About a day later.
In the forest at the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire, a three-person team was hurrying back toward the Land of Fire.
Compared to the tense atmosphere when they went to the Land of Rivers, things now felt much more relaxed and easygoing.
This team heading back to the Land of Fire was exactly Hakushi, Ruri, and Ayane.
Since they wiped out that Root squad, they hadn't encountered any more enemies and had passed the day in peace.
Both Hakushi and Ayane's chakra had recovered, and half a day ago, Ruri had also woken up from her slumber. Although the injuries from using the Immortal Technique hadn't completely healed and she still looked very pale, she had regained a little strength and was able to at least protect herself.
Considering how many shadows surrounded this mission, possibly involving struggles among Konoha's upper echelons, and with no guarantee there weren't any Sand tracking teams still out there, the three of them decided after Ruri regained consciousness that they'd hurry back to the Land of Fire at full speed to get to the bottom of what was really going on.
It was now about three in the morning; the sky was still shrouded in darkness.
Ayane was carrying the temporarily immobile Ruri on her back, focusing on the journey, with Hakushi following close behind.
"By the way, are we really going to be okay going back like this?"
Ayane sounded a little worried as she suddenly spoke up.
"What do you mean?"
Hakushi glanced at her.
"Root Ninjas are part of the Anbu, right? Even if they're under a different command, they still ended up dying at our hands."
Ayane didn't believe they could just go back as if nothing had happened.
Even though the Root Ninjas had set them up first, if the real mastermind behind it all was one of Konoha's higher-ups—well, even if they found out, what could they actually do?
Maybe they'd even use the fact that they killed Root Ninjas to pin charges on them.
"It's fine. Didn't we already deal with the bodies in advance? When we get back, we'll just say we fell into a Sand Ninja trap. If they ask, we just stubbornly insist we didn't see any Root."
Ruri, lying on Ayane's back, exhaled softly and said in a low voice.
"That's really enough?"
"Of course not. But as long as we absolutely deny seeing anything, and they have no evidence, there's nothing they can do to us. Plus, I'll use the Uchiha's strength to pressure the village elders about their 'faulty intelligence.' If they try to dig deeper, we'll make sure everyone in the village hears about it. See how they try to end that mess."
Ruri spoke in a cool tone.
Ayane nodded in strong agreement.
She couldn't use the Hyuga's power to pressure Konoha's high-ups, but Ruri was different.
She was one of the Uchiha Clan's next Clan Leader candidates and had enough clout within the Uchiha to have a group of devoted followers.
That was the power of a great clan—even Konoha's top brass had to think twice.
"Sometimes I really envy you, Ruri."
Ayane lowered her head and smiled faintly as she spoke.
"Envy me? By the way, I still haven't settled the score with you two for getting close while leaving me behind."
Ruri raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied.
Hakushi and Ayane exchanged awkward smiles, turning their faces away instead of giving any direct answer.
"When we get back, you'd better tell me every detail about this."
"Yeah, yeah, got it. Besides, it's not like it's a big deal."
Hakushi scratched his head, looking troubled.
Where should he start? Tell everything, or half the truth and keep half hidden? Maybe that was the only way to smooth things over—words really were powerful.
"Still, I didn't expect you to take the risk of using an unfinished Immortal Technique to boost your Fire Style. For safety's sake, you'd better get checked out again when we return."
"Nagging. I'll do whatever I want, however I want."
Ruri snorted, tossing her black hair and turning her head away.
"Such a pain…"
Hearing Hakushi gripe again, Ayane laughed. She was about to say something when, all of a sudden, her Byakugan spotted two figures.
"Someone's catching up from behind—it's Jiraiya-sensei and an old classmate from the next class over."
Ayane quickly identified the two ninja chasing after them.
Hakushi and Ruri both frowned.
Though they wondered why Jiraiya and Minato would be out here, the three still stopped moving, waiting for the duo to catch up.
In no time, Jiraiya and Minato appeared before them, travel-worn and marked by battle, looking like they'd had a rough time themselves.
Seeing that Hakushi's team was unharmed, Jiraiya let out a long sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Thank goodness, you three are okay."
If these three had died in a conspiracy, he might've spent the rest of his life buried in guilt.
Their clothes were torn and blood-stained—they'd clearly barely made it out of a vicious fight.
"Jiraiya-sensei, and that blond guy, why are you two here?"
Ruri asked Jiraiya with a chilly tone.
"Um, Uchiha, my name is Minato Namika—"
"Shut up, blondie. I wasn't talking to you, I was asking your teacher."
Jiraiya patted the awkwardly smiling Minato on the shoulder. Minato had already heard at the academy that Ruri was a tough person to get along with, so he didn't mind.
"This is a long story, but the most important thing is that you three are safe. The village will definitely give you an explanation for this later."