"Are you okay, Dosuke?" Tatee spat out dust from her mouth.
During the explosion, she pulled Soda and Takuto to the edge of the blast. They were shaken but not badly hurt.
"I am fine, Sister Tatee," Dosuke said, coughing. He stood up. His clothes were torn from the dozens of explosive tags. A large hole in his shirt showed a burned abdomen.
Dosuke checked his injuries. * Water Style's water film is too weak. My chakra could not block such a strong attack. *
He had spread chakra across his body, but it lowered the defense.
Chakra was a problem he needed to fix.
"Dosuke, how are you?" Tatee asked, looking at his burned abdomen. "We must leave now. Yang's last explosion was huge. Sunagakure ninjas will come soon."
Dosuke nodded. He felt his low chakra and pulled a bandage from his pouch. He wrapped it around his wound.
"Sister Tatee, I will carry the Sunagakure kid," Dosuke said. "You take Soda and Takuto."
Tatee hoisted Soda onto her back and dragged Takuto, who was unconscious with injured legs.
The explosion had knocked Takuto out.
"Dosuke, come here! Look!" Tatee shouted.
Dosuke forced out some chakra and rushed to her side.
He gasped.
Yang's final explosion had blown a massive boulder.
Dosuke had cut the Sunagakure kid's limb tendons with a chakra scalpel, leaving him unable to move. The boulder hit the kid during the blast.
It dragged the kid's body over ten meters, leaving a long bloodstain on the ground.
The kid's lower body was crushed.
Dosuke knelt and checked him. "His waist is gone. No hope. Even if we try to save him, he will not survive the trip to Konoha."
"What now?" Tatee said, her voice heavy. "Yang is gone. Kota's body was destroyed in the blast. We have no information."
They fought for intelligence but gained nothing. No one was left alive.
"No choice," Dosuke said. He looked at the Sunagakure kid and pulled a stimulant from his pouch. He injected it into the kid's neck. "Anything you want to say?"
"A ninja's end is death," the kid said weakly. "I just wish I could have gone back."
"Jieren, what has Sunagakure's army done lately?" Dosuke asked, staring at him. "What was your mission's real goal? Why did your weak team have a special Jonin like Yang?"
"If you give useful information, we will try to meet your requests," Tatee added, stepping closer.
"Miss Miyo," Jieren said, his eyes briefly brightening at Tatee before fading. "I am just a genin. I do not know Sunagakure's troop movements."
"This mission was to escort boxes," he said. "I peeked inside one. Just scrolls. I do not know what kind."
"About Yang, I do not know," Jieren said, looking at Tatee. "Our team was always me, Hang, and Saidaiji. Yang joined only for this mission."
"I cannot go back," he said. "My mission pay is not home yet. My sister is waiting. Miss Miyo, in my coat pocket…"
Tatee stayed silent. Dosuke reached into Jieren's pocket and pulled out a box of skin cream Tatee had given him that afternoon.
Dosuke looked at the cream. Jieren's words echoed his father's advice before the mission: "Be careful out there. Respect your teachers."
Jieren's five-year-old sister had stood at the door. "Brother, come back soon. I miss you."
Jieren had patted her head. "Silly, I am earning money. When I do, you and Dad will eat meat every day. Stay home and care for Dad."
"I will, Brother," she said, smiling at the thought of meat. "I will watch Dad. Come back safe."
"I will be back after the mission," Jieren had said. * I will make you dress nicely, like rich kids. * He had looked at her worn clothes, dry face, and rough hands.
"Please," Jieren said. "If you can, care for my sister. My father is injured, with no income. I die here now. If you see her, give her this cream. It is good for her skin. Her name is…"
Jieren's voice stopped. His bright eyes dimmed.
He thought of his sister waiting at the door. * Sorry, I cannot eat meat with you and Dad this time. *
"He is gone," Dosuke said, holding the bloodstained cream. He slipped it into his pouch.
The ninja world was cruel. Kill or be killed.
Yet Dosuke felt no fear, only excitement. He looked at Jieren's body. * I will honor your request. *
Dosuke pulled a kunai from his pouch.
With a swift cut, he severed Jieren's head.
"Dosuke, you…" Tatee said, staring at him