Return to Camp

"So it was him?"

A glint flashed in the little girl's eyes, and she teased, "Last time you escaped from the hands of the 'Demon', and today you've escaped death from a Jonin of the Uchiha clan. That guy is really incredibly lucky!"

"No wonder you said you needed the Konoha Sannin to try!"

As she spoke, the little girl clutched her stomach, pointed at the little boy next to her, and giggled.

Upon hearing this, the leading Mist Ninja couldn't help but sigh inwardly. That kid was truly too lucky.

A mere Genin, with even his leading teacher dead, had managed to hold out against an Uchiha Jonin until their arrival.

It had to be said, this was truly a miracle.

Suddenly, he raised his hand to signal and whispered to the two, "Alright, you two, stop messing around! I've sensed that person's presence. All of you, be on your guard!"

"Although I don't know how badly injured that person is, it's better to be cautious just in case!"

With that, he led his two subordinates and accelerated their pursuit along the fresh footprints left on the tree trunks.

Meanwhile, Qi Shuang gathered Kamiya Ki's remains and Kamimura's head together.

Looking at Kamiya Ki's charred remains, he sighed and whispered, "Don't blame me, Teacher Ki!"

Given Kamiya Ki's injuries at the time, it was almost certain that he was beyond saving.

Even without his Explosive Tags, the other party wouldn't have lived for ten minutes.

Fortunately, Kamiya Ki had understood his words in his dying moments and knew what he was going to do, not refusing. This made him feel less guilty.

At least, Kamiya Ki's death had his own will behind it; it wasn't something he had forced.

Not long after, another wave of dense footsteps echoed through the dense forest. Judging solely by the sound of the footsteps, there were at least over ten people.

Qi Shuang knew that the Mist Village reinforcements had arrived.

This was because, on this battlefield, the closest location to this place was the Mist Village's front-line camp.

Therefore, the fastest support could only come from their Mist Village side.

The footsteps rained down, dripping in the forest. With a blur of his vision, five or six ninja wearing Mist Village headbands appeared in the clearing in the forest.

Another five or six were vaguely perched on the surrounding trees, completely surrounding the area like an iron bucket.

"Kid, did you see the three-person team that came to scout the situation earlier?" the middle-aged man at the head asked Qi Shuang expressionlessly.

"They went to chase after an escaping Uchiha Jonin!" Qi Shuang replied concisely.

"With their strength, they dared to chase a Jonin? And an Uchiha Jonin at that?" The man raised an eyebrow.

He was well aware of the strength of the scout team that had come earlier: one Chunin and two Genin. This was simply not enough to take down a Jonin, especially an Uchiha Jonin.

"Oh, that person was heavily injured in the first encounter with us, which is why they dared to chase after him!" Qi Shuang quickly explained.

"So that's how it is!" The man nodded.

Then, he picked out two subordinates from the side, pointed at the remains on the ground and Qi Shuang, and instructed, "You two, escort them back safely. The rest of you, follow me."

"The objective is to capture the Uchiha Jonin alive!"

He didn't need anyone to remind him; he was well aware of the importance of a Konoha Jonin, especially an Uchiha Jonin, to the Mist Village.

To be precise, it was the importance of the information in his mind to the strategic situation of the Mist Village.

Therefore, he was determined to capture the Konoha Jonin alive.

Immediately after, leaving two subordinates behind, he led the rest of his subordinates and urgently pursued along the tracks left by the previous three-person team.

After his companions' figures completely disappeared from sight, one of the remaining people asked Qi Shuang in surprise, "Kid, we found a headless body on our way here."

"It's about ten years old. Judging by its attire, it should be one of ours from the Mist Village. Could it be your companion?"

Qi Shuang thought for a moment and replied in a low voice, "One of our team members left the group ahead of time to fetch reinforcements, but he died at the hands of a Konoha ninja."

Then, he pointed to the black sphere next to Kamiya Ki's remains and said with a complex expression, "That's his head, but I don't know where the body is."

"I imagine the headless body you two seniors saw should be his!"

"Sigh--"

Upon hearing this, one of the Mist Ninja sighed along, seemingly thinking he was particularly sad. He patted Qi Shuang's shoulder and comforted him, "This is the battlefield. Any one of us could die at any moment!"

"So, you must learn to get used to it, turn grief into strength, and avoid becoming one of those countless dead!"

"Yes! I'll remember, senior!" Qi Shuang nodded, forcing out a few tears.

Beside them, another Mist Ninja, after using a sealing scroll to carefully pack the remains, said to the two, "Let's go. Let's go and get that headless body, and then we'll head back to the camp!"

Immediately, the two of them, along with Qi Shuang, turned back the way they came. Under his "grieving" gaze, Kamimura's remains were packed up, and the three of them headed back to the camp without looking back.

A team of four, all dead except for him. Even the leading Chunin couldn't escape, yet he, a "vulnerable" Genin-level kid, had survived. This immediately drew much doubt.

After being treated by the medical department, Qi Shuang was immediately summoned to the intelligence interrogation department for a combat situation review.

"Little fellow, what exactly did you encounter today? Tell me properly!" a Mist Ninja asked him again, smiling as he handed him a cup of water.

"Thank you!"

Qi Shuang sat on the chair, nodded, carefully took the offered cup, took a shallow sip, and slowly said, "Today, we..."

Before he could finish speaking, a wave of dizziness washed over him, leaving him feeling groggy and disoriented.

He shook his head, frowning inwardly. "What's going on? What's wrong with my head?"

Snap!

His fingers unconsciously loosened, and the water cup fell to the ground. The crisp sound of shattering glass reached his ears, and he suddenly realized something.

"Bastards! This bunch of sons of bitches drugged me! They want to use the drug's power to hypnotize and interrogate me!"

Unfortunately, he realized it too late. It was all too late.

Or rather, even if he had known, there was nothing he could do.

After all, he was just a child of about ten years old; there was no way he could contend with the power of a massive village.

If the higher-ups wanted to interrogate him, he had no choice but to comply.

Now, all he could do was pray that these bastards wouldn't ask any strange questions, lest he expose the secret of his past life memories.

Immediately after, his thoughts descended into chaos, and he completely lost consciousness.

When he woke up again, the people around him were all looking at him with extremely complex expressions.

It seemed they had already obtained the information they wanted.

One of them pointed at him and said mockingly to a companion, "This kid isn't exactly a saint either. Their squad is practically defunct now. Why not assign him to 'Demon Zabuza's' squad? Let them continue their classmate bond!"

"It's perfect timing too. 'Demon's' squad is just one person short, so sending him over is just right!"