After a while.
Naruto took Yu Liu and walked back along the way they came.
Not long after walking, I saw Hinata and the group of weak villagers from a distance.
Hinata was squatting next to an old man, softly comforting him.
Hearing the footsteps, she raised her head and saw the figures of Naruto and Yu Liu. Her tense expression finally relaxed.
"Naruto-kun!"
She stood up and walked towards him quickly, her eyes full of worry.
"Are you okay? Up there..."
"It's okay."
Naruto waved his hand and grinned.
"It's been solved."
Hinata's eyes swept around him.
There was blood at the corner of his mouth, bruises on his face, and tattered clothes, but he didn't ask any questions.
He just took a bottle of healing medicine from his bag and stuffed it into Naruto's hand, then turned around to organize the villagers to prepare for departure.
Naruto looked at the ointment in his hand, was stunned for a moment, and then smiled.
"Hinata can always come up with ointment at critical moments."
He sighed, and Yu Liu, who saw the ointment, took the initiative to apply it on him.
The return journey was much slower than the journey here.
Most of the villagers were weak and had to take a break after walking a few steps. Several unconscious children were carried by adults in turns. No one spoke along the way, only the sound of footsteps and heavy breathing.
Yu Liu walked in the middle of the team, lowering his head and saying nothing.
Although she also recognized the reality, the teacher's actions and death would not be something she could let go of for a while.
Hinata walked beside her, occasionally turning his head to glance at her, his lips moved, but in the end he did not speak.
Naruto walked at the front, looking back at the team from time to time to make sure no one was left behind.
He is still thinking about those messy things.
Sasuke, and the sentence about the guy wearing the mask.
"Wait until you resolve the hatred of that guy in your body before you come back to him."
He thought hard, but finally couldn't figure it out. He didn't know what the connection was between the two.
In the end, he scratched his head and simply stopped thinking about it.
In the evening, the team finally arrived at the village.
There were already many people standing at the entrance of the village.
Those who survived the attack were all gathered at the entrance of the village, looking forward to it.
And at the front of the crowd, a woman stood alone.
She was dressed plainly, her hair was messy, her eyes were red and swollen, and her lips were chapped and peeling.
She stood there, motionless, staring in the direction she came from, as if she had been waiting for a long time.
No.
It should be said that she has been waiting there.
Naruto saw the woman from a distance and paused.
He turned his head and glanced at the child behind him who was held in the arms of a middle-aged woman - Xiao Duo.
At this moment, her face was pale and her breathing was shallow, but at least she was still alive.
The team came closer.
The woman finally saw the child.
"Xiao Duo--!!"
She let out a hoarse cry, stumbled forward, snatched the child from the middle-aged woman's arms, and held her tightly in her arms, tears pouring out like a bursting dam.
"Xiao Duo... my child... you are still alive... you are still alive..."
She hugged the child and knelt on the ground, crying so hard that her whole body was shaking.
The child was awakened by her crying, opened his eyes, looked at his mother blankly, closed his mouth, and began to cry loudly.
The surrounding villagers watched this scene, some silently wiped away tears, some turned away, and some sighed softly.
Yu Liu stood aside, looking at the woman, his eyes were red.
She opened her mouth to say something, but found that nothing could come out.
She fulfilled her promise, but the culprit was his teacher...
After a long time, the woman's crying gradually became quieter. She raised her head, wiped the tears on her face with her sleeves, and stood up with the child in her arms.
Then she started to look around.
Her eyes swept from each face, from Naruto, from Hinata, from Yu Liu.
She didn't find the person she was looking for.
"Um... where is that ninja-sama?"
Her voice was hoarse, with a hint of urgency.
"It's the one with white hair... wearing the mask... where is he?"
No one answered.
She looked around again, pulled the sleeve of a villager next to her, and her voice became more urgent.
"Did you see him? The man who saved us? Where is he?"
The villager shook his head, looking confused.
A trace of disappointment flashed in the woman's eyes.
She let go of her hand and staggered to Yu Liu.
"Yu Liu..." Her voice trembled.
"Have you seen him? The man who gave me the pocket watch... He said he would come back to get it... He said he would save Xiao Duo... He..."
Yu Liu looked at her expectant eyes, her lips moved, and she turned her face away guiltily.
"He... has left."
The woman's body stiffened suddenly.
She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
There was silence for a long time.
Then, she lowered her head, looked at the child in her arms, looked at the child's tender little face, and suddenly smiled.
The smile was very light and faint, with a hint of relief and a hint of indescribable regret.
She reached out and took out the gray pocket watch from her arms.
On the cover of the watch, the little cherry blossom stands out.
She lowered her head and gently hung the pocket watch around the child's neck.
"Child."
Her voice was very soft, as if she was speaking to her child, but also to herself.
"This is the amulet given by the benefactor. I hope he can bless you... and have a safe life."
The pocket watch hangs on the child's chest, rising and falling gently with the child's breathing.
The woman held the child in her arms, turned around, and bowed deeply in the direction Ning Xue left.
There is nothing in that direction.
Only the last trace of sunset on the horizon is slowly sinking into the horizon.
