'However… this is actually a good opportunity…'
A flicker of thought passed through Shinichi's eyes as an idea ford in his mind.
After finishing treating the wounded ninja in front of him, he gave a few quiet instructions. Then his entire figure blurred into an afterimage and vanished from the spot.
Monts later, Hizashi stood at the front, shielding several dical-nin behind him, his gaze locked tightly onto the battlefield ahead.
Within the vision of his Byakugan, the fight between Shinichi and Pakura had completely taken the upper hand. Lightning and wind blades clashed relentlessly; Shinichi's blade strikes were as swift and sharp as lightning itself, while Pakura's responses were growing increasingly strained. Several tis she was pushed into peril, forced to retreat again and again.
He had originally been looking for an opportunity to support, but seeing that the outco was already decided, he abandoned the idea.
After all, a cornered beast would still fight desperately. Pakura was a renowned powerhouse of Sunagakure, and her speed was terrifying. If she launched a sudden attack at the instant his attention slipped—even for a mont—targeting the dical-nin and wounded behind him, the consequences would be disastrous.
Guarding the task Shinichi had entrusted to him was the top priority.
Shinichi-kun should be able to handle it…
Hizashi thought to himself, his eyes never leaving the two figures weaving through each other.
However, in the very next second, a faint sense of wrongness suddenly surged in his heart. His pale eyes snapped wide open, the veins around them bulging sharply.
The scene before him shattered like glass. Layers of illusion peeled away, revealing nothing but an empty stretch of rubble.
There was no battle at all—everything had been an illusion!
Not good! Shinichi-kun is gone!
Hizashi's heart sank violently. He rushed forward to investigate, sweeping his gaze across the chaotic surroundings. Then, looking at the dense cluster of footprints, he rapidly pieced together the truth through the insight of his Byakugan.
Not long after Shinichi engaged Pakura, a force of several hundred elite Sunagakure shinobi had arrived. The Red Eye had obscured the entire area, cutting it off from the outside world. Their allies could not detect what was happening here—reinforcents would never arrive in ti.
Shinichi had realized all of this.
And to protect them… he had drawn the enemy away.
"Where is Captain Higashino?"
"Where's Shinichi?"
"Hizashi-sama!"
The dical-nin behind him finally reacted. Seeing the empty battlefield, their expressions changed instantly.
A mont later, Hizashi slowly turned around, looking at the dical-nin—and at the wounded behind them, who were also staring in this direction. He let out a bitter laugh.
"Not long after he engaged Pakura, a large number of Sunagakure elites arrived. Their Red Eye obscured this entire area. Our comrades cannot detect what's happening here, and no reinforcents will co in ti."
"So…"
At this point, Hizashi's expression grew even more complicated.
"To protect us—to protect the wounded here—Shinichi-kun chose to act as bait and draw them away."
"What!?"
"Then what are we standing around for!? Go save Captain Higashino!"
"That's right! Move!"
"He did it to save us—!"
"I can die, but Captain Higashino must not!"
"Let go! I owe him my life!"
"I can still fight! Take with you!"
"I'm going too! At worst, we fight to the death!"
The mont his words fell, the crowd instantly erupted. The dical-nin, their faces flushed red, stepped forward almost simultaneously, ready to rush out. Even the wounded behind them struggled to stand, completely disregarding their injuries.
"Everyone, stop right there!"
Hizashi let out a sharp shout. His figure flashed, blocking the crowd. He took a deep breath.
"You stay here and protect the wounded. I'll head out imdiately to find Shinichi-kun."
As soon as he finished speaking, chakra surged beneath his feet. Just as he was about to move—
A calm voice suddenly ca from behind the group.
"Hizashi-senpai, there's no need."
Hizashi's entire body jolted. He spun around instantly.
The dical-nin and the wounded all turned in unison toward the source of the voice.
A figure slowly stepped out from behind a massive boulder.
Higashino Shinichi.
No… not quite.
Hizashi's Byakugan imdiately locked onto the chakra signature of that figure.
