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Haori was utterly exhausted at that time, and being surrounded by his own people, he had no guard up. So, when he was suddenly struck, he immediately fainted.
Haori had no clue what happened afterward. After being "ambushed," his pets — the dogs, cows, and birds — were on the verge of going wild.
With the summoning beasts losing Haori's control and seeing their master being attacked, they launched an attack on Minato, Kushina, and the others.
Due to these summoning beasts that Haori had worked so hard to acquire, the group hesitated to take harsh measures against them, so they found themselves in a passive situation.
Luckily, Minato's speed in escaping was top-notch, and he immediately flew away with Haori and the other two.
The summoning beasts might still go wild for a while, but as long as they could still sense the connection with Haori, they would eventually calm down. As for when they would calm down, sorry, Minato wouldn't know.
In any case, they had already left that dangerous place.
...
"Where am I?"
When Haori woke up again, he found himself lying on a bed.
His head was throbbing, and he felt dizzy. His consciousness wasn't as sharp as usual, but he quickly realized that he wasn't in the same strange space as before.
"You're awake, Haori." Rin, who had been by his side, immediately spoke up upon noticing Haori waking up. She even waved her hand in front of Haori's eyes, as if to confirm that his consciousness had truly returned.
"Rin? How did you get here? Where is this?"
Following that hand, Haori identified her as his owner. He didn't understand why Rin was by his side, and he was quite persistent about figuring out his location.
Rin was indeed looking after Haori, considering he was considered a serious injury case. In this hospital room, not far from the window, Kakashi Hatake was sitting on a chair, seemingly staring into space, looking out the window, or reading the book in his hands.
Kakashi did have a book in his hands. Fortunately, the young Kakashi didn't understand the charming art of adult content yet, or perhaps he was already self-taught. However, Jiraiya hadn't even started writing the book in question yet.
From the slightly tilted angle Haori was lying, he could see the title of Kakashi's book.
Indomitable Will, Ninja Legend.
A quite orthodox, yet not very well-known novel with ninjas as the main characters.
For Haori, the title of the book seemed somewhat familiar, but he wasn't clear on the rest. In his current state, he didn't really care about what Kakashi was reading. He wasn't a bookworm.
"Which is this, the front-line headquarters of the Leaf to Sand Ninja Hospital, the place you were before... Three days ago, you were brought back by Minato-sensei, but you have been in a coma since then, supposedly due to excessive blood loss and chakra consumption..." Rin said, but there was a hint of awkwardness in her tone, though Haori didn't notice.
Some people aren't good at lying.
"So, I'm back again? By the way, where is Kushina-sensei?" Haori immediately asked.
Now that he was back here, where was Kushina? Haori was quite concerned. Before Rin could answer, he propped himself up from the bed with a bit of effort, supporting his head and sitting up.
At that moment, the blanket covering him slipped off, and he realized he wasn't wearing a shirt... But whether he was dressed or not, the effect was the same. He was wrapped up like a mummy, offering the same level of coverage.
When he sat up, Haori felt Kakashi's gaze momentarily shift away from the book. It seemed like Kakashi glanced at him, then turned the page back again.
"Kushina-sensei was sent back to Konoha by Minato-sensei that day." Rin said.
Haori nodded, he could understand that. After experiencing the crisis a few days ago, as long as the Leaf's people hadn't lost their minds, they would definitely recall Kushina, even if she didn't agree herself. When it came to her safety, Minato wouldn't stand on her side.
In fact, Kushina was very sensible. She didn't resist at all and obediently returned to Konoha. Even being willful has its limits, and she could tell right from wrong, and what was important and urgent.
Hearing that Kushina was safe, Haori felt relieved. But he wasn't easily fooled when it came to certain things.
"I fainted because of blood loss? But I remember being knocked out by Kushina-sensei?"
He remembered now, his last memory before fainting was Kushina's fist getting bigger and bigger in front of him.
The reason he fainted wasn't blood loss, but a concussion, right?
Rin smiled awkwardly and silently apologized to Kushina in her heart.
She had explained things to Haori according to Kushina's instructions, but she hadn't expected him to remember clearly who had caused his fainting.
Haori even remembered the angle of Kushina's punch clearly, okay?
After thinking about it for a moment, Haori understood why Kushina had punched him. Well, from Kushina's perspective, he deserved it.
After all, Haori's actions at the time weren't very reasonable. He should have left that place as soon as possible, instead of staying there happily capturing summoning beasts.
Kushina punched him because she was "disappointed" in her student. A few summoning beasts had tempted him. In his condition, a normal person would only think about how to escape, not the other way around.
Overall, Haori's injuries weren't light, but they weren't too serious either. They were just external wounds. As long as he rested for a while, he should recover.
Next, Rin began to explain to Haori what had happened after he and Kushina left the battlefield. She told him what had happened at the front-line headquarters during the days he was gone and unconscious. Although Rin had heard these things from others, she knew more than Haori, at least.
"Do you know? Everyone outside now calls you the White Yaksha." Rin said with a hint of excitement and mystery.
"Huh?" Haori was completely baffled by Rin's words.
White Yaksha? What the hell is that? Why does it sound so familiar?
"That ninja, with white hair stained with blood, his figure galloping across the battlefield, is like... a Yaksha."
(ShixT9: Damn sounds hard, White Yaksha)
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New Fic Translated
Naruto: Betrayed From The Start
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