Escape from Konoha.

"When you get back, you should explain this matter in detail."

"Yes, yes, I understand. Anyway, it's not a big deal."

Shiraishi scratched his head, looking troubled.

How to smoothly get through this matter—whether to tell the whole story or only tell half and conceal the other half—is a testament to the power of words.

"However, I didn't expect you to choose such a risky approach, using an unfinished sage technique to activate a fire jutsu. For your safety, it would be best to have a re-examination when you get back."

"Too much fuss. I'll do whatever I want."

Liuli snorted, tossed her black hair, and turned her head away.

"This is really troublesome..."

Hearing Shiraishi complaining again, Ayane smiled and was about to say something when suddenly two figures appeared in her field of vision.

"Someone is catching up from behind. It's Jonin Jiraiya, and an old classmate from the next class."

Ayane quickly identified the two ninjas chasing behind them.

Both Shiraishi and Ruri frowned.

Although they were puzzled as to why Jiraiya and Minato were there, the three of them stopped and waited for the two to catch up from behind.

A short while later, Jiraiya and Minato appeared before the three of them. They were covered in dust and had signs of battle on their bodies, indicating that they had also suffered some hardships.

Seeing that Shiraishi and the other two were unharmed, Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "That's great, it's good that the three of you are alright."

If these three people die in a conspiracy, he may live with guilt for the rest of his life.

The clothes on Shiraishi and the other two were torn and stained with blood, clearly indicating that they had survived a brutal battle.

"Jiraiya, the Jonin, and that blond guy, why are you two here?"

Ruri asked Jiraiya in a cool tone about his purpose.

"Um, Uchiha-kun, my name is Namikaze Mizu..."

"Shut up, blond guy. I'm not asking you, I'm asking your teacher."

Jiraiya patted Minato on the shoulder, who was smiling wryly. Minato had heard at school that Ruri was a difficult person to get along with, so he didn't find it strange.

"It's a long story, but the most important thing is the safety of the three of you. The village will definitely give you an explanation later."

"Should we explain?"

A contemptuous sneer appeared on Liuli's lips.

"Yes, I will personally vouch for you..."

"No need. The Uchiha will handle their own affairs; they don't need outsiders to interfere!"

Liuli's attitude was also very firm.

Hearing this, Jiraiya became even more certain that Ruri and the others understood some of the problems in this mission.

For example, the root... no, you must know that by now.

Especially since Ruri, a ninja from a wealthy family, has exceptional insight and intelligence, Jiraiya wouldn't dare to try to fool her on this matter.

"I was just doing what I was supposed to do. If the Uchiha want to pursue this, that's your business. I helped you only out of a sense of responsibility and duty as a fellow villager."

Jiraiya smiled, or rather, he was happy to see this happen.

There's nothing more satisfying than making Danzo suffer a setback.

"I hope so."

Ruri didn't take Jiraiya's promise to heart.

The so-called Sannin were nothing more than this in the eyes of the entire Uchiha clan.

Besides, they belong to the Senju clan, so Ruri only believes half of what Jiraiya says.

"More than this trivial matter, I'm curious about what punishment the Hokage will impose on that high-ranking official who made the mistake. Isn't that the key issue?"

Ruri's words, tinged with sarcasm, made Jiraiya sigh helplessly.

Even a little girl can see things so clearly; the Uchiha are indeed a powerful and influential clan that cannot be ignored.

Shiraishi remained silent, acting as a tiny, invisible figure in everyone's eyes.

◎

It was several hours later when they returned to the Konoha camp.

Shortly after dawn, the Konoha ninjas in the camp emerged from their tents.

As the shifts changed, the medical ninjas, without even having a proper breakfast, rushed to the makeshift medical room to take over from the other medical ninjas who had been working there all night.

Since Sakumo Hatake, the captain of the Sakumo Squad, has not returned and is still on a mission, Ruri will temporarily serve as the captain and go to Orochimaru, the highest-ranking officer here, to report on the mission.

Jiraiya took Minato to do his own work elsewhere.

Shiraishi and Ayane were idly waiting not far from the tent.

"Hey, kid Shiraishi, long time no see. You've gotten a lot stronger than before."

The voice came from one side; it was a familiar and very cheerful female voice.

