[Note: I will slowly start updating. Regular updates from next year.]
Chapter 44 — Konoha Gold (Part 11/Conclusion)
Senju Nawaki moved through the jungle, face grim, a heavy scroll strapped to his back.
Two hours after Minamoto Ren and Minato Namikaze had broken through the enemy lines, Nawaki's team had managed to do the same.
To prevent the entire Konoha Gold operation from being wiped out in one sweep, they had divided the scrolls containing the sealed silver and gold among each member.
It was a kind of insurance—if Ren and Minato were killed quickly by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, at least someone might slip through the net and bring the money back to Konoha.
The gnarled branches above cast claw-like shadows on the ground. They trembled, swaying in the wind.
The next moment, two silhouettes appeared on Nawaki's path. His heart clenched, and he swiftly drew a kunai.
"Nawaki, where are Hannya and Sun?"
The smaller, leaner figure standing slightly ahead spoke. The voice was tinged with exhaustion that was hard to describe.
Recognizing it, Nawaki relaxed. He dropped the kunai and strode forward, holding out the scroll containing Konoha's gold.
Sarutobi Hiruzen reached out, took the scroll, and passed it behind him.
A furry paw received it firmly, but the creature holding it seemed about to speak, then stopped.
Under the pale moonlight, Nawaki could see clearly—it was Sarutobi Hiruzen and his summon, Enma the Monkey King.
Nawaki had heard of Enma before. Tsunade had told him—Hiruzen only summoned Enma when he was truly angry, and in those moments, he was at his most terrifying.
It seemed Danzo Shimura had managed to anger even the Hokage himself.
"Sun and Hannya rushed west to cover our breakout. Their status is unknown."
"Uncle Hyūga Ganghachirō fell in battle to protect us."
The first line was delivered with the flat tone of an official report. The second was more personal—though it was as much truth as it was emotional leverage.
Ganghachirō shouldn't have had to die.
"You did well. Ganghachirō was a brave man."
Hiruzen was silent for a long time before finally speaking.
He knew this was Danzo's fault. But he also knew his old comrade—sometimes misguided, yes, but in most cases, loyal to Konoha's core.
Let him take the blame? Fine. Let him be the one to do the dirty work? Also fine. But destroy him? Never.
A Hokage's job was to balance the scales of conflict, after all.
Several Anbu emerged from the shadows at Hiruzen's signal, tasked with escorting Nawaki back to Konoha. The Hokage himself would go after Hannya and Sun. Dead or alive, their bodies must be found.
---
Elsewhere, beneath the serene moonlight, a white-haired shinobi with his hair tied in a braid looked at the two unmoving Anbu—one lying down, one sitting—and shook his head with a sigh.
He tossed two severed heads, dripping blood, onto the ground.
They were Jinpachi and Biwa Jūzō.
The white-haired man was Hatake Sakumo—the White Fang of Konoha. He had returned from the Land of Rivers.
Upon receiving the mission, he had rushed back to the Land of Fire. Though he had missed the fierce battle Ren and Minato had fought, Ren had given him directions to intercept the two fleeing members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
He had killed them both.
For their very first mission in this world, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had fared even worse than they had against Might Duy in the future—they had been completely annihilated.
Nearby, the medical-nin Sakumo had brought with him worked under the glow of green healing chakra, tending to Minamoto Ren and Minato Namikaze.
At that moment, Sakumo's gaze shifted toward the forest in the east—he could feel someone approaching.
In the next second, Danzo Shimura, with the distinctive cross-shaped scar on his chin, stepped out beside him.
Danzo's eyes swept the scene, and they landed on Ren's face—unmasked, unforgettable.
Behind him, Minato's stare was unwavering.
They're alive?
Impossible.
A storm of disbelief raged inside Danzo's mind. He could not comprehend how two jonin-led squads had survived an ambush by seven elite jonin of the Mist.
Was it because Sakumo had known in advance and intervened?
Was it the work of the Sannin? Or perhaps the Uchiha clan, meddling in the village's power struggles?
Names flickered through Danzo's thoughts one after another. Every person present—the watching Anbu, Hatake Sakumo—became suspects in his mind.
And it was understandable. Two jonin squads, against seven elite jonin, ending with a trade of one for seven… this was beyond the bounds of a shinobi's common sense.
More and more Konoha shinobi began to gather at the scene.
The air grew heavier, the atmosphere stranger.
Minamoto Ren and Minato Namikaze sat side by side in silence.
Hatake Sakumo, captain of the Anbu, and Danzo Shimura, acting commander, also had nothing to say.
They were all shinobi of the same village, yet the way they faced each other now, they might as well have been strangers.
Scenes like this—could such tension be found in any other hidden village?
Only when the key figure, Sarutobi Hiruzen, arrived did the atmosphere ease slightly.
The instant Hiruzen appeared, Ren felt a surge of chakra that was almost beast-like in its pressure.
In the past, he had only been able to sense Hiruzen's overwhelming presence without truly grasping its limits.
Now, he understood exactly where the Hokage's strength reached.
"Lord Hokage."
Ren and Minato stood and bowed. Ren's salute was textbook perfect; Minato's, however, was slightly hesitant.
Hiruzen noticed. He sensed the shift in Minato's composure.
"Hannya. Sun," Hiruzen said, his tone firm.
"Report the details of the mission. Leave out all speculation—only the facts."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Ren stepped forward. He was worried Minato might let his anger get the better of him and, in front of all these Anbu, start a direct confrontation with Danzo.
Better for him to speak.
"At the start of this month, my Hannya squad and Okada squad received orders from you, Lord Hokage, to escort Konoha's gold."
"The mission went smoothly until we reached the daimyō. No interference, no anomalies. On the return trip, we followed Anbu scouting protocol. Hyūga Ganghachirō was the first to detect seven jonin-level chakra signatures approaching."
"Sensing something was wrong, I led my team to withdraw. During our retreat, we were intercepted by Hōzuki Mangetsu, leader of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
"We killed him together, but through some technique, he returned to life."
"Lord Ganghachirō sacrificed himself to cover our escape. We hid in a cave, but our supplies were running out, and we had no way of knowing if rescue would come. Under those conditions, Sun and I attempted a breakout to create a chance for the rest to bring the gold back."
"By some luck, we first managed to ambush and kill one of the Swordsmen. Then, using a combined ninjutsu, we eliminated two more who pursued us. Finally, by splitting up, we took down Hōzuki Mangetsu for good—forcing the last two to retreat.
Though, as it turned out, they couldn't escape Lord White Fang's pursuit."
Ren's account was concise, deliberately skimming over the more… unusual aspects of his own performance.
Even so, the room full of shinobi was stunned.
No matter how he tried to downplay it, there was no hiding the fact that Hannya and Sun had played a decisive role in the fight.
Two kids—Minato already had a reputation, everyone knew his name. But when had Hannya ever been capable of this?
"Hannya is Lady Tsunade's disciple and has received training from Lord Orochimaru," one Anbu squad leader murmured in explanation.
"Ah…"
The realization spread among the onlookers. Eyes turned toward Ren with a new, more calculating sort of curiosity.
No wonder.