So the girl was worried about his safety… But Shimizu had already thought of an escape route.
"I have a way out."
Satomi's pale eyes fixed on him without the slightest attempt to hide it, clearly waiting for an explanation.
But how was he supposed to explain something like turning into a fish-man and escaping through the river?
There was no way he could say that out loud.
Besides, explanations were troublesome—and time was short.
"This is an order. Leave first."
"Senior Uzuki, you have already saved me once. There is no need to risk your life again." Clearly, Satomi did not believe his claim that he could escape easily.
Which made sense.
Under normal circumstances, how could a ninja who had completely exhausted their chakra possibly evade enemy pursuit?
"If senior still has the strength to escape, please go to Rakuyō City and request reinforcements…"
As she spoke, Satomi struggled to her feet.
"I'll also do my best to—"
Before she could finish, she staggered and collapsed onto the riverbank.
Shimizu frowned.
"Your legs?"
Both of Satomi's legs were trembling uncontrollably.
"Can you still walk?"
"I…" She tried to stand again, only to fall once more. Stubbornly, she muttered, "I'll… try again in a moment."
Shimizu immediately examined her legs.
After slowly channeling a bit of chakra into her body, he realized her condition was far worse than he had imagined.
"You ran out of chakra and still tried to extract more?!"
Her chakra pathways had shrunk drastically—some were even necrotic. It was a classic symptom of severe chakra over-extraction.
And there were other injuries he couldn't quite understand…
Probably from nearly drowning. Maybe oxygen deprivation had affected her brain, disrupting the nerves controlling her muscles.
Shimizu wasn't a medical ninja, so he could only make rough guesses.
But one thing was clear.
Forget the short term—Satomi would likely spend a long time recovering.
Whether she would ever return to the battlefield as a ninja again…
That was uncertain.
"…Sigh."
He watched as the girl tried once again to push herself up from the muddy riverbank.
Just before she could fall again—
Shimizu grabbed her in one swift motion, hoisted her up, and slung her onto his back.
Her body was small and light.
It barely felt like any weight at all.
"Senior… you…?" the girl gasped in surprise.
"Don't talk. Lower your head. Hold on."
"But senior, you said you—"
"Quiet."
Shimizu shifted the "baggage" on his back and began accelerating.
"I'd rather not have the Sand detect our trail."
"…Okay."
A soft response came from behind him.
Shimizu knew that with his natural chakra recovery rate, he could sustain a long-distance sprint without trouble.
The problem was the tiny amount of chakra he had just regained.
As long as he kept running at this speed, there was no chance of building up any more.
Which completely ruined his original plan.
He had intended to dive into the water and take a look at what those Sand shinobi were up to.
Once his chakra recovered a bit more, he might even have attempted a sneak attack—or a direct fight.
But now…
With a "disabled passenger" on his back, avoiding enemy contact was the only choice.
His 400-meter sensory range ensured he could avoid any approaching threats.
And his incredible speed guaranteed that no one could keep up with him.
...
"This is Rakuyō City?!" Shimizu stared at the pile of earthen mounds in front of him, completely dumbfounded.
A small gasp came from the girl on his back.
The original Rakuyō City had already been completely destroyed. What remained was nothing more than a battered wall of packed earth—an improvised barrier created by Konoha ninja using Earth Release to protect the wounded inside.
"Shimizu! You really are alive!" Minato exclaimed, clearly excited.
"Shimizu… you're actually alive?" Yoshimaru said flatly. "Yeah, well, thanks to you, Rakuyō City definitely isn't getting captured by the enemy anymore."
"Uh…"
Shimizu found himself momentarily speechless.
He hadn't expected Rakuyō City to be that fragile.
"But seriously, thank you. You saved us again!"
More people began emerging from behind the earthen wall.
One after another, familiar faces appeared—Kakashi, Obito, Rin… and even Kosuke-sensei.
"Senior Shimizu! We're over here!" Obito shouted enthusiastically, waving both arms. Kakashi and Rin also raised their hands in greeting.
"You're carrying Satomi?" Minato asked.
"Yes… but she's badly injured."
"…The important thing is that she made it back alive."
More and more people gathered around, curiosity written across their faces.
Everyone wanted to get a closer look—who exactly was the one capable of unleashing such a terrifying Water Release technique and saving them all?
But Shimizu himself looked anything but impressive right now.
His clothes were torn and filthy, his entire body covered in grime. Nothing about him stood out—except for the Konoha forehead protector on his head, which seemed to shine even brighter after surviving such a disaster.
This was a Konoha ninja.
A powerful Konoha ninja.
A new hero of Konoha.
"Do you want me to carry her for a while?" someone offered warmly after noticing Shimizu still had someone on his back.
After all, making a wounded hero handle such a small burden felt wrong to everyone present.
Shimizu turned his head slightly, silently asking Satomi for her opinion.
By coincidence, his nose brushed against a few strands of her soft hair, which tickled faintly.
But Satomi said nothing.
She simply tilted her head to the side and lowered it even further, hiding her expression completely.
Her attitude already gave him the answer.
"No need. Thank you for the offer."
"You're too polite."
Shimizu carried Satomi to the top of the earthen wall. He gave a brief nod to Kosuke, then turned to Minato.
"Is there a medical ninja here? Satomi should be examined first."
"Yes, there is. Wait a moment—" Minato was about to send someone to fetch them.
Shimizu immediately stopped him.
"Let's go to them instead. The sooner, the better."
"Alright." Minato made the decision without hesitation. "Team Four, continue reconnaissance and defensive duties."
Soon the group hurried toward the interior of the city.
Halfway there, Yoshimaru lowered his voice.
"Is it really that serious?"
From what he could see, Satomi was still conscious.
But she wasn't speaking, not greeting anyone.
Shouldn't surviving such a disaster be something to celebrate?
"If possible," Shimizu replied quietly, "I'd rather send her straight back to Konoha… or have Lady Tsunade examine her."
"That might be difficult right now…" Minato said. He understood just how dire Konoha's current situation was. Shimizu's plan might not be feasible at all.
"For now, let the medical team take a look first."
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Then Shimizu suddenly spoke again.
"By the way… Yoshimaru, your figure looks way better now."
"You think I wanted this?" Yoshimaru pouted. "But seriously, Shimizu… you almost killed me earlier."
"Hahaha… sorry, sorry. The situation was too urgent—I didn't have time to warn you."
At the time, Konoha's forces had been far too thin to stop the Sand army head-on.
If he'd waited even a little longer, the city would have fallen for sure.
There was no way Shimizu would have actually set the Hard Whirlpool Water Blade detonation point inside Rakuyō City.
Because if that had happened…
Another brutal bloodbath would have been unavoidable.
...
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