Sousuke stopped near the border where the Land of Rain met the Land of Grass.
With great reluctance, he gave Yue a few instructions and reminders.
With their parting at hand, a little sadness was inevitable.
Yue, on the other hand, did not waste much time. After a brief exchange, he prepared to leave.
But before he left, he asked Sousuke a question. "It should be fine if I reveal some insignificant information about you to the village, right?"
"Hahaha... Are you still worried about Amegakure?"
Sousuke laughed. "Don't worry. As long as you don't reveal everyone's abilities and information, say whatever you want."
"After being gone for so long, the village will definitely question me... I need to make up a lie that sounds believable."
"With Kusagakure's nature, intelligence really is valuable to them."
"Not just intelligence. They won't pass up anything that can benefit them," Yue added.
"Mm."
Sousuke nodded to show that he understood.
"Aren't you afraid I'll expose all your secrets?"
"If it were anyone else, I would certainly be worried. But since it's you, Yue, there's no need to fear."
"I'm leaving."
Yue spoke two words.
At last, under Sousuke's watchful gaze, he vanished beyond the distant horizon.
He successfully returned to the Land of Grass.
Not long after entering the border region, he was stopped by two Kusagakure shinobi.
They had most likely been stationed at a nearby outpost.
The two men were stunned when they saw the forehead protector on Yue's arm. How could a kid from their village have gone so far away?
The two sides then exchanged a few words.
"Fuma Yue? You're Fuma Yue?" one of the Chunin cried out after hearing Yue's name.
"That's right."
"So you're Ryoma's son." The man suddenly understood.
"Your father is nearby. Come back with us."
Yue was also startled. It had been around half a year since he had last seen his father, Fuma Ryoma. The last time he left his father, Ryoma had accepted a classified mission assigned by the village. Fuma Ryoma had not revealed the exact details, but Yue knew it definitely was not guarding an outpost or patrolling near the border.
Afterward, one of the two remained behind to continue moving through and observing the border region, while the other took Yue back to the tents they had set up in the forest.
"Hey, Ryoma, look who I brought back."
After a while, the two arrived at a hidden camp.
The guide, a man named Kirishima, smiled.
On the way there, Yue had already learned from Kirishima that the village knew about his disappearance in Amegakure. Because the matter involved certain forces in Amegakure, it could not be treated as an ordinary incident, lest it bring trouble upon the village.
More than two months earlier, Shishiro had already returned to the village with Ryuga and Yoshitaka and reported what had happened.
After completing his previous mission, Fuma Ryoma had happened to return to Kusagakure as well. Upon hearing the news, he had wanted to go alone to the Land of Rain to search for Yue. However, the village told him to accept his loss. They believed Yue had likely become entangled with Akatsuki and was probably already dead.
Such things were all too common in the ninja world.
How many young people had died before reaching adulthood, not just Yue?
Besides, without knowing the truth, they only knew that Akatsuki was a "heinous" rebel organization in the Land of Rain.
Regarding Yue's death, the village had merely put on a show of regret.
And stopped Fuma Ryoma from going.
Fuma Ryoma was still a member of Kusagakure. If he caused any trouble in the Land of Rain, the village would have to clean up after him.
So, in the end, in order to "comfort" Fuma Ryoma, they assigned him to guard the border and stationed him in the area closest to the Land of Rain. It was considered a form of consolation.
"Father."
Yue immediately spotted Fuma Ryoma, who was thin, dark circles under his eyes, and looking somewhat listless.
He called out to him.
"Yue?"
Fuma Ryoma froze as well. "It really is you!"
Fuma Ryoma was nothing more than an ordinary Chunin in the village. The only thing slightly special about him was perhaps the name of the Fuma Clan.
He was not tall, and his hair was unkempt. Perhaps because he had been worrying about Yue, he had lost a great deal of weight as well.
After rubbing his eyes and confirming that it really was Yue, Fuma Ryoma immediately stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
According to the memories of Yue's previous self, his father was usually stern and taciturn.
But the relationship between father and son had always been good.
"However..."
Held in Fuma Ryoma's arms, Yue blinked.
In his memories, his father had been an insurmountable "mountain" to the previous owner of this body.
That referred to his strength.
But now, the feeling Fuma Ryoma gave him... could be summed up in just two words: far too weak.
Though judging his own father that way was somewhat unfilial, it was indeed the truth.
The other people in the outpost also gathered around and offered their congratulations.
They had all heard bits and pieces about the Fuma family.
No one had expected Yue to still be alive...
The entire outpost consisted of a seven-man squad. There were several more outposts like this along the border.
Each outpost was responsible for patrolling a vast section of the border on a daily basis.
But due to Kusagakure's foreign policy, there were no enemies they needed to guard against, so it was relatively safe... If anything major did happen, the village's first instruction was to avoid it and report it promptly. Aside from the instability of the ninja world, the mission was not particularly difficult.
Yue stayed at the outpost, intending to return to the village with Fuma Ryoma after his current assignment rotation ended.
Naturally, Yue also explained everything he had experienced in the Land of Rain to the outpost captain.
The captain, in turn, sent news of Yue's situation back to the village through letters carried by others.
At regular intervals, people from the village came to these border outposts to deliver supplies and maintain contact.
Yue's return restored Fuma Ryoma's spirits.
Over the next few days, Yue followed his father on border patrols. Daily patrols were normally conducted in pairs. Though Yue was only a Genin brat, the captain did not stop him, considering that father and son had only just reunited after a long separation. Under normal circumstances, even if nothing unexpected was likely to happen during patrols, it was still too difficult for a kid who had only recently graduated... mainly because of the physical strain. If something happened somewhere and Yue could not promptly return to rendezvous with his companions, it could delay matters and even cause serious consequences.
Guarding the border involved greater responsibilities. It was no laughing matter.
What they did not know was that, in Yue's eyes, aside from the captain, whose strength was barely passable, everyone else at the outpost... was far too inferior compared to Akatsuki's members.
He also concealed himself perfectly and did not reveal his strength.
Even his father, who ran through the patrol routes with him every day, merely praised how much his stamina had improved.
Along the way, he taught Yue about things to watch out for when carrying out missions outside the village.
In truth, such things no longer held much value for Yue, but he still put on a humble, attentive expression.
Some time later, people from the village arrived.
They were Anbu.
This time, they were not merely there to deliver supplies.
"Who is Fuma Yue?"
The two Anbu swept their eyes over the people remaining in the camp and asked coldly.
"Me."
Yue's heart stirred as he slowly rose to his feet.
Beside him, Fuma Ryoma's expression also turned solemn.
"There are some matters we need to ask you about in private... Come inside with us."
The two Anbu spoke in commanding tones.
When his father, Fuma Ryoma, was about to speak, Yue gave him a reassuring look. Then he stepped forward on his own and followed the two men into an empty tent.
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