Three days later.
Today is the day to officially return the one thousand prisoners of Sunagakure.
To show that he took it seriously, Nara Shikahito summoned Orochimaru Shin'un Tsunade, the only one of the three who could be ordered around Shin'un, to come to the scene of the prisoner exchange.
When Shin'un followed Nara Shikahito to the gate of the prisoner-of-war camp, he immediately noticed the thousand Sunagakure prisoners gathered in the square in front of the gate.
Shin'un immediately frowned as he looked at the prisoners.
"The changes are truly remarkable..."
Having endured months of inhumane imprisonment by Shimura Danzō, these once fierce-looking and physically robust Sunagakure have undergone tremendous changes.
Being barely clothed and emaciated was the bare minimum.
The pride that once defined them as ninjas from the Five Great Shinobi Villages vanished, and any noise around them caused them to tremble involuntarily.
Only a very few Sand Ninja still retained that brilliance in their eyes, but they also subconsciously avoided the gazes of the Konoha Ninja around them.
Noticing this, Shin'un's expression became subtle.
"These Sand Ninja are ruined. Even if they return to Sand Ninja and become competent ninjas, they will never be able to fight against Konoha."
Shaking his head, Shin'un quickly took a few steps to catch up with Nara Shikahito, and together they arrived at the side of the Sunagakure Jonin who was responsible for bringing back a thousand Sand Ninja prisoners.
As he approached, Nara Shikahito glanced at the thousand Sand Ninja prisoners and said to the Sand Ninja Jonin beside him:
I won't say any more. I hope we never see each other again.
The Sand Ninja Jonin with a complicated expression, then turned and left.
A short while later, Sand Ninja Jonin at the center of the thousand Sand Ninja prisoners and loudly announced that he would take them back to Sunagakure.
As if they had survived a catastrophe, the thousand Sunagakure prisoners erupted in shouts. Some of the Sand Ninja seemed to have their pride restored, and they all looked at the Konoha Ninja not far away with hostile eyes.
Unfortunately, the Konoha Ninja only glanced at them briefly, and the Sand Ninja quickly looked away. Some of the Sand Ninja even instinctively banged their heads on the ground and raised their hands, exposing their defenseless backs, awaiting punishment.
Nara Shikahito shook his head, not wanting to watch this farce any longer, and turned to leave.
Shin'un glanced at the Sand Ninja prisoners one last time, then turned and left as well.
"By the way, you guys are returning to Konoha with the main force tomorrow, right?"
On the way to the Konoha camp, Nara Shikahito suddenly turned to look at Shin'un.
"No."
"I was originally going to leave tomorrow, but Orochimaru- sensei said that the books he brought were almost worn out from reading them so much. Now that the official transfer order has been issued, he wants to return to Konoha as soon as possible. So he discussed it with Tsunade- Senior Tsunade and decided to leave in a little while."
Nodding, Nara Shikahito said with a bitter face and a hint of envy:
"Today... you guys are so kind. I'm afraid I'll have to stay in the Land of Rain for another six months before I can go back to see my wife."
Looking up, Nara Shikahito quietly gazed at the gloomy sky of the Land of Rain, then turned to look at Shin'un.
"Alright, since that's the case, you can go now. I'm afraid you haven't seen your family in a long time."
"Yes."
Upon hearing Nara Shikahito mention his family, Shin'un unconsciously raised his eyebrows.
"It's been almost a year since I last left the village, and I really miss my family."
At this point, Shin'un smiled.
"Alright, Nara- senpai, we'll see you again when you return to Konoha."
Nara Shikahito nodded upon hearing Shin'un's words.
See you when I get back to the village.
Shin'un nodded and vanished in Body Flicker Technique.
Using the Lightning Body Flicker, Shin'un quickly approached the Konoha camp, arriving in just over a minute.
Upon arriving at the Konoha camp, Shin'un headed straight for a large campsite at the edge of the camp.
"Whoosh~"
The faint sound of the curtain being lifted drew the attention of Orochimaru and the others inside the tent.
" Shin'un! I've been waiting for you for so long! You're finally back!"
Upon seeing Shin'un, Yūichi was overjoyed and immediately greeted him loudly in his familiar booming voice.
Shin'un first glanced around the tent and saw that Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Yūichi's three teammates were already gathered there. They were clearly ready and waiting for his return before heading back to the village.
Then, Shin'un turned to look at Yūichi.
Raising an eyebrow, Shin'un saw Yūichi smiling brightly at him, looking as happy as a simp being showered with favors by a goddess. He frowned in confusion and asked:
What's wrong with you?
Yuichi glanced furtively at Orochimaru, who was tidying up books beside him, Yūichi carefully folded the book in his hand and placed it next to Orochimaru. He took a few steps closer to Shin'un and whispered in his ear, like a lewd and timid old man visiting during the day for the first time:
"You're finally back."
"You don't know, the teacher thinks I'm too stupid to improve the escape technique on my own like you do, and he also thinks I'm not as quiet as Kō-chan, so he punishes me by making me sit quietly and read the classics, saying it's to properly nourish my barren... intelligent brain."
"Oh~"
Shin'un drew out his words and nodded as if he had suddenly realized something.
Then, Shin'un raised his hand and patted Yūichi on the shoulder, saying:
"I think the teacher did a good job; your clever little brain definitely has room for development."
After speaking, Shin'un ignored the gesticulating Yūichi and walked straight to Orochimaru, who was organizing the books. He glanced at Tsunade, who was frowning and flipping through something on the round table next to her, and said:
"Teacher, those one thousand Sand Ninja prisoners have already left."
Upon hearing this, Orochimaru put the last book into the sealing scroll and said:
"In that case, shall we leave?"
After speaking, Orochimaru straightened up, glanced at Shin'un, and then turned to look at Tsunade, who was frowning and reviewing dozens of medical records at a round table to the side.
Raising an eyebrow, Orochimaru walked over to Tsunade and leaned down to glance at the medical Tsunade was looking at.
After watching for a while, Orochimaru straightened up and said to Tsunade:
"Besides me, I'm sure you're also eager to return to Konoha."
"Yes..."
Tsunade looked a little tired, raised her hand to rub the corner of her eye, and said:
"Recently, a strange, contagious disease has suddenly appeared in the village. The medical-nin at Konoha Hospital are helpless against it. As the honorary director of Konoha Hospital, it is only natural that I must go back and take a look."
Nodding, Orochimaru estimated the time and said:
"Pack up quickly, and if we move fast, we should be able to get to Konoha the day after tomorrow."
"Sigh... Let's hurry."
Standing up, Tsunade looked at the medical record in her hand, sighed, and then folded it neatly and put it into a scroll.
After Tsunade finished tidying up, Orochimaru waved to the people in the tent, then stepped out of the tent.
"Whoosh~"
Lifting the door curtain, several people walked out of the tent and looked at the somewhat messy Konoha camp around them with some emotion.
A few breaths later, Shin'un turned to look at Orochimaru and said:
"Teacher, let's go."
"Okay, let's go back to Konoha."
Orochimaru withdrew his gaze from the surrounding camps and turned to the east, where Konoha was located, a hint of a smile appearing at the corner of his eyes, which were painted with purple eyeshadow.
Without further ado, Orochimaru vanished in Body Flicker Technique. Shin'un and the others followed.
The group of seven simultaneously used Body Flicker Technique and quickly headed towards Konoha.