บท 6: PART 2.
Tsunade was in her office, watching with concern the chaos that raged in the village. People lay lying everywhere, as ninjas moved frantically, responding to the sudden, chaotic event that had shaken their lives. The pressure on her shoulders was overwhelming, and the constant thought of failing tormented her.
The office, normally a place of decisions and strategies, now seemed like a temporary refuge for those seeking help or comfort. Tsunade had seen many tragedies throughout his life as a ninja and as a Hokage, but this time was different. The enemy was not a group of invaders or a surprise attack from a rival village. It was something more insidious, more mysterious.
Biting her thumbnail, Tsunade watched through the window as the Anbus scoured the village in search of the perpetrator. Their eyes fell on the streets, where the bodies of those affected lay motionless. Some were covered with makeshift blankets, while others stood bare, their faces reflecting the terror they had experienced before they fell.
At that precise moment, the door burst open and Shizune burst into the room, followed by three ninja clearly in a hurry. Shizune, always efficient and loyal, carried a folder in his hand. Tsunade noticed that her breathing was agitated, as if she had run from somewhere far away.
"Tsunade-sama." Shizune exclaimed urgently. "The portals have been closed and the detection team didn't have time to detect the possible culprits!"
Tsunade nodded, her mind working at full speed. Portals were a powerful creation, a form of instantaneous transportation between dimensions. But they were also dangerous, especially when something went wrong, given the specifications for their use.
Was it an activation error? Or had someone manipulated the portals to cause this chaos?
With a hurried gesture, Shizune placed the folder on the table, making a thud as he did so. Tsunade clasped her hands behind her back, maintaining a serious expression as she directed her gaze towards the folder. The words written on the cover seemed to weigh tons: "Instant Detection Report."
"This is all there is." Shizune said with a worried seriousness. "The detection team found nothing else."
Tsunade opened the folder and began to read. Details were scarce, but enough to understand the gravity of the situation. The portals had closed abruptly, trapping those in transit and leaving others stranded in unknown locations. There were no signs of suspicious activity, but that only added to the uncertainty.
Tsunade's thoughts crowded into his mind as he analyzed the information. He knew he couldn't neglect the safety of his village by chasing down would-be Akatsuki, but he also couldn't risk not looking for those responsible, especially after losing Asuma.
The responsibility as Hokage weighed on her, and the loss of a good Shinobi affected her deeply. Especially from someone whose father was an important individual to Tsunade in his days as an ordinary Ninja.
"Look in the outskirts." Tsunade ordered seriously, his piercing gaze reflecting his determination. "Do not allow any suspects to pass through. If the screening team doesn't find them here, then they must be outside."
The ninjas nodded and left the room, leaving Tsunade alone with her thoughts. He looked out the window once more, this time looking beyond the streets and buildings. The portals, invisible but powerful, had altered, without anyone's knowledge, reality itself.
(~~~)
Their conversation, though sensible and full of reason, barely managed to dispel the doubtful glances that fell on the medical team at the Konoha hospital. The institution was overcrowded, with people running back and forth and some even tripping over injured victims lying on the ground.
The medical team was extremely frustrated, pressured and exhausted. Since the beginning of the night, they had been dealing with the mysterious phenomenon without taking a moment off even to taste the food they had brought from their homes.
People fell from the sky, onto rooftops or into houses, appearing out of nowhere and stunned witnesses who, unfortunately, were harmed in the process.
Some claimed to have seen a flash before the person emerged from an invisible whirlpool and descended, but the result was always the same: all those who arrived were dead.
"He's dead." A doctor confirmed after trying to revive a male victim.
"No vital signs. All of his organs appear to be worn out." A nurse reported, raising her voice so that her colleagues could hear her.
"Lifeless."
"There's nothing we can do."
"Same with this one..."
"The same here." A nurse exclaimed as he walked toward a man who had been hit by a fallen person, fracturing his arm. "His chakras were completely consumed. They were dead before they fell."
With the confusion suffocating and the living patients mixed in with the dead, Tsunade decided to end the conversation she was having with some nurses who wanted details about the injury of a woman who had been brought to the hospital.
