Please

Pfft, pfft!

Tachie spat out the dust clogging her mouth. "Dosuke are you okay?"

At the moment of the explosion, she had pulled Soma and Takuto to the edge of the blast zone. Their injuries were minor, though they were shaken.

Dosuke coughed, rising from the ground. "I'm fine, Tachie. Not dying yet." His once-neat clothes were shredded from the dozens of detonating tags, his shirt torn open across the chest, revealing burns on his abdomen.

* My Water Wall's too weak, and my chakra can't handle that kind of attack * Dosuke thought, assessing his injuries. His chakra had spread too thin across his body, weakening his defense.

* Chakra's still my biggest problem. I need to fix it * Dosuke thought.

"Dosuke, how're you holding up? We need to move now. Erming's final explosion was huge, Sand shinobi will be here soon," Tachie said, glancing at his burns.

"Got it," Dosuke said. He pulled a bandage from his ninja pouch and wrapped his wound.

"Tachie, I'll grab the Sand kid. You carry Soma and Takuto," Dosuke said, securing the bandage.

Tachie lifted Soma onto her back and pulled Takuto along. "Dosuke, get over here! Look at this!" she shouted.

Dosuke summoned the last of his chakra and hurried to her side. "What?"

He froze beside Tachie, stunned.

Erming's final explosion had launched a massive boulder across the battlefield. Dosuke had earlier used a chakra scalpel to sever the tendons in Jieren's arms and legs, leaving him unable to move. The boulder had struck Jieren, dragging his body over ten meters and crushing his lower half beneath its weight, leaving a trail of blood in the dirt.

Dosuke knelt beside Jieren. "His waist and legs are completely crushed. He's too far gone. Even if we tried, he wouldn't make it back to Konoha alive."

"Then what do we do? Saidaiji and Erming were obliterated in the explosion, and Tai's body was destroyed. We've got no intel," Tachie said, her voice filled with frustration.

After a brutal fight, they had nothing to show for it. Not one enemy survived to provide answers.

"We've got no choice," Dosuke said, eyeing Jieren. He pulled a medical syringe from his ninja pouch and injected it into Jieren's neck, rousing him briefly.

Dosuke asked, "Got anything to say?"

"A ninja's fate is death," Jieren murmured, his words halting. "Such a pity, I couldn't return."

"Jieren, what's Sand Village been planning? What was your mission's real purpose? Why did a low-level team like yours have special jonin like Erming?" Dosuke asked, staring intently.

"If you give us something useful, we'll do our best to honor any request you have," Tachie added, stepping closer.

"Miss Miyo," Jieren's eyes flickered briefly at Tachie's face, then dulled again.

"I'm just a genin. I don't know Sand Village's troop movements," Jieren said, his voice clearing slightly under the syringe's effects. "This mission was an escort job, delivering boxes. I sneaked a look at one, it had scrolls inside, but I don't know what they were."

He looked at Tachie. "As for Erming, I don't know. Our team was usually just Saidaiji, Tai, and me. Erming only joined for this one."

"It's a shame I can't go back. The reward for this mission hasn't reached home. My sister's waiting for me. Miss Miyo, it's in my coat pocket," Jieren's voice weakened.

Tachie stayed still. Dosuke reached into Jieren's chest pocket and pulled out a small box of skin cream, the same one Tachie had given him earlier that day.

Dosuke held the bloodstained box.

Jieren's mind drifted to his final memories: his father's warning before the mission, "Be careful, Jieren, and respect your sensei," and his five-year-old sister, Aoyu, leaning against the doorframe. "Brother, come back soon. I miss you," she said, her voice small but hopeful.

Jieren had ruffled her hair. "Silly girl, I'm going to earn money. When I do, you and Dad will eat meat every day. Wait at home and take care of Dad."

"I will, Brother! I'll take care of Dad. Come back so we can eat meat together!" her eyes are bright despite her tattered clothes and rough, dry hands.

"Don't worry, I'll be back right after the mission," Jieren had promised, his heart aching at her worn appearance. * I'll make sure you live like those rich kids, Aoyu *

Now, as his life faded, Jieren whispered, "Please, if you can, look after my sister. My father's injured, no income. I'm dying here. If you see her, give her this cream. It'll help her skin. Her name's Aoyu…" His voice grew faint, each word a struggle. His eyes, still open, once burning with a brother's desperate hope, grew dim, fixed on a future he'd never see, as his final breath slipped away.

"He's gone," Dosuke said, staring at the bloodstained box of skin cream. He slipped it into his ninja pouch.

* What a cruel ninja world. Kill or be killed * Dosuke thought.

Yet, instead of fear, Dosuke felt a surge of determination. * I'll keep your request * Dosuke thought, looking at Jieren's lifeless body.

He drew a kunai from his pouch. With a swift motion, he severed Jieren's head.

"Dosuke, you." Tachie stared, shocked.