Pursuit of the Sunagakure Ninja

"Yūske, you've done enough. If you're tired, get some sleep first."

"Mm!"

Seeing Hatake Sakumo catch him, Yūske could finally lie down without worry.

The instant he finished speaking, he lost consciousness.

"Where's the Medical Ninja?"

Hatake Sakumo carried Yūske back to the troops stationed behind them and shouted. At once, a Medical Ninja of jōnin rank hurried over to examine Yūske.

"How is he?"

The others rushed over as well, asking one after another.

"Lord Yūske is fine. His body is simply overexerted, and he needs proper rest."

After completing the examination, the Medical Ninja let out a sigh of relief. The others relaxed as well.

"Luzhen, arrange two squads. Lead them and escort Yūske back to camp. Also, once you return, dispatch more personnel here. With Tsunade guarding the camp, the Sunagakure ninja won't be able to spare anyone to launch a surprise attack on it.

"The rest of you, pursue the Sunagakure ninja with me! While Chiyo's strength has been damaged, let's see if we can drive them all the way back to the Land of Wind in one stroke!"

After confirming that Yūske was safe, the weight in Hatake Sakumo's heart finally lifted. He immediately issued orders to those around him.

Then, he dispelled his clone and took the remaining troops in pursuit of the fleeing Sunagakure ninja.

At Konoha Camp, Konoha had not committed all its strength to this battle, so many people remained behind. When they saw Nara Shikamaru arrive with a group of people and the unconscious Yūske, they immediately rushed over to ask what had happened.

"Lord Luzhen, what happened to Lord Yūske?"

"Yūske defeated Chiyo of the Sunagakure ninja. He's exhausted now and needs to recuperate!"

Nara Shikamaru smiled as though he himself had defeated Chiyo. Ignoring everyone's stunned expressions, he first had the group send Yūske to the Medical Department, then issued the order to assemble and prepare for the final battle against the Sunagakure ninja.

Medical Department.

"Lady Tsunade, Lord Yūske has been carried in again."

After learning the situation, a ninja from the Medical Department immediately reported to Tsunade.

"What happened? Is he injured?"

Upon hearing the news, Tsunade immediately put down her work. Weren't they still fighting the Sunagakure ninja? How had he returned so quickly? What was happening in the battle? Her heart was filled with questions as she hurried toward Yūske's bed.

"What happened?"

Seeing the ninja treating Yūske leave the ward, Tsunade hurriedly asked.

"Lord Yūske fell unconscious due to excessive physical exhaustion. I've already administered a great deal of medication. Now, we can only wait for him to recover on his own."

Excessive physical exhaustion? Tsunade immediately thought of the Eight Inner Gates Yūske had used yesterday. It seemed he had used them on the battlefield again.

Tsunade looked at Yūske lying in the bed with an expression of frustration. Seeing his peaceful face as he slept, she sighed helplessly.

Then she beckoned over one of the ninja who had escorted Yūske back and asked, "How is the battle? Why was Yūske carried back?"

"Lady Tsunade, the Sunagakure ninja are retreating across the board. Lord Sakumo is leading the troops in pursuit."

The ninja answered excitedly.

"Why so quickly? Where is that old woman Chiyo?"

Tsunade looked astonished. Having fought Chiyo many times, she knew Chiyo's strength and could not help asking in confusion.

"Lord Yūske defeated Chiyo of the Sunagakure ninja, which caused them to withdraw."

"Say that again?"

Tsunade could not believe what she had heard. She thought she must have misheard, until the ninja repeated it once more.

"Tell me the entire course of the battle in detail."

"Yes!"

Konoha.

Hokage Office Building.

Knock, knock, knock!

After completing his mission, Kurenai Yūhi had finally returned to Konoha. After dismissing his team members, he picked up the mission report and went to the Hokage Building.

"Lord Hokage!"

After opening the door, Kurenai Yūhi bowed to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Shinku, you've finally returned."

Seeing Kurenai Yūhi, Hiruzen Sarutobi put down the documents in his hands and smiled.

"Yes. The Escort Mission is complete, and I returned to the village today."

Kurenai Yūhi put down the scroll in his hand, preparing to leave.

"Wait. Tell me about the course of the mission."

Having read documents all day, Hiruzen Sarutobi rose to his feet, pointed to the area beside them, and spoke to Kurenai Yūhi.

"All right..."

Kurenai Yūhi glanced helplessly at the scroll on the desk, then followed Hiruzen Sarutobi to the reception area.

"That was what happened. We rested and treated our injuries at the Front Lines for a while. We only began returning to the village after confirming that everyone was safe. Since some people were not suited for long-distance travel, we returned a little later."

After Kurenai Yūhi finished speaking, he finally took his first sip of tea, his throat parched. Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had remained mostly silent throughout, smoked his pipe the whole time. At moments his brows were tightly furrowed, at others relaxed, and at others filled with gratification.

"Do you think it was a coincidence, or did someone in Konoha leak the information?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words stirred up a storm. Kurenai Yūhi shot to his feet in agitation.

"Lord Hokage, do you suspect someone?"

"Hehehe!" Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at him. "Do you think I would suspect my own disciple?"

"How did you know?"

Kurenai Yūhi stopped halfway through his words, suddenly covered his mouth, and stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi in shock.

"Hahaha, don't be nervous. Before you returned to the village, I had already received the urgent contact document Sakumo sent me. It happened to mention Luzhen's reasons for suspecting Yūske."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up and patted Kurenai Yūhi on the shoulder, signaling for him to sit back down.

"Then do you think it's credible?"

After sitting down, Kurenai Yūhi suddenly realized that he could no longer see through Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Luzhen has always had that sort of personality. It's not as though you don't know him. Precisely because of his personality, spies can hardly infiltrate the Front Lines. He remembers every ninja there clearly. That is also his strength."

Looking at Kurenai Yūhi, who rarely lost his composure before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi said with feeling, "I never expected that after just one mission, the bond between you and Yūske would become so deep."

"Because he is the junior I value most, I will never believe Luzhen's speculation."

Kurenai Yūhi spoke with a solemn expression. Hiruzen Sarutobi kept staring at him until a faint sheen of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

"A few days ago, the village caught a Sunagakure spy."

Changing the subject, Hiruzen Sarutobi brewed tea as he said to Kurenai Yūhi, "The Interrogation Department has already extracted relevant information from his brain, including how he passed along intelligence about your escort team."

When Kurenai Yūhi heard that the spy had been caught, his eyes reddened slightly. He had not been particularly close to the ninja who had died, and he might not even have exchanged more than a few words with them.

But he had led this Escort Mission, and the casualties left him deeply guilty. At that moment, he wished he could personally kill that spy at once and avenge his fallen comrades.

"Lord Hokage, an urgent report has arrived from the Front Lines!"