Dashing through the forest, Saitama felt a hollow emptiness inside. Following the marks left behind, he soon sensed the chakra trails others had left.
Indeed, traveling alone allowed for a speed no team could match.
...
"Hey, do you think Saitama is okay now?"
Activating his Byakugan, Hyuga Dun carefully scanned the surroundings, watching out for visible enemies.
"Knowing Saitama, he probably made it out safely!"
Behind his sunglasses, Shibi's gaze remained uncertain. In that situation, Saitama volunteered to stay behind—it was hard to predict what followed.
Silence settled over the squad. After a long pause, Uchiha Huo could no longer hold himself back and came to a stop.
"I have to go back!"
Looking at Uchiha Yan with unprecedented determination on his face.
Seeing that look in his eyes, Yan knew there was no use trying to talk him out of it. He turned his gaze toward Aburame Shibi. "Leader Shibi."
Adjusting his sunglasses, Shibi replied, "If you go now, you'll only waste the time Saitama bought us!"
Everyone understood logically, but Uchiha Huo still felt terrible—after all, it was to save him that Saitama stayed behind.
Frustrated, Huo slammed his fist against a nearby tree, looking like he was ready to tear through someone.
"We need to move," Shibi said calmly. "Report the Mizukage's presence on the battlefield to Konoha immediately—they'll need time to prepare. This mission ends here. The enemy will likely tighten their defenses back along our route. Staying here serves no purpose and increases the risk of being discovered."
During this one-minute pause, several Chunin quickly recovered some of their stamina. Their desperate sprint beforehand had left them drained.
Hyuga Dun and another Hyuga ninja remained particularly quiet during this time. Watching comrades fall helplessly behind while being unable to assist was truly humiliating. And as members of the branch family, they were all too familiar with such experiences.
"Move out!"
Shibi ordered everyone forward once again. They were still within Mist territory; they had only temporarily escaped danger. Hidden enemies could be lurking anywhere.
Despite his earlier outburst, Uchiha Huo managed to steady himself again. He stepped forward with the group, though he kept glancing back occasionally.
Throughout their journey, Shibi continued leaving trails using his insects, hoping Saitama would find these markers and catch up with them.
...
"Lord, we are ready to leave."
Ao stood beside Yagura, holding the Executioner's Blade, while Biwa Juzo's remains had already been sealed into a scroll.
"Hmm."
Yagura remained expressionless, continuously rubbing his staff.
After casting one final glance at the forest, the group moved off in another direction.
...
"Huff!" Saitama exhaled deeply. Following the signs left by others, he had sprinted nonstop. Due to his earlier battle, however, his strength was completely drained.
Just moments ago, memories from his Clone had returned to his main body, giving him a painful headache.
Leaning against a tree trunk, Saitama rested his sword on his right side and began to recover his strength.
The enemy wasn't chasing him anymore, and he'd run a long way. Kyuu finally had a chance to rest and recover some energy before what came next.
Remaining alert, Saitama rested there for a few minutes. Once his body felt significantly better, he resumed his journey.
"Deng!"
He landed on a branch and pushed forward. The wind blew his bangs back, giving him a rather graceful appearance.
...
"Crack!"
A spark flew from the fire as it flared slightly. The few people sitting around it remained silent.
Uchiha Huo and his younger brother leaned against each other. Yan was carefully wiping his kunais with a cloth, his gaze calm.
They had been traveling all day, and now that night had fallen, the sharp temperature drop made lighting a campfire necessary just to stay warm.
"There's someone coming!" Hyuga Dun activated his Byakugan and scanned one direction intently.
Lighting a fire at night made them stand out like a beacon, guiding others toward them.
Therefore, Hyuga Dun checked their surroundings using his Byakugan every fifteen minutes.
"Shhh!"
Everyone immediately stood up, grabbing their weapons. Shibi even flicked his hand, sending a swarm of insects flying toward the flames, instantly extinguishing them.
"Wait! It's Saitama!" Hyuga Dun took a closer look and recognized the familiar chakra. Everyone relaxed, especially Uchiha Huo and his brother, who openly showed their joy.
"Whoosh!"
Saitama landed on a tree branch. Earlier, he noticed a distant light and detected Chakra fluctuations belonging to Shibi and others, so he rushed straight here.
Sure enough, upon nearing, he recognized them. His speed increased further, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived directly in front of them.
"Captain!"
Uchiha Huo was the first to spot Saitama's approaching silhouette. As soon as he called out, the faint blue-white blur landed right before him.
"Hmm, are you all alright?"
Saitama nodded, glancing around. Except for the Hyuga ninja who had been taken out cold by Terumi Mei's jutsu earlier, everyone else was here.
"It should be *we're* asking if *you're* alright."
Shibi walked over, examining Saitama—who seemed completely unharmed.
"I barely made it. If I hadn't run fast enough, today might've been my last against the Mizukage."
Saitama smirked slightly.
"Glad you're safe. Looks like you're exhausted too. Go rest and have something to eat."
Shibi gently patted Saitama on the shoulder, signaling him to grab a bite before resting.
"Yeah."
The night passed silently. Saitama lay there resting while the others took turns keeping watch in pairs.
By the next day, after nearly half a day of nonstop travel, the group finally left Bear Country's territory and reentered the Land of Fire.
Accelerating their pace, they successfully returned to camp before dinner.
But as soon as they arrived at the base camp, Saitama and the others got some bad news.
Early this morning, Yagura and Orochimaru had clashed—and Orochimaru ended up injured by Yagura. His current condition remained unknown.
"We were still too late."
