Chapter 52: Orders 

Four figures moved swiftly through the forest. Hayama led the formation, with Itachi and Anko guarding the rear flanks while Tonbo remained protected at the center, free to concentrate on sensory ninjutsu. 

They had maintained the pattern for three days without real sleep. After destroying the first two Kumogakure units, they went to the rendezvous point revealed in the prisoners' memories and found it abandoned. Someone among the dead shinobi must have transmitted a warning through a method Tonbo had failed to notice. Since then, the patrol had searched the border at speed, protecting its sensor while he swept the terrain ahead. 

"Stop," Tonbo said. 

The others halted at once. "Did you find something?" Hayama asked. 

Tonbo's stomach answered with a loud growl. "Sorry. I found hunger." 

Anko stared at him. Itachi's expression did not change, which somehow made the silence worse. 

They selected a sheltered hollow, hunted a small animal, and built a carefully concealed fire. As the meat cooked, Tonbo turned it over the coals and addressed Hayama. "We have crossed the Iron border twice without finding them. If we want more than an empty forest, someone will need to gather information inside the Land of Iron." 

Their search had relied on more than Tonbo's senses. Anko's snakes had spread through roots and brush, Itachi had surveyed the route from one of Tonbo's flying constructs with his Sharingan, and Hayama had applied the reconnaissance methods he learned in war. The result approached a complete sweep. They found and captured several rogue shinobi attempting to enter the Land of Fire, but no trace of the two Cloud units. 

Tracks near the rendezvous point had been deliberately obscured. The few impressions that remained led toward rock before vanishing, while scent trails ended at running water. Tonbo found no discarded equipment, residual chakra, or disturbed camps. The enemy had either prepared its escape in advance or received enough warning to erase every ordinary lead. 

Day and night patrols had exhausted them. Tonbo missed Ayame and caught himself thinking about the ramen waiting in Konoha. Itachi concealed his fatigue beneath discipline, though the strain around his eyes betrayed him. Anko no longer had the energy to complain with her usual force. 

"I sent a message to Hokage-sama," Hayama said. "We will reduce the patrol pace and hold this sector until his response arrives." 

Three bodies relaxed at once. 

Tonbo had hoped for precisely that order, though he preferred that the captain say it first. His reputation as a diligent shinobi was too useful to damage by sounding eager for rest. 

Once they had eaten and established a watch, Tonbo climbed onto a broad branch. "Since we finally have time, I will teach you battlefield experience acquired during the Third Shinobi World War. Few people have the opportunity to learn from an undefeated veteran." 

Hayama glanced at him while cleaning his equipment. Tonbo enjoyed performing for teammates, but his suggestions were usually sound and his experience genuine. The captain leaned against the trunk, closed his eyes, and allowed him to continue. 

"When I entered the battlefield, enemies learned to fear—" 

"Get to the useful part," Anko interrupted. "Most shinobi who lose often enough in war do not survive to tell stories about it. And no one fled at the sound of your name. White Fang and the Fourth Hokage inspired that kind of fear. The Third and the Sannin never had retreat-on-sight orders." 

Itachi turned toward her with sudden interest. "Can you tell me about White Fang, the Fourth, and the Sannin?" 

Anko cleared her throat, delighted by the respectful attention. Her sealed memories concerned Orochimaru, not the rest of Konoha's history, and years beside one of the Sannin had exposed her to accounts Tonbo knew only indirectly. 

She described Sakumo Hatake abandoning a mission to save his comrades and the condemnation that followed. She spoke of Minato sacrificing himself to protect Konoha, and of the three shinobi who survived Hanzō in the Second Shinobi World War and received the title by which the world remembered them. Orochimaru alone among those three had remained regularly active on later battlefields, which gave Anko additional stories she could repeat without approaching the sealed portions of her past. 

Tonbo listened despite his annoyance. Some details were new even to him. He had intended to recount his own achievements, yet the lesson had somehow become Anko praising everyone else. 

Itachi considered each account in silence. White Fang chose comrades over mission. Minato gave his life for the village. The Sannin stood together against a superior enemy so their side could endure. Each embodied a different expression of the Will of Fire, and each reminded him how much sacrifice had purchased Konoha's fragile peace. 

That peace could not be allowed to collapse because of the most radical members of his clan. 

"That is enough," Anko said at last, wiping her forehead. The long performance had tired her, but satisfaction showed in her smile. 

"Finally," Tonbo said. "Now I can teach what I intended to teach." 

Having led his own genin team, he had discovered how satisfying serious instruction could be. The fact that his current students were Orochimaru's former apprentice and one of the Uchiha clan's greatest prodigies only improved the opportunity. 

This time he did not boast. He explained how to collect information during battle, stabilize injuries without becoming an easy target, support stronger and weaker teammates, and build traps around an enemy's expected choices. Anko and Itachi listened closely. Both had access to skilled teachers, but Tonbo had just defeated a jōnin through the practical combination of these lessons. 

He used Kawasuke's death as the clearest example. The wind blades had not been his strongest attack, and the pangolin had not been strong enough to defeat the jōnin in a direct contest. Together, supported by an illusion and knowledge of elemental affinities, they forced a sequence of rational decisions that ended at a prepared point underground. 

"Remember the foundation," Tonbo said. "Intelligence is a shinobi's lifeblood. Analysis turns that intelligence into advantage. A broad range of methods lets you exploit the opening you identify." 

Both nodded. 

"Every technique has a weakness. Find it, create the conditions to exploit it, and even a stronger opponent can lose." 

A hawk cried overhead. 

Hayama opened his eyes and formed a seal. The messenger descended through the canopy and settled on his shoulder, a small pouch fastened to its back. 

Hiruzen's response had arrived. 

At last. 

"Captain, read it," Anko urged. Her fatigue disappeared beneath anticipation. "What are the Hokage's orders?" 

Hayama removed the letter and unfolded it. His brow tightened as he read the first lines, then slowly eased.