Yakushi Tenzan's Choice

Yakushi Tenzan looked at him.

"Hatake Sakumo chose to save you during the mission, giving up the deployment map for Hidden Stone Village's eastern front. Because of that decision, Konoha can no longer secure high-value missions. The ninjas' income has plummeted, and people are growing restless."

A vicious glint flashed in Yakushi Tenzan's eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

"You were directly involved in this mission. Your testimony would be more convincing than anyone's analysis. You only need to say one thing: that you undertook the mission prepared to die, that you never needed Hatake Sakumo to save you, that a ninja should place completing the mission above all else, and that any ninja who fails a mission is nothing but trash! As long as you say that, we will..."

"That's impossible. You don't need to say another word!"

Yakushi Tenzan cut him off sharply.

The man fell silent for a long while, then sighed. "I heard you have a son. He'll be one month old soon."

Yakushi Tenzan's heart tightened at those words, and his hands unconsciously clenched the bedsheet.

After a pause, the man continued, "A very healthy child. Ten jin and six liang, with a powerful cry. Your wife named him Yuma. She must hope he grows up to be an outstanding and sincere person, right?"

Tenzan's lips trembled faintly, but he did not lash out. He was injured and had no ninja tools on him. If he made so much as one move, this man could kill him in an instant.

"What exactly do you want?"

The man took a small cloth bundle from the inner pocket of his coat and placed it on the bedside cabinet. It was wrapped in blue cotton cloth, its corners neatly stitched, the seams fine and even. Yakushi Tenzan recognized that cloth. It was the one his wife used to wrap their son's swaddling clothes.

Yakushi Tenzan stared at the blue cloth. There was a tiny pale-yellow stain on one corner, left by the baby spitting up milk. He could smell that familiar scent, mixed with the sour tang of milk and soapberry powder.

"Your son is safe. Your wife will take him to stay with her parents for a few days. You still remember their address, don't you? That little mountain hollow, with a persimmon tree in front of your father-in-law's house."

Yakushi Tenzan closed his eyes in pain.

That day, Sakumo had supported him by the shoulders from behind, practically carrying him as they ran so far. Blood had poured from his wounds, yet Sakumo had never loosened his grip for even a step, shouting without pause, "Tenzan, don't fall asleep! If you sleep, you won't wake up again." But now, that blue cloth suddenly surfaced in his mind again, the pale-yellow milk stain on its corner glowing beneath the lamplight with the faintest, warmest sheen.

"Fine."

Having received the answer he expected, the man took an envelope from his breast pocket and placed it beside Yakushi Tenzan's hand. Then he turned and walked to the door.

"As long as you do as the letter says, your child will be safe. And he will receive the finest training available."

"I don't believe a word that comes from your mouth."

The man paused at the door without turning around. "You don't need to believe it. You only need to know that your child is worth more alive than dead."

The door closed, and the hospital room sank back into gloom. Sitting alone on the bed, Yakushi Tenzan picked up the cloth with his left hand and clenched it in his palm. He thought of Sakumo supporting him as they ran all that way. He thought of Mita following behind them with a kunai in his left hand, blood dripping from his right hand through the gaps in the bandages, drop by drop. He thought of Bai Ye standing before his hospital bed when he came to visit and saying, "Mr. Tenzan, thank you for what you did for my master." Then he thought of his son, the child he had not held enough.

Tenzan buried his face in his palm, his shoulders shaking as a low, muffled sob escaped his throat.

Yamanaka Mita died in an accident.

The news reached Konoha three days later. The intelligence department's contact station received an urgent report stating that Yamanaka Mita had fallen to his death from a cliff while hiking alone in the mountains during his recuperation.

Homura Mitokado delivered the report to the Hokage's office. After Hiruzen Sarutobi read it, he set the paper on the desk. "Cause of death?"

"A fall from a cliff. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, no residual ninjutsu traces, and no footprints from a second person. There were signs of loose gravel along the mountainside's edge. The preliminary conclusion is that he slipped and fell. His right hand had been severely injured in the previous mission and had not fully recovered. With that terrain, it would have been difficult to maintain balance with one hand."

"Has the Yamanaka Clan been informed?"

"They have. The clan head personally went to retrieve the body."

Hiruzen Sarutobi leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed.

Yamanaka Mita, a special jonin of the intelligence department and an elite of the Yamanaka Clan, had died in a freak fall? Not even a strange tale would dare write something so absurd!

Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the urgent report in a drawer and did not look at it again.

The funeral was held on the seventh day.

The Yamanaka Clan compound lay at the northeastern corner of Konoha Village, near the foot of the mountain. The funeral was not large. Mita had never married, and his parents had long since passed away. Those who came to see him off were mainly members of the Yamanaka Clan, colleagues from the intelligence department, and the two teammates who had fought alongside him in the last mission.

Hatake Sakumo came. He wore a dark kimono, his silver-white hair combed neatly. He did not bring the White Fang short blade; only an ordinary kunai hung at his waist. He stood at the very edge of the funeral procession, keeping his distance from everyone else.

Yakushi Tenzan came as well. His right hand was still wrapped in bandages and hung against his chest. His left hand hung at his side as he stood not far from Sakumo.

Yakushi Tenzan looked at Mita's memorial portrait. The face in the frame was very young. His long hair was tied in a low ponytail, with several loose strands over his forehead obscuring half his brows and eyes. The corners of his lips drooped slightly, and his solemn expression carried a trace of gentleness visible only to those who knew him well. Mita did not like to talk. At the border of the Land of Grass, after Mita charged out through the opening, he gripped a kunai in his right hand while blood dripped downward, drop by drop. He never cried out in pain. He only said, "Captain Sakumo, take Tenzan and go. I'll cover the rear."

After the funeral ended, Sakumo stood alone at the entrance to the clan compound, watching the mourners disperse. Yakushi Tenzan walked out from inside and stopped before Sakumo. The two looked at each other for a moment.

"Captain Sakumo."

"Tenzan."

Tenzan lowered his head. "What happened to Mita... was it really an accident?"

Sakumo looked at his face. His eyes were red, as was the tip of his nose. There was a bloodstain on his lips where he had bitten himself. The wind blew incense ash out from the mourning hall, scattering it onto his shoulders.

"I'll find out who did this and avenge him! Focus on recovering." Sakumo patted his shoulder, then turned and left.

"Captain, I know the timing isn't right, but my son will be one month old in three days! You have to come!"

Night fell. Root headquarters.

Danzo stood in the center of the underground chamber. Viper stood behind him, holding a field report.

"Was Yamanaka Mita's matter handled cleanly?"

"Cleanly. No traces were left at the scene, and everyone involved in the operation has been silenced."

Danzo nodded. Yamanaka Mita had been Hatake Sakumo's last remaining witness from that mission. Yakushi Tenzan had obvious weaknesses and was easy to target, with no clan influence backing him. But Yamanaka Mita was different. A special jonin of the Yamanaka Clan and an elite of the intelligence department, his testimony before the advisory council would be regarded as objective fact. As long as he lived, he would speak for Sakumo before the advisory council. His existence had been the greatest variable in Danzo's plan. But now, there were no more variables.

"How did Hatake Sakumo react?"

"He stood at the funeral for a long time, but did not say anything. When he left, there was nothing unusual about his expression."

"And Yakushi Tenzan? Do we need to keep following up on him?"

"No. He is a smart man. Smart men know what they should say and what they should not."

"Now, only the final step remains..."

Danzo closed his eyes in the darkness.