Deep in a dense forest.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was leading the Sarutobi Clan's ninja in a desperate, bedraggled retreat.
"Cough, cough, cough! Pfft-!!"
Just then, Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed up a mouthful of blood despite himself and abruptly stopped.
"Lord Third! Lord Third! Are you all right?!"
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi cough up blood, the Sarutobi Clan ninja around him anxiously gathered close.
"Cough, cough, I'm fine!"
"What's the situation around us?!"
"Has Gengetsu followed us?!"
Enduring the intense pain in his body, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked anxiously.
"Lord Third, Gengetsu hasn't followed us. We're safe for now!"
After sensing their surroundings, a Sarutobi Clan ninja skilled in sensory techniques spoke up.
"Phew... that's good!"
"Everyone, rest where you are!"
Hearing that Gengetsu had not followed them, Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief, then ordered everyone to rest.
"Yes, sir!"
Upon hearing the order, the surviving Sarutobi Clan ninja all collapsed onto the ground.
Every Sarutobi Clan ninja looked utterly bedraggled, their forehead protectors askew and their ragged clothes covered in mud and blood.
After all, to escape Gengetsu's pursuit, they had not stopped once along the way, fleeing madly the entire time.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was in the worst shape of them all. His chest was covered in wounds, and blood kept pouring out of them.
"Lord Third! I'll treat your wounds right away!"
A Sarutobi Clan ninja skilled in Medical Ninjutsu immediately approached Hiruzen Sarutobi and began treating him with Medical Ninjutsu.
After a round of treatment, although Hiruzen Sarutobi's injuries had not fully healed, his condition had finally stabilized.
"What's our situation? How many people and supplies... do we have left?!"
Once his condition had stabilized, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help asking.
Hearing this, a Sarutobi Clan ninja spoke with an extremely grim expression.
"Lord Third!"
"Our losses are extremely severe..."