Remedy

How could Hatake Sakumo be here, and with his injured comrade? A strong sense of déjà vu washed over Taiichi.

But regardless, reuniting with Sakumo and treating the wounded is Taiichi's top priority right now.

When the two sides closed to within 100 meters, Hatake Sakumo clearly noticed Taiichi approaching and sensed that the other had already drawn his sword and assumed a fighting stance.

Taiichi immediately slowed his pace. When the distance was about 50 meters, Taiichi spoke first. He didn't want to test the sharpness of the White Fang Short Sword.

"Sakumo- Senior, it's me, Taichi Matsushita!"

Upon hearing the sound, Hatake Sakumo was clearly startled, but he did not let his guard down, still holding his Short Sword and staring intently in Taiichi's direction.

When Taiichi finally emerged from the dense forest, Hatake Sakumo visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and then a look of great joy appeared on his face.

"Taiichi, quick! There's a seriously wounded person here who urgently needs medical attention!"

Without waiting for Taiichi's reply, Body Flicker appeared in front of Taiichi and tried to grab Taiichi.

Taiichi skillfully dodged Hatake Sakumo's pull, and said to his puzzled gaze, "Sakumo- Senior, you'd better be careful. I'm just Shadow Clone. If you try to use my Body Flicker ability while holding me back, I might explode."

Hatake Sakumo looked at Taiichi with surprise. At such close range, he could naturally sense the abundant Chakra within Taiichi's body. This was nothing like the Chakra Quantity Shadow Clone. Could it be that Taiichi had made Taiichi great progress during this time?

But Hatake Sakumo wasn't one to pry into other people's secrets; saving lives was his top priority.

Taiichi followed Hatake Sakumo to a makeshift cave. Looking at the person lying inside, there weren't many external injuries. The most serious one was a penetrating wound on the shoulder, but judging from the amount of bleeding, it wasn't fatal.

A green light appeared on my hand; I checked my internal body.

The internal organs were injured and displaced due to the violent shock of the explosion. The internal bleeding was severe. If not treated in time, even if he survives the rest of his life, he can forget about being a ninja.

Before the formal treatment began, Taiichi finally remembered something and hurriedly explained to Hatake Sakumo that he still had two tails following him. He hadn't expected that what he originally intended to do to attract the attention of the Sunagakure Ninja would end up bringing the Sunagakure Ninja to the main character.

Seeing Taiichi's embarrassment, Hatake Sakumo didn't care about the so-called tail at all, "You stay here and treat Yusuke, I'll go take care of the tail behind you!"

Without waiting for Taiichi's reply, he turned and walked straight out of the cave.

"What a straightforward personality!"

Thinking about it, Taiichi looked at the ninja named Yusuke lying on the Taiseki. Judging from his attire, he should be a Special Jonin. If Taiichi's guess was correct, this should be the person who caused White Fang's Suicide and the one who blamed White Fang.

Taiichi stared at Yusuke, his fingers trembling slightly. The other man's face was growing paler due to blood loss. If he did nothing, without White Fang's supervision, the other man would soon die from excessive blood loss.

After a long while, Taiichi's hand still glowed green and he pressed it against Yusuke's chest.

Although Taiichi isn't a good person, he wouldn't go out of his way to kill someone for something that hasn't even happened Taiichi. Otherwise, Obito Uchiha would have been killed countless times already.

A green light surrounded the patient; the Mystical Palm Technique stopped the bleeding, and the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique the blood clots removed the stagnant blood—everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

A moment later, figures flashed by. Before Taiichi's treatment was finished, Hatake Sakumo had already cleaned up the tail and returned to the cave.

Taiichi look up, and asked as if nothing had happened, "Senior, what mission were you on? Why are you in such a sorry state?"

"It was a secret mission, but we encountered a formidable enemy. Yusuke was seriously injured, so we had no choice but to bring him back first." Hatake Sakumo was also helpless. Who would have thought that the assassination would run into Chiyo of Sunagakure? The old woman may be old, but her senses are not weak at all, and she was able to detect him.

With Yusuke severely injured by the Explosive Tag, Sakumo had no choice but to abandon his plan to kill him outright and retreat with Yusuke.

"Abandoned the mission!" It seems that Hatake Sakumo has no idea about his current situation. Normally, abandoning a mission would just result in a mission failure being recorded.

Of all the ninjas in Konoha, how many have a 100% mission completion rate? But that doesn't stop some people from trying to exploit this situation.

Taiichi glanced at Sakumo, Taiichi still completely unaware, and while his hands continued moving, he said, "The Sunagakure ninjas are currently searching for you relentlessly. Your target's defenses must be weak. Have you considered a surprise attack, Senior?"

