บท 9: 09

Not much later, Sakumo came out of the cave with Kushina and Mikoto behind him and Ryu in his arms, unconscious.

Before Yukan could ask about the jonin, Kyosuke, Sakumo shook his head.

Yukan understood what Sakumo meant and did not ask anything.

"Sensei, what about Ryu? What happened to him?" Yukan changed his question to ask about Ryu.

"Nothing. This boy just passed out after seeing me all covered in blood. He has a weak heart and may not be fit to be a shinobi if things continue like this." Sakumo replied.

Yukan then looked at the trembling Kushina and Mikoto behind Sakumo. He walked to them and asked," Hey, can you two walk? Are you alright?"

The two nodded but did not say a single word. The two were still trembling in fear from the incidents that occurred.

Sakumo looked at them and was reminded of himself when his teacher died. Back then, it affected Sakumo a lot.

Sakumo bent down a little, looked at both Kushina and Mikoto and said," Hey, little girls, you both are brave. To hold on even in situations like these. It is praiseworthy... You know, this kid right here was too scared right now. Maybe he would have fainted just like him." Sakumo then pointed to Ryu.

Hearing this statement, Kushina and Mikoto giggled a little, but Yukan was embarrassed. He swore in his heart to have his revenge for what Sakumo did right now.

"Hey, girls, by the way, did you find anything related to your mission?" Sakumo asked.

"W-We did. Our team entered the woods because our mission asked us to, but we did not know that the Iwa ninjas were already ready for the ambush. S-Sensei tried his best to protect us, but..." Kushina said, but by the end, her voice started breaking more and more as she started shaking.

"It's alright, little girl... Here, take him. They are your responsibility now, keep them safe. I will check the region a little more." Sakumo said as he handed Ryu over to Yukan. Yukan carried Ryu on his back.

Yukan nodded as all of them left the area with only Sakumo remaining.

-At Konoha-

It took a few hours and some breaks for Yukan and the others to reach back to Konoha.

The first thing that Yukan did was to send everyone to the hospital. It was not his job to make a report to Hiruzen.

After Yukan contacted the families of team 1, he went to get himself some first aid. Though he did not incur serious injuries, he still had quite some wounds.

-A few hours later-

Yukan sat in the waiting room alongside the families of Team 1 as the doctor told them about their children's condition.

According to what he heard, Ryu was no longer fit to be a ninja due to him being scared of blood now and also, the injuries on his arm made him disabled. As for Mikoto, mentally, she was alright, just drained but she had some injuries that would take some time to heal and was asked to rest for some time.

When the doctor was finished giving them the report, the family members left to see their children, but the doctor still stood there, looking for someone.

He then walked to Yukan and asked, " Where is the last girl's family?"

Yukan did not know how to answer this. Kushina's only family remaining was Mito and Tsunade and both could not come here right now. Tsunade was busy with the war while Mito was too old to move from her bed.

"I am her family. Please tell me about her condition." Yukan said as he stood up.

The doctor looked at Yukan suspiciously but still, he proceeded to tell him, "The girl seems to have some trauma too. It should be alright soon, but she needs help right now. She needs to be close to some family of hers. Other than that she is fine. It will be for the better if you meet her once."

Yukan nodded as he followed the doctor to Kushina's room.

When Yukan entered the room, he noticed that Kushina was covering herself with a blanket. Meanwhile, the doctor stayed right there to make sure that Yukan was not lying.

Yukan got a little close to Kushina and asked in a soft voice," Hey Kushina, it's me, Yukan. How are you feeling?"

Hearing him, Kushina lowered the blanket to let her face out as she said, " I-I am good. Are you alright? You look like you're i-injured." Kushina said as she looked at Yukan.

Seeing this, the doctor standing near the door finally gave the two some space and left the room.

"Haha, of course, I am fine. I am strong. So, Kushina, you know back when..."

-At the Hokage's office-

It was almost the time of midnight. Hiruzen had completed his work for the day and was about to take a nap in his office, but suddenly, he sensed someone outside his office.

Before the person could knock, Hiruzen said," Come in."

As the door opened, Sakumo walked in.

"You are back, Sakumo!" Hiruzen exclaimed.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. This is the mission's report." Sakumo said as he handed Hiruzen a sheet of paper from his hand.

"Leave the report aside. You tell me, what happened?" Hiruzen took the paper, put it on his table and asked Sakumo.

"Kyosuke Mina, team 1's jonin has died on the mission. About 10 squads of Iwa shinobi were in the forests. From what I could gather, they were planning to attack the next food supplies that were supposed to go to the battlefront. All the 10 squads are now dead." Sakumo said.

"Now that this mission is over, I have something to tell you-"