They sat for another half hour, and all that time Kenshin pondered the situation. On one hand, it was extremely dangerous; on the other, great danger bordered on huge opportunity.
In the end, he decided not to miss such a chance and, after dinner, sent the girls to the bedroom while gathering all his sons in the gym, lining them up in a row.
"Ichiro, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth. Get a good night's sleep; you have a combat mission tomorrow morning." Kenshin commanded, hands behind his back, pacing past the stunned sons.
"All the rest—you're in charge of home and mothers' safety. Understood?" He said sharply, stopping and turning to face them.
"Yes, Father!" they replied in chorus.
"I'll brief the rough plan and mission specifics tomorrow morning. Dismissed!" He commanded, and they all dispersed to their rooms.
Kenshin noted with surprise his sons' inclination toward discipline and obedience. Direct orders weren't questioned, only clarified or supplemented if needed.
While everyone headed to bed, Kenshin prepared for tomorrow's operation. First, he reinforced and strengthened several rope wombs so they wouldn't tear while clearing huge stones from rubble.
Reinforcing the ropes took only half an hour; the rest of the night he spent refining his existing "exo-suit" concept, as he'd dubbed it himself due to its similar properties.
In reality, the exo-suit concept was quite primitive: a form-fitting full-body suit like a wetsuit, onto which multiple formations would be applied—from reinforcement to proper weight distribution.
While he could reinforce the suit in minutes, weight distribution—especially proper—posed issues. Half the night he spent sifting through possible engineering solutions to the problem, or plain "wishbones."
Some "wishbones" could lift a full ton but risked breaking the formation, suit, and then the user's spine if overambitious.
Others increased carry weight by dozens of kilos but fully eliminated accident risks that could injure the user.
Kenshin's task was to take the best from both and create a formation with acceptable distributed weight but no spine-fracture risks.
By morning, he devised a solution and jumped to the suit, eager to test it. He applied key formation nodes with telekinesis, but for precision work, he did it manually.
By eight a.m., he finished, donned the suit, and headed to the gym. By his calculations, the suit let him lift about three hundred kilos, feeling like sixty. Beyond three hundred, it stopped "lightening," so lifting 340 kilos required base strength for 100 kilos. The suit ignored "excess" kilos, preventing sudden malfunctions.
At least in theory. To test practically, Kenshin lifted various weights for half an hour, checking suit durability and energy flow smoothness in formation nodes.
Once measurements were done, Kenshin sighed in relief and collapsed on the long bench, back against the wall. He had a draft rescue plan for the trapped kunoichi, requiring him to play "charming prince."
He remembered all women defaulted to friendliness toward him and figured pairing rescue from the trap would amplify the effect, securing a powerful kunoichi without issues.
Over breakfast, Kenshin stated the mission goal and briefed sons on plan aspects.
Plan A: Letter genuine, girl accepts help without resistance.
Plan B: Letter genuine, but girl resists slightly, unwilling to go with strangers. Use necessary force without critical injury or killing.
Plan C: Letter fake—act per circumstances. Escape unnoticed if possible; priority save Kenshin otherwise.
Kenshin knew sacrificing sons' lives for his was wrong. But without him, their family was doomed anyway. Plus, like anyone, he wanted to live.
After breakfast, Kenshin ordered gear prep and napped. Sleepless night took its toll. Delaying rescue by hours might even be better.
He had no desire to tangle with a strong kunoichi. Cynically, an exhausted, weakened one was preferable—at least for sons' safety.
Currently, she was a stranger whose life mattered less than any son's. Though sure he'd love her wholeheartedly as a wife eventually, he felt no warmth now.
After six hours' sleep, Kenshin rose, showered, donned his exo-suit with gloves—faint lines glowing pale blue for half a second.
Sons were ready, drilling interactions in two-man teams by age and upbringing. Ichiro, unpaired, acted as commander.
After final checks, Kenshin led them outside along the route.
"Kasumi didn't give exact coordinates, just approximate. By my count—seven kilometers east of base. She mentioned nearby forest battle traces: fallen trees, loose earth. That'll guide Konoha shinobi rescuers...
"Fifth and Sixth can scout nearest few forest kilometers." Ichiro suggested, getting Kenshin's approval.