"Whew... whew..."
As rhythmic flapping sounded overhead, the villagers of Konoha looked up and saw a giant white paper crane slowly flying across the sky.
When the crane landed, the Konoha Ninja learned that the gravely injured ninja was Sosuke.
They grew visibly excited and sprang into action!
On one hand, they hurried to take Sosuke to Konoha's Medical Team, where numerous medical ninja began treating his injuries.
On the other, they immediately passed the news on to the Third.
Inside the Hokage Office.
"Bang!"
The Third suddenly rose to his feet. A rare hint of excitement showed on his usually composed face as he asked in a low voice,
"You're saying Sosuke has returned to the village!?"
The ninja kneeling before the desk immediately answered in a low voice,
"Yes, Lord Hokage. Captain Sosuke was brought back by Qimuliang. He's been transferred to the Konoha Medical Room, and the Medical Team is doing everything they can to treat him."
Hearing this, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura stepped forward as well, speaking urgently.
"Third, should we...?"
The Third nodded gravely and said,
"Come on. Let's go see him at once."
With that, the three vanished from the room in an instant.
At the same time, deep underground in Konoha, at the Root Base's hideout,
hurried knocks suddenly sounded outside a room.
At the sound, a middle-aged man with a sinister expression, who had been resting with his eyes closed inside, suddenly opened them and said in a low voice,
"Come in."
"Click!"
The door opened, and a masked ninja hurried inside, sounding anxious.
"Lord Danzo, Captain Aizen... No, Captain Sosuke has returned...!"
Hearing this, Danzo, who had been squinting with a gloomy expression, abruptly widened his eyes in surprise.
"What did you say...!?"
"Crack!"
Overcome with excitement, he crushed