Silence fell over the valley, broken only by the howling wind and the sneering laughter of Uchiha Naoki. Kenji stood there, his back against a boulder, his body in tatters but his will unbroken. He had lost. He knew it. But a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf never surrenders.
The Hidden Stone Jounin with the iron mask stepped forward. He looked at Kenji, then glanced at the wounded Naoki, a triumphant look in his eyes.
"Kageyama Kenji," he said, his voice a low growl. "You've caused us quite a bit of trouble. But it's over now. I will take you back to my village, and our specialists will be delighted to 'chat' with you." He looked at Naoki. "And you, Karasu. You've completed your mission, but to be defeated by someone like this is a disgrace. You'll be coming with us as well. The Hidden Stone will 'treat' your wounds."
Naoki gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected to be treated like a prisoner, too.
"Seize them!" the Jounin commanded.
The Hidden Stone ninja began to tighten the circle.
Kenji took a deep breath. He pulled out the last secret scroll, a faint flicker of fire chakra beginning to glow on his fingertips. He would not let the village's secrets fall into enemy hands. If he had to die, he would take them with him.
Farewell, Hidden Leaf, he thought.
But just as the first Hidden Stone ninja prepared to leap down...
ZAP!
A streak of yellow light flashed.
One of the Stone ninja standing on the clifftop suddenly froze, then silently slumped to the ground. No sound, no warning.
The Stone Jounin frowned. "What the...?"
ZAP! ZAP!
Two more yellow flashes. Two more ninja in different positions fell in the same manner. Panic began to spread. They couldn't see the attacker. They couldn't see a weapon. There was only a yellow flash and death.
"BE CAREFUL! IT'S HIM!" a Stone ninja screamed in absolute terror, his voice cracking. "IT'S HIM! WE'VE BEEN MARKED BY HIS FLYING THUNDER GOD!"
And then, amidst the enemy's chaos and fear, a figure suddenly appeared in the very center of the valley, standing right beside Kenji.
The man had sun-yellow hair, eyes as blue as the sky, and wore the standard Jounin uniform of the Hidden Leaf. His expression was gentle and calm, but a terrifying sharpness lay hidden in those blue eyes. In his hand was a special three-pronged kunai.
The entire valley seemed to hold its breath. Even the wind seemed to fall silent in fear.
The iron-masked Jounin took a step back, his voice trembling for the first time.
"No... it can't be... Konoha's Yellow Flash... Namikaze Minato!"
Minato smiled, a gentle smile that was enough to send a chill down his enemies' spines. He turned to Kenji, who was too stunned to speak.
"You look like you've had a rough time, Kenji," Minato said in a friendly tone. "You did well to hold out this long."
His eyes flicked over to Uchiha Naoki, and the smile on his lips vanished, replaced by a cold, disappointed look. "Naoki... you too?"
"Minato-senpai..." Kenji could only manage to utter those two words.
"Don't worry, it's over now," Minato said. He placed a hand on Kenji's shoulder. "Let's go home."
The Stone Jounin roared, "DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE! EVERYONE, ATTACK! KILL—"
He never finished his sentence.
Z...A...P!
Another yellow flash. Minato, along with Kenji and the wounded Naoki, had vanished without a trace. They dissolved into thin air as if they had never existed.
All that remained in the Howling Wind Valley was the dumbfounded platoon of Hidden Stone ninja, staring into the empty space. They had been sent to capture one exhausted Jounin, but had ended up facing a living legend. They never even had a chance to attack.
Kenji felt the world distort around him in the blink of an eye. The sensation was more dizzying than being swept away by the river. When his senses returned, he was no longer in the cold valley.
He was standing in a safe, wooden room, lit by a warm lamp. The smell of antiseptic and medicinal herbs filled his nostrils. He was back.
The hero of the Hidden Leaf had brought him home in a single flash.
The mission on the outside was over. He had survived. He had protected the information. He had captured the traitor.
But Kenji knew his real fight had only just begun. Now, he had to face a truth more frightening than any battlefield: the rot from within the very village he loved.