Proceed and Halt

"This is not looking good..."

The next day, only a few hours after leaving the site of the incident, Hanyu Yu realized the precariousness of his situation.

Traversing jungles and slipping across borders from one country to another should have been a familiar routine for him, but that only applied if his physical condition were sound.

The problem was that he had been injured yesterday—and quite severely at that—followed immediately by being caught in the rain. Due to these factors, his physical state had deteriorated drastically; he was currently running a high fever, and his mind felt heavy and clouded.

Bringing news of Senju Tobirama back to the Hidden Leaf Village was a rare opportunity for Hanyu. Regardless of any grand ambitions, the Hidden Leaf was, at the very least, a place where he could secure a livelihood in these chaotic times, so he had not found it difficult to make the decision to accept the task.

Entering the Hidden Leaf meant an unpredictable turning point in Hanyu's life. The direction of this turn might not necessarily be better, but it certainly could not be worse than his current predicament. Furthermore, the sooner the news of the Second Hokage's death reached the village, the more advantageous it would be for the Hidden Leaf, and by extension, for Hanyu himself. The problem now, however, was that he found his body incapable of sustaining such high-intensity travel.

Crossing jungles, traversing borders, entering the Land of Fire, and then heading toward the center of the country—under normal circumstances, Hanyu estimated that half a month would be enough to reach the Hidden Leaf. Although the Hidden Leaf Village was called a "hidden village," its location was actually quite clear. Even if Hanyu knew nothing about it, he could still find one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. It was too famous and not entirely cut off from the outside world, making its location easy to ascertain, especially while within the borders of the Land of Fire.

Hanyu's current physical state could by no means be summarized by a mere "not looking good." The damp soil in the forest after the rain, the towering trees, and the transpiration from the lush leaves all made the moisture in the air overly saturated. He felt as if his clothes were plastered tightly against his skin, leaving him unable to breathe.

In his current situation, Hanyu needed a good rest, preferably waiting until his condition improved before heading to the Hidden Leaf. However... firstly, because of the battle that had erupted here—involving figures like the Raikage and the Hokage—Hanyu worried that other ninjas might be in the area scouting the situation. Secondly, the meager dry rations he carried were insufficient to sustain him while resting in the forest. Thirdly, he had no way of knowing if his injuries would improve with rest alone; he needed medicine and further treatment.

Therefore, under these circumstances, he had no choice but to push forward.

Given the situation yesterday, the medical aid the Second Hokage had provided to Hanyu was likely very limited. The former was not a ninja known for exquisite medical techniques, and besides, what could one expect him to do for someone who was already at the end of his rope?

Hanyu's head felt heavy and dizzy as he dragged his injured arm forward. Although he could barely discern the direction, he did not know that after he passed through a certain area, a pair of hawk-like eyes had already locked onto him.

Just as Hanyu had guessed, this dense forest, which should have been uninhabited, was by no means lacking in scouting ninjas from various factions.

An hour later, Hanyu arrived beside a stream. Parched and desperate for a drink, he was just about to scoop up some water when an entirely unfamiliar voice rang out from behind him.

"Don't move."

At the same time, a sharp kunai was pressed against his neck from behind.

The situation escalated suddenly, but Hanyu knew that no matter what the other party said, he had to listen. He raised his only functional arm, signaling that he had no intention of resisting.

In the reflection of the stream, he could see half of the stranger's face hidden behind him, and he caught a glimpse of the symbol on the stranger's forehead protector... it indicated that the enemy was a ninja from Iwagakure.

However, a forehead protector was not absolute proof; the opponent could be a ninja from another village disguised as one from Iwagakure. Geographically, the forest where Hanyu was located was within the Land of Fields, a small country sandwiched between the Land of Earth, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Fire. Since the war began, this had been the most chaotic zone, with various factions intertwined; it was reasonable for ninjas from all three countries to appear here.

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

Through his observations along the way, this Iwagakure ninja had already determined that the child before him was not a ninja, but an ordinary person. The contradiction, however, was why an ordinary person would appear here, and how to explain the injuries on his body?

It was precisely because of this that Hanyu had been targeted.

Compared to the attitude the Second Hokage had shown him yesterday, this ninja's attitude was more representative of how a ninja treated an ordinary person—if the ninja judged him to be worthless or a threat, he would be killed without hesitation.

The moment Hanyu was held hostage, he understood his situation, so he answered without hesitation, "Yesterday, I accidentally stumbled into a battle between ninjas and was caught in the crossfire. Both sides ended up killing each other, and before one of them died, he asked me to deliver intelligence to his village."

