Hirata… Missing?

"Did you search everywhere?"

"Yes, Captain. However, there are no more traces of this underground path. I think they used a high-level earth release jutsu to cover this path."

The captain was annoyed by the results, "then find clues about Newbie. We cannot simply report to the higher-ups that we lost Newbie. We lose our dignity. GO NOW!"

Captain shouted at others and sent them away to find Hirata's whereabouts. After everyone left he felt a shiver in his spine and his body sweated and gradually he felt as if he was losing his energy.

'Danzo-sama will kill me if I say Newbie is missing. I was careless; I should have followed him closely… Newbie comes back quickly if you don't want us killed.'

While thinking, the captain also went to find traces of "Newbie".

----------------------- Konoha – Hokage Tower----------------------

A dissatisfied Danzo stormed inside the Hokage office and sat in a chair without greeting the Hokage. Hiruzen looked at Danzo's actions and smiled at him; Hiruzen knows Danzo is impatient and wanted everything to be done in the way he planned. Despite two days passing since Hirata Senju went missing, there has been no indication of his whereabouts. So, Danzo is extremely dissatisfied with Anbu's performance.

Hiruzen looked at his friend, "Danzo I told you many times don't throw your tantrum here."

Danzo was annoyed by Hiruzen's calm and snorted. Hiruzen continued, "We already sent many people to search for the whereabouts of Hirata, just be patient."

Danzo almost yelled at Hiruzen, "What do you mean by 'be patient'? It's been two days Hiruzen and our best Anbu still can't find the whereabouts of that kid. Here, you are telling me to be patient."

Hiruzen said seriously, "Danzo don't blame Anbu. They were already doing their best. The report on him is updated, didn't you see it? You also know it; it is partially Hirata's fault too. It's your fault for sending a trainee on such a critical and dangerous mission. If I have to take action I have to start with you. Let's wait until you're calm. Now go…!"

Danzo left the Hokage office; while walking in the corridor many thoughts jumbled in Danzo's head. Sitting in his office, Danzo thought, 'That's it; I have to regulate the Anbu system more to nullify failures. From now on, failures cannot occur and Anbu must and should follow orders. Yes, that's it.'

------------------ Konoha - Senju Clan Compound -----------------

A twelve-year-old blonde 5 foot Tsunade runs to Mito's resting place, her eyes filled with tears and her nose is running.

"Grandma… Grandma...."

Mito looked at Tsunade almost in tears, stunned for a moment. This is the first time she saw Tsunade in tears. She took Tsunade into her embrace and patted her back. "It's OK dear… don't cry. You have to tell me what happened so I can solve it for you. You know your grandma can give you anything. "Ho... dear, now tell me what makes you cry."

Tsunade wiped her tears and said, "Grandma Hirata is missing."

Mito was surprised, "what happened dear?" Tell me everything."

Tsunade nodded, "you know grandma Hirata has to come home two weeks back." Tsunade paused and Mito nodded her head as if she already knows about it. Whenever Hirata returns home, he visits her.

"I asked the teacher why Hirata still hasn't returned home despite the mission being completed. The teacher said the mission was extended, so it would take a few more days. But now I overheard, Hirata was missing and they were discussing whether to stop searching and declare him missing in action."

Mito is shocked to hear Hirata is still missing. it is normal for many Shinobi went missing for some time during top-secret missions. Mito knows that if Hirata is still alive, then he would have at least sent a message to the village if not able to come and she too felt a pain in her heart. But for some reason, her intuition is telling her 'there is no way that can happen. Hirata will come back.'

So, she looked at the crying Tsunade and said, "Listen Tsunade, what do you think? Will Hirata come back or not?"

Tsunade looked at Mito. Looking at Mito's resolute eyes, all the darkness of fear in her heart was dispelled, and replaced by courage.

"Saraba…"

A figure appeared at the door just as Mito called the name.

"Yes madam."

Mito looked at him and said, "go to Hiruzen and tell him in my words, "I want everything about Hirata Senju" and get the report in one hour, OK?"

"Ok, madam" and then disappeared again.

Mito looked at Tsunade, "See, it's done. So, stop crying like a crybaby."

Tsunade said while wiping her eyes, "I am not a crybaby, grandma."

Mito laughed and continued to talk about many things to divert Tsunade's attention from Hirata.

--------------------- In the Hokage tower ------------------

Secretary entered the Hokage's office hurriedly. "Hokage-sama, Mito-sama has requested her guard to speak with you."

Hiruzen was surprised at first and a hint of fear appeared in his eyes. Since Mito sent a personal request means she must have heard about Hirata's missing. Hirata is Mito's prized student and she takes care of him as her grandson.

"Immediately bring in the guest and prepare a cup of tea for him. In addition, please prepare a thorough report outlining Hirata's mission, from its inception until the present moment. And also include any latest updates or developments." Hiruzen passed an order.

After a minute, Saraba Senju entered and saluted Hiruzen, "greeting Hokage-sama, I came to deliver Mito-sama's request."

Hiruzen took a deep breath, "so, what is Mito-sama's request?"

"Mito-sama said, "I want everything about Hirata Senju" and told me to get the report in one hour."

Hiruzen took a deep breath since he had already guessed the reason for his visit. He has already passed an order.

"Please sit down. I have already arranged for a detailed report to be prepared. Let's have some tea while we wait for it to be completed."

After ten minutes, the secretary knocked and entered with the report. She walked to Hiruzen and handed him a scroll. "Hokage-sama here is the report you requested."

Hiruzen took the scroll and looked through it. Seeing no progress in searching as he hopes, he sighed and handed the scroll to Saraba. Taking the scroll into his hands, Saraba bid farewell and left the Hokage office.

