Return to the Village and the Aftermath

The night was deep, and dawn was still far away.

Yamato, with Tejima Shinichi, met up at the edge of a forest with his Wood Clone, which had been protecting Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu.

Having completed its task, Yamato's Wood Clone transformed into a piece of decayed wood.

"Teacher! Shinichi!"

Seeing the two return—especially Tejima Shinichi, who had only minor injuries and steady breathing—Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu both breathed sighs of relief.

"It's really great that you're both okay."

Sato Yu spoke softly, his gaze sweeping over the torn clothing on Tejima Shinichi's right hand and the blood that had yet to dry, his eyes full of concern and lingering fear.

Tejima Shinichi glanced over their injuries without saying much and walked directly over.

"Don't move."

A gentle green Chakra glow rose from his hands as he placed them over the wound at Kobayashi Ken's waist and the cut on Sato Yu's arm.

Mystical Palm Technique!

The warm, life-filled Chakra slowly seeped in. The pain at their wounds quickly eased, the bleeding stopped, and the injuries even began to heal slowly at a visible rate.

Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu stared at Tejima Shinichi in surprise. They hadn't expected his Medical Ninjutsu to be so skilled.

"Thank you, Shinichi," Sato Yu said quietly.

Kobayashi Ken grinned as well. "That's amazing, Shinichi!"

"All right, they've been treated for now."

Tejima Shinichi withdrew the Mystical Palm Technique.

Seeing this, Yamato spoke.

"Although there was an unexpected development along the way... our mission can still be considered a complete success. In any case, let's go to Hozumi Village and hand in the mission first."

"No problem, Teacher." Kobayashi Ken hurriedly agreed. He looked at Tejima Shinichi, hesitated, then asked anyway, "Shinichi, are you... okay? You and Teacher Yamato seem to have..."

Tejima Shinichi interrupted him and said flatly, "I'm fine. Finish the mission first."

Yamato had no intention of discussing it further. "Let's go."

Hozumi Village.

Though it was already late at night, many lights were still lit throughout the village.

The repeated terrifying rumbles and Explosion Sounds from the distant mountains had long since awakened the villagers. No one dared sleep peacefully.

When Yamato and the Four People appeared at the village entrance, the old village chief and Heiji, who had been waiting there, immediately came forward. Their faces were filled with unconcealed awe and fear.

"N-Ninja sirs, you're back!"

The old village chief's voice trembled slightly as his gaze involuntarily drifted toward the distant mountains.

"That... that commotion just now..."

Heiji swallowed nervously. Looking at the traces of battle left on Tejima Shinichi and Yamato, his eyes were full of shock.

That was absolutely not something that could result from fighting ordinary Bandits!

Yamato spoke calmly. "The Bandits harassing the village have been dealt with. The mission is complete."

"That's wonderful! Thank you so much, honored sirs!" The old village chief was so excited he nearly dropped to his knees, only for Yamato to support him. "You've worked hard. It's late, so why not rest in the village for the night? Please allow us to show a little of our gratitude!"

Heiji hurriedly echoed him. "Yes, yes! You're all injured, and the rooms have already been prepared!"

Yamato looked at the three beside him. After a brief moment of thought, he nodded.

"Then we'll accept your hospitality."

Inside the room prepared by the village, an oil lamp flickered.

After receiving treatment, Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu had fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion and relief.

Yamato and Tejima Shinichi sat across from each other with a low table between them.

"Shinichi," Yamato began in a low voice, "when we return to the village, I will truthfully report what happened tonight to the Third Hokage."

Tejima Shinichi raised his eyes. Under the lamplight, no emotion could be seen in his dark gaze.

"Report what?" His voice was quiet. "We successfully completed a C-rank mission and eliminated the Bandits. That was all."

Yamato silently watched him and saw the deeply buried coldness in the boy's eyes.

He felt that... this disciple of his seemed to have made some extraordinary decision in his heart.

It left him uneasy. For the first time, he realized how exhausting it was to be a teacher!

"Get some rest. We'll return to the village tomorrow."

That was all Yamato said in the end.

Tejima Shinichi said nothing more and closed his eyes, sitting as motionless as a meditating monk.

Outside the window, the night was heavy and all was silent. Only the remaining signs of battle in the distant mountains proved that everything tonight had truly happened.

Early the next morning, while the sky was only beginning to brighten, Team 1 was already packed and ready to depart.

The old village chief and Heiji came to see them off with several villagers, thanking them profusely and stuffing them with some dry rations and water.

"May your journey be safe, honored ninja!"

Yamato nodded in acknowledgment, then led his three students onto the road back to Konoha.

