CHAPTER 35

Follow-up

"What happened?"

The Sandaime Hokage, seated at his desk reviewing mission reports, immediately sensed the distant explosion. The spiritual pressure (Reiatsu) alone was overwhelming, and the sheer power behind the attack—what could only be described as a Cero—made his expression darken.

The entire village was in an uproar. Unlike the previous incident at Bai Ye's residence, this explosion shook the earth itself. Even civilians, normally oblivious to shinobi skirmishes, felt the tremors.

More troubling were the reactions of the shinobi. Those who had already responded to the earlier blast near Bai Ye's home were now visibly tense. Both incidents occurred within close proximity and short succession—too coincidental to ignore.

Speculation spread fast. A high-level infiltrator seemed likely. If they didn't act quickly, the village could suffer significant losses. The sheer destructive force suggested that any ninja sent to intercept the enemy might already be dead.

At the scene of the explosion, Aburame Zhiyi remained unaware of the village-wide panic. He remained crouched, cautious, maintaining surveillance with his kikaichū insects. The enemy hadn't moved for a while. Hesitating no longer, Zhiyi released a swarm to scout the surrounding area.

"What!? He's... dead?"

The feedback from the kikaichū stunned him. The infiltrator was no longer alive. Zhiyi blinked in disbelief. If reinforcements had arrived, surely someone would have contacted him. That hadn't happened. And this—this enemy—had been clearly alive and dominant moments ago.

Was it the Sandaime? Had he passed by and ended the fight instantly?

Zhiyi didn't have answers, but at least the threat was gone. He dispersed the swarm and turned toward Bai Ye, who remained unconscious.

He didn't realize it was Bai Ye's Cero—the "Void Flash"—that had annihilated the enemy.

"Tsk, tsk... what a miserable way to go."

Before leaving with Bai Ye in his arms, Zhiyi approached the corpse, a morbid curiosity tugging at him. A hint of satisfaction flickered in his eyes.

The body was that of a man dressed head-to-toe in black, face hidden behind a mask. Even in death, the figure remained upright, a massive hole torn through his chest. One eye, wide and lifeless, stared forward; his right hand still clutched at the wound as if trying to hold himself together.

Zhiyi pulled the mask away, revealing a face frozen in disbelief—killed before he even realized what struck him.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Just then, four masked shinobi appeared in a flash—Anbu. They landed around Zhiyi, surrounding him in a practiced formation.

"Aburame clan?" one of them asked, sensing the lingering kikaichū within Zhiyi's body. A breath of relief followed. Not an enemy, then.

"Yeah. Did you kill this guy?" Zhiyi asked, unfazed by their sudden appearance.

The Anbu glanced at the corpse, then at Bai Ye in Zhiyi's arms. "Not us. We just got here."

Their eyes narrowed. From the damage to the terrain, the fight had been devastating. And yet only these two remained. It didn't add up.

"We were getting our butts kicked, how could we kill him?" Zhiyi scoffed, gesturing to the crater that now scarred the landscape. If he had that kind of power, he mused, he'd unify the ninja world before he hit twenty.

The silence between them stretched, awkward and heavy.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

More shinobi arrived—alerted by the explosion. They came prepared for battle, weapons ready… only to find their comrades already present. Confusion rippled through the crowd.

"Sandaime-sama!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had appeared. His presence confirmed what everyone suspected: something extraordinary had happened here.

"Zhiyi, do you know what happened?" Hiruzen asked, eyes resting on Bai Ye's unconscious form.

Zhiyi shook his head, just as baffled as the rest. The shinobi glanced at each other. No one knew. The massive crater nearby might as well have been declared one of the village's new mysteries.

"Is Bai Ye alright?"

Hyūga Hizashi arrived soon after, his gaze fixed on the unconscious boy. Clearly, his concern was personal.

"Ah! I forgot about that! I need to get him to the hospital—right now!" Zhiyi exclaimed, suddenly remembering the state Bai Ye was in.

As he turned to dash off—

"Wait! Don't run! I'm the hospital director. Let me take a look!"

An elderly man, panting and red-faced, arrived just in time. He had clearly run here himself—no easy feat at his age.

"Let him see. He really is the director," Hizashi said, noticing Zhiyi's hesitation. Bai Ye had been treated by him before, after all.

Zhiyi handed the boy over carefully. The director laid Bai Ye down and did a quick check.

"Hmph. His physical condition is stable. He's unconscious due to chakra exhaustion, but he'll recover with rest."

After a pause, the director added thoughtfully, "His recovery is remarkable. No physical damage remains... strange. Shichi said the right side of his body had been shredded. This level of regeneration... there's no sign of medical ninjutsu, either. Just chakra depletion."

He had misunderstood the truth. The healing wasn't medical—it was a result of the residual power from the Cero. As long as Bai Ye wasn't instantly killed, his body would gradually repair itself.

Hizashi, who had checked Bai Ye with his Byakugan, nodded with relief. He couldn't detect internal damage, but confirmation from the director eased his worry.

"Enough!" the Sandaime finally barked, rubbing his temple as the crowd turned rowdy. "If you're not involved in direct response, return to your posts. I'll assign teams to investigate the scene."

The shinobi understood. With the Hokage's order issued, they began to disperse. Only a few Anbu remained behind, likely to report directly.

Zhiyi, however, was held back by the Sandaime for questioning. As for Bai Ye, Hizashi carried him back to the Hyūga compound for recovery.

"I understand the situation. You're dismissed."

Once he had gathered all the necessary details, Hiruzen allowed Zhiyi to leave.

He stood silently for a while, stroking his beard. In his left hand, he held a scorched scroll—retrieved from the intruder's corpse.

No one yet knew what was written inside.

But Hiruzen's narrowed eyes and deepening frown said enough.