The early morning haze hung low over Konoha, shrouding the vilge in a soft bnket of silver as Ken walked purposefully toward the training fields. He wasn’t wearing ANBU bck today—just standard shinobi wear, light and flexible, perfect for sparring.

  He found Kakashi first, seated under a tree near Training Ground Three, one eye scanning a book, the other zily observing the new Team 7 running drills.

  Then came Might Guy, mid-cartwheel, bellowing about "youthful fire" while Lee mimicked his every movement with blinding enthusiasm.

  Ken waited until the timing was right, then cleared his throat.

  Kakashi looked up without closing the book. “Ken.”

  Guy beamed. “The sand-wielding shadow! What brings you to our garden of discipline?”

  Ken stepped closer. “I want in.”

  Kakashi blinked. “In?”

  “Joint training,” Ken said. “With your teams. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura… Lee, Neji, Tenten. I need to push myself differently. Not just through ANBU. Through real, fluid dynamics—like you train them.”

  Guy’s eyebrows jumped in surprise. “And you want to train with genin?”

  Ken nodded. “Not just train. Observe. Learn how you teach. Because at some point, I’ll need to pass something on too.”

  Kakashi closed his book slowly.

  “Never thought I’d see the day Ken Uchiha voluntarily requested group training.”

  “I’m evolving,” Ken said. “Quietly.”

  Kakashi exchanged a gnce with Guy, who nodded firmly. “Then we begin tomorrow.”

  Hokage’s Office – Midday“Another mission?” Hiruzen asked, sliding a scroll across the desk.

  Ken stood on the other side, arms folded.

  “Details?”

  “High priority. Hidden Rain border,” Hiruzen said. “Daen was sent there three weeks ago to extract a group of war orphans. Possible candidates for future recruitment. The area is unstable. Multiple rogue cells. We lost contact with his team three days ago.”

  Ken’s face sharpened. “Send us.”

  “Already had you in mind,” Hiruzen said. “But…”

  Ken raised a hand. “Let Daiki sit this one out.”

  Hiruzen paused.

  “He’s still sharp,” Ken continued. “Still proud. But his stamina’s dropping. He won’t say it, but I see it. He needs rest.”

  “I assume you’re suggesting a repcement?”

  Ken nodded. “Sai.”

  Hiruzen folded his hands, thinking. “His skillset fits. Seal work. Infiltration. And… he could use more field time under real command.”

  “Exactly.”

  Hiruzen pulled out a new scroll. “Then it’s settled. The mission is a seek-and-secure. Eliminate any rogue ninja in the path, and retrieve Daen with the children. Prioritize survival. We don’t need martyrs.”

  Ken bowed his head. “Understood.”

  Briefing Room – Two Hours LaterUnit K assembled, minus Daiki.

  Reina gnced around as Sai entered silently, repcing the older Uchiha’s pce in the circle. Tenzō gave a respectful nod. Sai simply stared forward, brush tucked at his waist.

  Ken didn’t waste time.

  “Objective is across the Hidden Rain border. We’re hunting rogue operatives spread through decaying civil sectors and recovering Daen and a group of orphans. He’s been in contact with several unaffiliated families—most just trying to get out.”

  Sai asked, “Authorization for lethal force?”

  Ken nodded. “On rogue-nin, yes. But discretion is key. If we can extract clean, we do it. No vilge signatures. No headbands. This op is invisible.”

  Reina frowned. “What’s Daen doing this far out, anyway?”

  Tenzō answered. “Daen has an old contact network. During the st war, he helped broker safe zones in neutral regions. Hiruzen’s letting him use those contacts again… to find strays.”

  Ken looked at them all.

  “Kids like us.”

  Hidden Rain Border – Two Nights LaterRain fell in thin sheets, steady and soft, barely loud enough to notice but constant. The ruins of old towns crumbled around the squad as they moved, silent shadows across broken bridges and flooded alleyways.

  Ken led from the front, Sharingan activated, senses stretched.

  The smell of blood was faint in the air.

  But it was there.

  They found the first rogue group camped in a colpsed temple, chakra signatures flickering erratically—seven in total. Standard merc-style yout: guards at cardinal points, one lookout above.

  Ken motioned the strike pattern with two fingers.

  Sai vanished into ink.

  Tenzō sank into the ground.

  Reina followed Ken’s fnk, senbon glinting between her fingers.

  The takedown was surgical.

  No screams. No arms.

  Just silence.

  Ken pressed two fingers to one of the corpses. Hidden Rain rogue. Branded arm. A known torturer.

  Good kill.

  “Move,” he whispered.

  An hour ter, they found Daen.

  He was in the shell of a burned house, seated against a wall, one leg wrapped in torn bandages, six children huddled around him—some barely older than toddlers, others in early teens, all wide-eyed and thin.

  Daen looked up as Ken entered.

  “…Knew you’d come,” he muttered.

  Ken knelt beside him.

  “You alright?”

  “Twisted knee. Nothing serious.”

  Ken turned to Reina. “Stabilize and check the kids.”

  Reina nodded, moving quickly with salves and chakra diagnostics.

  Daen looked at Ken.

  “They lost everything. Parents. Homes. Even names, some of them.”

  Ken gnced at a young boy with cracked goggles and bruised arms. “We’ll give them new ones.”

  “You think the vilge will accept them?”

  Ken’s voice was firm. “We don’t have the luxury of not accepting potential anymore. War’s changing. These kids either survive or they vanish.”

  Daen exhaled.

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  As night deepened, Unit K secured the perimeter.

  Tenzō grew a temporary shelter from wood chakra.

  Sai posted seals across the edge of the field.

  Ken didn’t sleep.

  He sat with Daen, watching the kids as they slowly rexed—eating ration bars like they were feasts.

  “These are the reasons we can’t fail,” Ken muttered. “Not power. Not pride. People.”

  Daen smiled faintly. “You sound like a real leader.”

  Ken didn’t smile back.

  “I’m just tired of watching good ones die.”