Tobirama Senju had left.
His departure left Hane Genma with a deep sense of loss—so much so that he continued to feel regret long after.
To Genma, it wasn't just Tobirama Senju leaving—it was as if a living "Book of Seals" had abandoned him. What a pity. But Tobirama belonged to the Senju clan. Genma could never keep him around for personal use for too long.
The following month passed uneventfully at the camp.
No other rogue ninja stumbled into the area, and during that rare moment of peace, Genma poured nearly all his focus into training in new jutsu.
There was no denying it—Tobirama's guidance had been invaluable. After learning Water Release techniques, Genma's combat style had become much more versatile. His offensive power had increased, and his overall performance in battle had clearly taken a leap forward.
Thanks to Tobirama's detailed instruction in Water Release, Genma had managed to grasp most of the techniques he'd started training with over the past month.
His mastery of the Rasengan had also reached what one might call "early twelve-year-old Naruto level"—meaning he could use it in combat with the help of shadow clones.
That was already quite impressive. Advancing further with the Rasengan would require a far greater challenge.
Aside from that, Genma never slacked off on his foundational training. However, compared to his progress in ninjutsu, the returns on his basic exercises were minimal...
Both the quality and quantity of his chakra had seen almost no improvement—hardly even qualifying as a "half the effort, none of the results" situation.
This limitation stemmed from his bloodline. Expecting improvement through personal effort alone was a lost cause. His only hope lay in White Zetsu—he prayed for the day he might have a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with one.
That day, after wrapping up another round of training, Genma began seriously considering whether it was time to leave the depths of this ancient forest.
On one hand, his strength had improved to a level where, as long as he avoided large-scale conflicts or unexpectedly powerful enemies, he and the others could at least fend for themselves.
On the other hand, winter was fast approaching. Supplies would only become scarcer, and the plunging temperatures would soon become yet another enemy. Staying hidden away in the forest like this… was clearly not a long-term solution.
But just as he was about to make up his mind, a commotion among the others suddenly broke his train of thought.
He turned toward the sound and saw two people running toward him in a panic.
"Captain! We have news from another clan member!"
"It's Chihori—we found Chihori's summoning beast!"
Perhaps out of panic—or excitement—one of them had mistakenly called him "clan leader" instead of "captain."
But now wasn't the time to correct such things. Genma quickly followed the two, who led him to the base of a large tree not far from the camp.
There, lying on its side, was a small ninken summoning beast. Its body was covered in gruesome, exposed wounds. It was in bad shape, breathing heavily and clearly near death.
"Just a moment ago, the sentry on duty spotted it. He recognized it as the summoning beast of Chihori of the Hanemiya clan. Once he informed the camp, others confirmed it too," one of them explained quickly.
The dog's name was Beiji—even Genma recognized this one.
"Can it be saved?" he asked.
It was clear the ninken had been attacked while fleeing from enemies, suffering terribly. The fact that it had even made it this far said everything about its determination.
And still, it had fulfilled its mission.
In response to Genma's question, everyone fell silent. Because it didn't need to be answered—anyone could see that the dog wouldn't survive.
Genma approached the injured ninken, crouching down to gently stroke its head.
Beiji seemed to recognize Genma's scent. With great effort, it lifted its head and lightly pressed its nose against his palm.
Then, stretching out its curled tongue, it spat out a small scroll.
Genma picked it up, unfurled it, and found a single coordinate written on it.
"This is from Chihori," he said with certainty after reading it.
The message was written in Morse code—something Genma himself had taught to a few of his clan members.
"Chihori? Is it really Chihori?"
"There's only a single coordinate. What does that mean?"
"What else could it mean? It's a distress signal."
"Yes, a cry for help. Chihori is still alive."
"So… what do we do now?"
That question brought a heavy silence over the group. Even if this was a message asking for help—did they really have the ability to mount a rescue?
Everyone instinctively turned to Genma.
He said nothing at first. His hand rested on the dog's head, and at some point, its breathing had grown even fainter.
A nearby shinobi had been frantically trying to bandage the dog's wounds, but his movements gradually slowed.
The dog's chest stopped rising and falling. Beiji was gone.
"Let's go back. Beiji... deserves a proper burial," Genma said softly.
Ironically, in times as chaotic as these, the death of a loyal ninken often felt more poignant than the death of a person.
"Captain, this could very well be a trap set by an unknown enemy... We can't rule out the possibility."
Back at the camp, the group gathered to discuss the situation.
Of course, everyone wanted to rescue a fellow clan member. But emotions aside, they couldn't afford to act without caution.
"The code may not be reliable. If Chihori's been caught in an enemy genjutsu, the enemy could have extracted the cipher," one shinobi warned.
"Don't forget—it's been months since we lost our village. This plea for help... came a little too late, don't you think?"
When their village had been overrun, most of their clan had been slaughtered. A few scattered survivors had escaped. If there had been any other survivors beyond those at the camp, surely they would have sent word by now.
"Maybe they've only just managed to contact us."
Maybe it wasn't that they hadn't tried—but that they couldn't reach them until now. That, too, was a possibility.
Most people didn't seem to support responding to the distress message—it was riddled with uncertainty.
But Genma could tell their thoughts didn't match their words. Or rather, their emotions conflicted with their logic.
People are emotional creatures. And in times of hardship, some things become all the more precious.
Genma raised his hand, motioning for silence.
"No matter what, that message came from Chihori. We can't pretend we didn't see it."
"I've made up my mind... We're going to mount a rescue."
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