"Sensei, what's wrong?" Soma rasped out weakly, his head still pressed against the sand.
"Nothing." Gekko Masano patted Soma's head. His expression appeared normal, but his eyes had deepened slightly.
He helped Soma sit up so part of his body could rest against Gekko Masano's thigh.
Night finally descended, and as dusk cloaked the desert, a cold, silent stillness settled around the three of them.
Saitama had been poisoned and slipped into unconsciousness. He currently had no fighting capability whatsoever. Though Soma remained conscious, he'd completely lost his ability to fight. Only Gekko emerged with most of his strength intact. But Gekko was just one person, and there were three people here.
"Can you still move, Soma?" Gekko supported him upright while letting him catch his breath. "We need to keep going."
"I think I can walk," Soma replied with a bitter face.
"Then get ready. We're moving. The Suna ninja are likely to send pursuers soon. The faster we leave this place, the safer we'll be." Gekko grabbed one of Soma's arms and pulled him completely up.
"Mm." Soma naturally understood the urgency of their current situation. Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself upright using Gekko's strength.
They walked over to where Saitama lay, and Gekko lifted him onto his shoulder. He glanced at Saitama's tightly shut eyes but said nothing more.
"Let's go, time is urgent!" Without any pretense, Masano moved forward—each person slung over a shoulder—as he trudged toward nearby sand dunes.
In the direction from which the Suna ninja had left, someone lay hidden on the ground. A pair of alert, piercing eyes locked onto the slowly moving Konoha ninja. As wind-blown sand cleared, a forehead protector marked with the symbol of Sunagakure came into view.
Naturally, Gekko's pace wasn't fast while dragging two men in such condition.
They continued forward like this for about half an hour, gradually nearing the edge of the Suna ninja's influence area. Everything went too smoothly—no pursuers or ambushes—and this felt strange to Gekko. They weren't far from the enemy camp, and logically, the Suna ninja who fled should have sent reinforcements by now.
"Soma, are you feeling better?" Gekko paused briefly. Supporting the weight of two people took quite a toll on him. To conserve energy, he paused to catch his breath now and then.
"Sensei, I'm fine now," Soma said, removing Gekko's arm from under his armpit.
"You carry on by yourself. You focus on bringing Saitama safely," he added, glancing at Saitama slumped motionless under Gekko's arm.
"Alright then. Follow closely." Without any pretense, Gekko agreed—even though he knew Soma was injured, in this kind of situation, everyone must push through as best they could.
Focusing back on Saitama, Gekko sensed a slight movement—he seemed to be starting to wake up.
"Let's keep moving," Gekko said calmly, shifting his grip on Saitama to another arm.
"Ssssh! Ssssh!" The shadowed figure darted swiftly across the sands. Nightfall offered the best cover they could ask for.
Saitama began sensing his own movement—a bumpy ride paired with cold wind. His mind slowly regained clarity.
"Puuh!" Saitama spat out dark blood from his mouth and suddenly came to consciousness mid-journey.
"Saitama?"
Gekko Masano came to a halt when he saw Saitama's condition. Behind him, Soma began panting heavily, resting his hands on his knees.
"Captain, where are we now?" The moment Saitama regained consciousness, he looked around and realized they were no longer at the battlefield from before.
"We're still within Suna ninja territory. We're getting ready to pull out." Gekko carefully lowered Saitama to the ground.
Saitama nodded while touching the wound on his shoulder. The injury was scorched black from sealing it with Lightning chakra. There wasn't any bleeding, but the pain remained intense. The kunai wound on his back looked even worse. He noticed that Gekko had only applied a makeshift bandage, which had become soaked in blood during their journey, staining his clothes completely.
Get on my back. We need to move first," Gekko glanced at Saitama's wounds before offering his back for transport. Now that Saitama was awake, carrying him would make their movement more efficient.
"Soma, keep up!" As soon as Saitama climbed onto his back, Masano dashed forward, leaving Soma behind.
The wind brushed past Saitama's ears. With him now conscious, their squad's pace had increased significantly, making it extremely difficult for Soma to catch up.
Although Saitama had woken up, he felt completely drained of strength. He couldn't even summon his chakra anymore. The poison he had taken earlier seemed to be restricting his chakra flow.
Resting his head against Gekko's back, Saitama adjusted his posture to match Gekko's rhythm, minimizing the impact of motion so his wounds wouldn't hurt as much.
Along the way, they didn't encounter any Suna ninja and successfully left the area, quickly returning to Konoha territory.
