Hōzuki Fuguki stood frozen, utterly dumbstruck.
He was exhausted to the bone.
Sweat poured down his forehead, his breathing ragged, his back bent as he struggled for air.
But when he saw the Konoha forces charging toward him, he almost cursed out loud.
Damn it all!
He had already been toyed with all day by that brat Uchiha Kai. After failing to kill him, now—at the very end—he had to run into a full Konoha army coming ashore?
His luck today was rotten beyond belief.
Clearly, he hadn't checked the almanac before leaving camp. Otherwise, how could he have run into such a nightmare?
He felt like crying.
If he'd known it would turn out like this, he never would've come swaggering out to hunt this little Konoha squad.
But who could've predicted?
That a so-called throwaway team of Genin would contain a freak like Uchiha Kai?
So, what else could he do?
With a bitter sigh, he shot Kai one last venomous glare, then—without hesitation—turned tail and ran.
Yes, ran.
More than ten massive Konoha ships had arrived. That meant at least three thousand shinobi, all under Uchiha banners.
There was no need to think twice—this was clearly a Konoha elite detachment.
Even as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Fuguki knew he couldn't face such an army head-on.
What was he supposed to do—stay here and offer up his head?
As Fuguki disappeared into the distance, Kai casually dropped the two he'd been carrying and sprawled out flat on the cold ground.
That was right.
The Konoha reinforcements had arrived—he could finally laze around and fish again.
Kudo Shin: "…"
Nara Kazama: "…"
Seeing Kai flop down shamelessly, the two could only roll their eyes. For a moment, they didn't even know how to complain anymore.
They exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly.
About five minutes later, Uchiha Shisui and a squad of Jounin arrived. Seeing the three before them, Shisui's brows furrowed slightly.
Konoha shinobi?
And among them, a Nara and a Uchiha?
He didn't know the details, but everyone visibly relaxed.
"What happened here just now?" Shisui asked. "Can one of you explain?"
Under other circumstances, Kai would've spoken up. But right now, he just shook his head with an exaggerated look of exhaustion and left the talking to Nara Kazama.
When it came to words, Nara could be trusted.
Sure enough, Kazama didn't disappoint.
He explained everything from the moment they had arrived to garrison the Land of Whirlpools up to now, recounting every detail of what had happened.
Of course, he told the truth—
With only some necessary "beautification" regarding Ishikawa Itsuki.
The Jounin fell silent after listening.
Every one of them was stunned.
Who would have thought?
A squad of fresh, throwaway Genin surviving nearly three days behind enemy lines in Mist territory—and even today, escaping for half a day under pursuit from Hōzuki Fuguki, one of the Seven Swordsmen.
It was nothing short of legendary.
And since they'd all just seen Fuguki himself retreat, this wasn't something that could be faked.
"I see," Shisui finally said with a nod.
"The three of you should rest. Anbu will debrief you later."
"As for everything else—leave it to us."
His tone was gentle, but his words carried authority.
Not long after, the Konoha fleet made landfall.
One by one, squads of shinobi disembarked.
In less than two hours, a fortified frontline camp had been raised, complete with defensive formations.
The difference was stark.
This was nothing like the earlier cannon-fodder army—these were Konoha's elites.
Kai and his teammates were given a tent to rest in.
Two hours later, an Anbu squad entered to interrogate them.
This was normal.
After all, the original frontline camp had fallen nearly a week ago.
No one could be certain these three hadn't defected in that time.
But when they produced almost fifty Mist Ninja heads, along with a haul of Mist forehead protectors, kunai and shuriken bearing Mist insignia, soldier pills, and other loot—
The Anbu had no choice but to believe.
Yes.
With evidence like this, it was clear how brutal their situation had been.
To doubt them now would be inhuman.
In fact, even hesitating too long would cause outrage if word spread.
If shinobi who had endured so much, reaped such victories, and still returned loyal could be doubted, then who in Konoha could feel safe?
"Understood," the Anbu captain finally said.
"These heads and Mist equipment will be catalogued, archived, and verified. Once confirmed, they'll be converted into contribution points."
"The preliminary review is complete. A report will be submitted to the village. Within two days at most, the Hokage will issue a final ruling."
"For now—rest. Your squad will not be assigned missions. Just don't leave camp."
With that, the Anbu turned and left.
As for Kai and his teammates—they weren't worried.
Their achievements were real, and the village was desperate for manpower.
Even Danzo couldn't pull strings against them now.
And this frontline camp was no makeshift fodder camp.
Mist wouldn't be breaking in.
So of course—they could finally rest.
After days of nerves wound tight, they let themselves collapse into deep sleep.
When they woke again, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
They ate a simple meal, then lounged back in their tent, chatting idly.
Until the investigation was over, they had no duties.
They might as well enjoy the downtime.
Even Shisui hadn't come to see them.
That made it clear: until the review ended, they were under a form of soft house arrest.
It wasn't proper to imprison them directly, but neither could anyone approach them freely.
Otherwise, with Shisui's temperament, he would've already come to talk.
Time slipped by.
Two days later, the Anbu captain returned to their tent.
"After investigation," he declared,
"Your squad's achievements are confirmed and recorded."
"By order of the Hokage:
—Kudo Shin is promoted to elite Jounin and reassigned as a squad captain.
—Uchiha Kai and Nara Kazama are both promoted directly to Chunin.
"As for specific postings, you will follow the frontline command."
"…"
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