With Saiki's clone leading the way, the group soon arrived at the site where his true body had battled the Cloud ninja.
Destroying the corpses and erasing all traces after a battle was indeed crucial. Looking at the incinerated forest, even Root ninja—who specialized in tracking and investigation—couldn't reconstruct the flow of the battle. All that remained were nine charred husks.
"Where is he?"
Danzo's single eye fixed coldly upon Saiki's clone.
"No idea!"
As long as his true body and Tsume Inuzuka weren't here, Shizune and Genhai were safe. Saiki's shadow clone replied with absolute righteous confidence.
Danzo truly wanted to strangle the boy to death right then and there, but knowing this was just a clone, killing it would be utterly pointless.
After inspecting the charred remains, a Root operative knelt before Danzo and reported, "Lord Danzo, our inspection confirms the nine deceased are Cloud ninja. However, the bodies are severely damaged; the exact cause of death is undetermined."
"Move out! To Hot Springs Town!"
Since they couldn't glean any useful intel here, Danzo—who, unlike his future self twenty years later, was still a man of action—decided to move.
Based on the intelligence Saiki's clone had leaked, it was clear a Cloud vanguard had reached the border of the Land of Fire. Since he couldn't silently eliminate Saiki right now, Danzo didn't want to waste any more time.
At Danzo's command—Swish! Swish! Swish!
In an instant, Danzo and all his operatives vanished using the Body Flicker, heading straight for Hot Springs Town. The Cloud ninja still stationed there were about to run into some terrible luck.
Seeing Danzo and the Root operatives leave, Shizune and Genhai let out massive sighs of relief. Throughout the journey with Danzo's group hovering nearby, the two children had been physically and mentally taut as bowstrings.
Looking at them, and confirming that Danzo was truly gone, Saiki's clone said, "Didn't I tell you? You can't relax until the mission is complete and our safety is absolute."
Hearing this, the two thought Danzo might still be lurking nearby and instantly tensed up again.
Seeing their reaction, Saiki was a bit speechless. "Relax, they're gone. I was just giving you a reminder!"
Instantly, both of them shot Saiki deeply resentful glares.
However, Genhai quickly asked, "Boss, the enemies are dead, but where are you and Sensei Tsume?"
"I'm not sure. But we need to leave this area first and find a safe spot to regroup," the clone replied.
While the shinobi world didn't have magical storage rings, they fortunately had sealing scrolls.
Ninja didn't just carry a small pouch when traveling—a pouch couldn't hold much, and some ninja didn't even wear them. Sealing scrolls were undeniably fantastic tools for storing supplies.
While Saiki was looking at the trees, still fondly recalling the beautiful sight from earlier, Tsume Inuzuka limped out from behind a large rock.
Seeing this, Saiki hurried over. "Sensei Tsume, you should have called me when you were done changing! With your injury, you shouldn't be moving around on your own."
"It's fine!" Tsume smiled.
Suddenly, she added, "Thank you."
Seeing Tsume apologizing, Saiki immediately put on a displeased expression. "Sensei, I'm your student. Speaking like that makes us sound like strangers."
"Haha! My mistake," Tsume quickly laughed and apologized.
Tsume had a straightforward personality, but thinking back on everything that happened today—Saiki single-handedly slaughtering a Jonin and six Genin, leaving her to merely clean up the two Chunin, coupled with the deeply intimate moment while he treated her wound—she found it genuinely difficult to view him as just an ordinary student anymore.
Seeing that Saiki was still frowning even after she apologized, Tsume felt a flash of annoyance.
"Your teacher just apologized to you! What more do you want?"
Realizing she was getting angry, Saiki quickly explained, "Sensei Tsume, I'm not mad at you. It's just that my clone just relayed some news."
Saiki then explained their encounter with Danzo. Hearing the details, Tsume tossed whatever lingering awkwardness she felt to the back of her mind.
When it involved Konoha's high command and the safety of her students, she had to consider the situation with absolute seriousness.
Fortunately, it was a close call with no real danger. Guided by the memories transmitted from his clone, Saiki and Tsume soon regrouped with Shizune and Genhai.
Because Tsume was injured, they altered their route to prioritize her recovery. They found a small town and hired a horse-drawn carriage.
A week later, when the gates of Konoha finally appeared on the horizon, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"We're back!"
Saiki let out a long breath, marveling at the feeling. He never thought he would actually miss Konoha this much.
Beside him, Shizune, Genhai, Tsume, and the great dog Kuromaru all wore happy smiles. Having traveled at a leisurely pace and rested for a week, Tsume's injury was completely healed.
Thanks to Saiki's masterful Medical Ninjutsu, her injured leg hadn't even been left with a scar.
Hidden Leaf Village, Hokage Building.
Tsume sent Saiki and the others home first while she went to the Hokage's office alone to submit the mission report.
