Meeting the Third Hokage

"Ye!" Itachi Uchiha's sudden shout rang out.

"Over here!" Ye Yuexin shouted back. They had been separated during the battle, and now it seemed they were still quite far apart.

Before long, Itachi appeared in front of Ye Yuexin. He wasn't as filthy as Ye Yuexin, but his clothes looked more like a standard beggar's outfit.

There were also quite a few bleeding wounds, though the rain washed away the blood as soon as it flowed out.

The sky was still covered in dark clouds, but the thunder had stopped. It seemed the rain was almost over.

Itachi had already been mentally prepared by the time he arrived. As soon as he heard Ye Yuexin's answering shout, he knew Ye Yuexin was still safe.

As he drew closer, he still couldn't hear any sounds of fighting. He'd already begun to suspect what had happened.

But seeing Lin Mu's corpse with his own eyes was another matter entirely.

His eyes suddenly widened like walnuts.

"You took him down?" he asked instinctively. But once he realized what he'd said, he felt the question had been obvious.

"I knew you were stronger than me, but I didn't realize you were this much stronger." His voice held more than just admiration; there was also a hint of disappointment.

Ye Yuexin was taken aback.

He suddenly wondered if what he'd done had dealt too great a blow to the currently arrogant Itachi Uchiha.

Oh no, what if I've crushed him so badly that he never recovers?

Ye Yuexin was just about to offer him some encouragement when Itachi interrupted him. "I just didn't realize you'd come this far already. But someone like you is worthy of being pursued by me, Itachi Uchiha."

"Ye, remember this: I, Itachi Uchiha, will definitely surpass you."

As expected, Itachi wasn't so easily discouraged.

"That's a given. You're the top student in all of Konoha, a genius of the Uchiha Clan." As soon as Ye Yuexin said this, he felt as if they were just praising each other.

Then, seeing Itachi still staring blankly, he added, "We need to leave immediately. We don't know whether those wandering ninja will attack us. You're better at Sealing Jutsu than I am. Seal their corpses while I keep watch for those wandering ninja."

There were both advanced and basic Sealing Jutsu. The one Itachi was using now was a basic technique that could be learned at the Ninja Academy.

Just like Tenten in the original story, who could skillfully seal weapons and tools into scrolls by the time she graduated.

Once everything was taken care of and they were on their way back, Ye Yuexin finally began to relax a little.

The wandering ninja hadn't made a move. If they had, given the state they were in, even Genin could probably have taken them down.

Of course, he meant Konoha Genin.

"I didn't expect this mission to turn out like this. You've really been through a lot. You did an excellent job, so I'm raising the mission rank to A."

"The Uchiha have already reported the trouble you encountered. But judging by the two of you, you didn't meet up with the rescue team I sent." Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the pair standing before his desk and spoke apologetically.

"You really are the strongest Genin in this year's class in Konoha. I've been keeping an eye on you for a long time. This mission will be noted in your records. Konoha thanks you for your contributions."

Ye Yuexin and Itachi stood respectfully before the desk, listening to the Third Hokage speak.

The Third Hokage was indeed a capable leader. As the head of a village, he was thanking them so warmly.

If Ye Yuexin hadn't known some of the truth about him, he might even have been moved. It would have made him feel an even stronger sense of belonging to the village.

"All right. You can go report the mission now. Anbu will notify you of any further developments." Seeing how attentively the two were listening, the Third Hokage nodded with a smile.

At this, Ye Yuexin and Itachi immediately replied, "Yes, Lord Hokage. We'll take our leave."

It took Ye Yuexin and Itachi a full day to limp back to Konoha. They still made it back within the mission's time limit.

However, they didn't report the mission right away. They'd learned at the Ninja Academy that if major developments occurred during a mission, they had to report to the Hokage first.

After Ye Yuexin and Itachi left, the Third Hokage's expression suddenly turned grave. He spoke toward the empty air in front of him. "Notify the three elders immediately. We're holding a meeting."

Judging from the information Ye Yuexin and the others had brought back, it seemed that Iwagakure was preparing to launch an attack on their rear. This had to be taken seriously.

No one could guess how many people the other side had sent. Even a small miscalculation could lead to enormous losses.

"Yes, Lord Third Hokage." No one appeared, but a voice answered. That was the Anbu, who were always coming and going like ghosts.

Just as the Third Hokage was about to leave the room and head to the reception hall, he spoke again. "Once the corpses have been examined, bring the results to the reception hall immediately."

"Yes, Lord Third Hokage," another voice replied. It was impossible to tell how many Anbu were hidden in that small office.

After reporting the mission at the mission office, Ye Yuexin and Itachi went their separate ways and headed home. They still reported it as a C-rank mission.

But Anbu would handle the changes afterward. There were many things they couldn't just reveal freely.

He hadn't been home for three days. The moment he stepped inside, exhaustion hit him like a beast. Still, Ye Yuexin forced himself to take a bath first.

When he took off his pants, Ye Yuexin realized his legs had turned slightly blue. No wonder they'd hurt the whole way back.

He'd need to find some ninjutsu for training his body. In his memories of the previous life, the Hidden Cloud Village had a secret technique like that.

It seemed to provide incredible defense. The Third Raikage in the original story had relied on that very defense to take on Iwa's three thousand ninja troops head-on.

But how was he supposed to get his hands on it? For now, all he could do was think about it.

And don't even mention creating one himself. Ninjutsu that acted directly on the body couldn't be tested with shadow clones. How could someone as afraid of dying as he was bear to electrocute himself?

After thinking it over, he decided he should first train like Might Guy in the original story. Ye Yuexin estimated that if he could build his body up to the level of the Third Gate, he'd be able to withstand the damage caused by this movement technique.

As for forging his body, he'd have to wait for an opportunity later.

There was another way to avoid injury: perfect the movement technique until he reached the point where he could change direction at will.

That way, he wouldn't suffer any lasting damage. Right now, Ye Yuexin still relied mostly on physical strength for speed, which put a lot of strain on his muscles.

He'd take it slowly. He had to train in both.

His body was utterly exhausted. After his bath, he quickly fell asleep.