Without the burden of escorting supplies or needing to accommodate ordinary people, the four of them traveled at full speed.

There was no need to mention Yamato and Tejima Shinichi. Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu barely managed to keep up with their pace as well.

No one spoke along the way, and the atmosphere was much more stifling than it had been on the journey there.

Only Kobayashi Ken occasionally exchanged a few quiet words with Sato Yu. Tejima Shinichi remained silent throughout, while Yamato was lost in thought.

Finally, around dusk that day, Konoha's familiar gates appeared in their sight.

One of Konoha's gate guards, Izumo Kamizuki, spotted them first and raised a hand with a smile. "Oh! Yamato's Team, back from your mission?"

Kotetsu Hagane, beside him, also gave a slight nod.

"Yeah." Yamato answered briefly. He had no mood for small talk, so after registering, he led the three through the gates and into the village.

Standing on the bustling streets and looking at the peaceful scene of passersby, Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu finally showed truly relaxed smiles, as though last night's bloodshed and danger had been nothing more than a distant nightmare.

"We're finally back!"

Kobayashi Ken stretched his arms, tugging at the wound on his waist and making him bare his teeth in pain, but he was in an excellent mood.

Yamato stopped and looked at the three of them.

"The mission was successfully completed. You've all worked hard. It's already late, so we'll postpone the mission report. Everyone gets a day off tomorrow. Gather at the usual place at eight in the morning the day after tomorrow."

"Yes! Thank you, Teacher!"

Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu immediately agreed. An extra day of rest was naturally a good thing.

Tejima Shinichi also nodded to show that he understood.

"Dismissed." Yamato waved his hand.

"Goodbye, Teacher!" "See you the day after tomorrow, Shinichi!" After saying their farewells, Kobayashi Ken and Sato Yu headed toward their respective homes, their figures quickly vanishing into the crowd.

Tejima Shinichi gave Yamato a slight nod as well before turning to leave. His shadow stretched long beneath the setting sun, making him seem somewhat lonely.

Yamato watched his students depart, his gaze lingering for a long time in the direction Tejima Shinichi had disappeared. In the end, he let out a deep sigh.

"Ha..."

Rubbing his brow, he no longer hesitated. He turned and strode quickly toward the Hokage Building.

Hokage's Office.

The sky outside had completely darkened, and lights gradually lit up throughout the village. Only this place remained brightly illuminated.

White smoke curled from the pipe, blurring Sarutobi Hiruzen's deeply lined face. He had just finished reviewing a document and leaned back wearily in his chair, taking a deep drag before slowly exhaling.

Only he remained in the spacious office.

His gaze fell on the family photograph atop his desk. In it, his wife Biwako smiled gently. Asuma had still been young then, his face full of stubbornness, while standing beside him was his eldest son, wearing a sunny smile...

Things had changed.

Biwako and his eldest son had long since passed away. As for Asuma... there was always something between father and son. That boy would rather wander outside than return to this cold, lonely home.

Perhaps... Sarutobi Hiruzen himself was the same.

Rather than return to that empty residence filled with memories and pain, he preferred staying in this office piled with documents, using endless official duties to numb himself and fill the emptiness in his heart and the pain of losing his loved ones.

"Before I knew it... night has fallen again."

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared at the lights of countless homes outside the window and murmured to himself. His voice carried an inexpressible loneliness, as well as the exhaustion and weariness of a seventy-year-old man that he could no longer conceal.

Just then, someone knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

Sarutobi Hiruzen concealed his exposed emotions.

The door opened, and Yamato walked in silently. He stopped before the desk, his face still carrying the dust of a returned mission.

"Lord Hokage."

"Oh, Yamato." Seeing him, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled warmly and lightly tapped out his pipe. "You're back from the mission? Looking at you, it seems this trip didn't go too smoothly?"

Yamato's lips moved, as though he didn't know how to begin. In the end, he merely said in a heavy voice,

"Lord Hokage, we..."

At the same time, deep within the Root base.

Aburame Torune appeared and spoke quietly to the figure standing in the darkness with a cane.

"Lord Danzo, Yamato and his team, including the target Tejima Shinichi, returned to Konoha ten minutes ago and have now entered the village."

Shimura Danzō stood with his back to him, his body utterly still in the shadows. Yet the hand gripping his cane tightened slightly.

Silence.

Oppressive silence spread through the darkness.

Last night, the Yamanaka Fu Squad had retreated in a miserable state. The news they brought back still thundered in his mind.

The Tanuki Squad had been nearly wiped out, losing one Jonin and three Chunin.

