Splitting Up

When the trio returned to the abandoned shrine they were using as a camp, Inuzuka Go was sprawled out on the ground, drool glistening at the corner of his mouth.

Haimaru lifted its head alertly, but upon seeing them, it let out a low whimper as a greeting before settling back down, reassured.

"Hey, wake up."

Yusuke gave Inuzuka Go's calf a gentle nudge with his foot.

He had finally figured out the proper use for Haimaru: it was just a tool-dog meant to stand guard for him.

Inuzuka Go sat up with a start, rubbing his sleep-heavy eyes.

"Captain? Is it dawn? Huh? When did you guys... where did this little brat come from?"

He suddenly noticed that Yusuke was holding the hand of a little red-haired girl.

Her small face was smudged with dirt, and her large, dark eyes were peering at him timidly.

"Rescued her on the way. She's an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan, named Kushina."

"The situation has changed. Mission aborted. We need to take her back to the Konoha Command Base immediately."

Yusuke had no intention of explaining the details.

Hyuga Aya had already begun silently and efficiently packing up the makeshift tent and extinguishing the campfire, her movements clean and precise.

"Huh? We're heading back already? Are we not fighting the war anymore?"

Inuzuka Go scratched his messy, spiky hair, looking completely bewildered.

But seeing Yusuke's expression and Hyuga Aya's already-in-motion stance, he swallowed the rest of his questions and scrambled up to help.

"Alright, fine. Going back to the base is better anyway; this godforsaken place doesn't even have a hot meal."

Haimaru also stood up, shook its fur, and trotted over to sniff at Kushina's feet.

The little girl shrank back in fear, clutching tightly to the hem of Yusuke's clothes.

"Don't be scared, Haimaru doesn't bite people it knows." Inuzuka Go grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

Seeing the look on this weirdo's face, Kushina seemed even more terrified.

Under the cover of the deepest darkness before dawn, the four of them moved rapidly through the scorched earth and broken walls, returning to the Konoha front-line base.

By the time they arrived, the eastern sky was just beginning to turn a pale, fish-belly white.

Yusuke took Kushina directly to the Combat Readiness Department.

Seeing Yusuke and the others push through the door, the Combat Readiness Commander frowned.

"Why did your squad abandon its mission and return in less than a day?"

The Combat Readiness Commander demanded.

Yusuke remained completely unfazed. He explained, "I need to bring this child back to Konoha first."

"She is an orphan of the Uzumaki Clan. Before we departed, Lady Mito asked me to keep an eye out for members of the Uzumaki Clan."

"If anything unexpected happened, I was to bring any Uzumaki clansmen back first."

Yusuke pulled the banner of Mito Uzumaki directly into the fray.

The Combat Readiness Commander looked troubled. He glanced at his subordinate, who immediately understood, left the Combat Readiness Department, and headed toward the Command Tent.

Inside the Command Tent.

Shimura Danzō listened to the report from the member of the Combat Readiness Department, a flash of sinister intent crossing his single eye in the shadows.

"The first Uzumaki Clan girl to appear at the Konoha base, and it just so happens that he is the one who brought her back."

Danzō's fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest of his chair, producing a dull, thudding sound.

"Could other things have fallen into his hands as well?"

He looked toward the direction of the Combat Readiness Department and sneered inwardly: "Want to return to the village? That suits me perfectly. It's easier to clean up the traces and distance myself from the incident if I act within the village's sphere of influence."

"Approve Yusuke's request. Let him escort Kushina Uzumaki back to Konoha first."

Danzō instructed the messenger ninja standing to the side, "After all, protecting the orphans of our allies is a duty Konoha must fulfill."

When Yusuke received the official notice, he was in the tent temporarily assigned to them.

The little girl was starving and was quickly nibbling on some dried meat.

Haimaru watched her, drooling, while Inuzuka Go looked at Yusuke with resentment, as the food had been "requisitioned" from his own supplies.

Yusuke looked at the scroll in his hand, stamped with the seal of the Hokage Assistant, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Danzō had agreed far too readily this time; the process had been so smooth there wasn't a hint of obstruction or delay.

"When things are abnormal, there must be a demon at play. This isn't the style of that old man Danzō."

He calmly put away the scroll and said to Hyuga Aya, who was checking her ninja tools, and the sullen Inuzuka Go, "Pack up. We leave at seven to return to Konoha."

"Great!" Inuzuka Go cheered, and Haimaru let out a "woof" in agreement, clearly missing its own doghouse.

Hyuga Aya simply nodded faintly, her pure white eyes sweeping across Yusuke's face as if trying to discern something.

By morning, the fog was heavy, and the camp was shrouded in a thick, dense mist.

Yusuke's squad moved toward the camp exit with Kushina, silent as shadows.

Just as they were about to pass the sentry post, Yusuke stopped in his tracks.

He turned to Hyuga Aya beside him and, with an incredibly natural expression, reached out to pat her back twice.

The movement was as casual as brushing off dust from a long march.

"Stay alert and watch your surroundings on the way."

Yusuke said, his tone calm.

But the moment his palm touched her back, a surge of chakra flowed quietly.

A Flying Thunder God formula, a "been here" mark, was instantly branded onto Hyuga Aya's back.

Hyuga Aya's body stiffened almost imperceptibly for a split second, her pure white eyes darting toward Yusuke.

Then, she replied in a voice barely audible: "Understood."

Inuzuka Go was busy greeting an acquaintance at the guard post, completely oblivious to this brief exchange.

Kushina gripped the corner of Yusuke's clothes nervously, her small face taut with anxiety over the journey ahead.

The four of them sprinted for 2.5 miles before Yusuke was the first to stop.

Sensing no one was tailing them for the moment, he signaled the squad to halt.

"Plan change. We're splitting up."

"I'll head out first. You take a detour, and we'll rendezvous later."

Taking cover in the mist, Yusuke approached Hyuga Aya and Inuzuka Go.

"Captain, are you... acting as bait?" Inuzuka Go realized immediately, his eyes filled with concern.

"It's to draw the snakes out of their holes, and to test the waters."

"If no one blocks our path, all the better. If someone does..."

Yusuke didn't finish, but the killing intent in his words was palpable.

Hyuga Aya nodded without a word, simply taking Kushina's small hand in hers.

The little girl looked up at Hyuga Aya, then at Yusuke, seemingly sensing the gravity of the atmosphere as she bit her lip and remained silent.

Inuzuka Go patted his chest: "Don't worry, Captain! I know the western front like the back of my hand! I guarantee I'll get them back to the village safely!"

Haimaru let out a low bark in agreement.

Yusuke quickly formed hand seals, casting the Shadow Clone Technique. Three clones appeared.

Immediately after, the clones formed seals again, activating the Transformation Technique, and quickly took on the appearances of Hyuga Aya, Inuzuka Go, and Kushina.

The two groups parted ways at the fork in the road.

Hyuga Aya, Inuzuka Go, and the real Kushina vanished quickly into the end of the path leading southwest.

Yusuke, accompanied by the three lifelike clones, stepped onto the main road heading east at a steady, unhurried pace.