"Looks like your constitution is a bit special."
Kanshirou looked at Sara slowly and said, "Normally, anyone poisoned by my toxin would have collapsed long ago. Yet here you are, still able to move."
Sara was the queen of Rōran, having inherited a unique constitution from her mother that allowed her to sense and manipulate the Ryūmyaku. But with the Ryūmyaku' energy fading, her power had weakened greatly. At this point, most of her techniques came from what she had learned from Kakashi.
Clang!
She swung her kunai again, blocking a strike from one of the puppets.
Sara staggered slightly as a sudden numbness spread through her right leg, making it hard to stand steady, she nearly fell.
Even as she fought to stay upright, her right arm was barely able to lift.
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Kanshirou snorted coldly. With a flick of his finger, he controlled the puppet's chakra threads to launch a long spear, resembling a scorpion's tail, straight through Sara's chest.
Paralyzed as she was, Sara couldn't dodge the attack.
Pfft!
The spear pierced her body, blood spraying out.
Cough...
Sara coughed up blood, her eyes flickering with confusion. She didn't look at Kanshirou but struggled to turn her head toward the towering spire in the center of Rōran.
Could it be that help wouldn't come after all?
But,
Just as her vision started to dim, she saw a shadow burst from atop the tower, pause briefly, and then rush swiftly toward her.
"That's..."
Light returned to Sara's dull eyes.
A silver flash streaked like lightning, instantly shattering Kanshirou's scorpion puppet into countless fragments.
Whoosh!
Kaede appeared nearby, gently lifting Sara and lowering her down.
"How did it come to this? Why were you fighting those ninjas?" he asked softly.
Sara coughed again but didn't answer. Instead, as if in her final moments, her eyes brightened once more as she looked at Kaede.
"You came back..."
She had been right, Kaede would return.
Though regret lingered, seeing him again after two long years made her feel that every day spent guarding above the Ryūmyaku was worth it.
"Yeah."
Kaede nodded, glancing at the wound on Sara's chest. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes. If only he hadn't been locked away researching new powers in the tower, if he'd come out sooner, maybe Sara wouldn't have suffered such a blow.
But she seemed poisoned and likely didn't feel much pain now.
"That was close..."
"I never thought even I, the fastest ninja in the Shinobi world, would almost end up like Namikaze Minato, always a step too late. But luckily, I made it in time."
If he'd been any later, reviving Sara would have been much more difficult.
Sara's hearing grew faint; the world blurred, darkness creeping in, and her consciousness began to fade.
But,
At that moment, Kaede raised his hand, pulling out the spear embedded in Sara's chest. He snapped his fingers, and an invisible barrier suddenly opened. With his other hand, he pressed onto Sara's wound.
"Rewind."
As his palm covered the injury, Kaede whispered the word.
Strange light blossomed, and Sara's fading awareness was drawn back. Her blurry vision cleared just in time to see the flowing blood retreat, turning into tiny red droplets flying back to her.
"What is this...?"
She stared in surprise.
The numbness in her body quickly faded; she felt the sensation return to her chest. Looking down, she saw Kaede's hand resting there as the wound shrank rapidly and the blood disappeared.
Finally,
When Kaede pulled his hand away, the injury was completely gone.
"You won't die, because I've come back."
Kaede smiled faintly and stood, turning to look at the Sand ninja still fighting Rōran's guards nearby, and at Kanshirou, who stood frozen like a statue. Cold sweat dripped from his painted face, tracing streaks down his cheeks.
"You... you are..."
He stared in disbelief.
Wasn't that man dead already?!
Why...?
Kanshirou couldn't believe the figure before him was the same silver flash that had terrified the ninja world two years ago. But the speed he'd just displayed, the strange technique used to save Sara, none of it was normal.
"Looks like a lot has happened in the ninja world these past two years... No, I remember Rōran was destroyed because of the war..." Kaede muttered to himself as his gaze passed over Kanshirou.
Then, in the next instant,
Kaede vanished, only to reappear right in front of Kanshirou, his right hand crackling with lightning as he thrust five fingers straight through Kanshirou's chest.
Crash!!
Blood spurted from his back.
"You..."
Kanshirou's eyes showed terror and shock.
That speed, that lightning release, this was indeed the man who two years ago killed the Third Raikage and the Hanzō of the Salamander. The silver flash was alive!
Thud!
Kaede withdrew his hand without looking at the fallen Kanshirou.
"Hiding in Rōran all these years?"
Kanshirou spat blood as darkness closed in.
He didn't understand Kaede's purpose in staying silent for two years, letting the ninja world believe he was dead, but one thing was certain: the name "Silver Flash" hadn't vanished.
The ninja world would soon,
Again tremble in fear of that name.
Kaede turned his gaze to the rest of the battlefield, then flashed like lightning through the war zone. Wherever he passed, blood exploded in bursts.
In moments,
All the invading Sand ninja were cut down.
Sara sat up, touching her chest in disbelief. Slowly, she came back to herself, joy swelling within her, the joy of surviving the impossible.
She hadn't expected Kaede could heal such a fatal wound.
She stood and watched the silver figure who had swept through the battlefield like lightning, taking down all the attackers in an instant. Her eyes shone with bright hope.
Whoosh!
After eliminating the last of the Sand ninja, Kaede returned to where he had been before.
"Sorry," he said, looking at Sara with a hint of regret. "I was a bit late coming back. You had to endure some pain."
"No..." Sara shook her head.
Then she stepped forward, throwing her arms around Kaede tightly. Tears of joy glistened at the corner of her eyes.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 294+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 231
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 149
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 79
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 77
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 60