And the one who had accomplished it was the Genin he had regarded as already being in the palm of his hand—Tejima Shinichi!

According to the surviving Chunin's account... he was no longer some genius Genin. He was a monster with Chakra as vast as the sea, able to cast Ninjutsu at will, with a brutal yet cunning fighting style!

He had fought five Root elites alone, killed four of them in return, and severely injured one more. If Yamanaka Fu had not arrived in time to interfere, they might not even have known why the ambush squad had been annihilated!

This was no longer an error in assessment. This was a complete and utter misjudgment!

Such strength, such potential... and such an unruly, ruthless nature!

"Evil little brat..."

Shimura Danzō once again forced out the curse through clenched teeth.

How many times had this been already?

Ever since setting his sights on that brat from the Teshima Clan, he had suffered setback after setback.

First, he had been publicly humiliated in the Hokage's Office. Now, he had lost an entire elite squad!

In this period alone, he had been angered more times than in the previous year combined.

Tejima Shinichi was like a poisoned thorn embedded in his flesh. Every touch caused him excruciating pain.

Aburame Torune stood silently to the side. His expression was hidden beneath his mask, but his slightly lowered head showed that he was bearing Danzo's fury.

"From this moment on, suspend all actions against Tejima Shinichi."

"Yes."

Aburame Torune accepted the order and withdrew.

Shimura Danzō stood alone in the shadows and slammed his cane heavily against the ground.

He knew Hiruzen would summon him soon. This matter could not be concealed, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's anger would have to be faced.

But Shimura Danzō never fought an unprepared battle. He turned and headed for the exit of the base.

"It's time... to pay a visit to Homura and Koharu."

Shimura Danzō's voice echoed through the darkness.

He needed allies. He needed voices capable of balancing the Hokage.

Only by joining forces with those two Advisor Elders to apply pressure could he make Hiruzen... compromise once again!

Hokage's Office.

After listening to Yamato's report, Sarutobi Hiruzen's face had turned livid.

"Well-trained, coordinated, Yamanaka secret techniques... and Shinichi was the target," his voice was icy. "Within the Land of Fire, who else could it be?!"

Yamato remained silent.

The answer was self-evident.

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

"I understand." He waved his hand tiredly. "Let Shinichi calm down. I will handle this matter."

Yamato bowed and withdrew.

Watching Yamato leave, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat quietly for a moment, his expression grave.

"Someone."

An Anbu figure appeared in an instant.

"Notify Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu. Come to the Hokage's Office immediately for an emergency meeting."

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, the Anbu figure vanished in an instant!

Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes, his fingertips lightly tapping against the desk as countless scenes flashed through his mind—

Tejima Shinichi's outstanding performance at the Ninja Academy, his composure during the graduation examination, and the shocking strength and near-death danger Yamato had just described when he faced five Root elites alone... Then there was Shimura Danzō's increasingly overbearing face, hidden in the shadows.

Again and again!

After the Nine-Tails Rebellion, his relentless pressure against the Uchiha clan; his role in driving Hatake Sakumo to his death; even his insane attempt to assassinate him... and now, despite his repeated warnings, he had actually dared to dispatch an elite squad to murder a genius Genin from their own village within the Land of Fire!

"For the sake of your twisted ideals of 'Konoha,' for the sake of your swollen lust for power, Danzo... you have become more and more without limits! You treat the village as your private property, your comrades as tools, and darkness as the only way!"

"Are you... still the companion I once placed such high hopes on... the one who helped found Konoha?"

"Tap, tap, tap..."

As Sarutobi Hiruzen murmured, the sound of his fingertips striking the desk grew heavier and more urgent.

At last—

The tapping stopped abruptly!

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes snapped open!

The eyes that were usually so gentle now blazed with the same sharp light they had held in his youth!

A long-lost, overwhelming presence surged from his stooped body, instantly filling the entire room. Even the air seemed to congeal, heavy and still!

Sarutobi Hiruzen slowly rose to his feet, his Hokage robes stirring without wind.

"Danzo..."

His deep voice rang through the office, no longer carrying the hesitation and uncertainty from before...

"This time... I will never let you... do as you please again!"

"Konoha's leaves will never be allowed... to be wantonly devoured by a pest like you again!"

The last trace of old affection and compromise he held for his old friend was severed completely.

For Konoha's future, for those new shoots thriving beneath the sunlight, he had to wield the Hokage's authority and completely cut off that hand hidden in the shadows—one stretched too far and stained with far too much filth!

This time, he would no longer tolerate it, nor would he compromise again!

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up a pen, swiftly wrote several orders onto a blank scroll, and stamped it with the Hokage's seal.