Harsh Words

Fortunately, his physical condition was sufficient to open the Seventh Gate, so although he was seriously injured, his foundation was not damaged like Rock Lee's. Dai only needed to rest and recuperate.

Therefore, after receiving a reply from the accompanying medical-nin, Shiro finally felt relieved.

If Dai's foundation is damaged by opening the gate, then Shiro might have to waste the opportunity to Rule Breaker, since that Noble Phantasm can only be used once per person at present.

That was an insurance policy that Shiro gave to those around him, especially those he wore. They had to be extra careful, because during the Third Shinobi World War, they might encounter an enemy who would force them to open the Gate of Death.

Therefore, Shiro hoped that this Noble Phantasm could be used at least until that time.

After all, these are the only two healing Noble Phantasm that Shiro has found that can Projection. The other one is a B-rank, but the description of the Noble Phantasm itself is very vague, and it is unclear how effective it will be.

After all, the level of Noble Phantasm is linked to its power, not its strength.

Fortunately, it's no longer necessary.

Because the mission failed, everyone was a little disappointed and didn't say much along the way. They only stopped briefly to count the remaining people and send the intelligence back to the village ahead of time.

After that, everyone began to travel in silence.

After dealing with the Magic Circuits to prevent their burden from worsening, Shiro began to reflect on the weaknesses exposed during his battle with Ai that day and made a record of them.

The others were similar, either cultivating or resting with their eyes closed.

Master Chen, however, kept staring at the unconscious Dai. After a moment, he shook his head and turned away. He realized today that his claim of being the strongest in Taijutsu was a joke.

Compared to Dai, his Konoha Dragon God technique is nothing. Moreover, Dai's Taijutsu also solved the biggest weakness of taijutsu ninjas— Genjutsu!

When Dai used the Eight Inner Gates, he could sense the violent Chakra even from a great distance. Under such circumstances, very few Genjutsu could be effective.

Honestly, if this could become widespread, the status of Taijutsu ninjas would definitely rise significantly.

However, he only thought about it. This level of Taijutsu could not possibly be passed down. Even his own Konoha Dragon God had not been passed down, let alone something even stronger.

Besides, after seeing Dai's appearance after the procedure, he roughly knew the difficulty of practicing this technique and its side effects; most people really couldn't withstand it.

And so, the group returned to the village the next morning.

The reason they were able to get there so quickly was that they didn't stop at the border of the Land of Fire like they did on their way there; this time they flew directly back to Konoha.

After registering with the gatekeeper, Shiro and his companions entered the village.

However, Shiro felt that the two gatekeepers were looking at him strangely, as if they were a little disgusted. But after thinking about it carefully, Shiro realized that he hadn't done anything to offend them.

His relationship with these two men was limited to registration, so Shiro was very confused by this inexplicable malice.

But since he needed to report the mission to the Third Hokage and take Dai to the hospital, Shiro only frowned and didn't ask any further questions to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Taichi, who was standing beside Shiro ready to support him at any time, noticed Shiro frowning and, thinking he was feeling unwell, quickly helped him up and asked:

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I'm fine, but have I offended them? Do you remember anything about them?"

"Guard? There isn't one, is there? What's wrong?"

"Why do I feel like they're looking at me strangely, with a hint of disgust?"

"How could that be? We're all from the same village. You must be imagining things."

"Sigh, maybe so."

After careful consideration, Shiro realized that he really didn't have anything to hide, and it wasn't that important. There was no reason for anyone to target him specifically, since he had already handed over the bulk of his Hawk Plan.

It shouldn't be related to their interests, so he shook his head, shaking off all these chaotic thoughts, and continued walking towards the center of the village.

However, Taichi took it to heart. Nothing in this world happens without a reason, and there must be something wrong with this. Therefore, Taichi planned to ask his friends in the Police Force to help investigate when he got back.

However, they didn't need to investigate further. As Shiro and the others gradually entered the village, they learned the general reason for the incident.

"Is it him?"

"Hmm, Emiya Shiro, I heard he failed his mission too. Just like his master."

"Sigh, like master, like apprentice. What a waste of the village's resources."

"Alright, that's enough, he's here."

"Is that Emiya Shiro?"

"Yes, he was a good young man, but unfortunately he followed the wrong person and now he's failed his mission just like his master."

"Sigh, what can you do? Who told him to have such a master?"

"Look, look! It's Emiya Shiro! Good heavens! How dare he come back! He's caused such great damage to the village!"

"Exactly! They're shameless! If it were me, I wouldn't have had the face to come back!"

"Masters and disciples are the same, and not everyone makes this kind of mistake."

"Those bastards!"

"Don't go, let them say what they want, they can talk." Shiro grabbed Taichi, who was about to rush up and argue with them.

"But."

Before Taichi could finish speaking, Shiro shook his head and pulled Taichi forward.

The others in the group also frowned, but no one said anything. It was clear this was a setup specifically targeting Shiro; otherwise, why would no one be criticizing them, only Shiro, when their mission had failed?

Therefore, few people stood up to refute it, firstly because their mission had indeed failed, which was undeniable, and secondly because they were worried about the mastermind behind the incident.

If you end up not helping at all, but instead harming your own family, it wouldn't be worth it.

Therefore, they decided to go home and find out the specifics first; blindly stepping forward now would only give them another reason to attack.

And it's not that no one criticizes them, it's just that every time, the voices in the crowd would steer the conversation back to Shiro.

Amidst the curses, Shiro and the others took Dai to the hospital and eventually arrived at the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, Hato and the others have returned from their mission."

"Shiro" was the code name of the Anbu Captain. He possessed the strength of Elite Jonin and was quite formidable, which is why he was sent on this mission.

Who knew that even the Raikage would intervene, leading to the mission's failure? However, it wasn't a complete loss; at least we discovered a powerful figure capable of contending with the Raikage.

As for whether his mind is on Konoha, we'll find out when we get there.

However, we need to deal with this mission first. We can go see Dai later, since he's still unconscious and we can't tell anything from him yet.

Therefore, the Third Hokage slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth and said, "Let them in."

Thank you Her Highness Erii, Guangfu, Young Master Jie, Omiyu, Fang Wenyue for the monthly tickets! Thank you for your support! Yesterday's chapter is now complete!