Seeking Refuge in Konoha

Dawn had yet to break, and a thin mist hung through the forest.

Yunju carried Neji on his back as he hurried down a narrow forest path. Neji's body swayed gently with his steps, his head lolling to one side, his eyes tightly shut, his breathing shallow and rapid. A deep wound ran across his left eye. The blood had already dried into a dark red scab, but his eyelid still trembled faintly—the eyeball had not shattered, but the injury was severe. Yunju did not know whether the eye could still be saved.

He quickened his pace.

In a clearing ahead, a figure was slowly crawling across the ground.

Yunju stopped and narrowed his eyes warily. The figure moved slowly, like something wriggling over the earth. He stepped closer and, by the faint morning light, made out the person's appearance—Akimichi Choji.

Choji's clothes were caked with blood and mud, their original color unrecognizable. His body was far thinner than Yunju remembered, and traces remained on his back where a pair of chakra wings had dissipated. He lay prone, supporting himself on his elbows as he dragged himself forward inch by inch. Every time he moved, he had to stop and gasp for breath. The side effects of the Red Chili Pepper Pill were still raging through him. Every inch of muscle in his body was in agony, and his chakra was nearly depleted.

Not far away, Jirobo's corpse lay beneath a large tree, a hole pierced through his chest. He had long since stopped breathing.

Still carrying Neji, Yunju walked over to Choji and crouched down.

Choji raised his head. His eyes were half-closed, his pupils unfocused, and his cracked lips were bleeding. He could not see who stood before him, only vaguely make out that the other person wore clothing similar to that of the Sound Four.

"You..."

Choji's voice was so hoarse it was nearly inaudible. His hand instinctively reached for his ninja tool pouch, but his fingers could not even grasp a kunai.

"Don't move." Yunju lowered Neji from his back and gently propped him against a tree trunk, then crouched before Choji and quickly examined his injuries. There were no penetrating wounds, but he had multiple bruises and fractures. The most serious issues were the excessive strain on his chakra pathways and the side effects of the medicine.

The fact that Choji was still alive was already a miracle.

Yunju examined Neji's injuries as well. His left eye had suffered devastating damage. Arrows had pierced his abdomen and shoulder, and he had lost too much blood. Several internal organs were damaged—he was in far worse condition than Choji. If he did not receive medical ninjutsu soon, Neji would not survive the day.

Yunju rose and surveyed the surroundings. The Konoha border outpost was still some distance away, and he could only carry one person at a time. If he took Choji back first and then returned for Neji, Neji would not hold on. If he took Neji first, Choji would not last long in his current state either.

He made a decision.

"Listen to me." Yunju crouched before Choji again and lowered his voice. "I'm a rogue ninja who intends to seek refuge in Konoha. I saved the badly wounded and unconscious Neji Hyuga during the pursuit and was about to take him back to the village for treatment. I mean no harm."

Choji's eyes opened slightly wider. His lips moved, but he said nothing.

"I'm a descendant of the Senju clan," Yunju said. "Senju Yunju."

Choji's gaze fell on Neji, who was leaning against the tree trunk nearby. Neji's face was white as paper, and the wound over his left eye was horrifying. Choji did not know Yunju, but he knew Neji. This man had brought Neji out of the battlefield. Whatever his identity, at least he had not harmed Neji.

More than half of Choji's wariness faded. He braced himself against the ground, trying to sit up, but his arms gave out and he collapsed facedown again.

"Shikamaru... Naruto and the others..." Choji's voice came in broken fragments. "Still chasing... Sasuke..."

"I know," Yunju said. "Kidomaru has already been killed by Neji. When I came through, Tayuya and Sakon and Ukon were still fighting your companions. Kimimaro—the strongest of the Sound Five—is waiting on the plains ahead to provide support."

Choji's fingers clenched against the ground.

"I have to take Neji back first. His injuries won't hold." Yunju glanced around, then walked to a large tree nearby and crouched to inspect a hollow in its trunk. The space was small, but enough for one person to curl up inside. He took several usable kunai from Neji and set a few simple warning traps around the hollow—not lethal traps, only devices that would make noise if someone approached. Then he took out his remaining bandages and a packet of dry rations from his bag and stuffed them into the hollow.

"Hide in there for now." Yunju returned to Choji, helped him up, and half-dragged, half-carried him to the entrance of the tree hollow. "I'll take Neji to the border outpost, then immediately have Konoha patrol ninja come back for you."

Leaning against the inner wall of the hollow, Choji closed his eyes. His lips still moved faintly, as though he were trying to say something, but no sound came out.

