Gamer, fixing the fates of fictional characters

When the small group returned, they quickly called for a short meeting. There, they told the others how everything went, before then turning in to rest for a bit, as they had been traveling for the better part of the day.

While the four were resting everyone that attended the meeting and their own thoughts and opinion of this matter. Some supportive of such an partnership, others less enthusiastic about such further restrictions, but no matter which side they were on, all of them chose to believe in their leaders.

The next days were just as before, the normal day to day live that they all lived by went on. Kaitou, though, noticed that he saw Madara less as the time went on, he seemed to isolate himself more and more, even from his clan partly.

The only occasions where he would be every time was when training was scheduled with Kaitou, he seemed to still care a lot for him. Their relationship was always good over the years, while sometimes feeling a bit awkward.

One of these days, Kaitou decided to confront him about this behavior, for this he followed him after the training was over.

The night was quiet, save for the distant rustling of leaves in the wind. The stars overhead flickered like tiny embers, illuminating the camp in a faint glow. Kaitou followed Madara silently, their steps barely making a sound against the dirt. His uncle never once turned back, never acknowledged his presence, but he also made no effort to stop him. 

They walked like that for a while, the only sound between them the occasional chirping of insects. Eventually, Madara came to a stop at the edge of a cliff overlooking the land. Below, the faint outlines of forests and rivers stretched far into the horizon, a vast and open world that seemed both peaceful and fragile. 

"You've been avoiding everyone," Kaitou finally said. 

Madara scoffed, folding his arms. "Have I? Or have they simply chosen not to follow?" 

Kaitou frowned. "That's not it. Even your own clan is worried. You've been shutting them out. You've been shutting me out." 

Madara was silent for a moment before he spoke again, his voice quieter this time. "Tell me, Kaitou… what do you see when you look at all of this?" He gestured out toward the land before them. 

Kaitou followed his gaze, considering his words. "I see the future. The village we're going to build. A place where all of us-" 

Madara chuckled, shaking his head. "The future… you sound just like Hashirama." He turned to Kaitou then, his dark eyes unreadable. "And yet, for all this talk of peace and unity, I wonder… how long will it last?" 

Kaitou narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?" 

Madara exhaled, turning back toward the horizon. "You've seen it too, haven't you? The way things are being shaped. The way the Daimyō looks at us. The way the others hesitate to trust." His voice grew colder. "We are shinobi, Kaitou. No matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise, to the world, we will always be tools. Used when convenient. Discarded when we are no longer needed." 

"That's not true," Kaitou argued. "Uncle's vision-" 

"Hashirama is a fool," Madara interrupted. "A powerful fool, yes. A well-meaning fool, perhaps. But a fool nonetheless." He turned back to Kaitou, his gaze intense. "You have talent, Kaitou. You have vision. But do you have the wisdom to see beyond what you're being told? Do you have the strength to act when the time comes?" 

Kaitou hesitated. "…What are you trying to say?" 

Madara sighed, shaking his head. "You're not ready to understand yet. But soon, you will see it for yourself." 

Before Kaitou could press him further, hurried footsteps approached from behind. A young messenger came into view, bowing quickly. 

"Kaitou-sama, you've been summoned. Lord Tobirama requests your presence for a mission assignment." 

Kaitou looked at the messenger, then back at Madara, who was already turning away. 

"Go," Madara said simply. "Let's see what orders they give you now." 

After saying those words, Madara turned his back on them, without saying anything more.

Seeing this, Kaitou first answered the messenger, "Okay, thanks for the information I will meet him shortly," before giving Madara a short pat on the shoulder and walking back towards the camp.

Madara followed his retreating figure for a few seconds before sighing and continuing his way.

When Kaitou reached his Uncle's office, before even being able to knock, came the answer from within. So without waiting he just stepped inside.

"Kaitou, I have a mission for you, as the messenger should have told you already. I need you to find and reach out to a group of people further south in the Land of fire. They seem to have heard of what we are doing here, and are now trying something similar as it looks," Tobirama spoke while keeping eye contact with Kaitou.

"Right now, we don't have concrete information of what their goals are. To find this out, I'd like to send you and a handful of others to get into contact with them and find out their purposes. You should be more than capable of handling this. This mission is also a good opportunity to gain experience in leading a small team and acting in political interest."

"I understand uncle, is it know how their attitude is towards us? If they see us as enemies then the choice for comrades could wary," Kaitou answered and inquired upon hearing the mission details.

"Right now we don't have much, from the information of the few routine scouts we have in that region, they seem neutral and not aggressive. Still we don't even know where their camp is, yet. So you should choose an Allrounder team for this, and remember do not take too many, it could seem as a sign of aggression," continued Tobirama and offered some advice.

With the informations together, Kaitou nodded in acknowledgement and left to make the necessary preparations, it was already evening, so he and his team would start the following day.

He thought about who and how many he should take with him. In the end he chose to go with eight teammates and went to find some of them.

They would be able to form two four person squads and him as a solo player. The first Squad would consist of one combination of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, alongside an Aburame, for good compatibility and added scouting.

The second one would be a bit more special the combination he thought was best, consisted of one each of the Kurogane and Hoshikawa, as the clans started interacting more with each other, on top of this one Inuzuka and one Uchiha.

Same as before, he valued first that there would be at least two people who could work good together, then one useful scout and this time also an Uchiha to have as a wildcard. As long as everyone worked together this should be the best option Kaitou could think of in the limited timeframe.

He looked for one of the many young Uzumaki to let him send notice of these arrangements to the clans, where they could then think of suitable candidates.

While Kaitou was able to make some friends in camp, regardless of their clans. This time he needed capable people who could, if the worst situation were to occur, could pull their own weight and support their comrades.