A vicious wave of chakra burst out of his body, surging straight up into his throat.
"Shuriken Scatter Shot!"
The Sand ANBU each gripped four or five kunai, hurling them toward the fleeing squad.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The captain exhaled a monstrous gale, a disaster in the shape of wind itself, sweeping toward Shiyō's group. The kunai instantly caught the tailwind, accelerating like bullets.
In an instant, the blades blurred into phantoms, leaving no chance to dodge. They tore through bodies mercilessly.
"Arghhh!"
Natsume Yō cried out as steel punctured his back, thigh, calf—hell, even his ass. Then the raging gale flung him away like a weed ripped out by a storm.
"Damn it!"
Shiyō's eyes went wide. Not everyone had Yō's rotten luck—getting pierced but somehow missing the fatal points. Truth was, aside from Yō and Hanazawa, everyone else had been wiped out in that one brutal strike.
"Boar—Dog—Rooster—Monkey—Ram!"
Even as he was hurled back, Shiyō's hands blurred through seals. In just three seconds, a Summoning jutsu erupted—and a massive hawk appeared before Yō. Its feathers were black as night, body forged like steel.
The raging gale didn't even ruffle it. With a single beat of its wings, the hawk swooped down, catching the survivors.
"Back to Konoha!"
Shiyō barked the order, hands flying into seals again. Yō recognized it at once—Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet. A top-tier ninjutsu, and a deadly one at that.
The hawk climbed higher, reaching the gorge known as Heaven's Line—but waiting Sand shinobi had already launched their ambush.
"Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Gale!"
Countless blades of air slashed down, the sky vibrating with their cutting edge. If they hit, the hawk and its passengers would be minced into rain.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Shiyō's chest swelled, his throat roared, and he leaned forward—spitting out a blazing fireball twenty meters wide. The inferno lit up the whole of Sunagakure as it collided head-on with the wind blades.
BOOM!
One of the strongest fire-style techniques, Dragon Flame Bullet crushed the incoming gale without faltering. The shockwave sent the hawk soaring upward, out of range of the Sand shinobi's attacks.
"Phew…"
Only then did Natsume Yō finally exhale in relief. Gritting his teeth, he yanked the kunai from his body one by one. Blood welled, but he quickly slapped on healing salves, wrapped himself with bandages, and collapsed onto the hawk's back. Exhaustion hit like a hammer, dragging him into sleep.
Saint's Healing Water closed wounds, but it couldn't cure fatigue.
It was three days later when they finally touched down in Konoha. Yō went straight into the hospital for treatment.
By the third day, his wounds had mostly healed—and so did his mission rewards arrive.
"Mission complete: Sunagakure Intel. Gold +200, Exp +30, received Mysterious Fragment (2)!"
Not great, not terrible—passable at best.
With ANBU losses too heavy, Shiyō had no men left to lead. Which meant Natsume Yō finally got something rare: a short break.
And of course, he used that break for a date.
But the moment he saw the bruises covering Wada Chiba's body, all his good mood crumbled to dust.