Naruto: Echoes of a Distant Home

As dawn broke, the sky barely lightened. In the secluded base, Ye Zi and Kotoe, focused on their tasks, didn't notice the morning light.

Time passed, and two hours went by.

Ye Zi, engrossed in crafting the sealing tags for Impure World Reincarnation, felt mental fatigue from the prolonged concentration. Despite the exhaustion, he didn't want to stop, whereas Kotoe had quietly dozed off, leaning on her hand.

After another hour, Ye Zi finally paused, feeling a slight throbbing in his temples from the strain.

He massaged his temples lightly, packed the materials and finished seals into a scroll, then stood up and stretched.

Seeing Kotoe asleep, he sighed softly, lifted her gently, and laid her on the bed, covering her with a blanket. His movements were gentle enough not to wake her.

After tucking her in, the weary Ye Zi lay down on the bed beside her and quickly fell asleep himself.

He woke up in the evening to Nagato's voice, relaying urgent news about the One-Tails Jinchūriki.

....

The mission to form a partnership with the Sand Shinobi, led by Sakumo, ended in failure.

Tsunade led the survivors back to Konoha, bringing both intelligence and tragic news.

Upon returning, her first destination was the Hokage's office. She left Ninashi Uchiha with her while sending the others, including Shizune, home to rest.

Tsunade and Ninashi made their way to the Hokage's office. They climbed the stairs and walked through the hallway until they reached the door.

Opening it, they found the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seated at the desk. Minato and Jiraiya had left for training at Mount Myōboku, so Hiruzen was serving as acting Hokage in Minato's absence.

Hiruzen's expression was heavy as he looked at Tsunade and Ninashi. He had been informed of their return quickly and, seeing that only about ten of them had come back, he could only imagine the worst.

Tsunade wasn't surprised by Hiruzen's expression; she knew he would have received news in advance. Anyone seeing that a large team had returned with so few members, especially a team led by Sakumo with Sakumo himself missing, would inevitably think of the worst.

"That's… the mission failed?" Hiruzen asked, his brow furrowed. More pressing than his question about why Tsunade was with the team was his need to confirm the mission's outcome.

Tsunade glanced at Ninashi, who pursed his lips and said gravely, "It failed. Those who didn't return… are all dead, including Captain Sakumo."

Hearing the tragic news he had dreaded, Hiruzen closed his eyes and sighed. They had lost over twenty elite shinobi, including the renowned White Fang of Konoha…

"Tell me what happened," he said, looking at Ninashi, his gaze as heavy as a mountain and tinged with grief.

Ninashi recounted the entire mission in detail for the Third Hokage.

As Ninashi described the events, Hiruzen's expression shifted multiple times, particularly when he heard that Ye Zi had actually managed to use Deep Forest Emergence. His brows furrowed deeply.

After the explanation, an image of Ye Zi surfaced in Hiruzen's mind. Now Ye Zi had become an undeniable enemy of Konoha and was powerful to an unnerving extent, leaving Hiruzen with complex feelings.

"Take some rest and prepare a detailed report later," Hiruzen told Ninashi, dismissing him. He then turned to Tsunade.

Meeting Hiruzen's gaze, Tsunade knew what he wanted to ask and responded, "It was a coincidence that I met up with the team."

Hiruzen sighed deeply. "I didn't think things would turn out like this."

"What do you intend to do now?" Tsunade asked gravely.

"This is too significant for me to decide alone. We'll need to wait for Minato's return," Hiruzen replied. As the acting Hokage, he couldn't make such a major decision on his own.

"Minato is training with Jiraiya at Mount Myōboku, isn't he? How will you notify them?" Tsunade frowned. She didn't know the specifics of Jiraiya and Minato's training, but she knew it wasn't something that would end quickly.

"Jiraiya left a summoning toad for communication before they departed," Hiruzen said, gesturing to a hidden corner. An Anbu member, receiving his signal, left to summon the toad.

Shortly after, the Anbu returned with the communication toad.

Looking at the toad on his desk, Hiruzen said, "Please summon Jiraiya and Minato back here; I have urgent matters to discuss."

The yellow-skinned toad grinned and replied, "Understood."

With a puff of smoke, the toad disappeared, presumably to deliver the message to Mount Myōboku.

As the smoke cleared, Hiruzen fell into deep thought, recalling memories of Ye Zi. Perhaps if he had taken a firmer stance when Iwa demanded Ye Zi's surrender and not let the conservative faction agree to their terms, Ye Zi wouldn't have needed to flee Konoha, nor would Danzo have had the opportunity to threaten him into joining Root.

Shaking his head, Hiruzen dismissed these useless regrets from his mind.

Thinking about it wouldn't change the reality: Ye Zi was now an enemy, an unchangeable fact.

"Dan's death… it was Ye Zi," Tsunade murmured, gazing out the window. "I'm going to avenge him."

Hiruzen looked at Tsunade silently, saying nothing.

...

Though Minato and Jiraiya had not yet returned to the village, news of the mission's failure had spread.

The team that had departed had been nearly ten squads of elites, including prominent clan members. Now, only about ten had returned.

The survivors went back to their families, where they were questioned and confirmed the mission's failure.

Word of the tragedy quickly circulated. The details were unclear to the villagers, but they knew those who hadn't returned were almost certainly dead, including the White Fang of Konoha.

Kakashi was home, so he hadn't heard the news. When Obito and Rin learned of it, they were stunned. After some hesitation, they decided to tell Kakashi and went to his house.

"Are you sure we should tell him?" Obito hesitated, uncharacteristically reserved.

"He has to know. The sooner, the better," Rin nodded firmly.

They didn't know how Kakashi would react to the news, but they knew that hearing it sooner would help him begin to accept it sooner. That was why they were here...

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Currently on Chapter 384 - On the Brink