Forward, but with Restraint

"Things aren't looking good..."

The next day, just a few hours after leaving the scene of the incident, Hanyu Yu realized how dire his situation was.

Crossing forests and slipping across borders from one country into another should have been easy for him, but only if he was in good health.

The problem was, he'd been injured the day before, and badly. Then he'd been caught in the rain. All sorts of factors had left him in terrible shape. He'd been running a high fever ever since, his mind muddled and foggy.

Bringing news of Senju Tobirama back to Konoha was a rare opportunity for Hanyu. He wasn't pursuing any grand ambition; at the very least, in these chaotic times, Konoha was a place where he could make a life for himself. So it hadn't been hard to decide to accept.

Joining Konoha marked an unpredictable turning point in Hanyu's life. It might not lead to anything better, but at least things couldn't get worse than they were now. Besides, the sooner the news of the Second's death reached Konoha, the better it would be for the village—and for Hanyu himself. The problem was that he'd realized his body might not hold up to such a grueling journey.

He'd have to cross the forest and the border, enter the Land of Fire, then make his way toward the country's center. Under normal circumstances, Hanyu figured he could reach Konoha in half a month. Though the Hidden Leaf Village was called a "hidden village," its location was actually well known. Even if Hanyu knew nothing about it, he could still find Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It was too famous to be cut off from the outside world, so its location was easy to learn—especially once he was in the Land of Fire.

Hanyu's current condition was far worse than "not looking good" could describe. The damp soil in the woods after the rain, the towering trees, and the moisture released by their lush leaves had left the air saturated. His clothes clung tightly to his skin, and he felt as if he couldn't breathe.

What Hanyu needed now was a good rest, preferably until his condition improved before he continued to Konoha. But... first, a battle had just broken out here, and the people involved had been the Raikage and the Hokage. He was worried there might be other shinobi in the area investigating what had happened. Second, the little food he had wasn't enough to sustain him while he rested in the forest. Third, he had no way of knowing whether rest alone would make his wounds better. He needed medicine and further treatment.

So, under the circumstances, all he could do was press on as best he could.

The Second's efforts to save Hanyu yesterday had probably been limited. Tobirama wasn't known for exceptional medical skills, and what could anyone expect from someone who was already at death's door?

Hanyu's head was swimming as he trudged onward, his injured arm dragging at his side. He could still just barely make out the direction he was going, but he didn't know that, after he'd passed through a certain area, a pair of hawk-sharp eyes had fixed on him.

Just as Hanyu had guessed, this supposedly deserted stretch of forest was crawling with scouts from various factions.

Another hour passed before Hanyu reached a stream. Parched, he was about to scoop up some water when a complete stranger's voice rang out behind him.

"Don't move."

At the same time, a sharp Kunai pressed against the back of his neck.

It had all happened in an instant, but Hanyu knew he had no choice but to obey whatever the other person said. He raised the only arm he could move, showing that he had no intention of resisting.

In the reflection on the stream, he could see half the stranger's face behind him. He also caught sight of the symbol on the man's Forehead Protector... It marked him as an Iwagakure Ninja.

But a Forehead Protector wasn't absolute proof. The man might have been a shinobi from another village disguised as an Iwagakure Ninja. By location, Hanyu was now in the Land of Fields, a small country between the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Fire. Since the war began, it had been one of the most chaotic regions, with all sides tangled together. It was perfectly reasonable for shinobi from any of the three countries to be here.

"Don't turn around. I'll ask the questions, and you'll answer. How did you get those injuries?" The man's cold voice rang out again.

After watching Hanyu along the way, the Iwagakure Ninja had already determined that the boy wasn't a shinobi, just an ordinary person. But that raised an obvious question: if he was an ordinary person, why was he here, and how had he been injured?

That was why Hanyu had drawn his attention.

Unlike the Second yesterday, this shinobi was treating him as a shinobi would normally treat an ordinary person. If the man decided Hanyu was worthless or a threat, he would kill him without hesitation.

The moment he was seized, Hanyu understood his predicament, so he answered without hesitation. "Yesterday, I accidentally stumbled into a battle between shinobi and got caught in the crossfire. Then both sides died, and one of them asked me to deliver information to his village before he died."

