Returning to the Village to Report

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

Hiruzen said with a look of deep self-reproach, "I apologize, Lord Hokage, I have failed in my duty!"

Hashirama patted Hiruzen on the head. "I have been watching your every move. Everything was handled perfectly; it is just that the enemy's strength exceeded our initial estimates."

"This cannot be helped. Intelligence is never one hundred percent accurate. You must remember the lesson from this experience!"

Hiruzen felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this; knowing that the Hokage felt this way made him feel a little better.

However, a failure was still a failure. If the Hokage hadn't intervened, he truly couldn't imagine how they would have coped.

If they had been on a battlefield, he feared that for this group of people, there would have been no choice but death.

At this moment, Chirori suddenly threw herself into the arms of Kagami, sobbing slightly.

Kagami stroked Chirori's hair and said gently, "It's good that you're alright. Do you realize now how dangerous it is to carry out missions?"

Chirori didn't speak, only nodding her head.

She had been completely stunned in the face of that massive flame tornado, realizing that she had no way to intervene in a battle of that caliber.

She hadn't even been able to escape, and it was only thanks to the Hokage saving her at the critical moment.

When she heard the Hokage's voice in that dilapidated shack, she suddenly felt that there was nothing left to fear.

Kagami lowered his head and whispered to Chirori, "If you want to fight side-by-side with Torifu, then work hard to improve yourself."

Chirori still said nothing, only hugging Kagami a little tighter.

"Everyone performed very well during this operation," Hashirama praised the group.

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

Everyone agreed with this point; if Lomaru hadn't been left critically wounded and dying, there was no telling how much longer this battle would have lasted.

Hashirama then provided a critique of each person's strengths and weaknesses in the battle, allowing everyone to clearly recognize their own shortcomings.

In the world of ninjas, one must never be arrogant or complacent, as it could lead to fatal consequences.

"Alright children, the mission is complete. Let's return to the village to report."

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

Immediately, Hashirama's entire body began to stiffen, eventually turning into wood.

Hiruzen couldn't help but click his tongue. "To think that after releasing such a powerful ninjutsu, it was only a clone!"

Danzo patted him on the shoulder. "The Hokage is busy with government affairs; how could he possibly come in person for such a low-level mission?"

"That is true. The Hokage's strength is truly immense!"

This point was beyond doubt; the God of Shinobi was not someone to be trifled with.

"Alright, let's hurry back to report. This battle has truly worn us out."

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

But upon arriving, they remembered that the entire valley had been blocked by Torifu's ninjutsu.

"Torifu, can you undo this ninjutsu?"

Torifu nodded, stepped forward, and touched the crystal.

He then snapped his fingers, and the crystal vine web shattered instantly, causing all the crystal vines on the outer side of the valley to collapse and vanish as well.

Hiruzen looked at Torifu's Kekkei Genkai with an indescribable sense of envy. This endless supply of crystal only required chakra to generate.

Isn't this just a bottomless pit of money!

Seeing a few large crystal chunks remaining on the ground, Hiruzen gathered them up.

Such beautiful crystals—he planned to take them back as a gift for Biwako. Girls should like these kinds of gemstones and crystals, right?

With the crystal obstruction gone, the group set off to return to Konoha.

Although the mission had ended, Torifu had not received any system rewards, not even a notification.

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

After all, there wasn't a single living soul left in the entire valley; there was no reason for the mission not to be completed.

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

They kept Torifu and Chirori protected in the very center.

"Torifu, are you injured?"

"Not at all, I'm actually quite strong," Torifu replied jokingly.

Chirori pouted upon hearing this. "I knew I shouldn't have worried about you."

Just a moment ago, Chirori had heard from Kagami that Torifu wanted to go and save her all by himself, which moved her deeply.

Her relationship with Torifu had only lasted a little over a month at most, yet Torifu had been willing to risk his life to save her.

To ensure that a situation like today's wouldn't happen again, and to avoid being left behind by Torifu, Chirori decided that she would train even harder in the future.

Torifu wanted to laugh at the sight of Chirori, unaware of what she was thinking.

Although he and Uchiha Chirori had not known each other for long, friendship was not something that could be measured by time.

Although Torifu's dream was to live a quiet and peaceful life, when faced with his loved ones or friends being in danger, his conscience told him that he must act if it was within his power to do so.

This was Torifu's principle for living; if he were to just lie flat to avoid danger and let his friends fall into a crisis, then he would no longer be himself.

"You should keep working hard too, Uchiha Chirori. You are a Genius of the Uchiha Clan, you won't be any worse than me."

Hearing Torifu's encouragement, Uchiha Chirori felt even more determined in her heart. Torifu was right; as a Genius of the Uchiha Clan, she would not be inferior to anyone!

Although they were traveling at night, with Kagami Uchiha leading the way and possessing the Sharingan, the group's speed remained very fast.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, they returned to that small village.

When the villagers learned that the bandits had been completely wiped out, they were initially skeptical, as it had only been a little over a day since they had left and returned.

After Hiruzen explained it repeatedly and even brought up the Hokage, the villagers finally believed them.

This news would soon spread to the surrounding villages, and within a month, this small village would be able to return to normal operations.

Everyone had been fighting and traveling all through the night yesterday, so they were now very exhausted.

To prevent any accidents on the road, at Hiruzen's suggestion, everyone decided to rest in the village for a while before continuing their journey.

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

Not only did he provide fresh fruit for free, but he also waived their accommodation fees.

However, everyone still paid the owner the original price; life for ordinary people was not easy, and Hiruzen and the others were not people who lacked money.

After resting for about four hours, the group set off again.

This time, they would head straight for Konoha in one go.