Chapter 13: Back to Konoha

While Hyoujin was pondering what Ayami's words might have meant, he heard footsteps approaching. He turned to see Instructor Shinko walking toward him. After confirming his identity, Hyoujin let out a sigh of relief. The jounin had attempted to escape the moment he realized Shinko had returned, ruining his plan to obtain the Sharingan.

As he got closer, Instructor Shinko spoke in a calm voice:

"Don't grieve too much, Hyoujin. You will carry their will within you and protect the village, so you must not dwell on sorrow. I'm sure that Renji and Ayami would want to see you happy."

Hyoujin was momentarily stunned by those words. He was about to ask what his instructor meant, but then the truth hit him. His teammates were dead. It was only natural for him to mourn them. His previous confusion must have been mistaken for shock.

He decided to go along with the situation, lowering his head as he spoke in a soft voice:

"But, Sensei… they were so young. I couldn't protect either of them..."

His voice was filled with sorrow, sounding utterly devoid of hope. His sense of failure was apparent.

Instructor Shinko responded with a firm yet sorrowful tone:

"This is the life of a ninja, Hyoujin. But you must keep moving forward. If anyone should grieve, it should be me—I was the one responsible for this mission, and I was the one who accepted such a dangerous task."

Hyoujin looked at his instructor. It was the first time he had seen that strict face showing signs of depression. He must have grown attached to us over time. I can understand his grief.

Shinko continued, his voice heavy with emotion:

"Enough of this. I will seal their bodies in a storage scroll until we return to Konoha, where they will receive a proper burial."

His voice carried a deep sadness, as if he was silently blaming himself. Hyoujin simply nodded in silence, pretending to grieve, as though he were on the verge of tears.

His instructor then spoke again, taking full responsibility:

"And I will bear the burden of their deaths. In the end, this happened due to my misjudgment."

For a moment, Hyoujin almost objected—it wasn't entirely the instructor's fault. But he held back. Saying something like that would be hypocritical, given his usual personality. Instead, he simply nodded, feigning agreement.

Then, without any change in his expression, he thought coldly: Either way, Sensei won't live much longer. The Nine-Tails incident is approaching, and he'll likely die in it. There's no need for me to worry about making a good impression on him.

He glanced at his instructor from the corner of his eye, wondering if Shinko would still be his teacher by then. After losing two members of his team, he was no longer certain about what would happen next.

Unaware of Hyoujin's thoughts, the instructor said,

"Alright, let's rest for an hour, then finish the mission before heading back."

Hearing those words, Hyoujin froze in place, so shocked that he momentarily forgot to continue his act. He raised his head and stared at Shinko in disbelief.

Noticing his expression, Shinko sighed and spoke in a tired tone, as if stating the obvious:

"We're on a mission. We can't abandon the client halfway. We have to complete it before returning."

Hyoujin felt powerless, but he had no choice but to nod. He thought bitterly, Ninjas, huh? What a frustrating profession...

Still, there was no time for complaints. He approached the merchant, who had fainted from sheer terror, and patted his shoulder until he woke up. The man looked at him in shock, and Hyoujin said in a calm tone:

"We'll rest for an hour. Wake your workers and get ready to move."

He watched the merchant's face as he processed the information. The man was still terrified, but he had no other option.

They rested for an hour, while Hyoujin was lost in thought, replaying everything that had happened since the start of the mission.

There was no time for weakness or hesitation, so he took the opportunity to carefully treat and disinfect his wound. The mission wasn't over yet, and any negligence could cost him his life.

Opening his small pouch, he searched for something to eat but found that his dried rations had run out. He sighed in annoyance, then pulled out an energy pill, tossing it into his mouth and chewing absentmindedly.

After that, he sat back against a wooden crate, staring into the distance as he reviewed the mission's events so far.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm lucky or just plain unlucky.

He sighed, then looked down at the Uchiha emblem embroidered on his clothes.

If not for this emblem, he probably wouldn't have toyed with me like that... But at the same time, without it, I would've been dead the moment the fight started.

He thought for a moment, then clenched his fists in frustration.

I'm weak… too weak. Even a nameless jounin defeated me with ease.

Anger and frustration boiled inside him, but there was no time to dwell on it.

I need to return to Konoha and master the Ice Release. Even if I get caught by accident, that's still better than dying in a pathetic mission like this.

The worst that could happen is being labeled a traitor… But that would only be a problem if I'm not strong enough to escape when the time comes.

---

After one final day, they arrived in the Land of Grass. They rested there for the night before heading back. They didn't encounter any ninjas along the way, but they did run into a group of bandits.

Hyoujin was the one who dealt with them.

For the first time, he truly felt what it was like to kill someone.

During the fight with the jounin, he had been surrounded by danger, leaving no time to process anything. But this time, it was different. There was no immediate threat to his life, yet he still had to kill.

The feeling was… strange. But he adapted quickly.

If it were his previous life, he might have struggled to accept it, but now? It felt disturbingly natural.

---

Two days later...

They finally arrived at Konoha.

The moment he saw the village gates, Hyoujin felt an undeniable sense of relief. So much had happened on this trip—facing death, losing Renji and Ayami, and even being deceived.

Suddenly, he recalled Ayami's last words:

"You shouldn't go back."

At the time, he hadn't thought much of it. But now, it lingered in his mind.

Did she mean that returning alone would raise suspicion?

After all, he was an Uchiha. Accusations of betrayal would be easy to throw at him, especially after his teammates had died.

Fortunately, Instructor Shinko was with him, so there was no reason to worry.

Hyoujin sighed, pushing away his troubling thoughts, then followed behind his instructor.

At the village entrance, Shinko stopped for a moment, then turned to him with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"You did well, Hyoujin. Go rest. I'll handle the report."

Hyoujin simply gave a small nod before turning toward the Uchiha district.

As he walked, he noticed that the villagers' gazes had changed. They were no longer filled with tension and suspicion as before.

Maybe this was thanks to the Fourth Hokage, Minato.

His relationship with the Uchiha clan was good—whether through his wife, Kushina, or his direct dealings with Fugaku.

In truth, Hyoujin thought Minato was a good Hokage. Maybe Konoha could have grown even stronger under his leadership.

But he died too soon.

And worse, he had never truly held full control over the village. The real power still rested in the hands of the Third Hokage.

"It's not easy to remove someone who has ruled for nearly fifty years."

Shaking his head, Hyoujin dismissed those thoughts.

Konoha's fate doesn't concern me. Maybe I care about what happens to my clan, but certainly not enough to sacrifice myself for it.

After greeting a few familiar faces in the district, he finally arrived home.

The place was the same, with a thin layer of dust covering the furniture.

After eating a simple meal, he didn't hesitate to throw himself onto the bed.

Exhaustion weighed down on him, and there was nothing more important than sleep right now.