Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Arrival

Kitahara Kaede carried two crates of medical supplies toward the medical tent. The crates were heavy, packed to the brim with hemostatic gauze and healing ointments. Over the last few days, the number of casualties had spiked again, and the mounting pressure on logistics was plainly visible.

"Kaede."

A gentle voice called out from behind.

Kaede paused and turned around. Minato Namikaze stood a short distance away, accompanied by three others. Kakashi stood with his arms crossed, his mask still concealing half his face, leaving only his cold, indifferent eyes visible. Rin stood in the middle, hands behind her back; her gaze shifted toward the medical tent, clearly noting the high volume of wounded.

Obito, however, couldn’t hide his excitement. He pushed up his goggles, his eyes darting all over the camp, looking as if he wanted to rush toward everything he saw.

Kaede’s gaze swept over Kakashi and Rin before finally settling on Obito. As expected, the story was following the original plot—Minato’s team had arrived at the Iwa front.

He stepped forward with the supplies, his tone casual. "Lord Minato, what brings you here?"

Minato smiled. "After returning to the village, I received orders from the Hokage to bring them here for support."

He then turned to his three students, his expression becoming more serious. "The three of you will stay here on standby. Do not wander off. I am going to the main command tent to find Orochimaru and Jiraiya-sensei to coordinate the mission."

"Understood, Sensei," Rin replied obediently.

Kakashi gave a short nod and walked over to sit on a nearby wooden crate. Obito, however, couldn’t stay still.

"Is this the most important front line right now? It’s way bigger than I imagined!"

Minato patted his shoulder. "Obito, a battlefield is not a place for sightseeing."

Obito shrank back slightly at the reprimand, though he still muttered under his breath, "I didn’t say I was going to cause trouble."

Minato looked at him with a sense of helplessness but didn’t lecture him further. He gave Kaede a nod and then walked briskly toward the main command tent.

Shortly after Minato left, Obito became restless again. He looked left and right before finally fixing his gaze on Kakashi.

"Hey, Kakashi! Why are you just sitting there resting the moment we arrive?"

Kakashi didn’t even look at him. "I’m not like you—brainless even on a battlefield."

"You!" Obito’s voice shot up.

Rin quickly stepped forward, her attention falling on the supply crates in Kaede’s hands. "Kitahara-kun, are you heading to the medical tent?"

Kaede nodded. "Yes, Lady Tsunade is running low on medicine."

Rin immediately looked toward the tent, her tone becoming serious. "I know medical ninjutsu. Can I come and help? There must be a lot of wounded on the front lines."

"That would be a great help. Follow me."

Just as he spoke, a blur of movement rushed past. Obito grabbed the handle of one of the crates, straining to lift it.

"I’m coming too! I can’t let Rin do all the helping by herself!" He finished with a furtive glance at Rin, waiting for a compliment.

Rin smiled. "Then make sure you don’t touch the medicines haphazardly. Do exactly as Kitahara-kun tells you."

The smirk on Obito’s face froze instantly. "I’m not *that* stupid."

The three of them entered the medical tent, one leading and two following. The interior was even more chaotic than the outside. Several medical ninja were weaving between the beds. Tsunade was leaned over, treating a patient with a severe abdominal wound. Green chakra glowed in her palms, and a few strands of blonde hair fell over her forehead, but she didn’t even have a spare second to brush them away.

Kaede didn’t disturb her. He carried the crates directly to the storage shelves in the corner. "Hemostatic gauze on the left, healing ointments on the second shelf, and keep half the bandages unwrapped for quick use."

Rin listened intently and quickly knelt to help. In no time, the two of them had everything organized. Kaede turned around, scanning the wounded in the tent. Several patients with minor injuries were still queuing for treatment.

Rin noticed this and proactively stepped forward to help. Meanwhile, Kaede stepped in to bandage a nearby soldier whose arm had been sliced by a kunai.

When Rin finished treating her current patient and looked back, she paused, seeing his efficient technique. "Kitahara-kun, do you know medical ninjutsu too?"

"Not exactly," Kaede replied, withdrawing his hand. "But I can handle simple bandaging and first aid."

Rin tilted her head, about to say more, when a sharp crash sounded from Obito’s direction.

"Ah!"

Both turned simultaneously. Obito was crouching by the medicine shelf; a glass vial had rolled away from his feet, and the cap had flown under a bed. He scrambled frantically to retrieve them.

A wounded soldier nearby looked at him with a sideways glare. "Kid, are you here to help or to cause more trouble?"

Obito’s face turned bright red. His lips trembled, and he finally managed to squeeze out a quiet, "I’m sorry."

Rin hurried over, bent down to pick up the vial, and bowed apologetically to the soldier. "I’m sorry, he just arrived at the front and is a bit nervous."

Obito stood to the side, knowing he had only made things worse, and kept his head down in silence. Kaede watched the two of them. Seeing how Rin took care of Obito, it was no wonder he was so devoted to her.

"Kaede, Lady Tsunade."

Minato’s voice drifted in from the tent entrance. Kaede looked over to see Minato standing by the curtain, the smile gone from his face.

"Please proceed to the main command tent immediately. Emergency war council."

Kaede nodded. Deep inside the tent, Tsunade stopped what she was doing. She instructed a nearby medical ninja to take over her patient and walked over quickly. The two of them followed Minato out.

Inside the main command tent, Tsunade and Kaede sat side by side. Minato stood before the sand table. With all key personnel present, Minato got straight to the point.

"The Iwa army has launched a full-scale advance from the direction of the Land of Grass. The Hokage’s orders are for the frontal forces to hold the line at all costs, attracting and stalling the main Iwa force."

His finger landed on a marker representing a bridge on the map. "I will first support the frontal battlefield and then break away. My team—led by Kakashi—will infiltrate behind enemy lines to destroy Iwa’s supply lifeline: Kannabi Bridge."

Silence fell over the tent for two seconds. The expressions of several Jonin shifted instantly.

"Send three children behind a force of a thousand?" one Jonin whispered. "That’s a suicide mission."

Orochimaru let out a cold chuckle. "To come up with such a self-destructive method... Lord Sarutobi certainly has ’interesting’ ideas."

Jiraiya’s brow was furrowed; for once, he didn’t bother to argue with Orochimaru.

Minato’s expression remained unwavering. "I will protect them. Once the bridge is destroyed, Iwa’s logistics will be severed, and the pressure on the frontal line will drop drastically. This is our only chance to break the deadlock."

No one objected further. The meeting moved to the distribution of the front lines.

Orochimaru volunteered for the central main line, taking the brunt of the Iwa main force’s advance. Jiraiya was responsible for supporting the left flank and conducting raids. Tsunade would remain in the rear to coordinate medical supplies and the transport of the wounded.

When it was Kaede’s turn, Jiraiya glanced at him. "Kid, where are you going?"

Kaede stood up, his gaze landing on the marker for the Land of Grass. "I specialize in solo stealth and Lightning Style tactics. If Iwa reconnaissance teams attempt to infiltrate from the Land of Grass, I can intercept them and ensure our forces isn’t flanked."

Minato nodded. "I’ll leave that to you, then."

The meeting adjourned, and the group began to leave the tent. As Kaede stepped outside, he looked up at the hazy, gray horizon.

The direction of the Land of Grass.

His route happened to overlap perfectly with the path of Minato’s team.

The Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Obito’s "death," the awakening of the Sharingan, and Madara lurking in the shadows.

He had to keep a close eye on everything personally to ensure that nothing deviated.

...