Chapter 18 - Reactions
After a lighthearted moment with the girls, we set off for Konoha. The journey back was filled with relief and camaraderie as we left the tension of our recent battle behind us.
At the Mist Village Border
The Fourth Mizukage stood in stunned silence, his face a portrait of disbelief. "What do you mean one lone shinobi killed our 100 shinobi?!" he roared, his voice reverberating through the room.
The shinobi who had delivered the grim news spoke with a trembling voice. "Lord Fourth, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Who was this shinobi?" the Mizukage demanded, his frustration evident.
"We don't know, Lord Fourth," the shinobi answered, shaking his head.
At the Scene of the Massacre
Tamuri Mie, only 16 and overwhelmed by the carnage, looked around in horror. "This was caused by a kid or a monster?" she whispered to herself, her fear palpable as she surveyed the destruction.
In the Hidden Cloud Village
The Raikage's fury was palpable as he slammed his fist onto the table, breaking it into splinters. "What do you mean, he killed 100 of our shinobi? There were seven Jonin, 40 Chunin, and 53 Genin! How could they all fall so easily?"
The subordinate, visibly shaken, responded, "Raikage-sama, he was a monster. At just 16 years old, he took them all down in under two hours. The bodies were sliced cleanly, as if cut through with a blade of unmatched sharpness."
"Find out his identity immediately!" the Raikage ordered, his tone brooking no dissent. "We need to understand all potential threats."
"What did he look like?" the Raikage demanded next.
"Raikage-sama, he had red eyes," the subordinate began.
"Sharingan?" the Raikage guessed, though his suspicion was uncertain.
"No, it wasn't Sharingan," the subordinate clarified. "He had silver hair and wore a Leaf shinobi headband. He used Water, Wind, and Fire Style Jutsu and wielded a sword with incredible speed."
The Raikage's mind raced. "Water Style, silver hair, red eyes, and extreme speed with a sword… Tobirama Senju?" he speculated aloud.
At the Hidden Leaf Village
As we reached the village gates, I let out a relieved sigh. "Finally, we're back," I said, my tone reflecting my satisfaction.
In the Hokage's office, an ANBU member reported, "Lord Hokage, Team 9 has returned."
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked up in surprise, knowing well that the mission had been nearly impossible. "Leave us," he instructed the ANBU.
A short time later, the team entered the Hokage's room. We recounted our mission, including the fact that I had taken down 100 shinobi in less than two hours. The Third Hokage's eyes widened in disbelief.
"How did you manage this?" he asked, his voice filled with astonishment.
I offered a plausible explanation. "Hokage-sama, my grandmother told me that she had Senju blood and came from Konoha. She mentioned that her mother was a closely related cousin to Tobirama Senju."
As I slightly adjusted my mask, revealing my red eyes, silver hair, sharp nose, and thin jawline, the Third Hokage stood up, startled by the familiar features.
However, after a moment of observation, he realized that while I resembled the Second Hokage, I was not him.
"Lord Third, my team and I have overused our chakra and need some rest," I said.
"Hm," the Hokage considered. "Since you completed your mission, you will receive 5 million ryo, a rank upgrade, and six months of rest."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," I replied. "Could we extend our rest period a bit more?"
"Given your exceptional performance, I'll extend your rest to eight months," the Hokage agreed.
With a grateful nod, I said, "Thank you, Lord Hokage. We will take our leave now." I handed over the detailed report.
As we left the room, an exclamation of surprise echoed from the Hokage's office. "Eeeeeennnnnnnnn????!!!!!??"
Turning to the girls, I said, "You three go home. I need to speak with the Hokage alone."
With that, the girls headed out, leaving me to deal with the aftermath of our mission and the ongoing reactions it had sparked.