After Rorin lost consciousness, Gaara and Kakashi turned their gaze upward toward Uchiha Itachi.
Seeing Uchiha Itachi again, Kakashi let out a faint sigh. "Itachi..."
Uchiha Itachi glanced down at the people below, his brows slightly furrowed, and said slowly,
"Looks like today's mission has failed."
Standing atop Susanoo, Uchiha Itachi rapidly formed hand seals with both hands.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
A massive fireball shot from Uchiha Itachi's mouth toward the group below.
Boom!
The fireball exploded, and Gaara hurriedly manipulated his sand to shield everyone.
When the smoke cleared, they looked up, but all they could see was Uchiha Itachi's departing figure.
Uchiha Itachi glanced back in the direction of the Hidden Sand Village and muttered softly,
"Forgive me, Kisame!"
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Uchiha Itachi left into the distance.
Gaara stared unwillingly at his retreating figure, fists clenched tightly.
After treatment from Haruno Sakura, Rorin's complexion gradually improved, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"Where's Uchiha Itachi?" Rorin asked.
Kakashi shook his head slightly. "He's already gone."
Hearing this, Rorin frowned, slammed his right fist into the ground, and shouted unwillingly,
"Damn it, I was just that tiny bit away!"
Might Guy walked over and comforted him.
"Rorin, you don't need to blame yourself. This time, we can still count it as a success."
Rorin slowly raised his head. "Guy-sensei, you mean...?"
Gaara stepped forward and nodded.
"That's right. We captured the Akatsuki member in the Hidden Sand Village alive."
As soon as he finished speaking, Rorin smiled faintly. Ignoring everyone's objections, he stood up and said anxiously,
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's head back quickly and try to get more intel on the Akatsuki."
"You haven't fully recovered yet. No need to rush," Kakashi advised.
Rorin's expression turned gloomy. He lowered his head and murmured,
"It's because I'm not strong enough. If I were stronger, then none of this would have happened..."
Everyone subconsciously glanced at the surroundings and chose to remain silent.
After calming down, Rorin sat obediently while Haruno Sakura continued treating him.
About fifteen minutes later, most of Rorin's injuries had healed. He stood up.
"It's time. We should head back."
Everyone nodded slightly and set off toward the Hidden Sand Village together.
Since Rorin had just gone through a fierce battle and wasn't suited to using Flying Thunder God for travel, everyone suggested returning on foot.
...
Hidden Leaf Village, inside the Hokage's office.
Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, staring into the distance with a serious expression. Beside her, Shizune looked at her with concern.
"Lady Hokage!"
At that moment, Yamato appeared with members of the Hidden Leaf ANBU, speaking respectfully.
Tsunade slowly turned around, her brows tightly knit. "What are the investigation results?"
"Reporting to Lady Hokage, by the time we arrived, Uchiha Sasuke was already gone."
"However, there were signs of intense battle at the scene, and we also discovered traces of Wood Release ninjutsu."
Hearing this, Tsunade was slightly startled. "Are you sure?"
Yamato nodded slightly. He had some expertise when it came to Wood Release.
Tsunade stroked her chin and muttered, "Could it be..."
After thinking it over, Tsunade ordered, "Immediately find a way to contact Rorin and Kakashi to learn the current situation of the mission. If there's no progress, have them return to the village first. Things seem to be getting troublesome."
"Yes!" Yamato responded before leaving the Hokage's office.
Whoosh!
Arriving outside Uzumaki Naruto's hospital room, Yamato pushed the door open and walked in.
On the chair beside Naruto's bed, Pakkun was curled up napping. Yamato's sudden appearance startled him awake.
"Pakkun, how's Naruto?"
Pakkun shook his head slowly.
"He hasn't woken up yet, but he should be fine."
Yamato nodded and approached Naruto, searching his body.
Pakkun asked in confusion, "What are you looking for?"
Yamato turned slightly and explained, "The bone Kakashi-senpai gave Naruto earlier—have you seen it?"
Pakkun jumped down from the chair, pulled the bone out from under the bed with his mouth, and asked, "You mean this?"
Yamato nodded happily and took the bone from Pakkun.
"Kakashi-senpai said we just need to inject chakra into this, right?" Yamato said as he infused chakra into the bone.
...
Rorin, who was traveling near the Hidden Sand Village, sensed a message from the Flying Thunder God mark on the skull and turned to look at Kakashi.
"Kakashi-sensei, is the bone I gave you not on you?"
Kakashi nodded slightly. "Yeah, I left it with Naruto. Could it be...?"
Rorin nodded, then frowned. "Did something happen?"
He thought it shouldn't be the case. Just now, it was only Sasuke and Danzo fighting—he hadn't sensed Naruto's presence at all.
Kakashi hurried over to Rorin.
"Rorin, it seems I need to head back."
Rorin nodded. "I'll go with you to take a look."
Kakashi hesitated. "You just went through a big battle. You should rest."
Rorin smiled faintly. "It's fine. Besides, if you travel there on foot, by the time you arrive, it might already be too late."
Kakashi scratched his head. Then Rorin placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and said to everyone,
"We'll be away for a bit!"
Everyone expressed their understanding. Then Rorin and Kakashi left the Hidden Sand Village.
...
Inside Uzumaki Naruto's hospital room, Rorin and Kakashi appeared.
"Yamato? Why are you here? Did something happen?" Kakashi asked, looking at him in confusion.
Rorin glanced around, then looked at the unconscious Naruto on the bed.
"Did something happen to Naruto?"
Yamato then explained everything about Naruto's encounter with Sasuke and why Naruto ended up like this.
Kakashi frowned slightly. "So it was because of that jutsu."
"Then why did you call us here?" Rorin asked, puzzled.
Since Naruto wasn't in any real danger, why summon them?
"It's like this—Lady Hokage asked us to find a way to contact you and ask about the current state of your mission. If there's no progress, you're to temporarily suspend it and return to the village."
Yamato carefully relayed Tsunade's orders.
"In that case, Rorin, let's go report to Lady Hokage," Kakashi said with a slight nod.