Returning to the Village to Report

Hashirama laughed as he looked at the children before him, all of them covered in dust and grime. Torifu especially—his white hair had turned gray.

Hiruzen said guiltily, "I'm sorry, Lord Hokage. I failed in my duty!"

Hashirama patted Hiruzen on the head. "I watched everything you did. You handled it all perfectly. It was only that the enemy's strength exceeded our estimate at the end."

"There was nothing you could do about that. Intelligence is never one hundred percent accurate. Make sure you remember this lesson!"

Hiruzen felt a warmth in his heart at Hashirama's words. Hearing Lord Hokage say that made him feel a little better.

Still, he had failed in his duty. If Lord Hokage hadn't stepped in, he couldn't imagine how they could have handled the situation!

If this had happened on a battlefield, everyone in their group would have had no choice but to die.

Just then, Uchiha Chirori threw herself into Kagami's arms, her voice choked with tears.

Kagami stroked Uchiha Chirori's head and said gently, "I'm just glad you're all right. Do you understand now how dangerous it is to carry out a mission?"

Uchiha Chirori didn't answer, only nodding.

Faced with that enormous fire tornado, she had been completely stunned. She realized she couldn't take part in a battle at that level at all.

She could barely even escape. Fortunately, Lord Hokage had saved her at the critical moment.

When she heard Lord Hokage's voice in that ruined house, suddenly she wasn't afraid of anything anymore.

Kagami lowered his head and whispered to Uchiha Chirori, "If you want to fight alongside Torifu, then work hard to improve yourself."

Uchiha Chirori still said nothing, but she held on to Kagami even more tightly.

"Everyone performed very well during this mission," Hashirama praised them.

"But the most important thing was Torifu's sneak attack on Lomaru. That was the turning point."

Everyone agreed. If Lomaru hadn't been gravely wounded and on the verge of death, who knew how much longer the battle would have gone on?

Hashirama then went over each person's strengths and weaknesses during the fight, helping them clearly understand where they fell short.

In the world of shinobi, you should never become arrogant or complacent. It could have fatal consequences.

"All right, children. The mission is complete. Let's return to the village and report in."

Hashirama said with a smile, "I won't be accompanying you for the rest of the journey."

Hashirama's body gradually stiffened, then finally turned into wood.

Hiruzen couldn't help clicking his tongue. "He used such a powerful jutsu, and it was only a clone!"

Danzo patted him on the shoulder. "Lord Hokage is busy with official business. How could he personally come out for such a low-level mission?"

"That's true. Lord Hokage really is strong!"

There was no question about it. The God of Shinobi was no joke.

"All right, let's hurry back and report in. That battle really wore us out."

With that, Hiruzen led his companions toward the mouth of the valley.

But when they got there, they remembered that Torifu's jutsu had blocked off the entire valley.

"Torifu, can you undo this jutsu?"

Torifu nodded and walked over to touch the crystal.

Then he snapped his fingers. The Crystal Vine Net shattered at once, and all the Crystal Vines outside the valley crumbled and disappeared along with it.

Looking at Torifu's Kekkei Genkai, Hiruzen felt a peculiar envy. He could generate an endless supply of crystal just by using Chakra.

Wasn't that just an endless supply of money?

Seeing a few fairly large chunks of crystal still lying on the ground, Hiruzen picked them up.

They were such beautiful crystals. He planned to take them back and give them to Biwako. Girls probably liked gems and crystals like these.

With the crystals no longer in their way, everyone set off for Konoha.

Although the mission was over, Torifu still hadn't received a reward from the system—not even a notification.

Torifu figured it was because the mission hadn't been officially turned in yet, so he didn't worry.

After all, there wasn't a single survivor left in the valley. There was no reason the mission wouldn't be completed.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and Kagami Uchiha took the lead, while Koharu, Homura, and Torifu brought up the rear.

They kept Torifu and Uchiha Chirori protected in the middle.

"Torifu, are you hurt?"

"Nope. I'm pretty strong," Torifu replied jokingly.

Uchiha Chirori pouted. "I knew I shouldn't have worried about you."

Just now, Uchiha Chirori had heard from Kagami that Torifu wanted to go rescue her alone. She was deeply moved.

She and Torifu had known each other for only a little over a month, yet Torifu had been willing to risk his life to save her.

So that something like today wouldn't happen again, and so she wouldn't be left behind by Torifu, Uchiha Chirori decided she would train even harder from now on.

Torifu found her expression amusing, but he had no idea what she was thinking.

Although he hadn't known Uchiha Chirori for long, friendship couldn't be measured by time.

Torifu's dream was to live out his life in peace and quiet. But when his family or friends were in danger, his conscience told him he had to step in if he was able.

That was Torifu's principle. If he only wanted to avoid danger and lie low while leaving his friends in trouble, he wouldn't be himself.

"Keep it up, Uchiha Chirori. You're a genius of the Uchiha Clan. You won't be any worse than me."

Hearing Torifu's encouragement strengthened Uchiha Chirori's resolve. Torifu was right. As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, she wouldn't be worse than anyone!

Although they traveled at night, Kagami Uchiha's Sharingan guided the way, and they still made good time.

They arrived back at the small village just as dawn was breaking.

When the villagers heard that the bandits had all been wiped out, they didn't believe it at first. After all, the group had been gone for barely more than a day.

Hiruzen explained it again and again, even bringing up Lord Hokage, before the villagers finally believed him.

The news would soon spread to the surrounding villages. In less than a month, this small village would be back to normal.

Everyone had spent the entire night fighting and traveling, and now they were exhausted.

To avoid anything going wrong on the road, everyone decided to rest briefly in the village before continuing, at Hiruzen's suggestion.

They returned to the inn where they had stayed before, and the owner welcomed them warmly.

He gave them fresh fruit for free and even waived their lodging fees.

But everyone still paid the original price. Life wasn't easy for ordinary people, and Hiruzen and the others weren't short on money.

After resting for about four hours, everyone set off again.

This time, they would head straight to Konoha without stopping.