Politely, he began his way through the crowd, watching as the two predominant groups, those who arrived dead and those who were injured by falls, crowded into every corner of the hospital.
The rhythmic sound of her shoes echoed through the hospital corridors as Tsunade walked steadily toward one of the last nurses who had shouted at her colleagues. Her violet hair swayed gracefully with every step, and in a fleeting moment of reflection, she wondered how she hadn't attracted attention sooner.
Once he had it in sight, he acted with determination. He gently tugged at the sleeve of his uniform to catch his attention without disturbing his work. The man, looking up at her, stopped his chores and observed her attentively.
It wasn't the first time Tsunade had taken the lead, but her presence was still impactful. He inhaled deeply, masking any hint of surprise with apparent calm. His face quickly transformed into a mask of absolute professionalism.
"We have been ordered to prioritize the treatment of the wounded." He said in a mature and respectful voice. "There is a high probability that those who fell are dead. It is evident to the naked eye."
The young woman's words echoed in the man's ears like an emotional blow. He looked at a lump covered by sheets on a stretcher, recognizing the gravity of the situation. Tsunade, his eyes drooping but full of determination, continued.
It is an unfortunate situation, but if we want to solve this enigma, we must free ourselves from the burden of attending to those who can no longer provide us with information.
He explained sincerely, letting go of the man's sleeve and showing genuine concern.
"Please spread this message to your colleagues. I will take care of doing the same in other places."
The man, seemingly surprised by the thirteen-year-old's presence and words, nodded slowly. Tsunade bowed deeply and retreated to the loneliest corners of the halls, ready to continue to play her part in the search for answers to the mysterious event that had shaken Konoha.
The young woman advanced with the security that knowledge of the building grants. Despite the late hours of the night, it was not uncommon to encounter people of his age, most of them Genin selected as helpers. However, the darkness that enveloped the corridors at that time was not exactly comforting.
As he walked steadily but unhurriedly, he glanced at the clock at the reception. It was three in the morning. He decided to take another hallway, moving confidently and occasionally, pretending to be watching the surroundings for victims in need of help.
As I went, the corridors became lonelier and darker. The crowd of people gathered at the beginning of the building, where emergency treatments were carried out. There was no time to take patients to rooms farther away.
He stopped in front of a sliding door, from where he could hear the voice of a woman, probably a nurse.
"Come on, give me your arm. I need to draw some blood from you to make sure you're okay." The female voice was heard from the other side of the door.
There was a sound of chair dragging, followed by the nervous voice of a child trying to intervene:
"You don't have to! She's perfectly fine, I assure you. You can leave it for today."
But the nurse abruptly interrupted him:
"Not at all! Your parents have not come for any of you. If I don't make sure of their well-being, who will?"
The discussion was interrupted by the sliding door sliding, and all eyes fell on the newcomer. In particular, those of the nurse, whose eyebrows were as prominent as the barely visible hairs on the inside of her nose.
The oldest in the room frowned, a gesture that seemed more like a permanent part of her expression than a momentary reaction. He seemed to carry with him a look of few friends as if it were an inherent part of his being.
"They need it in the main room." The girl announced as she entered the room. "There is a commotion, and the doctors have orders to attend to the wounded first, before the misfortunes worsen."
The nurse's frown deepened even more at the news.
"Please, I'll take care of you." The preteen assured.
"I'm very sorry for the situation, but understand that I can't leave you here with them without knowing if you have any previous experience." The nurse replied nervously, before the girl demonstrated her skills.
Without waiting any longer, the girl approached the bedside table and skillfully extracted the necessary medication.
"You asked for a blood draw." The girl began in a soft voice. "But they also need vitamins, right? They all seem to show symptoms of anemia, similar to what happened in the main room."
The nurse gasped at the young woman's quick display of knowledge and skill, and hurriedly left the room.
"I'll leave them in your hands!" He exclaimed as he left.
The girl nodded in response, waiting for the door to close before putting the needle and medication aside. Although he regretted the waste, he knew that even if the medicine was administered, it would have no effect. Neither in her nor in those children.
"Ah... That was close." She murmured to herself with a sigh of relief.
An avalanche of exhalations released from the pressure flooded the room, like a collective sigh of relief.
