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Land of Fire, Konoha.

Hokage's Office Building, Battlefield Anomaly Investigation Department.

Yuhara had returned to Konoha. It was a stroke of luck that he hadn't encountered Yagura again.

"Genin Yuhara, please explain what happened during your mission."

A Konoha Ninja asked Yuhara.

Before returning to Konoha, Yuhara had first buried some "contraband items" of unknown origin outside the village. These mainly included the Six Paths Tools, Orochimaru's Secret Techniques, Tigo's corpse, and a sealing scroll... This was to prepare for any potential searches by Konoha, and it showed the extent of his distrust.

He then returned to Konoha with the bodies of some teammates and parts of others, reporting to the village that the squad, except for himself, had likely been wiped out.

Konoha's subsequent investigation and questioning were standard procedure. Since Yuhara claimed to be the sole survivor, the matter required further investigation... He was currently in an office in the Hokage's office building. Opposite him, only two ninjas sat at the desk, indicating this was merely a routine inquiry and not specifically targeting him.

"Yes. Our squad of 12 was on a patrol mission in Area 248 on the eastern border of the Land of Fire. Upon arrival at the mission location, Captain Hayase did not deploy the squad in the correct formation. Under his command, we proceeded in an assembled manner. Several members offered suggestions, but they were all rejected. Subsequently, the team was suddenly ambushed by strong enemies from Kirigakure. Captain Hayase's judgment was lacking; he underestimated the enemy, charged forward rashly, and then fled in the face of battle, ultimately leading to the team's annihilation..."

Yuhara explained the squad's encounter in as concise a manner as possible. He didn't need to lie about any of this; anyone could tell that captain bore immense responsibility.

"What about the 'strong enemies'? Can you identify them?"

"It was a four-person enemy squad. I could only recognize two of the ninjas: one was Kirigakure Jonin Yagura Karatachi, and the other was Kirigakure Jonin Juzo Biwa," Yuhara said.

The two Konoha ninjas exchanged glances, appearing somewhat incredulous. It was clear they understood the significance of these names.

"You're saying these two appeared within the Land of Fire not long ago?"

"Yes."

"Their objective?"

"Unknown."

The two ninjas continued their questioning, one question after another, until they reached the crucial point:

"Since the enemy was so powerful, how did you manage to escape?"

Yuhara had already prepared his explanation. He didn't want to show off his strength, as it wasn't worth boasting about. He also didn't want to reveal that he had dealt with Juzo Biwa, as such a feat would be difficult to prove and would only complicate matters further.

"I am a ninja with the Magnetic Release Kekkei Genkai. During my escape, I completely encased myself in metal sand, hiding myself and thus avoiding chakra leakage and the enemy's detection. I managed to escape by sheer luck."

As he spoke, Yuhara indicated he could demonstrate his abilities. After the two ninjas nodded, he waved his hand, and iron sand flew out from the "Sword Crate" on his back... Only a lump of iron remained behind Yuhara, as the one containing mercury had been left on the battlefield.

The two Konoha ninjas nodded. Yuhara's explanation seemed sound and highly credible.

No one could expect Yuhara to bravely face such powerful enemies, could they? These were enemies that even ordinary Jonin couldn't handle. What could anyone expect from a Genin? The fact that he survived was already incredibly astute.

Apart from dealing with the captain, Yuhara hadn't done anything that violated Konoha's rules. However, he would never volunteer this information. In the ninja world, "overthrowing superiors" was absolutely forbidden.

Even though Yuhara's actions were justifiable, he wasn't a ninja with "discretionary authority." Therefore, to avoid any complications, he had to remain silent.

Considering his future plans, he also couldn't afford to be branded with such a stigma.

After a few more questions, the routine inquiry concluded. However, just as Yuhara was about to leave, they added a few more points.

"There's nothing else special, but you are temporarily not allowed to leave the village until the investigation is complete. We ask for your understanding. Also... here is the list of the deceased. Please confirm it and sign if there are no issues."

Yuhara took the list and saw Tigo's name prominently displayed, which gave him a sense of unreality.

He then found Hayasegawa's name. This could only be described as a fitting end.

As his gaze moved down, something unexpected happened... Yuhara didn't expect to see a familiar name and involuntarily read it aloud:

"Umino... Iruka..."

The image of that child, no older than ten, flashed through Yuhara's mind. Was it him?

"Is there a problem?"

Upon hearing him utter that name, one of the Konoha ninjas immediately asked.

"No, I just feel he was too young to die on the battlefield."

Yuhara shook his head. He picked up a pen and quickly signed his name on the casualty list before handing it back.

War always brought unexpected events.

After Yuhara left, the two Konoha ninjas exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously.

During the recent questioning, they had subtly employed a barely perceptible Genjutsu, hypnotic suggestion, to confirm that Yuhara's account was largely factual.

The methods used by the ordinary investigation department, Anbu, and Root were different. Under normal circumstances, Konoha wouldn't just search a ninja's mind without reason, as it would undoubtedly lead to internal problems.

Even Yuhara was, nominally, a "Konoha Ninja."

However, the rights of the living needed to be respected, but the dead were different. After all, the dead couldn't protest their privacy being violated.

The few bodies Yuhara brought back were temporarily sent to the Torture Department. After investigation, the ninjas in the Torture Department ascertained the squad's encounter at the time. This process, when compared with Yuhara's account, revealed that both were completely consistent. Konoha therefore concluded that Yuhara was basically in the clear.

Conversely, the commander of the squad had major issues.

Finally, the news of the near-total annihilation of a twelve-person ninja squad was delivered to the Fourth Hokage. Minato Namikaze read the relevant incident report with a frown.

"Was that the squad Yuhara the Genin was newly assigned to? So, the young female ninja beside him died this time..."

Perhaps it was because Yuhara had previously "spoken boldly" in the Land of Rivers, which left a deep impression on Minato Namikaze. To think that the Hokage still remembered him now.

At the same time, the Hokage expressed his genuine sorrow over the deaths of the young ninja.

Then he waved his hand, and an Anbu ninja appeared before his desk.

"Investigate why a ninja of this caliber could become the commander of a twelve-person squad..."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The Anbu ninja took the investigation report and was about to turn and leave.

But unexpectedly, Minato Namikaze called out to him again, "Oh, right, there's one more thing... Go to the Operations Department and have them tally how many young ninja under the age of fourteen are still on the front lines."

"Hokage-sama, you want to..."

"Just do the tally for now."

Faced with cruel reality, sometimes even the Hokage seemed exceptionally powerless.

One could say that the helplessness of the small person might be a great helplessness, and the helplessness of the great person was definitely great helplessness.

PS:

1. To quickly pass 100,000 characters, today's two chapters were released this morning.

2. Some friends are bothered by Jugo's age. The original work can confirm a few things: First, Jugo is about three years older than Sasuke. Second, Orochimaru left Konoha around the time of the Nine-Tails incident (not considering anime-original content, based on manga speculation); Third, before Orochimaru left Konoha, the Cursed Seal had already been developed and implemented.