watched them get promoted.
"Riki, what are you doing here?" Jade asked the male shinobi, who looked to be in his thirties.
The ninja immediately shot to his feet and bowed his head respectfully. "Lord Leader. I wasn't on a mission today, so I thought I'd come by the Mission Hall to see if I could help."
"I see..." Jade nodded noncommittally. "Well, that's fine. I was just curious. Thank you for your hard work."
"Yes, sir! It is an honor to serve you, Lord Leader. It's no trouble at all!" Riki replied, his face set, though a flicker of relief passed through his eyes, so quick it was almost unnoticeable.
But Jade, a man who had lived a long life and had one foot in the grave, was as sharp as they came. He saw Riki's subtle reaction. He merely smiled kindly, nodded, and left the Mission Hall with his two guards.
The moment he stepped outside, Jade's expression turned grim and thoughtful.
"Go find out which ninja in the village accepted new missions today. Be discreet," he ordered one of his bodyguards.
"And you," he said to the other, "check the Mission Hall's logs. Find out which shinobi entered the hall today, including any records of them leaving the village. Report back to me."
"Lord Leader, not many ninja accepted new missions today, only three squads. But one of them... is a bit strange," the subordinate reported back in a private room.
"Strange how?" Jade asked, his white eyebrows raised.
"It's Watanabe Musashi-jonin, leading his son, Watanabe Toneri, and Tanabe Kaze... and also... that Genin who just graduated from the academy, Kael Cross." The shinobi paused, then added, "Oh, right. They accepted an escort mission in the Land of Fire."
"Hm..." Jade's tense heart relaxed. He nodded faintly. That squad had been his own arrangement. He was paving the way for the young man in whom he had placed so much hope. He sensed his own time was running out, but he couldn't rest easy about the village's future.
Kael was young, not even an adult, and a green Genin just out of the academy. But Jade had heard all about Kael from Inoshita Rino long ago. He had great faith in the young man and believed that entrusting the village to him would be a wise choice.
In truth, he had no better options. Kael's outstanding performance in the recent battles had caught his eye. Mature for his age, meticulous, possessing strange and powerful abilities, and a kind heart... aside from being a bit lazy and reluctant to take on responsibility, Kael was almost flawless in his eyes.
Watanabe Musashi was like a brother to him, and as a Jonin, he would be Kael's strongest supporter. Tanabe Kaze and Watanabe Toneri were the most talented of the village's younger generation, almost certain to become Jonin themselves. By building a relationship with Kael now, they would become his left and right-hand men in the future.
He had, in effect, laid out Kael's entire future path for him.