"A little more, and it would be worse." Someone murmured in the crowd, capturing the general feeling of the moment.
Sumire remained calm and ignorant of the abnormal surroundings, watching closely each of the children who showed signs of relief.
They were few and, to top it off, barely students of the ninja academy.
Among them was a girl from the Aburame clan, hidden behind a curtain, probably trying not to stand out with her distinctive appearance. Sitting on a stretcher, she watched the others cautiously.
There were also two girls, clearly close friends. A smartly dressed hairie and a shorter one, with brown hair and wearing glasses, who did not seem to have any connection with the ninja world because of their clothes.
Sumire concluded her analysis with a sad expression. Next to her, supporting her partner, were two other children.
A blue-haired girl, with spirally pigtails, whose hairstyles were half undone by tragedy, and a brown boy with a scarf, warm and friendly despite his tough appearance. They both sat on the sides of the bed, supporting a person who hugged their knees in a gesture of mutual comfort.
"Himawari-chan." Sumire called her in a soft voice, carefully approaching the foot of the bed where the lavender-haired girl lay in silence. "How are you? Are you still experiencing dizziness?"
Himawari did not answer.
His blue eyes seemed to be lost in the distance, plunged into a dark abyss of thoughts.
"Himawari-chan." Sumire insisted, but the girl in the yellow sweater shook her head. His friends frowned, expressing their concern.
Uzumaki Himawari, the younger sister of a good friend, had lost the glow of hope that her name suggested.
The situation was challenging and desolate. Sumire turned to scowl at the surroundings.
They were the only ones in Konoha now: six children and her.
For an instant, Sumire felt a painful throbbing in her chest. She didn't like to contemplate the idea, she was afraid of being discovered while taking care of the children at the academy. But despite everything, he couldn't help but think of Nue.
Nue, his invocation, his inseparable friend. However, he now wondered if Nue was still alive. Even if it hurt, he knew that he had to face the present situation and find a solution for everyone. No matter how much his heart beat hard in his chest.
"What do we do...? What can we do?" Harika Aburame murmured, with her big dark glasses and high pigtails trembling with fear in her seat. She felt vulnerable, as if she could be discovered at any moment. Sumire frowned regretfully, aware of the difficult task ahead.
"I'm scared too..." Neon, the girl in the jumpsuit, was clinging to her red-haired friend's arm, showing the trembling of her legs. His voice trembled with the same intensity. "I'm cold... and very thirsty."
"I refuse to touch or drink anything from here." Osuka protested beside him, though fear had begun to undermine his resolve. "If they get suspicious... or something like that."
"Stop being so pessimistic!" Eho, the boy with the scarf, exclaimed, clenching his fists tightly. He tried to hold back the trembling of his teeth, but his nerves would not allow him to do so. "Sure... we'll be fine. They won't know we're here, will they? We are few, we go unnoticed."
A mist of silence settled in the room. Sumire, the calmest and most serene of all, did not take her eyes off the last child who had given her opinion. And he was not so wrong.
When Sumire was alerted to the situation, not even she, with her basic ninja training, could escape without suffering any loss.
Those in the technology and research department of the ninja scientific tools were victims who perished in the worst ways. Because they had all sorts of tools at their disposal that could help even the least skilled ninja, they were an easy target for the enemy.
The professor, the scientists, the innocent people who had signed up to be part of the tests...
Only two people from that apartment survived. The eldest was now helping the victims and looking for possible solutions to improve their situation. And the second was her: Sumire.
After escaping from the territories of Konoha, she was summoned by the elder Nara, the man who ruled in the shadows: Nara Shikamaru. If she hadn't been warned about this weeks ago, the situation would have stunned her.
However, Sumire did not faint. Despite the fact that there were few survivors, she wanted to prove to herself that she could fulfill that role. The Hokage and his advisor never offered them a feasible solution. Sumire was the third chance so far, and he wanted to perform under the pressure of the Nara and Hokage's expectations.
For this reason, he saved the few he could bring with him. Sadly, few managed to defend themselves or flee the attacks at the academy.
He understood Eho. It was painful to think of his teammates, those who were not under the shelter of security now. It was painful for their hearts and minds to imagine how they would be if others were here, alive. Like those who were in that room.
