Three years later...
Yusuke headed to his home in the Uchiha Compound. When he was coming close, he heard a falcon; and when he looked up at the sky, he noticed that a messenger was circling over him. He frowned and turned to look towards the Hokage mansion.
"What does he want now?" He made a sign and teleported himself in front of the door to the Sandaime's office. He knocked the door and was immediately let in.
Once inside the Hokage looked at him seriously.
"I have a mission for you, Yusuke," he said and the aforementioned walked closer to his desk.
"What about?" he asked. The Hokage handed him a scroll.
"A retrieval mission," he said. "I want you to infiltrate the town between Iwa and Kusa and bring back the scroll they stole." Yusuke nodded. "Form a small team for your mission. Only Jounin allowed. Though, it's a B-rank, I wouldn't risk anyone else getting hurt." Again Yusuke nodded and turned to walk out the door. "Leave when you think it's appropriate. Beware of ambushes."
"Hai."
When he exited the office, Yusuke sighed. He walked through the crowded streets of Konoha until he found himself in front of the Police Force. "Why do I feel as if something bad is going to happen?" he mumbled to himself as a frown appeared on his face. He then immediately felt someone's presence behind him. He turned around, finding Danzo and two of his ANBU staring intently at him.
"I had a feeling I would find you here," he said as he neared Yusuke.
"What do you want?" The Uchiha answered rather rudely.
"I think we both know the answer to that question." Danzo smirked. "How's Hanako?"
"That's none of your business." Yusuke frowned making Danzo chuckle.
"That's where you're wrong." The elder stood in front of the Uchiha. "It is my business. Especially since I want her to become part of the Foundation." The Uchiha tightened his fists. "Think about it, Yusuke. It's a great offer, she'll become an ANBU and-"
"I decline." Yusuke hurried to say. "I don't want her to be part of your organization. If she were to become an ANBU, I'd rather have her working under the Hokage's orders not yours," he finished. Now it was Danzo who frowned.
"You insolent Uchiha. I will-" The elder started saying until he was interrupted by an authoritarian voice coming from the entrance of the building behind Yusuke.
"What's going on here?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow when he noticed the tension between the two men. "Yusuke?" The aforementioned turned to look at his leader.
"Why don't you ask him?" Yusuke glared at the elder. The two companions of the man got into a fighting stance.
"Calm down," Danzo motioned to his subordinates. "I didn't say we would get into a fight." The ANBU put away their weapons. "Your lack of respect will get you down, Yusuke." Danzo turned his back to the Uchiha. "I want an Uchiha in the Foundation, and I will have it." And with that he left, leaving the two Uchiha alone.
* * *
Hanako dodged a hit directed towards her stomach as she moved to the side and lifted up her leg directing a kick to her sister's face. Hikari grabbed her ankle and pulled her up, throwing her to the ground. Hanako landed on her hands and rolled over the place until she managed to stop and rest over her back. Hikari neared her as she chuckled softly.
"You're getting better, Hanako," she said to her little sister as she reached a hand and helped her up.
"But not as good as you, Nee-chan." Hanako pouted as she dusted her clothes. Hikari sighed as she crossed her arms.
"You have been training for only four years, Hanako." She smirked. "I have been for almost ten. Obviously, you're not at my level."
"Yet," Hanako hissed and turned her back to her. "I know you're a Chunnin Nee-chan, but that doesn't mean I can't be at your level just because I'm a Genin." She smirked and looked at her sister sideways. "Next time we spar, I'll certainly win." Hanako could hear her sister chuckling and she frowned.
"We'll see 'bout that..." And she disappeared. It was probably time for her to leave on her mission so Hanako just shrugged and paced calmly through the training grounds. She felt a warm sensation and stopped abruptly on her tracks. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the feeling. Now, she could feel two of them, and one multiplied. Hanako frowned and opened her eyes with her Sharingan activated as she rushed towards the place where she felt them.
