When he opened his eyes again, Morino Yūzuki saw the white canvas roof of a field tent. The sharp stench of medicine stabbed into his nostrils.
"Ha—! Kosei! Kosei!!"
"Chūnin Yūzuki, please don't get agitated. You're safe now."
A medical-nin stationed at the western border pressed down gently on the disheveled-haired youth.
"Kosei—what about Kosei?!"
"He's alive… he's still alive, right?!"
The female medic couldn't quite meet the boy's eyes. She turned her head slightly aside.
"Chūnin Yūzuki… you already know the situation better than anyone."
"Heh… hehe… that's impossible…"
"How could I need his cover? That's absolutely impossible!"
Not far away, Yūhi Kurenai—his body wrapped in extensive bandages, internal injuries slowly recovering—lay on another hospital bed. While drinking water handed to him by Yūhi Ryūun, he cast a sideways glance at the sobbing boy who clutched his head, refusing to accept reality.
Watching this scene were also the three members of First Squad.
"So… this is war?"
Nawaki murmured, his voice heavy as he looked at the boy's condition.
"Hey, Bai Xing,"
"Have you ever been on a battlefield?"
Bai Xing shook his head.
"Genin aren't qualified to go to the front lines."
"A fifteen-man offshore outpost,"
"Might Dai muttered the intelligence relayed by the border shinobi.
"Two jōnin. Twelve chūnin. All dead."
"War really is a cruel thing."
Just then, a Uchiha jōnin responsible for guarding this section of the border walked in.
He ignored Bai Xing and the others standing in the corridor and went straight to Morino Yūzuki.
"How's the situation?"
The female medic shook her head.
"Mental collapse. He probably can't give a coherent account."
"I see."
"Then leave it to me."
The Uchiha jōnin bent down. His handsome yet stern face met the boy's vacant gaze.
"Look into my eyes, boy."
"Genjutsu: Sharingan."
...
The dazed youth began recounting what had happened two days earlier in fragments. After extracting the necessary intelligence, the Uchiha jōnin dispelled the genjutsu.
The boy returned to a hollow, vacant expression.
"His mental breakdown isn't too severe," the jōnin said calmly.
"He needs time to recuperate. When the time comes, let him return to the village together with Kurenai's team to rest."
He straightened up and glanced at Bai Xing and the others behind him.
"Oh, right. I almost forgot."
"There's also that Senju brat and the two genin from Orochimaru's team."
"You lot should leave the battlefield as soon as possible."
"What comes next isn't a place for little brats like you to stay."
"Yes!" ×3
Bai Xing let out a long breath of relief inside. His stamina and chakra had already recovered—thank goodness I don't have to go to the battlefield.
Beside him, Might Dai and Nawaki kept their heads lowered, silent.
Even being mocked as "a Senju brat" didn't stir Nawaki at all. He simply didn't have the energy to respond.
Everyone knew that truly important intelligence was never transmitted in places beyond one's control. It was impossible to send it across vast, unknown regions with confidence.
That was why many courier missions required shinobi to personally escort intelligence to its destination.
For example—Orochimaru's team and Kurenai's team, now back in the village.
Whether it was intelligence or wounded personnel, everything had been delivered back onto Konoha's territory. Yūhi Kurenai's injuries were too severe for movement, so he remained at the Konoha border.
Inside the Hokage's office, after listening to the reports from Orochimaru's team and Kurenai's team, Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed his desk in fury. The loud bang echoed through the office, yet the ANBU at the door didn't dare step inside.
"Why?! Why did this happen?!"
"Has Konoha ever wronged you?!"
As Hiruzen's mind filled with anger, another elder—head of the Root organization—smiled upon receiving the border intelligence.
"Uzushiogakure…"
"You've truly given this old man a perfect opportunity."
Danzō immediately went to the Hokage's office to console Hiruzen, assuring him that Root would handle the investigation and verification. Any findings would be reported immediately.
Hiruzen nodded slightly. Bai Xing's words resurfaced in his mind: There were no Uzumaki shinobi present on the battlefield.
A trace of hesitation appeared on his face as he looked at Danzō, who had volunteered to take on the task.
