For the first time in weeks, Kageyama Kenji slept in a real bed. White sheets, a soft pillow, and air that didn't taste of blood and rock. He was treated by the best medical-nin, and the wounds on his body were healing quickly. He had been informed that, based on his report, the Hidden Leaf had been able to thwart a major attack by the Hidden Stone, saving hundreds of shinobi. Officially, he was a hero.
But in his sleep, he saw no glory.
He saw the blank, white eyes of Morita Ryo in the genjutsu. He saw the cruel smirk of Uchiha Naoki. He saw dozens of Hidden Stone ninja surrounding him, and the suffocating feeling of despair. He would jolt awake, drenched in cold sweat, his heart pounding like a war drum.
He looked out the hospital window. The Hidden Leaf Village was at peace. Children were playing in the streets. Merchants were setting up their stalls. It was a scene any shinobi would willingly die to protect. But now, Kenji saw it through a different lens. He saw members of the Konoha Military Police Force on patrol—most of them from the Uchiha clan. He looked at them, and a cold suspicion crept into his heart. Who among them knew about Naoki? Who among them shared his beliefs?
The truth he carried was a burden. It created an invisible wall between him and his village. He was a hero, but he felt more alone than ever.
A few days later, when he was able to walk normally again, a nurse informed him he had visitors. Kenji thought it might be Minato-senpai, or someone from the Hokage's office.
But the people who entered left him stunned.
It was the old man Sadao and little Hana.
They were no longer in tattered rags. They were clean and dressed in decent clothes. They looked much healthier.
"Sir Ninja!" Sadao said emotionally, bowing deeply. "I... we heard you had returned safely and were here. We had to come and thank you."
Hana, a bit shy, hid behind her grandfather. But she no longer had the same fearful look as before. She held out her hand, and in her palm was a dragonfly skillfully woven from bamboo leaves.
"This... is for you, mister," she said in a tiny voice. "For saving Hana."
Kenji knelt on one knee to be at her level. He accepted the bamboo dragonfly, feeling the simplicity and sincerity in the gift. In that single moment, the burden in his heart felt as if it had been lifted. All the exhaustion, all the pain, all the doubt seemed to melt away.
This. This was the reason he fought. Not for orders, not for glory. But for these smiles, for the peace of innocent people like them. For the Will of Fire.
"Thank you, Hana," Kenji said, a genuine smile—the first in a long time—appearing on his lips. "It's beautiful."
Sadao told him that after Kenji left, they had stayed in the cave for two days. Then, a team of Leaf Anbu had found them, following the Hokage's instructions. They were brought back to the village safely and given temporary lodging.
"We owe you our lives, Kenji-sama," the old man said, his voice full of respect.
"Please don't call me that, Sadao-san," Kenji said. "I only did what a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf is supposed to do."
They stayed and talked for a while longer. They talked about very ordinary things. About the weather, about the price of vegetables at the market, about Hana starting school soon. To Kenji, right now, these stories were more precious than any S-rank secret. They were the medicine that was healing his scarred soul.
After the old man and his granddaughter left, Kenji sat by the window, fiddling with the bamboo dragonfly. He felt a new surge of vitality. He was no longer drowning in the darkness of betrayal. He had found his purpose again.
He had to protect this village. Not just from outside enemies, but from the poisonous seeds within. He would not let people like Naoki destroy the peace that people like Hana deserved to have.
His gaze drifted far away, towards the Uchiha clan compound on the outskirts of the village. A segregated area, almost separate from the rest of Konoha.
Minato's warning echoed in his mind again. The hardest battles... are often fought right within the walls of our own village.
Kenji clutched the bamboo dragonfly in his hand. He was ready. His war was not over yet.