Rational "Abandonment"

Night pressed down over the mountains and forests of eastern Land of Fire.

Nara Shikayū led the remaining team in retreat for more than a hundred li. Only after confirming that no pursuers remained behind them did they stop outside a village.

"Torifu, check the surroundings."

"Understood."

Torifu Akimichi forced his exhausted body onward after overusing the Butterfly Secret Technique and led people through the nearby woods. Meanwhile, Kurenai Yuhi stayed beside Might Guy the entire time, one hand resting on Kakashi Hatake's shoulder as she continuously fed chakra into his body.

Kakashi's eyes were tightly shut, dried blood still staining the edge of his left eye.

His breathing was weak.

His mental fluctuations were even more chaotic.

Might Guy had carried him through the entire night without treating the injuries on his arms and chest. His green jumpsuit was soaked in blood, his right arm hanging limply at his side. With every step, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Yet he never set Kakashi down.

"We found somewhere to stay."

Torifu Akimichi returned from the distance.

"There's a temporary Konoha contact station in the village ahead. It has basic medical supplies and can send a battle report directly back to the village."

Shikayū nodded.

"Go in."

They did not disturb the ordinary villagers and entered the rear courtyard of the contact station directly.

Might Guy laid Kakashi on a bed, and Kurenai Yuhi immediately untied his forehead protector to examine that Sharingan.

The moment she saw the eye's condition clearly, her expression darkened.

"How is he?"

Might Guy stood beside the bed, his voice tight.

"His ocular power is still raging."

Kurenai Yuhi pressed two fingers near Kakashi's temple.

"Lieyang's genjutsu has stopped further eroding him, but Kakashi's mind was damaged too severely. His Sharingan also changed under the pressure of life and death. The two forces are striking his consciousness at the same time."

"Can you wake him?"

"I can't."

Kurenai Yuhi shook her head.

"My chakra can only protect his mind and keep his condition from worsening. To wake him, we need the medical ninja in the village."

Might Guy clenched his fists.

"Then we return to Konoha immediately."

Standing in the doorway, Shikayū did not agree at once.

His gaze swept across everyone in the room.

Hinata Yota was dead.

Kakashi was severely injured and unconscious.

Yamanaka Daito was missing.

Not a single person from the two Root squads had retreated with them.

The combined force that had originally been enough to encircle and kill a Kage-level expert was now reduced to only a handful of them.

Such losses could no longer be summed up by the word failure.

"Shikayū?"

Torifu Akimichi noticed his silence.

"Send the battle report first."

Shikayū walked to the table and spread out the contact station's special scroll.

"Not a single detail can be omitted."

Kurenai Yuhi said quietly, "Including Lieyang's Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"Including that."

"The higher-ups previously believed he only had the Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

"That intelligence got Yota killed."

Shikayū gripped the pen, his knuckles turning slightly white.

"We cannot let bad intelligence kill more people."

The room fell silent.

A moment later, the pen touched the scroll.

Uchiha Lieyang had been confirmed to have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

His genjutsu could directly invade the mental sea of consciousness. Kurenai Yuhi was unable to dispel it.

He had suppressed Might Guy head-on while Guy was in the Third Gate state.

He possessed dangerous perception exceeding the Byakugan's range of distant observation.

Hinata Yota was dead.

Kakashi Hatake had suffered severe mental trauma and fallen unconscious.

Yamanaka Daito was missing.

The Root squads had lost all contact.

With every line he wrote, the air in the room grew heavier.

Might Guy remained standing beside the bed.

His eyes never left Kakashi.

Only after Shikayū wrote down the final name did he speak hoarsely. "What about Yota's body?"

"It has been recovered."

Shikayū set down the pen.

"We'll bring him back to Konoha."

"What about Yamanaka Daito?"

No one answered.

Everyone understood that Daito had fallen to the very rear during the retreat.

Lieyang had not pursued the main force.

Yet Yamanaka Daito had vanished.

There was no need to spell out what that meant.

Torifu Akimichi said in a low voice, "Should we go back and look for him?"

Kurenai Yuhi abruptly turned her head.

"We can't go back."

"He may still be alive."

"Yota is already dead, and Kakashi is like this too."

Kurenai Yuhi pointed at the unconscious man on the bed, her emotions slipping out of control for the first time.

"If we go back for Daito, who can stop Uchiha Lieyang?"

"Can you use the Butterfly Secret Technique again?"

"Can Guy keep opening the Eight Gates?"

"Or should I hold him off with genjutsu that does nothing at all?"

Torifu Akimichi opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Shikayū closed his eyes.

Before the mission, Clan Head Nara Shikaku had sought him out alone.

At the time, Shikaku had said only one thing.

This mission involved factional conflict between Konoha's higher-ups and the Uchiha. Any piece of intelligence could have been deliberately concealed. Do not place complete trust in the mission files.

Shikayū had already been cautious enough then.

Yet he still had not expected the gap to be this vast.

Three tomoe had become Mangekyō Sharingan.

A special jōnin had become Kage-level.

The person described in the intelligence as having middling taijutsu had suppressed Might Guy head-on after Guy opened the Third Gate.

They had set out with a complete lineup designed to counter the Sharingan, Lightning Body Flicker, and Shadow Clone Technique.

In the end, they had not even forced Lieyang to reveal his true limits.

What was even more abnormal was Root.

From the beginning of the battle to its end, Lieyang had not exchanged a word with any Root ninja.

He could answer Kirisaki Rei's questions.

He could remind Might Guy to retreat in time after Kakashi fell into the genjutsu.

But when facing Root, there had only been killing.

As though those people had never possessed the qualifications to negotiate.

The Root ninja had been the same.

The orders they received had seemingly not been to capture Lieyang at all, but to recover his corpse, eyes, and brain.

There was clearly something between the two sides that they did not know.

Shikayū opened his eyes again.

"Abandon Yamanaka Daito."

Torifu Akimichi looked at him sharply.

"Shikayū!"

"I said, abandon the rescue."

Shikayū's voice was not loud, but it held no trace of hesitation.

"We don't know where Lieyang took him, and we have no Byakugan to track him."

"Even if we find him, we can't save him in our current state."

"If we stay any longer, Kakashi will miss his chance for treatment."

Might Guy lowered his head, his clenched fists cracking.

After a long time, he finally spoke.

"We return to the village tomorrow."

"Everyone rests tonight."

"I'll watch over Kakashi."

The battle report was sent to Konoha through the contact station that very night.

The Hokage's office was brightly lit.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood by the window, holding the scroll that had just been delivered.

Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura were all present.

No one sat down.

"The Root squads were wiped out."

"Hinata Yota is dead."

"Yamanaka Daito was captured."

"Kakashi suffered devastating damage from Mangekyō genjutsu and remains unconscious."

Hiruzen Sarutobi turned around, and not a trace of his usual gentleness remained on his aged face.

"This is the complete encirclement-and-kill lineup you spoke of?"

Danzo gripped his cane without speaking.

Mitokado Homura looked over the records in the battle report, his voice low.

"Might Guy opened the Third Gate and was still suppressed head-on."

"Torifu Akimichi used the Butterfly Secret Technique and still failed to hit him."

"Lieyang is stronger than our last assessment indicated."

Utatane Koharu asked, "Kakashi's Sharingan changed?"

"The report only says his ocular power is raging. Its form has not completely stabilized."

Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the scroll on the table.

"When he returns, confirm it personally."

Danzo finally spoke. "Yamanaka Daito must be rescued."

"How?"