---------------- In Mito Residence ------------------

"Grandma, why hasn't the report arrived yet?"

"Please be patient, Tsunade. The report will be here soon."

Just then Saraba arrived with a scroll in his hand. He handed the scroll to Mito and disappeared again. Mito opened the scroll and looked through it seriously. Despite Tsunade's eagerness to look into it, she had to restrain herself when she looked at Mito's seriousness.

After reading the report Mito smiled and looked at Tsunade; seeing Tsunade's eagerness she simply handed the scroll to her. Impatient Tsunade took the scroll and skipped everything to the end and looked at the end of the scroll.

[A devastating battle occurred five miles from the village. The aftermath of the battle indicated the use of multiple jutsu; the battlefield was badly burned by a B-rank fire-based jutsu. Two burned bodies were found at the site, but no traces of Hirata Senju, who may have been involved in the battle, were found within a two-kilometer range. The available evidence suggests that at least three individuals participated in the battle, with two from an organization. However, it is uncertain whether he perished in the battle, or disappeared after the battle ended. Despite the uncertainty, the probability of his death is high given the severity of the battle and the absence of his traces in the area.]

Seeing the report Tsunade doesn't know what to feel since the report suggested that the death rate is very high. However, her gut feeling tells her, Hirata is still alive.

Mito and Tsunade looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. They were confident about Hirata being alive. Tsunade stood, "grandma I will talk to aunty to tell her this good news."

Just as she was about to leave the room, a masked Anbu arrived and saluted Mito, "Mito-sama, the Hokage-sama has sent a message regarding Hirata Senju. He has been found in Konoha hospital and is alive; however, his condition is critical."

Upon hearing that Hirata was alive, Tsunade leaped into the air and exclaimed "Hooray!" She was so elated that she didn't wait to hear the remaining details and happily turned to Mito, saying "Grandma, I'm going to tell aunt Aika and then we'll go see Hirata at the hospital. Bye!" With a wave of her hand, Tsunade quickly departed.

Mito watched as Tsunade ran off happily, shaking her head and smiling. However, her expression turned grave once Tsunade was out of sight, learning Hirata was in critical condition. Mito then turned to the masked ANBU and asked, "Can you tell me more about Hirata's critical situation?"

The masked ANBU narrated that "earlier that morning, a merchant group had brought a boy aged between twelve and fourteen years to the hospital with severe burns and extreme chakra exhaustion. The boy was admitted to the hospital immediately, and after conducting some tests, it was discovered that he was Hirata Senju. The Hokage was informed about Hirata's situation, and with advanced medical techniques, the boy's life was saved. However, due to the severity of his burns and chakra exhaustion, the doctors stated that it was unlikely that Hirata would fully recover."

Upon hearing the masked ANBU's report, Mito's expression turned serious. She gestured to the ANBU and he vanished.

"Dismissed," she muttered to herself before calling out to Saraba Senju, who appeared before her.

"I need you to make the necessary arrangements. I will head to the hospital to see Hirata. I only require two guards to accompany me," Mito instructed.

"Right away, Mito-sama," Saraba replied before leaving to make arrangements.

Mito arrived at the hospital with a heavy heart, accompanied by two guards. She stepped out of her carriage onto the paved walkway leading to the hospital. Two guards flanked her, scanning the surroundings for trouble. Mito's face wore a solemn expression, knowing she was about to witness a heartbreaking scene.

As they entered the hospital, Mito made her way straight to the ICU. The staff was shocked to see her arrive and made way for her to pass. Outside the ICU, Tsunade and Aika were both grieving and distressed, looking at Hirata's pitiful state in the ICU.

Tsunade ran to Mito when she saw her and hugged her tightly, "Please, grandma, save Hirata, please..."

Mito rubbed Tsunade's hair gently and smiled, "Isn't that why I am here?" She then looked at the attending doctors who had just arrived upon hearing of Mito's arrival at the hospital.

All the doctors bowed to Mito, and the attending doctor stepped forward. "Hirata is in bad shape. He has severe burns all over his body and extreme chakra exhaustion. We've been doing everything we can, but nothing seems to work."

Mito asked, "So, what is the situation?"

The attending doctor replied, "Due to extreme chakra exhaustion, his chakra pathways were completely dried up, and his Senju body isn't helping in healing either. Several places were exposed to the outside due to extreme burning, which could lead to side effects. In general, a twelve-year-old boy surviving in this scenario is a miracle in itself. But he's still alive due to a foreign chakra residing in him, which keeps him alive."

Mito was shocked to hear that a foreign chakra kept Hirata alive. She looked at the attending doctor and said, "Let me see him first."

The attending doctor replied, "Yes, Mito-sama."

Mito entered the ICU to check Hirata's condition personally. After half an hour, she came out and said to Hirata's mother Aika Senju, who had kept silent until now, "I don't know what to say. Someone injected foreign chakra into him just before he died, and that chakra keeps him alive. This is much more than a miracle, or to put it simply, just believing that God is favoring him, would be the best option."

Then she looked at the doctors and said, "Prepare to perform the Regenerative Healing Jutsu as soon as possible. For him to become normal, we need to speed up his body's healing process, regenerate tissue, and speed up cell division. Then inject chakra to boost the healing process internally."

Upon hearing the words "Regenerative Healing Jutsu," the doctors were shocked. This was a highly advanced technique that could regenerate cells and tissues in a matter of seconds, depending on the severity of the injury. This jutsu could even regenerate lost limbs, making it an incredibly powerful tool for medical ninjas. However, the technique required a significant amount of chakra and medical ninjutsu mastery, making it rare and difficult to perform.

Upon receiving Mito's order everyone hurried to make the necessary preparations as soon as possible. Mito looked at Aika and Tsunade and gave them a reassuring smile.