Sakumo was taken aback by his words; he hadn't considered this idea before. After all, there was still an injured person to care for at that time, but things were different now. Looking at Taiichi, who was casting a spell, Sakumo unconsciously asked, "How long can your Shadow Clone last?"

Hearing Sakumo's question, Taiichi's lips curled slightly, "If we don't fight, after treating this person, he can probably hold on for about half a day."

"Alright," Hatake Sakumo made up his mind after only a moment's thought. Of course, he also wanted to complete the mission, but his comrades held a higher place in his heart. Now that he had a chance to make amends, he would not hesitate.

Before leaving, Sakumo left behind a Shadow Clone. Sunagakure Ninja had just been killed here, so it was no longer safe. Once Taiichi finished treating them, they would definitely need to be moved. With this Shadow Clone, he could also notify the original body of their new location.

Watching Hatake Sakumo leave, Taiichi's worries did not diminish in the slightest. Sakumo's Suicide was not only due to the rumors in the village, but more importantly, the collapse of his own beliefs, which was the key.

Taiichi can only take it one step at a time and do his best to turn the situation around. After all, he received his teachings from their family when he was weak.

Half an hour later, Taiichi finished his treatment. Thanks to the timely treatment, the ninja named Yusuke's ninja career for the rest of his life was saved.

Taiichi was taken aback by this thought. He wondered if this ninja was blaming Hatake Sakumo because his ninja career was ruined and his mission was not completed because Sakumo wanted to save him.

Taiichi shook his head, dispelling those thoughts. "Sakumo- Senior, let's go!"

Two Shadow Clone, carrying a wounded soldier, swiftly traversed the dense forest. After about two hours, they finally found a new hiding place.

After settling everything, Sakumo's Shadow Clone dispelled itself, and his memories flowed back to his main body through a mysterious passage, bringing a sense of peace to the main body who was on his way. Now he had no worries about the mission.

Meanwhile, Taiichi, the Shadow Clone, was either tending to the wounded from time to time or sitting quietly on the ground, trying to minimize his energy expenditure and hold out as long as possible.

Another half hour later, a soft groan was heard, followed by a low "water."

Taiichi stood up, picked up the water that had been prepared beforehand, and handed it to Yusuke's lips.

After taking a few sips, Yusuke regained consciousness. Upon seeing his surroundings and the ninja in front of him, he was startled and instinctively tried to get up, but the pain throughout his body caused him to collapse back to the ground.

"Don't be so nervous, I'm also Konoha ninja." At that moment, Taiichi's voice finally drifted over.

After a long pause to calm himself, Yusuke turned back to Taiichi and asked in a heavy voice, "Who are you?"

What is my current situation?

He had clearly anticipated the injuries he had sustained, which is why his words sounded so sorrowful.

"Taichi Matsushita, your injury is nothing serious. Just rest and recover."

"You're Taichi Matsushita!" The surprise in those words was palpable even to a ghost.

"You know me?" Taiichi couldn't help but ask, wondering if he was that famous now that a complete stranger, a ninja, knew him.

"The Captain mentioned it; your Medical Ninjutsu is excellent." Yusuke's tone was full of joy. "That's wonderful! I thought—"

As he spoke, Yusuke choked with emotion, "No matter what, thank you so much!"

Goodness, they're even using honorifics now, Taiichi thought to himself.

"By the way, where's Captain Sakumo? We can't find him."

"He went on to complete his mission; he'll probably be back in a day or two!"

"That's good, that's good!" Yusuke, his face full of self-reproach. "It's all because of me that the Captain abandoned the mission before, but now everything's alright."

A smile bloomed on his face, as if he had received some kind of redemption.

The two chatted casually for a while, during which Taiichi asked about their mission, but Yusuke, being a typical ninja, Taiichi down with a simple "classified mission."

After about six hours, Taiichi suddenly said, "My time is almost up. You stay here and wait for Sakumo- Senior to return."

Taiichi took out some pre-prepared supplies and placed them next to Yusuke. Then, with a "pop," he turned into smoke and disappeared.

Yusuke stared blankly at the spot where the white smoke had dissipated, lost in thought. So the one he had been chatting with the whole time was just a Shadow Clone. What about the one who had been healing him earlier?

Yusuke shuddered and sighed, "Are all the kids these days monsters?!"

As the Shadow Clone dissipated, the original body finally obtained information from the returned memories.

Taiichi's lips curled slightly. So far, everything was going smoothly. He had done all he could, and there was nothing he could do about the rest. The only thing he could do now was to finish his task as soon as possible and return to Konoha.

Taiichi's smile was noticed by his team members who were watching closely, and they all gathered around Taiichi.