Not only did he hold nothing back, but he spilled everything like beans, even using the more serious term "intelligence" instead of "message."

"Which village is the intelligence for?"

"The Hidden Leaf."

"Where is the intelligence?"

"Right here."

Then, Hanyu carefully took the note from his chest and handed it backward with slow movements.

The opponent took the note with one hand, while the hand holding the kunai remained firmly pressed against Hanyu's neck. However, he felt as if the kunai had drifted away from his neck for a split second.

The note contained a brief code; unless one was a ninja from the Hidden Leaf, and specifically from the intelligence department, it would be impossible to decipher it in a short time. Therefore, the Iwagakure ninja did not know what was written on it.

But at least he could learn the sequence of events from this ordinary person and use that to guess the content of the intelligence. If the intelligence was valuable, then Hanyu, as the source, was also valuable, so he would not be killed immediately.

"Turn your head slowly. There are some things I need to confirm."

"Huh?"

Hanyu turned his head instinctively, and immediately, an irresistible, powerful will surged toward him.

Genjutsu... If he could still speak, he would have surely said that.

"Do you know the identity of the Hidden Leaf ninja who asked you to deliver the intelligence?" The opponent no longer worried about Hanyu lying. To obtain the most accurate intelligence in the shortest time, using Genjutsu for interrogation was the most appropriate method.

"Senju Tobir..." Just as Hanyu was about to blurt out the name without realizing it, his dazed eyes suddenly became clear again.

Almost the moment he regained consciousness, Hanyu's severely injured arm suddenly shot up and gripped the opponent's hand that was holding the kunai.

A ninja who cannot perform hand signs cannot use techniques; by controlling a ninja's hands, one could physically seal off most of their capabilities.

"Impossible, how could you break free from my Genjutsu? You, an ordinary person..." In an instant, the situation changed drastically. The ninja before him had no idea what had just happened.

Genjutsu is the interference of an object's five senses using chakra. To break free, the victim must disrupt their own chakra flow, all of which is based on the existence of chakra. Simply put, an ordinary person without chakra should be helpless against Genjutsu.

"If your companions haven't appeared during this interrogation, it means you really are acting alone." It must be said that this conclusion made Hanyu feel relieved.

This reaction made the enemy sneer. Even if he had broken free from the Genjutsu through some unknown method, did this young man really think he could handle an experienced ninja? Instinctively, the Iwagakure ninja tried to pry Hanyu's hand away, but the next moment, he was finally struck with astonishment—no matter how hard he pushed, that hand remained motionless.

Only then did he notice the chakra reaction suddenly erupting from Hanyu's body.

Looking up along Hanyu's thin, frail arm, one could see the gaping wound on his shoulder, with pitch-black, bulging veins spreading out from the wound like tree roots.

Hanyu gritted his teeth and used all his strength to drive the kunai into the opponent's heart. He knew this was his only chance to escape danger; once the enemy broke free, he would have no chance of defeating him.

The energy erupting from his body was something even a ninja could not withstand, and in the next moment, the sharp kunai pierced the latter's chest.

"Are... you... a ninja?" The Iwagakure ninja's face was filled with despair and disbelief.

"I wasn't before, but perhaps I have such career intentions for the future."

"What on earth... is going on?"

I'd like to know that myself... Hanyu thought, but he didn't answer the other's question, letting the ninja collapse to the ground, covered in his own blood.

The moment he had been caught in the genjutsu, as if triggered by some stimulus, a strange power had erupted from within him. That power had not only helped him break free from the illusion but had even granted him the ability to assassinate a ninja.

Yet, this power came as quickly as it went; a moment later, his arm was as limp and immovable as before. Hanyu looked down at his wound, naturally noting the anomaly within himself... It seemed that the only thing capable of contending with a powerful ninja was the power used by ninjas themselves.

With no time to dwell on it, Hanyu retrieved the note the enemy had taken and pulled back his kunai. But as he stood up again, he found himself surrounded by yet another squad of ninjas.

Would they not even grant him a single moment to savor the joy of surviving a disaster?

Hanyu couldn't help but offer a bitter smile; he had truly pushed himself to his absolute limit.

"Not a lone-wolf ninja? Why are there others following behind?"

Hanyu had no time to voice such a question before he collapsed into total unconsciousness, his strength spent and his fever peaking.

However, the one thing his blurred vision failed to see before he blacked out was that the squad of ninjas who had just arrived were all wearing the forehead protectors of Konoha.