"Third Hokage-sama?"
The ward door was opened.
The one who entered was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
But behind him followed an unfamiliar elderly woman.
Hearing the surprise in Arata's voice, Hiruzen smiled at him gently, then looked at the old woman behind him and sighed, "Sorry to trouble you, Koharu."
"Alright, alright, this old woman is only good for this much anyway."
Koharu Utatane shot him a glance and complained irritably before stepping forward toward Akimichi Todo.
Akimichi Todo had suffered moderate burns to his respiratory tract, already affecting his trachea and main bronchi.
It felt like swallowing a mouthful of scorching sand; every breath scraped against his throat. His nasal passages were filled with a rusty, bloody stench, like feathers constantly scratching inside his airway. The more he coughed, the itchier it became, and the itchier it got, the more he coughed.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
At this moment, it seemed as if Akimichi Todo was about to cough up his lungs. His hoarse coughs were harsher than the wind outside, and the black phlegm he spat out looked like mucus mixed with coal dust and streaks of blood.
Normally, treating such burns would require flushing and removing necrotic mucosa and soot, even emergency intubation or tracheotomy to prevent airway blockage from swelling.
However, Hiruzen seemed completely confident in Koharu, not even summoning other medical ninja on a large scale.
Though Koharu often appeared indecisive between Danzō Shimura and Hiruzen, in her youth she had been one of the elite guards under the Second Hokage.
Shhk.
Koharu first used a scalpel to cut open the affected area, then placed her palm before Todo. As chakra flowed precisely into the wound, the blackened necrotic tissue and pus were drawn out.
This was the Extraction Technique, a B-rank medical ninjutsu. By sensing the chaotic chakra inside the body, it could identify toxins and pathogens and extract them while healing the damaged area.
Even among already difficult medical ninjutsu, this technique was considered quite advanced.
Arata stared closely at Koharu's movements, even activating his Byakugan to secretly learn it without hesitation. But Hiruzen only assumed it was concern.
"Don't worry," Hiruzen said, placing his Hokage hat aside and sitting down. "In all of Konoha, aside from Tsunade, it's hard to find a medical ninja more experienced than her."
"Third Hokage-sama…"
Hearing that, Arata finally seemed to relax and looked away. Noticing Hiruzen's gentle gaze, guilt and disappointment appeared on his face.
He was about to stand, but Hiruzen stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Just sit. I already understand what happened. Todo and I both know this wasn't your fault."
"The doctors said you were injured, too. How are you feeling now?"
Arata was pressed back into his seat. Feeling the warmth on his shoulder, he placed his hands awkwardly on his lap, his face slightly flushed, appearing nervous yet excited.
After all, their statuses were worlds apart; this was a moment that should never have happened. His reaction clearly satisfied Hiruzen.
"Thank you for your concern. Thanks to Senior Todo, I only suffered minor injuries."
"That's not minor," Hiruzen sighed. "Aside from Todo, you were closest to the explosion. Anyone else would've been crippled, if not killed."
Hearing the implication, Arata's face turned pale.
"Third Hokage-sama, I-I didn't mean to secretly learn Rotation, it's just-"
"Arata, I'm not blaming you," Hiruzen said with a smile. "If you and Todo hadn't stood in front, the escort team's losses would've been much worse."
"I just didn't expect your growth to be so rapid, or your performance so outstanding."
Hearing his tone remain gentle, Arata seemed to relax further. He hesitated before saying, "I… I don't know why either. Ever since I awakened the Byakugan three months ago, my control over my body and chakra has become much stronger."
Seeing the confusion in Arata's eyes and finding nothing suspicious, Hiruzen narrowed his gaze slightly, forming a guess.
'Three months ago? Or perhaps… after Orochimaru defected?'
'It seemed Orochimaru had indeed done something to this boy. No wonder he had tried to take him along when he fled.'
'Though nothing abnormal could yet be detected, keeping the boy close for observation might be worthwhile.'
'After all, even people like Kakashi Hatake and Yamato, who had once attempted assassination, were forgiven and brought into the ANBU.'
'Compared to them, someone like Arata, who carried the "Will of Fire," had no reason to be rejected.'
'At least for now, his character, loyalty, talent, and strength all seemed promising, perhaps even enhanced by Orochimaru.'
With that thought, Hiruzen let go of his last trace of suspicion and turned serious.
"Arata, Todo said that before you left, you used your Byakugan to observe what happened afterward, correct?"
"I want to know what you encountered, who you met, and what exactly happened in the end."
The concern and probing were over. Now came the real question.
As if recalling that horrifying scene, fear appeared on Arata's face.
"They died… all of them died." His voice trembled. "That thing… it wasn't human. That kind of power… isn't something a human could possess."
At the same time, at the border of the Land of Hot Water, four figures stood silently in the night.
Samui took a deep breath, as if trying to expel the chill in her heart and steady herself.
Standing there, she could now clearly see the terrain.
It resembled a giant mushroom cap, their position being the highest point, while the surrounding land dipped lower.
Aside from where they stood, the rest of the area was filled with grotesque trenches stretching for kilometers, a devastated wasteland that radiated violence and destruction.
Just looking at those marks, one could feel a sharp, cutting force lingering in the air.
Samui closed her eyes and imagined what had happened here.
A single person standing at the center… unleashing a tornado-like Wind Release technique, shredding everything ahead into dust, turning the land into barren emptiness.
Not only that, the person had turned, sweeping the tornado in a full circle, as if casually cleaning away everything in the surroundings.
A force like a natural disaster, wielded as easily as moving one's arm.
And everything that tried to stand against it, flesh, blood, bone, had been crushed into particles, buried into the soil as nutrients.
This kind of power…