Had it not been for the sudden interference of the Cloud ninja and Danzo, she would have simply gone to the Mission Assignment Desk. But with so many unexpected variables, she had to report directly to Konoha's top brass, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Lord Hokage, here is the report for our recent mission."
Seeing Tsume, Hiruzen was slightly confused. He knew Saiki's team had left the village, but it was only a C-rank mission!
Was there really a need to report to him personally? Couldn't she see he was buried in paperwork?
However, upon taking the scroll Tsume presented and reading its contents, a heavy solemnity settled over Hiruzen's face, even if the intelligence was a bit delayed.
Encountering a few rogue ninja near Hot Springs Town was nothing, but the subsequent run-in with nine Cloud ninja and Danzo was something Hiruzen cared about very much.
Finishing the scroll, Hiruzen couldn't help but ask, "Are you telling me that Tsunade's ward, this Saiki Shiroya, used two A-rank ninjutsu to single-handedly heavily wound two Chunin and kill a Jonin and six Genin?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Tsume answered with absolute certainty.
In truth, Tsume was lying.
Saiki had no reason to ask Tsume to hide the events of the mission, but he absolutely did not want to expose his Flower-Flower Fruit abilities. So, he offered up the two A-rank jutsu—Raikiri and Rasengan—as a smokescreen.
Tsume had witnessed the Flower-Flower Fruit snap the necks of six Genin in a single move, incapacitate two Chunin, and, with the manifestation of the "Acala," instantly obliterate a Jonin.
Although she didn't fully understand Saiki's power—he simply called it "Flower Style"—the sheer phantom-like, unpredictable nature of his attacks made her realize how much trouble and danger it would bring him if the ability were exposed.
Through the intimate and honest process of his medical treatment, the bond between Saiki and Tsume had deepened significantly. They had built a foundation of mutual trust. To help Saiki hide this power until he was strong enough to protect himself, Tsume had helped him fabricate the entire combat sequence for the report.
The skirmishes between the Cloud and the Leaf on the front lines were already escalating, so Hiruzen wasn't entirely surprised by a Cloud ambush.
As for Danzo's involvement, Saiki's team couldn't explicitly state Danzo's malicious intent in the report. They simply wrote down the events verbatim and let Hiruzen draw his own conclusions.
Knowing Danzo's recent movements, Hiruzen understood that, in a way, Danzo had set Saiki's team up.
Danzo and his Root operatives had recently destroyed a Cloud stronghold within the Leaf's borders. That was why the Cloud had sent scouts to investigate, which unfortunately led to Saiki's team being attacked.
After thoroughly discussing the situation with Tsume, Hiruzen chuckled. "You may go. Get some good rest for the next two days. You've worked hard!"
"Yes, sir."
Once Tsume left, Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe. Still in his middle age and at the peak of his power, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
A single boy wiped out a squad led by a Jonin, with two Chunin and six Genin. He created two A-rank jutsu at the age of nine. Even assuming Tsunade had helped him significantly, this was far more impressive than Kakashi, the genius who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six.
Of course, praising Saiki for "creating" them was a stretch; he was merely standing on the shoulders of giants.
Without geniuses like Kakashi and Minato, there would be no Saiki Shiroya. Saiki himself knew he was merely a plagiarist.
His strength and talent were one thing, but what stood out most was how low-key he was. With such overwhelming power, his Academy grades were strictly average. It showed a level of restraint and maturity far beyond his years.
However, what baffled Hiruzen the most was that the boy had barely passed the "Will of Fire" ideology exam.
If Tsunade hadn't been the one to bring him back, Hiruzen would have genuinely suspected Saiki was a spy sent from another village. Such talent, such temperament, at such an age, with such power!
Exhaling a cloud of smoke and taking another deep drag, Hiruzen finally spoke. "Go. Bring Saiki Shiroya to me."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
From an empty corner of the room, an Anbu operative's voice answered before fading into complete silence.
Hot Spring Street, Tsunade's small estate.
Having just returned home, Saiki had only just taken off his shoes and hadn't even had a chance to grab a drink of water.
Swoosh!
A figure abruptly materialized in the small courtyard. Standing by the window, Saiki naturally noticed the masked Anbu operative immediately.
Before the operative could even speak, Saiki called out toward the upstairs, "Shizune, I'm stepping out for a bit! I'll be back soon!"
Shizune's voice floated down, "Ah! Saiki, you're going out again?"
"Yeah."
Having answered Shizune, Saiki looked at the Anbu and said, "Let's go!"
The Anbu ninja gave Saiki a long, deep look before leaping up and bounding toward the Hokage Building.
"Dammit, can't ninja obey basic traffic rules and manners? Is it polite to just jump around on people's roofs?"
Despite grumbling under his breath, Saiki, still wearing a pair of casual slippers, leaped up and followed close behind.