"Konoha cannot afford to lose the Uzumaki clan."
"You understand what I mean."
Hiruzen's gaze locked onto the middle-aged man. Danzō smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, Hiruzen."
"I understand. After all, they are Lady Mito's clan—and the crucial vessel tied to the sealing of that."
"I'll personally lead Root and investigate thoroughly."
"Good."
"The matter of the Land of Whirlpools is entrusted to you."
"Danzō—before Uzushiogakure's betrayal is confirmed, you are absolutely forbidden from taking action!"
Internally, Danzō clicked his tongue, but his expression remained calm as he nodded.
"Understood, Hiruzen. Leave the rest to me."
After Danzō left, Hiruzen felt a wave of melancholy.
If only Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and the White Fang were still in the village…
Compared to Danzō, who carried the darkness, he trusted those three far more.
On the other side, Bai Xing—experiencing his first mission failure—claimed he wasn't in a good mental state and took leave to rest at home for ten days or so.
During that time, missions were taken by Nawaki and Dai together. They split the pay and used the opportunity to train themselves.
"Should I speak… or not?"
The truth—that the Uzumaki clan hadn't betrayed Konoha—was known only to Bai Xing. Yet he didn't know who had been assigned to investigate the Land of Whirlpools.
As for Yūhi Kurenai's case, Bai Xing had only stated that upon reaching the battlefield, he found an injured Kurenai alongside the corpses of Kirigakure shinobi. Any traces of treatment from the Hemostasis Technique had been erased by the ROOM space.
Thus, the border shinobi harbored no suspicions, allowing Bai Xing to return smoothly from that dangerous place to the safety of Konoha.
"Forget it. What does it have to do with me anyway?"
"Even if Naruto ends up gone… it should be… um… it should still be fine, right?"
Lying on his bed, Bai Xing rested his hands behind his head and glanced at the open system interface, where Shippuden was displayed—along with a small [Exit] button in the corner.
"Whatever."
"I'll just take it one step at a time."
"I wonder how Mikoto is doing on the battlefield…"
"I hope everything's fine. Guess the teacher's just too useless—couldn't protect our bond~"
"If you die, I'll preserve your body when it's brought back from the front."
"We'll meet again… in the future."
After returning from the border, Bai Xing felt that a Saiyan-like physique was truly satisfying. At the very least, pushing his stamina to the limit gradually increased his combat strength—his physical potential had no upper bound.
In other words, he was a little stronger than before.
And his baseline combat power was creeping ever closer to Kage level.
Konoha Hospital
Inside a single-patient room dedicated to mental recovery—
"What a pitiful child…"
"Teacher, when you went to the border, did you see a lot of enemies?"
"Or maybe… a lot of corpses?"
Outside the room, Bai Xing rolled his eyes hard at his student, then reached out and rubbed the golden head. Nono Yu let out a small "ying" sound.
"You really want your teacher to die on the battlefield that badly, huh?"
"No, no! I was just asking!"
Nono Yu scratched her cheek, a flicker of worry and sadness passing through her eyes.
"By the way, I just went to the Uchiha compound, but I didn't see Mikoto."
"You said she left the village on a Uchiha mission—what kind of mission is it exactly?"
Instantly, sweat poured down Nono Yu's forehead.
Why did Teacher still go to the Uchiha clan?!
If the Uchiha tell him… won't I be exposed?!
"I—I—I…"
"All right, all right. I'm just joking."
Bai Xing kept rubbing her head as he turned his neck, gazing out the hospital window at the peaceful surroundings, ignoring the noisy atmosphere inside.
"No matter what happens in the future," he said softly,
"I hope little Nono Yu will believe in her teacher."
"Huh?!"
Nono Yu looked up at him, feeling that his words sounded strangely profound.
"It's nothing."
"I just lied to you again."
"I didn't go to the Uchiha clan at all~ Bleh!"
Bai Xing took a step back and made a face.
Nono Yu laughed despite herself. She'd thought her teacher was about to say something profound. Raising her fist, she shouted—
"Bad teacher!! I'll beat you flat!!!"
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