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Paper bombs. A ninja's best friend. Anyone can use them, and they're incredibly cheap to buy from the store. So I like to buy a few at the start of every month when my income comes in.

I reached back to my pouch, which was behind me, and took out the paper bombs I had left.

10 exactly.

That was nice. I could work with this.

I had a few minutes until the guards who were en route to the floor I was on actually got here, so planting it could be done.

The layout of the room was perfect to hide paper bombs because of extravagant they were I could hide them anywhere and they would blend unless they are found.

I placed around a few of the paper bombs and I escaped using a window which led outside, though I had to run down the side of the building using chakra control, which was never a fun feeling.

I had to be careful with how I actually left the compound because I could be seen, which would just lead to more problems for me. Behind me, I heard an explosion and screams from inside the building.

I had set a paper bomb next to the body of the princess which they would obviously look at and I modified the paper bomb so it released based on pressure. So that meant if anyone stepped on it, all the other ones would set off in a chain reaction. And if any of them survived, they'd die in the rubble.

A job well done, I think. Though the captain died, but he died the way he wanted. Saving the village.

A job well done indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was in the Hokages office. Funny thing, they don't tell you is that coming home from a mission on your own is tougher than you'd think. It took me a day to get home with the possibility of someone chasing me.

I had to do the usual checks before coming here and talking to the man himself. The usual I.D checks and the confirmation of who I really was, which can sometimes take too long.

"I congratulate you on your success, Takumi. I expected nothing less of you. May I ask what happened to the rest of your team?" He asked a question which he already knew the answer of.

"They died. Our sensor was ambushed once we entered enemy lines and then the captain and tracker died in the palace." I answered.

"I'm sure you're exhausted. Try to get your report within the week and all the mission reward will be sent to you. Do you have any questions?"

"Why are we declaring war?"

I figured it out on my home. What other reason would we have for assassinating the land of dreams' princess? Normally this would be a mission for the ANBU, but they sent a regular team. This mission was one where it didn't matter whether we failed or succeeded. We were used as a declaration. If we died, then war would ensue, and if we succeeded, then war would also ensue.

The tensions between the 3 villages were at an all-time high and no one was willing to trade or deal with another. The sand has been bolstering its forces with the puppets and the Stone were invading small nations on the border of the Land of fire, which was common, but they were doing it very aggressively.

"So you figured it out."

"My job is to read humans and figure out what hiding underneath them, you are not exempt from that Lord Hokage."

He laughed and looked at a report from his table. "Of course, Tsunade would be happy to hear what you said. The three nations are already on the brink of war, which cannot be avoided one way or another. The land of fire is expanding too much and the other two nations are obviously not going back down. The land of Lightning is caught up in its own political affairs. The last Kage summit only heightened the tensions. Recently we intercepted a message going to the land of Earth confirming that they will attempt an invasion in the coming months. We decided to strike first, that is all."

"So we're being proactive. How nice."

I noticed he said nothing about the Mist village. They were probably keeping to themselves again with their isolationist nature. Though they joined the last Ninja war, which was quite a surprise. It's been 20 years since the first Ninja war and now the second one was looming over us.

"If you don't have any more questions, then you are dismissed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A war sounded interesting. Maybe I'll go on a mission with Sakumo-sensei again. Though I don't how I feel about going to the front lines and fighting. I'd have to get last-minute training in. While I was a medic, I had a few tricks up my sleeve for offence other than genjutsu.

The streets of Konoha were the same as usual, though the smell of chemicals was getting closer and closer as you walked towards the hospital.

The place I thought of as home. Since my normal home was quite banal, I thrived in the hustle and bustle of the hospital. Broken bones, severe cuts, concussions and permanent damage. It made me feel alive. It was exciting to go in every day and see something new.

Maybe I'm too attached to my job. Well, Sakumo-sensei always said to enjoy what you do.

I walked inside the hospital and I made my way to the 3rd floor of the building, which is where the current director stayed. So in other words, where my boss was.

The third floor differed from the others. It was much gorier and had the worst cases of treatment. This is where all the level 3 patients were placed.

The worst of the worst injuries were placed here, and it's also where the shell-shocked patients were. They'd been here for years. Sometimes I wonder if death is the better option for them. They screamed all day and night with nightmares and flashbacks.

These were my 'Special' patients. I couldn't actually nurse them back to full health, but they were used as test subjects essentially. They were so far from the line of sanity that there was no return from them. Whenever they looked like they were recovering, they went back to their old selves. I just use them to see how far I could get them back before they were former shells of a human.

I knocked on the first door that was in the corridor.

���Come In." I heard a feminine voice said from behind the door.

I walked through the door, and it was the same as usual. Incredibly neat and organised. While my work area would be considered messy and unorganised.

"I've returned from my mission, Tsunade-sama." I bowed.

"There's my deputy director. It's nice to see you well and healthy. I heard your mission was a success. Also, drop the honorifics around me."

"I just came back. How did you already hear about it?" I asked.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere."

"No need to sound cryptic. And yes, my mission was a success. Though there's a war coming on the Horizon so we have a lot of work to do."

"A lot of work indeed. We have to be quick. We'll bring all the medical personnel and give them the new ideas of what a medical ninja should be."

War was close, but we'd have to be prepared. Prepared for every imaginable situation, because that's what the medical corps was.

Prepared.