Naruto stood aside, watching this scene, and was silent for a long time.
Then, he turned around and looked at the sky in the distance.
That guy...
What a good person?
At the same time.
On the mountain road dozens of miles away from the village, several figures were walking slowly forward.
Kakashi walked in the front, holding the book <Make-Out Paradise> in his hand, but his eyes glanced forward from the top of the page from time to time.
Shino followed him, looking at the surrounding woods expressionlessly.
Shikamaru was walking in the middle, holding the back of his head with both hands, looking tired.
At the end of the team, Sai was riding his Super Beast Imitating Drawing, and a huge Ink Bird was hovering in the air.
"Has everything been resolved?"
Shikamaru yawned and sounded lazy.
"Those Sky Ninja naval fleets should no longer slip through the net."
Kakashi turned a page of the book without looking up.
"Yeah. Let the backup handle the rest.
Our mission ends here."
"Speaking of which..."
Shikamaru glanced at the sky in the distance, where a few wisps of black smoke were slowly rising.
"When will we go back?"
Kakashi closed the book, raised his head, and looked in that direction.
"I don't know..."
the other side.
Naruto and Hinata brought the injured villagers to Sakura's side.
At this moment, Sakura was squatting next to an injured villager, checking for infection.
When she heard the footsteps, she raised her head and saw the figures of Naruto and Hinata. Her tense expression finally relaxed.
"Naruto! Hinata!"
She stood up and hurried to greet him.
But when she got closer and saw Naruto's face full of bruises and blood, her expression changed instantly.
"How did you do this?!"
There was shock in her voice, and Naruto's reckless annoyance.
"It's okay, it's okay..."
Naruto waved his hand, grinned, and pulled the wound at the corner of his mouth, grimacing in pain.
"I just got punched a few times, it doesn't matter."
Sakura frowned and glanced around him.
The bruises on his face, the blood on the corners of his mouth, the tattered clothes... and the wounds on his arms that have been treated.
Her eyes fell on the wounds and she took a closer look.
The bandaging technique was very skillful and the ointment was applied evenly.
It should be done by Yu Liu.
She thought silently in her heart, then loosened her clenched fists without asking any more questions.
He just turned around and took out a few rolls of bandages from his backpack and handed them to Naruto.
"Take care of it yourself so you don't get infected."
"Oh."
Naruto took the bandage, put it in his arms, and then began to talk about his experience at the ruins.
He spoke very quickly and was a little incoherent, but he still explained the general story clearly.
Sakura As he listened, the expression on his face changed from worry to shock, and then from shock to disbelief.
"What?!"
Her voice suddenly rose in pitch.
"The mastermind behind the scenes is Yu Liu's teacher?!"
"Hmm."
"What?! You released that power again and ran away"
"... Hmm."
"What?! Sasuke...Sasuke is there too?!"
Naruto nodded, looking at Sakura's face that instantly turned pale, he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.
Sakura's hands trembled slightly.
She opened her mouth, her voice a little tight.
"Is... is he okay? Is he injured? Is he..."
She paused and her voice became even lower.
"... Are you still okay?"
Naruto was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"He's fine. He seems... quite energetic."
Sakura lowered his eyes and clenched the corners of his clothes tightly with his fingers.
Just be in good spirits... just be fine...
She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
"Then... did he say anything?"
Naruto scratched his head.
"Nothing said.
He just keeps that stinky face and is as stinky as before."
Sakura bit his lip and lowered his head.
Same as before...
She wanted to ask something else, but suddenly remembered something.
"By the way, the man wearing the mask you mentioned... does he know Sasuke?"
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. Sasuke calls him Fujiwara. And that guy still uses Ice Release."
Sakura's brows furrowed.
Ice Release...
A name immediately came to her mind - Bai.
The boy who once met at Land of Waves and owned Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.
But that person is already dead.
She saw with her own eyes that he fell under Kakashi-sensei's Lightning Blade.
Not him.
Who could that be?
Kirigakure's... rebellious?
Sakura silently recorded this name in his heart and did not ask any more questions.
But she kept another thing firmly in mind - Naruto became Four-Tails.
Nine-Tails's power went wild again.
You must report this matter to Lady Tsunade when you return.
We can no longer let Naruto get out of control like this.
Otherwise... the consequences will be disastrous.
At night.
Ning Xue followed Sasuke along the mountain road for an unknown distance.
The moonlight was very pale, mostly covered by clouds. Only sporadic moonlight shone on the ground, barely illuminating the road ahead.
The two walked in silence for a long time, one behind the other.
Finally, Ning Xue spoke first.
"Why do you suddenly want to form a team?"
Sasuke didn't look back or stop, he just said calmly.
"I need help to contain the enemy."
Ning Xue glanced at him and didn't ask any more questions.
"Then what's next?"
"Go back to Orochimaru first."
Sasuke paused, his tone still calm.
"Of course, you'd better go to a town and stay for a while."
He turned his head slightly and glanced at Ning Xue out of the corner of his eye.
"After all, I can't guarantee what Orochimaru will think about those Byakugan."
Ning Xue was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Okay."