Konoha’s Black Plague

One Month

Time passed day by day, and nearly a month had gone by in the blink of an eye.

During this time, Bai Ye found his life more fulfilling than ever. Previously, he had been training blindly on his own—Duy and Guy had only encouraged him to "go with his instincts." Now, under the structured and meticulous guidance of Hizashi-sensei, he had managed to patch up many of his technical flaws.

His Zanpakutō's growth was equally gratifying. What had initially seemed like a three-month journey toward its next stage was now nearly complete—its "experience" gauge was practically full. As a result, Bai Ye's overall strength had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Most notable was his recovery speed. As his Zanpakutō evolved, his healing ability strengthened alongside it, allowing him to increase the intensity and volume of his daily training. This virtuous cycle of growth pushed his progress to new heights.

Taijutsu—once Bai Ye's greatest weakness—had dramatically improved after a month of intensive training under Hizashi. While he hadn't learned any of the Hyūga clan's secret techniques like the Gentle Fist, his raw strength had begun to resemble the early stages of Tsunade's monstrous power. Of course, the drawback was a significant increase in chakra consumption per strike.

He had chosen not to walk the Hyūga path—after all, without the Byakugan, attempting to mimic their style would be futile. Instead, he focused on amplifying his destructive power, capitalizing on his rapid healing to offset the strain. Without that regeneration, such a high-output combat style would have broken his body long ago.

He wasn't like Naruto, blessed with a massive chakra reserve. Still, under Hizashi's guidance, he had significantly improved his mastery of Hadō and Bakudō techniques. What were once clumsy displays of spirit energy were now viable tools in real combat.

In this regard, Bai Ye had grown to genuinely respect Hizashi as a teacher. The man never held back knowledge, sharing everything openly and allowing Bai Ye to make meaningful strides.

Ahem—also, Hizashi often treated the team to dinners at various restaurants. That helped too.

> "Hizashi-sensei might be easygoing, but I know exactly why he died. The rest of us need to work harder."

Early one morning, Bai Ye stood alone at Konoha's main gate, lost in thought.

> "Tch… I keep wanting to save more people. One after another… the list keeps growing."

He sighed deeply. The pressure weighing on him had grown heavier, but he couldn't turn away—not now, not ever.

> "Sensei being late is fine, but why is Yuyan dragging things out too?"

After waiting a long time, Yuyan and Hizashi finally appeared. Bai Ye exhaled heavily. He didn't expect that they'd be late for their first out-of-village mission. And Yue was still nowhere to be seen.

> "Don't blame me," Hizashi said quickly, arms raised in protest. "She insisted I wait for her."

> "What do you mean, it's all my fault?" Yuyan huffed, arms akimbo. "You two barely prepared anything. I brought supplies that'll actually help us. You should be thanking me!"

> "Yes, yes—Miss Yuyan is always right."

Bai Ye's voice was deadpan. After a month of working with her, he'd learned how to neutralize her with sarcasm. Agreeing with her point-blank left her no room to argue.

> "Hmph. Where's Yue? She's even later than us. I hope nothing's happened."

Yuyan changed the topic before she got any more irritated. Arguing with Bai Ye always left her on edge.

> "What could possibly happen inside the village?" Bai Ye yawned. "If there was trouble, you'd be the first target."

> "Right," Yuyan nodded. "Make sure to protect me once we're outside."

She wasn't joking. The Byakugan held strategic value—ninja from other nations had tried to steal it for generations. Ever since the Kumo incident, the Hyūga clan had doubled their security. Hizashi had been placed on this team partly for that reason: to protect Yuyan in the field.

> "Don't worry," Bai Ye said confidently. "I'm the only guy here—of course I'll protect you both."

Despite their constant bickering, his relationship with Yuyan had grown closer over the past month.

> "Sorry I'm late!"

Yue finally arrived, panting hard from running at full speed.

She wore a pink bow in her hair—one Bai Ye had reluctantly bought her at the temple fair a month ago. Yuyan had forced him to get one in blue too, but Yue didn't wear that one often.

> "You little slacker. Don't tell me you overslept?"

Bai Ye pointed at a spot on her mouth.

> "How'd you know?" Yue gasped. "I was just… too excited last night to sleep."

Flustered, she covered her mouth with one hand and pointed at Bai Ye with the other. Her words stumbled as she grew quieter, clearly embarrassed.

> "Ignore him. Let's go."

Yuyan scowled at Bai Ye, then grabbed Yue's hand and marched through the gate.

> "Hey, I was just saying…"

Bai Ye sighed and followed.

Hizashi had already disappeared into the shadows. The agreement was clear: unless their lives were in danger, he would not interfere. This mission was theirs to handle from beginning to end.

Hizashi had reluctantly accepted their request, thinking it would serve as valuable field training—so long as he was nearby to intervene in case of emergency.

Even with his senses, Bai Ye couldn't detect Hizashi's presence at all. Yue likely couldn't either. Only Yuyan, with her Byakugan, might catch glimpses of his chakra signature from time to time.

The mission itself wasn't far from the village, but after a full month of D-rank assignments, this would be their first time venturing outside. The three of them were beyond excited.

For kids raised entirely within Konoha's walls, the outside world held a certain mystique. Bai Ye, especially, was eager to explore it for himself. Even after all these years, his memories of the manga were growing fuzzy. The actual scope of the shinobi world extended far beyond the parts shown in the original Naruto.

Their destination was Sheyu Village—a small settlement in the Land of Fire. Several children had recently gone missing there, and the local elders had issued a formal request to Konoha for an investigation.

Though Konoha was the largest ninja village in the Land of Fire, countless smaller villages dotted the countryside. These places often lacked the strength or organization to solve major problems on their own. As a result, they would contract missions out to the larger hidden villages.

Many gifted individuals from rural areas often traveled to Konoha for training and eventually became shinobi of the village. Likewise, many missions were issued by such communities—especially when danger exceeded their capabilities.

Smaller countries, dissatisfied with their local Hidden Villages' abilities, would often outsource requests to one of the Five Great Nations, assuming diplomatic relations allowed it. However, between the Five Great Nations themselves, direct cooperation was rare—each village was ultimately loyal to its own country's interests.

The trio didn't rush their pace. They remained cautious, alert to their surroundings. As a result, it was nearly noon before the rooftops of Sheyu Village came into view in the distance.