He didn't hold anything back. Instead, he blurted out the whole story, even using the more serious word "intelligence" rather than simply saying he'd been asked to pass along a message.

"Which village is the intelligence for?"

"Konoha."

"Where is it?"

"Here."

Then Hanyu carefully took the slip of paper from inside his shirt and slowly held it out behind him.

The man took the note with one hand, while the hand holding the Kunai remained firmly pressed against Hanyu's neck. But then Hanyu felt the Kunai leave his neck for the briefest instant.

The note bore a short coded message. Unless someone was a Konoha shinobi—specifically, one in the intelligence division—they wouldn't be able to decipher it quickly. So the Iwagakure Ninja had no idea what it said.

But he could at least learn what had happened from the ordinary person in front of him, then use that to make an educated guess about the message. If the intelligence was valuable, then Hanyu, as its source, was valuable too. So he wouldn't be killed right away.

"Turn around slowly. There's something I need to confirm."

"Huh?"

Hanyu turned without thinking, and a powerful will he couldn't resist came crashing over him.

"Genjutsu..." If he'd still been able to speak, that was what he would have said.

"Do you know the identity of the Konoha shinobi who asked you to deliver the intelligence?" There was no need for the other man to worry about Hanyu lying now. To get the most accurate information in the shortest time, using genjutsu to interrogate him was the best method.

"Senju Tobi..." Just as Hanyu was about to reveal the name without realizing it, his unfocused eyes suddenly cleared.

Almost the instant he regained consciousness, his badly injured arm jerked up and seized the hand holding the Kunai.

A shinobi who couldn't form hand seals couldn't use jutsu. If he could control the shinobi's hand, he could physically seal off most of his abilities.

"Impossible! How can you break free of my genjutsu? You're just an ordinary person..." The situation changed in an instant, and the shinobi before him had no idea what had happened.

Genjutsu worked by using chakra to interfere with a target's five senses. To break free, the victim had to disrupt the flow of their own chakra. It all depended on chakra. In short, an ordinary person without any chakra should have been helpless against genjutsu.

"Your comrades still haven't shown up during the interrogation. That means you really are working alone." That conclusion put Hanyu somewhat at ease.

The enemy scoffed at his reaction. Even if the young man had somehow broken free of genjutsu, did he really think he could take on an experienced shinobi? The Iwagakure Ninja instinctively tried to wrench Hanyu's hand away, but what happened next finally startled him. No matter how hard he struggled, Hanyu's grip didn't budge.

Only then did he notice the chakra suddenly surging from Hanyu.

Following Hanyu's thin, frail arm, the man saw the gaping wound on his shoulder. Black, bulging veins spread out from it like tree roots.

Hanyu clenched his teeth and poured all his strength into driving the Kunai toward the man's heart. He knew this was his only chance to escape danger. If he let the enemy break free, he'd have no hope of defeating him.

The energy bursting from Hanyu was something even a shinobi couldn't withstand. The next moment, the sharp Kunai plunged into the man's chest.

"You... are... a shinobi?" Despair and disbelief filled the Iwagakure Ninja's face.

"I wasn't before, but I might consider it as a career from now on."

"What... is going on?"

I'd like to know that myself... Hanyu thought, but he didn't answer. He let the shinobi crumple to the ground, blood covering him.

The moment he fell under the genjutsu, something seemed to trigger a strange force within him. It had not only helped him break the genjutsu, but had also given him the strength to kill a shinobi.

But the force had come and gone just as quickly. After that instant, he couldn't lift his arm again. Hanyu looked at his wound. He'd naturally noticed the strange changes in his body... It seemed that only the power shinobi used could stand against a shinobi's strength.

With no time to think it through, Hanyu retrieved the note the enemy had taken and pulled out the Kunai. But when he stood up again, he found himself surrounded by another group of shinobi.

Couldn't he have even a moment to enjoy the relief of surviving?

Hanyu couldn't help but smile bitterly. He'd truly done everything he could.

"Weren't you working alone? Why are there people following you?"

Hanyu didn't even have time to ask. Exhausted and burning with fever, he passed out.

But before he lost consciousness, there was one thing his blurred vision failed to see: the newcomers all wore Konoha Forehead Protectors.