Hanako hid behind a tree when she noticed two people. They were both kids, one of them was near ten years old and the younger one was about four maybe five years old. Hanako jumped and landed over a large branch high on the tree. She recognized one of them to be Itachi. He was hiding behind a tree trunk while the younger boy was apparently looking for him. The girl noticed that the figure of Itachi had less chakra than a normal ninja, and she could feel a similar chakra signature a little bit far from where she was. A clone maybe?
The youngest kid found the "clone" and smiled victoriously.
"Found you!" he exclaimed as he stood right in front of him. Itachi laughed and made a sign with his hands.
"Nice try, Sasuke." And he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"AH?!" the younger one widened his eyes. "A clone?! I already told you Nii-san, that's cheating!" Hanako chuckled at their silly argument and turned ready to leave when she felt someone on the same branch where she was standing at the moment. Hanako looked up with her Sharingan still activated and narrowed her eyes when she saw Itachi staring down at her with his Sharingan activated. Hanako smirked and deactivated her Sharingan before standing straight.
"So, I guess you managed to get the Sharingan?" Hanako asked as she raised an eyebrow. Itachi deactivated his Sharingan but narrowed his eyes.
"Why are you watching us?" he asked. Hanako just shrugged and noticed that the little boy was getting far, searching for his older brother.
"I'm a curious girl," she said. "Don't worry Uchiha, I'm not stalking you." She jumped off the branch and landed on the ground, the boy followed. "Anyway, I have to go. You better let your little brother find you, he's getting too far away." Hanako started walking until she remembered something and turned to look at him once more. "Oh, and by the way," she started saying. "Using clones in a hide and seek game is cheating." She smirked at his confused expression, and then started to walk away again when she heard him call after her.
"Hey wait up!" Without giving him any time to react, Hanako rushed away until she found herself in the street. She heard someone else calling for her but it wasn't the same boy in the woods. Hanako turned to find her teammate looking at her, annoyed.
"Where were you?!" Kazuki snapped. "You're late!" Hanako sighed and walked along with him until they met with the rest of Team 4.
"Kinda forgot we were supposed to meet the Hokage," Hanako said earning a glare from the dark haired boy. Their sensei sighed when they arrived and gave her a disapproving look.
"So, you finally decided to come. Where were you Hanako? I had to send Kazuki to look for you." Kaito looked at his student expectantly and Hanako lowered her head.
"Sumimasen, Kaito-sensei. I was sparring with Hikari-nee and I forgot we had a team meeting." He sighed once again at her excuse as he shook his head.
"You could've waited until tomorrow, they gave you a day off after today's duty." Hanako looked up at him and sighed. 'That's because tomorrow she'll still be on her mission,' she thought. "Anyway, our mission is to retrieve a lost pet."
* * *
Yusuke was worried. Worried sick. He already had enough with Danzo. He had enough of him thinking that he could do whatever he pleased. But he still was worried that he would try to do something to Hanako, or to him for disrespecting him. Yusuke knew he was capable of it, he knew he would do it.
"What are you thinking?" He heard Fugaku's voice interrupt his thoughts. Yusuke looked at him.
"It's nothing..." They were nearing the Uchiha compound. Yusuke knew Hanako had a mission and he was relieved that it was inside the village and that she would be accompanied by her sensei, that way Danzo wouldn't be able to get to her.
"Yusuke, you should know by now that you can't fool me." The man smirked and looked at Fugaku.
"That sounds like a challenge." He chuckled but immediately became serious at Fugaku's death glare. "Can I ask something of you?" Fugaku's gaze softened.
"What is it?" he asked.
"If something ever happened to me, would you protect Hanako in my place?" Yusuke pressed his lips when Fugaku's eyes widened. The Clan leader immediately shook it away and looked at the man in front of him seriously.
"If that'd be the case..." Fugaku replied with a smile. "I would protect her with my life."