Turning his head, Shiraishi saw a beautiful woman with light blonde hair.

After a moment of surprise, the other person grinned mischievously and said, "What, you don't recognize me anymore?"

Shiraishi then realized what was happening and bowed to the female ninja, saying, "It's been a long time, Tsunade-sensei."

Although she wasn't a direct disciple, Tsunade was indeed the instructor of Konoha's first medical ninja experimental training class, and she taught Shiraishi a lot about medical ninjutsu.

"Hello, Tsunade."

Ayane also bowed and quickly paid her respects to Tsunade.

Tsunade simply waved her hand and smiled, "No need for that, just relax. Everything's alright on this mission, right?"

She asked, seemingly casually.

Without much thought, Shiraishi honestly replied, "I heard from Ruri that this is a trap set by the Sand Village ninjas. They deliberately used false information to lure our Konoha ninjas there and annihilate them."

Then, he looked very puzzled, as if he didn't quite understand what this mission was all about.

Ayane coughed twice from the side.

"Little girl from the Hyuga family, are you feeling unwell?"

Tsunade looked at her.

"Yeah, I noticed my throat was a little sore when I got back, I might have caught a cold."

Ayane answered.

"Girls need to take care of themselves." Tsunade then looked at Shiraishi, gently patted his head, and softened her voice: "It's okay, things will pass. I'll take care of the rest for you."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sensei. But the Sand Village ninja are really despicable. Tsunade-sensei, please be careful."

Looking into Shiraishi's simple, harmless, and genuinely caring gaze, Tsunade sighed inwardly.

Danzo is a real bastard.

These are the pillars of Konoha's future.

Tsunade asked Shiraishi a few more questions, and before entering the tent, she gave him several scrolls containing her valuable experience in medical ninjutsu.

She genuinely admired Shiraishi, a simple and honest young man. Even though his talent in medical ninjutsu wasn't particularly outstanding, and his entry into Sakumo's team might have been due to connections with women, his earnest and focused spirit made him worthy of her dedicated cultivation of such a hardworking and ambitious junior ninja.

"That's probably what the Uchiha girl values ​​in him," Tsunade thought to herself.

"Shiraishi-kun, you're so mean."

Ayane watched Tsunade enter the tent and then muttered a complaint to Shiraishi.

If she hadn't known the truth, she almost would have believed Shiraishi's lies.

“I don’t want this either, but this is what I rely on to survive. And it doesn’t feel good to deceive someone who treats me so sincerely. She is, besides you, one of the few ninjas who genuinely wants the best for me, just like Fujimura-sensei.”

At this point, Shiraishi recalled his homeroom teacher, Fujimura Taiga, who had accompanied him through six years of his studies.

I wonder if he's ended his single life yet. He's almost 30 and a Chunin-sama, it's really making me anxious.

A dozen minutes later, Liuli walked out of the tent looking displeased.

Because his injuries haven't healed yet, he can't walk very fast.

"What did they say?"

Shiraishi and Ayane leaned over and asked.

Ruri glanced at the two of them, trying her best to suppress her anger, and said, "What else can we do, Commander Orochimaru? Order the three of us to return to the village immediately and await orders."

"immediately?"

"Return to the village and await further orders?"

These two interrogative sentences came from Shiraishi and Ayane in succession, accompanied by surprised expressions.

"Wait, Sakumo-sensei hasn't returned yet..."

"He told us not to wait for him to come back, but to set off immediately and escort the wounded who could not fight back to the village with other squads."

Liuli repeated the order again, clearly annoyed.

"Is that so? It seems things are much more complicated than I imagined."

Shiraishi said something meaningful.

Although Sakumo's squad has a special role, the overall commander of the battlefield is Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.

He had greater on-site command authority than their team leader, Sakumo Hatake.

Therefore, no matter how much Shiraishi and the other two protested, it was useless, and they could only obediently return to the village to await orders.

As for what happened to Sakumo, the three of them were completely unaware of it. There were still many unresolved questions about the mistakes of this mission, but presumably Orochimaru, the Jonin who was in command, would not reveal them to the three of them.

Ultimately, it comes down to a lack of status and ability.

If Sakumo were here, even if Orochimaru had a higher status, he wouldn't be able to ignore Sakumo's question.

"That's it. Pack up and get ready to go."