Yunju stood, returned to Neji's side, hoisted him onto his back again, and hurried toward Konoha. The eastern sky shifted from gray-blue to pale orange, while mist drifted slowly through the woods. Yunju carried Neji through grove after grove, across stream after stream. The path beneath his feet grew wider and smoother. In the distance, the outline of Konoha's border outpost appeared—a crude wooden watchtower, with ninja standing guard at its peak.

Yunju quickened his pace.

The outpost gate stood open. A man in a Konoha chunin vest stood at the entrance, holding a rice ball and chewing as he stared into the distance. He was Kotetsu Hagane, a Konoha chunin responsible for the outpost's daily watch.

Kotetsu noticed a figure approaching from afar but paid it little attention at first—patrol ninja passed along this road every day. But he soon noticed something wrong. The person wore Sound Ninja clothing and had someone on his back.

Kotetsu put down his rice ball and placed a hand on his kunai. Beside him, Izumo Kamizuki, who had been organizing reports, also looked up, his gaze settling on the steadily approaching figure.

Yunju stopped before the outpost gate. He did not force his way in or attempt to bypass the outpost and rush straight for Leaf Village. He simply stood at the entrance with Neji still on his back, sweat covering his forehead.

Kotetsu and Izumo's gazes fell simultaneously upon the person on Yunju's back—white clothes, a Konoha forehead protector, Byakugan. It was Neji Hyuga. Neji was covered in blood, and the wound over his left eye was horrifying. He was already unconscious.

"Neji Hyuga!" Izumo recognized him and immediately stepped forward to take him. The instant his hand touched Neji's arm, he sensed something was wrong—his pulse was shallow and rapid, his body temperature low, classic signs of massive blood loss.

Izumo did not ask any further questions. He took Neji directly from Yunju's back and called over two patrol ninja to carry him away on a stretcher. The medical team needed to treat him immediately. Any later, and it would be too late.

After Neji was carried away, only Kotetsu and Yunju remained standing face-to-face outside the outpost. Kotetsu's hand still rested on his kunai. His gaze returned from the direction Neji had been taken and settled on Yunju again.

"Who are you?" Kotetsu's voice was not loud, but it was hard. "Why are you wearing Sound Ninja clothes? Why was Neji Hyuga with you?"

Yunju took a deep breath.

He had waited so long. Wasn't this the moment he had been waiting for?

"My name is Senju Yunju." He did not hesitate or beat around the bush. He said it outright. "A descendant of the Senju clan."

Kotetsu's pupils contracted.

"I'm currently not listed in any ninja village's registry," Yunju continued. "Before this, I was one of Orochimaru's prospective vessels."

Kotetsu's hand had already reached the edge of a signal flare. Orochimaru, an S-rank rogue ninja and Konoha's greatest enemy. One of his prospective vessels stood at a Konoha border outpost, claiming he wished to seek refuge in Konoha? It sounded like a trap.

"I can wait here." Yunju saw Kotetsu's hand and took a step back on his own initiative, raising both hands to show he meant no harm. "Neji knows some things about me. You can ask him when he wakes up. My current strength should be close to jonin level, but I won't run or resist. I'll wait here for your village's decision."

Kotetsu stared at Yunju for more than ten seconds.

This man was too calm. Not the kind of calm someone put on—it was the calm of someone who truly had confidence. He had voluntarily stepped back, voluntarily raised his hands, voluntarily said, "I can wait here." If he were an enemy, he would not be this cooperative. If he were a spy, he would not so openly give the surname "Senju."

Kotetsu released the signal flare, pulled a sealing scroll from his waist, and shook it open.

"Get in."

He pointed at the sealing formula in the center of the scroll.

Yunju looked at it—a spatial seal used to restrict movement. Once he stepped into it, he would no longer be able to move freely. He did not hesitate and walked straight in. Kotetsu closed the scroll, put it away, and turned toward the interior of the outpost.

"Izumo, notify the village. Let Lady Tsunade decide."

Kotetsu led Yunju through the outpost's back door and down a hidden underground passage for about ten minutes, arriving at a special office of the Konoha Security Force. The room was small and windowless, with only a table and two chairs. Sealing formulas in the corners blocked chakra sensing between the inside and outside.

"Sit." Kotetsu pointed at a chair and took the seat opposite him.

Yunju sat down. Kotetsu said nothing further. The two sat across from each other with a table between them, silence spreading through the cramped room.

Waiting.

Yunju rested his hands on his knees and sat perfectly straight. His breathing was steady, his expression calm. No one knew what he was thinking.

But his palms were soaked with sweat.