"I'm terrified to think... that we could be discovered sooner or later." Yuina muttered, fiddling with strands of her hair to relieve stress. His words resonated with everyone. "We went in because they evacuated everyone... however, if they do a count or ask for documents... they will discover us. They will know that we are not from here. We'll get into trouble. And in the worst case... they will relate us to what happened. Wah!"
Yuina shuddered when her partner joked loudly. Right after he tried to convince himself, his blue-haired friend discouraged him even more.
The one Uzumaki remained silent. The brilliance it once gave off had been extinguished. The gravity of the situation had won, attracting the worried looks of the few friends he had left. She was overwhelmed with guilt. She had fled alone and was unable to save more of her classmates.
Sumire understood that feeling. He had experienced it before and had vowed to act to prevent others from suffering it. However, the lavender-haired young woman now found herself trapped, with no options, no place to go or someone to turn to. All the adults who offered to help were dead.
A slight tap broke the deep silence, followed by another sound, and then another, more insistent. The children huddled together, willing to hide under the covers or even under the beds. The two friends who were standing hurriedly hid together with the little girl Aburame.
The children's hearts were pounding as Sumire walked determinedly to the closed, curtained window. He kept his face serene so as not to alarm others as he opened the curtains and the window. With the children's gazes fixed on her back, Sumire placed one knee on the windowsill as if she were reaching for something.
It was then that he saw the face behind the mask of the Anbu. She recognized the messy hair and brown pigtails. The thin body confirmed his identity as a member of the special force.
The presence of the Anbu freed Sumire from the tension she had been hiding within herself. She felt at peace when she realized that she was no longer the only one responsible in that place.
The Anbu woman handed the belongings to Sumire with a firm but cautious gesture. He handed her a bag of the right size so as not to be too heavy, about the size of a lunch bag. Behind his mask, his piercing gaze met Sumire's.
"I brought the things." He informed him in a serious tone. "When they ask you about you, give them those documents."
Sumire, kneeling on the windowsill, glanced at the contents of the bag in surprise.
"Documents?" His eyes widened in amazement when he heard the revelation. "When did you get them?"
The Anbu woman was silent, her face inscrutable under the mask. The lack of expression made it difficult for Sumire to know if she had asked an inappropriate question.
Firmly, the Anbu woman clung to the wall outside the window.
"Unfortunately... there were plenty of squads." His tone betrayed a certain bewilderment, a note of regret in his words. "In principle they were few, but they should have been enough to gain the trust of others and persuade them to stay. However... many more were expected to survive."
Sumire felt her stomach tighten at the revelation.
In the end, far fewer had survived than had been anticipated.
He decided not to turn around. He didn't want to confront others with his inner turbulence. She felt exposed, naïve in the face of lies.
She could perceive the Anbu woman's gaze on her. Although he had only known her for a few days, he sensed something of her thoughts.
The Anbu woman was also affected by the small number of surviving children.
Sumire knew her role in this game. He was aware of the importance of his presence in Konoha at this crucial moment, and he could not lose sight of the fundamentals. However, a stabbing pain ran through his chest every time this thought slipped through his mind.
His presence was essential and crucial at this time. In a matter of weeks, the whole world would know of its existence, and Sumire would be in charge of preserving Konoha's credibility.
As a ninja scientist who had worked closely with the Hokage and his advisor on numerous occasions, she knew in advance how she should act and what she should think.
But that did not diminish the fragility of his personality.
There would no longer be adults to direct it. She was alone, while others struggled in the shadows. He would face attacks both external and internal, without the protection of Shikamaru-san's shadows.
She had to safeguard the secrets of figures far more powerful than herself, and the very thought of it terrified her. But she couldn't afford that luxury, because she had to stay focused.
With a titanic effort, he managed to control his breathing, gripping tightly the small bag containing the low-quality documents.
Those documents were nothing more than identifications that could provide them with cover as visitors who had been caught in an unfortunate situation.
Sumire no longer had the mental capacity to conceive of the possibility of creating more false documents that would facilitate her stay, since her mind was occupied by a single thought.
How would Boruto and the others be?
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