Severely Wounded Return to Village and False Report in the Hokage's Office

The pungent smell of Lysol stung his nostrils.

Baishi's eyelids felt heavy, and the monotonous "beep" of an ECG monitor echoed in his ears. A dull, throbbing tightness radiated from his right abdomen, where flesh had been crudely stitched together, while his left collarbone felt cold and numb from excessive blood loss.

He did not open his eyes immediately, instead forcing his breathing rhythm to remain at a state of extreme weakness.

"The toxins near his heart have been forcibly suppressed by the serum. But the knife wound on his abdomen was less than two millimeters from his liver; it's a miracle he managed to drag such a body back to the village border," the medical ninja's voice was hushed, laced with disbelief.

"Understood. You may leave."

An aged voice, yet one carrying unquestionable authority, rang out.

Baishi slowly opened his eyes. His vision shifted from blurry to focused; beneath the white ceiling stood two figures.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, puffed away at his pipe, the acrid scent of cheap, greyish tobacco instantly overpowering the smell of disinfectant in the ward. Standing behind him was Namikaze Minato, draped in the white Hokage Haori. Minato's azure eyes were fixed on Baishi from above, scrutinizing him with a gaze so sharp it felt as if he were being peeled open.

"Ho... Hokage-sama..."

Baishi's pupils contracted violently, and he struggled to sit up like a startled rabbit. The sudden movement tugged at the stitches in his abdomen, causing him to gasp in pain. Cold sweat instantly drenched his forehead, and he collapsed heavily back onto the pillows.

"Stay down, Baishi." The Third Hokage exhaled a ring of smoke, his eyes as deep and stagnant as dead water. "What happened to the Venom Fang Squad? Why are you the only one who returned alive?"

The trial had begun.

Baishi's fingers gripped the white sheets tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hands. His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant, and large tears welled up and spilled over, mixing with the cold sweat trickling into his temples.

"It was Iwagakure... eight Iwagakure elites!" Baishi's voice was choked with the sobs of extreme terror, his words incoherent. "We were ambushed in the canyon... Wildcat-senpai went to scout the path and never returned... Captain Venom Fang tried to cover my escape..."

He gasped for air, his chest heaving violently, perfectly mimicking the symptoms of severe post-traumatic stress. "The Captain was trapped by Earth Release, and that Iwagakure jonin's stone fist came crashing down... The Captain shoved me aside! He took the blow to his own chest!"

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe, remaining silent.

Minato, however, stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Baishi's eyes like a blade. "Baishi-kun, I inspected the scene. Among the traces of shattered rock, there were residues of a highly precise Lightning Release explosive tag. Captain Venom Fang was not proficient in Lightning Release nature transformation. That charred smell of potassium nitrate mixed with lightning-attribute chakra—I smelled it on you this morning in front of Ichiraku Ramen."

The air in the ward dropped to freezing.

Minato's killing blow had arrived. Without any beating around the bush, he used his keen sense of smell to exploit an intelligence gap, attempting to tear through Baishi's disguise.

Baishi's heart hammered against his ribs, yet on the surface, he displayed only extreme bewilderment and mounting panic.

"Lightning Release? I... I don't know!" Baishi shook his head frantically, tears splattering onto the pillow. "The Captain was driven into a corner, and he snatched the special explosive tags I had bought... He said that even if he died, he would take someone down with him! He forcibly poured his lightning chakra into the tags. I only saw a blinding blue light, and then I was blown away by the shockwave..."

Baishi violently tore open his hospital gown on the left side, revealing a collarbone wrapped in bandages that were faintly seeping black blood. "Minato-sama, I am just a genin! If I were the one who used that Lightning Release, how could I have been pierced by the Iwagakure's poisoned kunai? How could I have failed to even dodge the blade the Captain deflected?"