Before anyone could ask, Taiichi spoke up, "It's Sakumo- Senior. He abandoned his mission to save a seriously injured comrade and was being chased by Sunagakure Ninja— "

As Taiichi recounted the events, everyone understood the whole story. Yohei and Saori naturally didn't think much of it. In their eyes, Sakumo's willingness to abandon his mission for his comrades was a display of loyalty and righteousness, embodying the Will of Fire that never abandons or gives up.

Captain Yamaguchi frowned slightly upon hearing this. It wasn't that he didn't value his comrades, but the mission that Sakumo was entrusted with must be of paramount importance. Abandoning the mission now would have serious consequences.

Although Sakumo continued to carry out missions later, the effectiveness of this remedial measure was greatly reduced. Captain Yamaguchi couldn't help but feel somewhat worried.

Seeing that Yohei and Saori were still happy to be able to help their comrades, Captain Yamaguchi did not voice his concerns.

After the lively atmosphere subsided, the group resumed their inspection tour, and the delegation continued its own itinerary.

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Land of Rivers.

Alone, Sakumo easily infiltrated the city, and his mission was simple: to kill all ten trusted subordinates of the new Daimyo of the Land of Rivers.

As for the reason, it was betrayal. That's right, the new Eldest Young Master of the Land of Rivers, formerly the Daimyo son of the king, turned his back on his former allies after ascending to Daimyo position. He broke his alliance with Konoha and began flirting with Sunagakure.

Konoha could no longer tolerate this; after all, traitors were far more detestable than enemies.

Thus, Hatake Sakumo carried out this assassination attempt. Firstly, it was to warn the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers not to go too far; secondly, it was to make room for officials who were close to the Land of Fire, since the new Daimyo had removed many officials who were close to the Land of Fire.

Of course, it's best to do all this quietly, since assassinating a nobleman from another country is not a very honorable thing, and if it's not handled well, it can easily be resisted by the noble class.

But now, Hatake Sakumo can only feel helpless, as one of his previous mission targets was actually discussing matters with Chiyo of Sunagakure.

Chiyo, as expected of a veteran ninja, possessed undiminished strength and easily discovered the other Konoha Ninja was also lying in ambush.

The consequences were obvious: faced with the siege of Sunagakure, Hatake Sakumo ultimately abandoned the mission for the sake of his comrades.

Fortunately, he encountered Taiichi later. Thinking of this, Sakumo couldn't help but smile. Looking at the targets not far away, this surprise attack had clearly caught everyone off guard. The guards around the targets had not been strengthened, but rather weakened considerably.

This was the last target of the mission. Relying on his speed, Sakumo silently crept up behind the target, covered his mouth with one hand, and slit his throat with the other, his movements incredibly practiced. After finishing, he quietly left.

It wasn't until Hatake Sakumo left the capital of the Land of Rivers that the first dead body was discovered by the servants of his household. As more and more bodies were discovered, the entire capital was in an uproar.

The complete blockade and the search for the murderer were just for show. The Daimyo of the Land of Rivers knew perfectly well that this was Konoha's doing, but what could he do? He was genuinely afraid. This time it was his minister who was killed; next time, would it be him?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the capital, inside the Post House, Chiyo and several Jonin were looking in the direction of the Daimyo's Daimyo's Mansion.

"We miscalculated after all. We didn't expect Hatake Sakumo to come back again." A Jonin took the blame.

"Elder, what do we do now? I think the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers will probably back down," another Jonin asked worriedly.

"Once you're on the ship, it's not like he can just walk away. Konoha can kill people, but does that mean the swords of Sunagakure aren't sharp enough!" Chiyo suppressed her anger. Her son's killer had come and gone twice before her eyes, yet she hadn't seized the opportunity. You can imagine how she felt at that moment.

"Give the order to spread the news of Konoha Ninja' wanton slaughter of foreign nobles. Let everyone know their true colors and see how Konoha will behave."

"Yes!" The Jonin exchanged glances, their faces beaming with joy. This move, achieved without bloodshed, could humiliate Konoha and perhaps even instill fear in the Land of Rivers. In that case, all the requests that were originally from Konoha would end up in Sunagakure.

After leaving the capital of the Land of Rivers, Sakumo rushed to the location where Yusuke was hiding. The distance was quite far, and it wasn't until the next day that Sakumo arrived at the cave where Yusuke was.

Seeing that Yusuke was already able to move around on his own with some difficulty, Sakumo once again marveled at Taiichi's prowess. At the same time, he felt fortunate to have met Taiichi, because if it weren't for him, he didn't know how this mission would have turned out.

After exchanging pleasantries, Sakumo carried Yusuke on his back and headed towards Konoha. It wasn't safe there; Sunagakure ninjas could come after them at any moment, so it was better to leave as soon as possible.

On the way Sakumo also told Yusuke about his gains. When he learned that all the mission targets had been killed, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and now he had nothing to worry about anymore.

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