Sacrifice

Cough, cough!

Haku spat out a mouthful of blood and struggled to his feet. He prepared to give himself some basic treatment before heading over to check on the other battlefield.

Before he had fought this Kirigakure ninja, he seemed to have seen the white-haired ninja over there use a Shikotsumyaku technique. If that was true, things could get serious.

An adult member of the Kaguya Clan who had survived to become a Jonin would be at least an Elite Jonin. If they could use Dance of the Seedling Fern, they might be able to take a Kage Level opponent down with them.

After opening the Sixth Gate and using a youthful version of Morning Peacock, Haku had been so badly injured that he couldn't move, and he'd briefly lost consciousness. Even now, he didn't know how much time had passed.

I wonder how Raccoon and Yu are doing.

As he thought, Haku used the Chakra he had just managed to gather to treat himself with Medical Ninjutsu.

BOOM!

Haku had only been treating himself for a short while and had barely regained his ability to move when he heard a tremendous explosion in the distance.

He immediately stopped treating himself, got to his feet, and hurried toward the sound. If he hadn't mistaken the direction, it was where Hyuga Riko and Uchiha Yu had lured the enemy.

Meanwhile, in a forest not far away.

"Hmm? Over there!"

Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze, who were traveling in the distance, heard the explosion as well. Jiraiya turned to Minato and speculated:

"You said you'd encountered nine ninjas in all. Maybe the other three caught up with Haku and the others over there, and a fight broke out."

"Yeah. Whether it's them or not, we still need to go check. Hurry! If it is them, they probably can't handle three Jonin."

At Minato's words, Jiraiya silently picked up the pace. If something happened to Haku so close to him, he could only imagine how Tsunade and Orochimaru would mock him.

Especially since what had happened to Nawaki was still fresh in his mind. Jiraiya sped up even more.

"Hm?" Jiraiya's two bursts of speed left Minato puzzled. He had no idea what was going on with his teacher.

Before long, Jiraiya and Minato arrived at the place where Haku and Lan had just fought.

Looking at the small lake, several hundred square meters in size, and the scattered rubble blasted everywhere, Minato asked Jiraiya uncertainly:

"Could a Jonin cause this much destruction?"

"To cause this kind of damage in a real fight, the ninja who used Water Release Ninjutsu isn't weak among the Jonin. If he's capable in other areas too, he might even be an Elite Jonin."

"Could Haku and the others be in danger, then?"

Minato searched the area for anyone nearby as he asked his teacher.

"Minato, come look over here."

Jiraiya was the first to find Lan. As he examined Lan's body, he explained what he saw to Minato.

"This ninja's bones are shattered throughout his body, and he has severe internal injuries. There are clear traces of Fire Release attacks. It looks like he was hit from every direction. Take a look—does he look like one of the enemies you encountered?"

After hearing Jiraiya's analysis, Minato moved closer and inspected the body carefully.

"This must be one of the three who pursued Haku's team. But... what happened to him?"

Though the corpse was mangled and badly burned over a large area, Minato recognized him at a glance as one of the enemies who had pursued them.

Jiraiya didn't answer Minato's question directly. Instead, he said something cryptic that left Minato confused.

"Come on. Let's go see the explosion site. Maybe Orochimaru's student isn't so simple."

"Minato, you'll have to work hard. Don't let Orochimaru's student surpass you."

"Otherwise, your teacher will lose face."

With that, Jiraiya took off toward the explosion.

Minato followed behind with a puzzled expression.

Could my teacher be at odds with Lord Orochimaru? Why would he lose face if I were beaten by Lord Orochimaru's student? And why does his back look so sad? We haven't found Haku's body, which means they're probably all right. Shouldn't he be happy?

Minato was still quite innocent at the time. He didn't think too much about it and quickly caught up with Jiraiya.

When Haku reached the site of the explosion, he saw a mountainside collapsed by the blast and a vast forest of white bones.

Not far away, Hyuga Riko was kneeling alone on the ground. His arms hung limply at his sides, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and drop by drop, it soaked the front of his shirt.

He seemed not to notice Haku's arrival. His eyes were vacant as he stared at the rubble before him.

"Raccoon! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where's Yu? And where's the enemy?"