He pointed to the deep, bone-reaching wound on his abdomen, his voice shrill. "Before the Captain died, he threw his blade at the Earth Release user, and the edge sliced open my stomach... He said this was the Will of Fire! He said that where the leaves dance, the fire burns on... He told me I had to survive and bring the intelligence to you, Hokage-sama!"

A deathly silence filled the ward.

Baishi began to cough violently, spitting out blood-flecked phlegm. He had performed the cowardice of a low-level cannon fodder, the guilt of a survivor, and the blind worship of the Will of Fire to the absolute limit.

A perfect, closed loop.

Venom Fang had stolen the tags and detonated them, masking the traces of Lightning Release. The knife wound on his abdomen, missing his liver by a single millimeter, was the ultimate "get out of jail free" card. In the common sense of the ninja world, no one would inflict such a life-threatening injury upon themselves just to stage a scene.

Minato stared at Baishi for a full half-minute, his tense jawline finally relaxing slightly.

There were no logical flaws. Perhaps he really had overthought it? How could a genin with such weak chakra kill everyone in that desperate situation, and be calculating enough to plan this far?

The doubt in the Third Hokage's eyes also dissipated completely. He sighed and patted Baishi's shoulder gently with a withered hand.

"You have done well, Baishi. Venom Fang was a true Konoha ninja; he lived out the Will of Fire with his life." The Third's voice turned gentle. "The village will not forget his sacrifice, nor will it treat you poorly. Rest well."

"Yes... for Konoha!" Baishi lowered his head, choking back a sob.

The Third Hokage turned and walked out of the ward. Minato took one last deep look at Baishi before following him out.

As the door clicked shut and the footsteps in the hallway faded into the distance, Baishi on the hospital bed instantly stopped sobbing.

He grabbed the sheet and wiped the tears and snot from his face, the cowardice and panic in his eyes instantly replaced by extreme coldness and mockery.

Old man, so easy to fool.

The so-called Will of Fire was nothing more than a fig leaf used by the higher-ups to whitewash the peace and keep the lower-level pawns willing to die. As long as one followed their logic and played the part of an obedient tool, one could survive perfectly well in this cannibalistic system.

But Baishi knew clearly that the crisis was not entirely over. Sarutobi Hiruzen was easy to deceive, but that didn't mean the other one was.

Deep beneath Konoha, in the Root base.

The dark, damp stone chamber never saw the light of day. The flickering torchlight on the walls elongated the figure of Shimura Danzo, half of whose body was wrapped in bandages.

Danzo's only remaining eye stared fixedly at the field investigation report that had just been delivered.

"Wind Release tearing, Super Weighted Rock Fist crushing the chest, Lightning Release explosive tag for mutual destruction..." Danzo's withered lips curled into a cold arc.

The Root ninja kneeling on the ground kept his head low, not daring to breathe.

"Sarutobi, that naive old fool, believed it, and that brat Namikaze Minato believed it too." Danzo's fingers, thin as dried twigs, tapped heavily on the name "Baishi" on the scroll. "But this old man does not."

"Danzo-sama, there were no traces of any third-party chakra at the scene. The injuries on the ANBU named Baishi are indeed fatal," the Root ninja reported cautiously.

"It is precisely because it is too perfect." Danzo let out a cold snort, a viper-like glint flashing in his eye. "Wildcat went to intercept Minato and disappeared. Venom Fang went to silence him and ended up dying with the Iwagakure. Yet this cannon fodder, who should have been the first to die, crawled back with fatal wounds."

Danzo stood up and walked into the shadows.

"Too many coincidences equal a conspiracy. Whether this Baishi is truly a piece of trash or a wolf in sheep's clothing, a pawn that has slipped out of control should not remain on the board."

Danzo turned around and tossed a black token engraved with the character "Root" onto the stone floor with a sharp clatter.

"Initiate Grade A surveillance immediately. Once he is discharged..." Danzo's voice was cold enough to freeze.

The Root ninja looked up abruptly, meeting Danzo's eyes, which were filled with tangible killing intent.

"If he makes any suspicious moves, don't report it—just bring me his head."