It was a clone.
"Shinichi-kun?!" Hizashi blurted out, then frowned. "What is this?"
The clone waved a hand casually, that familiar gentle smile on his face as he walked up to the group.
"Don't worry—the original body isn't going to die anyti soon."
"What do you an 'not going to die'!?" a middle-aged shinobi snapped anxiously. "That's several hundred Sunagakure elites! Do you have any idea how dangerous what you're doing is, Shinichi!?"
"I know." The shadow clone nodded. "And precisely because it's dangerous, I had to draw them away. I couldn't just stand by and let them charge in here."
As his words fell, everyone's expressions shifted again and again.
"But…"
"Everyone, their target was from the very beginning. Whether I left or not, I would still be hunted down by Sunagakure all the sa." The shadow clone cut him off, his voice still calm. "If anything… I'm the one who dragged all of you into this."
"Damn it! How can you say sothing like that!?"
"If it weren't for you, Shinichi, I'd have died long ago from that old hag Chiyo's poison!"
"Shinichi-kun! You're the one who saved us! We're the ones who dragged you down!"
"If not for the antidotes you made, we don't even know how many more would have died!"
"It's us who are useless! We couldn't protect you!"
The shadow clone listened quietly, looking at the faces in front of him—faces flushed with emotion, sincere and vivid. He saw the concern in their eyes, the trust, the resolve to live and die together. The gentle smile he always wore seed to deepen ever so slightly.
"Alright, everyone—let's not argue about that."
"Since none of us thinks it's anyone's fault… then let's put it another way. How about we make a pact?"
"I'll give it everything I have to survive the encirclent and pursuit of Sunagakure. I will make it back. And all of you have to promise —you'll also do everything you can to protect yourselves and stay alive."
"When this battle is over, when we can all return safely to Konoha, I'll treat everyone to a al—cooked by personally."
At that, the shadow clone swept his gaze across the crowd, that signature clean and warm smile appearing on his face.
"What do you all think?"
As his words fell, the scene fell into brief silence. Then—
"It's a deal, Shinichi-kun! You better not go back on your word!"
"Captain Higashino, it's settled!"
"We'll be waiting for you!"
"You have to co back!"
"We'll all make it back alive!"
Voices rose one after another—chaotic at first, then gradually rging into a unified wave.
Hizashi stood there, looking at the boy before him, his expression impossibly complicated.
It was clearly him—the one who, to protect everyone present, to protect these wounded and comrades, had not hesitated in the slightest to make himself the most obvious bait, drawing away hundreds of Sunagakure elites and a formidable enemy like Pakura!
What kind of deadly situation was that?
And yet he spoke in the calst tone, with the gentlest smile, turning around to reassure everyone instead.
With his actions, he took on the greatest danger. With his words, he gently soothed everyone, giving them a reason—and hope—to keep going.
"Then it's settled."
The shadow clone's voice rang out, pulling Hizashi back from his thoughts. His gaze swept across every person present before finally landing on the wounded who were still bleeding.
"Get back to work."
With that, he lowered his head. Green dical chakra lit up in his hands once more as he resud treating the injured before him.
His movents remained steady, precise, and gentle as ever.
As if that conversation just now—that pact—had never happened at all.
The dical-nin exchanged glances, wiped their eyes forcefully, and returned to their duties.
No one spoke anymore.
But from ti to ti, soone would still look up in that direction.
As if his re presence could give everyone there a kind of strength.
Hizashi took a deep breath, turned his head, and looked into the distance.
There, smoke still filled the air, and the sounds of battle still shook the heavens.
He said nothing.
But in his heart, he silently murmured:
Shinichi-kun.
You have to co back.
We made a promise.
I'm still waiting to eat your cooking.
…
At the sa ti—
Out on the open plains.
A streak of blue-white lightning was racing across the wasteland, moving at a terrifying speed.
Shinichi glanced back.
That orange-yellow afterimage was still in hot pursuit, its speed utterly absurd.
Pakura is still chasing !
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