...
Inside the tent, Saitama sat upright. A few meters away sat a familiar figure—Uchiha Hayashi.
"Haha, you really are something! You've only been on two missions total since arriving at the front lines, and both times you were carried back unconscious for emergency treatment!" A mix of emotions crossed Uchiha Hayashi's face. He genuinely cared about this young member of the Uchiha clan—not just because Saitama belonged to the Uchiha Clan Guards, but because he had watched him grow up. This boy represented a promising new generation, possibly the most talented among them.
"That mission really pushed things too far. I definitely lack experience compared to those veteran ninja. Let my guard down for just a second—and I paid the price." Saitama naturally sensed Hayashi's concern. If it weren't for his body growing used to Lightning chakra, gaining strength and some resistance to poison, he probably wouldn't have made it back.
"Thanks also go to Orochimaru-sama this time. Without his orders to continuously attack the Suna ninja during that period, preventing them from sending reinforcements after us," Saitama changed the subject, his eyes still showing traces of fear.
"That was actually Shikaku's idea. During the two days following your mission, he launched feigned attacks aiming to occupy Suna's elite forces, creating a favorable retreat environment for you," Hayashi smiled appreciatively. He deeply respected this brilliant ninja, admiring how he managed to survive in the ninja world using only his brains.
Saitama nodded and shifted his position to get more comfortable.
It was already the third day since their return. Saitama's squad had safely arrived back at the Konoha camp. Upon returning, Saitama immediately received treatment. Since the poison inside him wasn't lethal, it was quickly neutralized. His other injuries were also treated a second time and wrapped up properly.
Out of the twenty or so ninja who went out, according to Gekko Masano, only seven returned on schedule. Aside from the three of them, the other four weren't even part of the same squad. Although he had anticipated something like this, actually experiencing such an event still made Saitama feel a deep sorrow. Perhaps because he himself had nearly not returned either, or maybe simply because they were fellow ninja.
"Rest for a few more days. Your injuries are quite serious," Uchiha Hayashi said, looking at the bandages wrapped around Saitama's body. His Sharingan eyes remained calm and composed.
"Yeah, this mission helped me a lot. Resting for a few more days will give me time to process what I've learned," Saitama smiled, placing his hands near his chest while glancing at his hands—no longer youthful due to long-term sword usage.
"All right! Here are several ninja techniques from our clan. You can take a look during this time." Uchiha Hayashi pulled out a scroll from behind his back and tossed it into Saitama's lap before turning away and leaving.
"Great." Holding the scroll, Saitama watched Uchiha Hayashi leave and once again felt a surge of motivation.
This mission had allowed Saitama to riskily attempt some ninjutsu—for example, mimicking Chidori. Though visually similar to Kakashi Hatake's technique—a dazzling ball of lightning—Saitama's version was slightly weaker in power. He merely used his chakra control to forcefully compress Lightning-natured chakra in his palm. In that critical situation, he hadn't been able to think about much else and could only force its execution.
But now, with time available, Saitama could properly refine his fake Chidori. Without needing hand seals entirely, relying purely on compression—if not for his body having undergone multiple instances of chakra activation—such an attempt would have failed.
Saitama set the scroll given to him by Uchiha Hayashi aside without opening it—he wasn't in any hurry to start learning new techniques.
Lowering his head slightly, he endured the pain from a penetrating wound on his back that hadn't completely healed yet, supporting his chin with one palm.
As for his current condition—his Sharingan still maintained the Twin Tomoe from when he first awakened it—but his application of the Sharingan was no longer as clumsy as before. He could fully utilize its abilities to maximize combat effectiveness.
Regarding ninjutsu?
Saitama tapped his cheek with his index finger, pondering.
He hadn't learned many techniques—only a few common Fire Release methods in the Uchiha style and some rarely used Genjutsu.
Currently, his primary offensive method remained swordsmanship. After all, ever since successfully experimenting with Lightning Release — Chakra Mode, both his speed and damage output had greatly increased.
Once he'd clarified his current condition, Saitama decided not to dwell on it any longer.
He focused on continuously refining his Lightning Release Chakra Mode to further strengthen his body. He could also gradually attempt to develop new lightning-based Ninjutsu by referring to the techniques stored in his memory. Therefore, acquiring entirely new jutsu wasn't particularly necessary for him at this stage.
After putting on his clothes and securing the Scroll away, Saitama decided to step outside for a walk. Days had passed since his return, but he hadn't left the tent once.
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