Frowning, Saitama followed Shibi and the others toward Tsunade's tent.
Thankfully Tsunade was on this side as well. Though her hemophobia had left her unable to fight and she avoided direct combat, her medical ninjutsu was still extremely valuable. Orochimaru's injuries weren't too bad — or so people said — so Tsunade should be able to patch him up quick.
But under one condition — don't let her see blood.
Orochimaru really lived up to being one of the Sannin. Even though he hadn't expected Yagura to show up on the battlefield, he still held his own. He might not have been Yagura's equal, but he definitely gave the Fourth Mizukage a hard time.
"Tsunade-sama!"
Shibi and Saitama stood side by side, giving Tsunade a respectful nod.
"Yeah, you're back."
Tsunade furrowed her brows, not worried about Orochimaru's injuries, but troubled that their side lacked a Kage-level expert capable of reliably keeping Yagura in check. Orochimaru still fell just a bit short.
"We encountered the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, during this mission. We originally planned to return with this news as soon as possible, but it seems we were a little late."
Shibi looked at Tsunade, who sat there quietly.
"What matters is that you made it back safe. Escaping from Yagura alone means you did fine."
Tsunade didn't scold them, glancing briefly at Saitama and the others.
"Hyuga Ken fell during this mission."
Hyuga Dun reported the news, as members of the Hyuga clan with their Byakugan were particularly valued as reconnaissance assets in Konoha.
"I understand."
Tsunade hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"In that case, we'll take our leave now."
Saitama noticed Tsunade's mind was clearly elsewhere, so he quickly signaled everyone to go.
"Mm, alright."
...
The moment Yagura hit the frontlines, he went all out crushing Konoha's forces, forcing their defensive lines to continuously retreat closer to Konoha itself.
Orochimaru's injuries weren't serious and he recovered within a few days. Saitama saw him again during a subsequent meeting.
Orochimaru had quite a favorable impression of Saitama, having recently learned more about the young ninja.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Standing atop a mountain ridge, Saitama remained a respectful few steps behind Orochimaru, who gazed toward Mist's main camp in the distance, lost in thought.
"It's been quite some time, Saitama-kun!" With hands clasped behind his back, the purple Tomoe earrings swayed gently in the wind.
"That's true. It has been a while," Saitama replied. He no longer felt the same fear toward Orochimaru as before. Since their previous encounter when Orochimaru had shown kindness, his impression of the snake sage had improved greatly, no longer limited to those disturbing memories.
Sliding his tongue across his lips, Orochimaru turned to face Saitama, eyes wide with astonishment.
"I never would've guessed you'd grown this much in such a short time, Saitama-kun."
Without hiding his admiration, Orochimaru lavished praise upon him.
"You flatter me, my lord."
Saitama knew there was still a massive gap between them, not just in raw power but also in understanding and creating ninjutsu.
Right now, the only technique Saitama could really show off was [Lightning Release], while Orochimaru had already mastered multiple elemental natures and was even skilled in several [Forbidden Techniques].
"I never imagined that brat Yagura would actually dare come to the frontlines. As a jinchūriki, he's always functioned more like a powerful weapon-like threat. For him to personally step into battle — this is rare indeed!
Orochimaru smirked and shifted the topic.
At this time, he had already begun numerous inhumane experiments. The deeper he delved into them, the more fascinated he became with tailed beasts and bloodline limit holders.
"Jiraiya should arrive in a few days. Yagura's threat to Konoha is too great—relying solely on me won't be enough to contain him."
Orochimaru spoke as if thinking out loud, not waiting for Saitama's reply before blurting everything out directly.
Saitama stood silently beside him. He didn't believe Orochimaru had gone out of his way just to talk about something pointless like this.
"Got any plans for the future, Saitama!?"
Orochimaru was still among the top candidates for Hokage, though he wasn't particularly popular among civilians. Still, he remained one of the most promising ninja likely to inherit the title.
Saitama knew that by now, Orochimaru had long lost interest in that position, devoting himself entirely to his experiments.
"What do you mean?" Saitama asked, puzzled.
"I know you're no ordinary ninja. Don't you feel even slightly compelled to change the current situation regarding the Uchiha?"
Through his collaboration with Danzo, Orochimaru had uncovered many hidden secrets of Konoha—including gaining insight into some of Danzo's true motives.
Especially because just days before heading to the battlefield, he had helped Danzo complete an operation, further strengthening his suspicions.
"How about working together?"
Orochimaru stared intently at Saitama, his gaze carrying an invasive intensity.
Saitama took several steps forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Orochimaru.
"It's not the right time yet; things haven't reached that stage."
Saitama dropped all formalities when addressing Orochimaru, speaking to him as an equal.
"So, you've noticed something too, haven't you?" Orochimaru said with an amused smile, clearly unbothered by Saitama's tone.
The two stood there without much else being said, understanding each other through silence.
Orochimaru had uncovered hints through his alliance with Danzo, while Saitama had knowledge of the future timeline from his previous life.
After being reborn here, Saitama had always hoped to change the fate of the Uchiha clan, but Konoha's ruling elite had never truly allowed members of the Uchiha to participate fully. Yet Saitama had never abandoned his desire to change his clan's destiny—he wouldn't give up as long as there remained even a sliver of hope.
Being born into the family, he gradually came to realize that the Uchiha weren't as despicable as he remembered—many of them were actually quite reasonable.
That's why he believed the Uchiha's eventual radical actions were mainly caused by Konoha's relentless suppression.
Currently, the Nine-Tails Incident had yet to occur, and the Uchiha's status in Konoha had not deteriorated badly. There was still time for things to develop!
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