"Finally… back in the Land of Fire."
Standing at the border, Hikaru stretched lazily, rolling his shoulders as tension seeped out of his body.
From the moment the mission began until now, nearly an entire month had passed. And during that month, he'd lived in a constant state of vigilance.
Even after entering the Land of Rivers, he hadn't dared to relax.
After all, half of the Land of Rivers lay within the Sand's sphere of influence. Acting too boldly there was just asking for trouble—and Hikaru had already caused more than enough.
Especially after learning what he'd actually done.
Among the Sand shinobi he'd killed… there were two ANBU captains.
One was Viper—the man Hikaru had erased almost instantly by combining Wood Release seeds with Flying Thunder God.
The other had been an unfortunate soul caught in the chaos, cut down during the prolonged skirmishes with the Sand forces.
Frankly speaking, both of them had died in a rather stifling way.
And it only further proved one thing—
In an era that hadn't yet devolved into the "eye-based power creep," Flying Thunder God was hands-down one of the most terrifying techniques in existence.
No matter how strong someone was, if they lacked absolute defense, couldn't tank ninja tools directly, or didn't have a second life—
Once Flying Thunder God locked onto them and launched a surprise strike, the outcome was essentially decided.
"Yeah… we're finally back," Kakashi said quietly beside him.
Strictly speaking, Kakashi hadn't taken part in the latter half of the mission at all. Hikaru had sent him away before things truly escalated.
But that didn't mean Kakashi had returned home either.
He'd stayed near the Land of Rivers' border, gathering intelligence on Hikaru's movements and relaying everything he could back to Minato through ninja hounds.
On top of that, he'd had to keep a constant eye on Pakura.
He couldn't let her be discovered.
He couldn't let her starve to death.
It was exhausting in its own way.
Thankfully, Hikaru had eventually reached the Land of Rivers—and Kakashi just so happened to be hiding along the route Hikaru had to pass through.
Kakashi had even left behind ANBU signal marks, which Hikaru noticed immediately upon arrival. That was how he realized Kakashi had never gone back.
That reunion, however, didn't earn Kakashi any gratitude.
Hikaru had scolded him mercilessly.
Kakashi took it in silence. He knew he'd disobeyed orders—there was nothing to argue.
Only after erasing all the remaining signal marks together did the two finally head back toward Konoha, carefully avoiding inspections along the way.
"If you'd actually followed orders," Hikaru said flatly, "you'd have been back a long time ago."
He shot Kakashi a look, then glanced at Pakura—bound tightly with ropes, a rag stuffed in her mouth, chakra completely sealed.
Hikaru sighed.
"At least we wouldn't have had to drag along this walking disaster."
To him, Pakura was nothing but trouble.
An enormous one.
Yet killing her outright was unthinkable—her value was simply too high.
So they were stuck hauling her around like an oversized oil bottle, constantly worrying she'd attract attention.
If she escaped and drew Sand forces to the Land of Rivers, that would've been catastrophic.
Even though Hikaru already possessed detailed intelligence regarding her mission, revealing it now would only push her into even more reckless behavior.
"This mission really paid off," Hikaru muttered. "Not just the objectives—but all the unexpected bonuses."
And they truly were massive.
Aside from the original goals, what he'd obtained from Chiyo alone was staggering.
In the end, Chiyo had yielded.
Even though her eyes had practically been burning with rage, fists trembling, blood pressure likely through the roof—
She still compromised.
For the sake of Sunagakure's reputation.
For information about Sasori.
She traded secrets that harmed Sand's interests to protect things that could never be exposed—and in return, she got what she wanted.
On the surface, it looked like a fair exchange.
In reality, she'd driven Sunagakure deeper into Konoha's grasp without even realizing it.
Like pulling the fuse on a bomb—lengthening the delay didn't stop the explosion.
But she'd had no choice.
Hikaru had given her none.
ANBU cipher decryptions.
Data on the Reanimation Technique: One's Own Life Reborn.
Both were now in Hikaru's hands.
The cipher was real—he'd verified it using the letter taken from Viper's corpse.
And once decoded, the contents were shocking.
The letter had been issued personally by Rasa, ordering Viper to head to Kirigakure after completing his mission.
The goal?
Recover Pakura's body.
By the time they arrived, Kirigakure would've already dissected her thoroughly—but even so, the corpse still had to be retrieved.
Cover-up or not, it had to be done.
Which meant Hikaru now held concrete evidence of Sand selling Pakura out.
Used properly, this could absolutely turn her.
"As for the cipher," Hikaru mused, "Ebizo will definitely change it soon. He and Chiyo probably shared everything already."
That kind of vulnerability was unacceptable.
Hikaru never expected it to remain useful long-term.
As for the Reanimation data—he wasn't even sure it was genuine.
Chiyo had handed it over too smoothly.
But even fake data was better than nothing.
"Enough thinking."
Hikaru shook his head and refocused.
"Let's go. Back to Konoha."
Nearly another week passed before Hikaru and Kakashi finally escorted Pakura into Konoha.
Only then did they truly relax.
Once inside the Land of Fire, the danger dropped sharply. Careful movement was still required—but this was home turf.
Pakura, oddly enough, also seemed relieved.
She'd never imagined being captured so easily. The humiliation burned.
She'd considered escaping more than once—especially when only one guard watched her.
But her chakra was sealed. Her body bound. Most of the time, she was unconscious.
If not for regular feedings and brief chances to clean herself, she'd probably have died—or become unbearable to be around.
Worse still, wherever she was kept had no windows. No blind spots.
Long-term malnutrition had left her weak. Resistance was impossible.
Eventually, after nearly a month, she finally met the man who'd defeated her.
And she realized—
This man had likely carried out a terrifyingly secret mission inside Sunagakure itself.
That realization only deepened her desperation to escape.
But fate wasn't kind.
This white-haired man was even worse than the other one.
The seal she'd painstakingly eroded over weeks?
He repaired it effortlessly.
And unlike Kakashi, who at least respected privacy—
This man didn't care at all.
Because, as she accidentally overheard—
He was a sensor-type shinobi.
Meaning privacy didn't exist.
By the time they reached Konoha, Pakura was almost grateful.
Prison was better than this.
At Konoha's side gate, the guards froze when they realized it was Hikaru.
They let them pass immediately—and notified the Hokage at once.
"Looks like we're in for it," Hikaru muttered. "You take her to the branch and lock her down. I'll go see the Hokage."
"Yes, Captain," Kakashi replied instantly.
The expressions of the gate guards said everything.
What Hikaru had done had already reached the upper levels.
Possibly the entire shinobi world's upper echelons.
Every village had spies.
And this was too big to hide.
Hikaru turned and sprinted toward the Hokage Tower, already rehearsing his report.
After all—
Disappearing for that long after breaking out of encirclement demanded an explanation.
And there was no chance he'd tell the truth.
"I went to the Dragon Vein and absorbed Senju Hashirama's flesh" was basically suicide.
"…Speaking of which," Hikaru muttered, "that Hashirama flesh lost all its power."
He'd used it to empower the tree—and in doing so, drained it completely.
It was still intact—but utterly inert.
Even a civilian could tell it wasn't the same anymore.
He sighed.
"One problem at a time."
Worst case?
He'd pay Danzo another visit.
After all, he'd found it in Danzo's lab last time.
Maybe there was more.
"…Let's hope Danzo-sama doesn't disappoint me."
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