* * *
Hanako returned home after Team 4's mission. They had to catch a cat. A mission in which she didn't feel happy at all, especially because after three years of being a Genin she hadn't gone out of the village. Not even once. Their missions were silly; they treated Genin like some kind of errand runners or something like that. To top it all, their missions were getting lamer every time.
There was a point where she stopped cooperating with her teammates. She refused to follow a cat around for like the tenth time that week. Of course, Kazuki and Takeshi were too afraid of going against their teacher, so they ran after the cat as if their lives depended on it. Although, it was Kaito-sensei who caught it in the end after carefully building a trap.
"Tadaima," Hanako announced her arrival by entering the house, leaving her shoes on one side of the main door.
"Okaeri," her mother replied with a smile.
"How did your mission go?" asked her father while he sipped a little bit of his green tea.
"Well, it was easy just like all the others," Hanako said bluntly as she sat at the table in front of him. She didn't need to mention that everything she did was sit down and supervise the rest of her team while they pursued a poor defenseless feline.
"You are pretty arrogant to be just a ten-year old," her father told her as he stared at her. Hanako laughed slightly.
"It's true, but it's who I am, so what can you do?" she said quietly causing her father to just sigh at her attitude.
"I've seen that you have quite improved your skills in this couple of years," Yusuke commented putting his cup on the table. "Especially your use of the Sharingan, after your graduation from the Academy; but I think it is time for you to jump to the next level. That's why I wanted you to accompany me on my next mission. The Hokage has agreed already, it's a simple B-rank mission. I think we should be able to handle it, and we will go along with my team." Hanako noticed that her mother looked at her father wide eyed; apparently she knew nothing of that mission. The girl, for one, was glad that finally her father was taking into account her abilities and had let her accompany him on a mission.
"I'm ready!" Hanako told him excited. Her father smirked and proceeded to explain the mission.
"The mission is to retrieve a scroll that Iwagakure stole. According to the information they have given us, the scroll was taken to the outskirts of the village, into a nearby small town," Yusuke said, pulling out a map and showing the girl all the locations. Hanako nodded to all he said. "Tomorrow we will think of a strategy to carry out the plan when we're all present. We will leave early and perhaps take a little time to travel so get ready properly." Her father told her seriously, to which Hanako nodded and went to her room.
In the kitchen, the two adults remained under the stress of a silence formed by the departure of the young Uchiha. "Do you realize what you're about to do?" The woman asked, approaching her husband.
"Yes, don't worry. She is under the care of good hands."
"Don't you remember what happened a couple of years ago?" she asked furiously.
"Yes, I remember it perfectly. But at that time she wasn't trained."
"And now she is?" Akira inquired.
"Yes Akira, now she is," he told her seriously, looking straight into her eyes.
"If you just want to take a daughter of yours to this mission, why don't you take Hikari? She is already a Chunnin and soon they will promote her to Jounin. She is totally capable for a mission like this one..." She tried to say but was interrupted.
"I want Hanako to accompany me," he said finally. "It is true that Hikari is capable of these things, but that doesn't mean Hanako is not."
"It's an infiltration mission Yusuke, it can be dangerous even for you..." Akira mumbled with concern.
"It's a B-rank mission. Also, I will be assisted by two Jounin. Everything will be alright," he said, standing up.
"A mission can pass from B-rank to A-rank in a second. You shouldn't take her Yusuke. I'm telling you that it is too dangerous!" Akira insisted.
"And I already said that everything will be alright." Yusuke looked at her, trying to comfort her. "I will take care of her with my life," he assured her. "I promise," he finished before hugging her.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Yusuke," she said gently, clinging to her husband.
"You worry too much, Akira."
* * *
Danzo sat in his office, reading one of his scrolls, but he couldn't concentrate as his mind always wandered over to a certain Uchiha. Immediately a frown appeared on his face as he leaned on the back of his chair.
"Danzo-sama..." He heard the voice of one of his subordinates and looked up to find him in his ANBU cloak, kneeling before his desk.
"Did you find something?" the elder asked.
"Yes." The ANBU nodded. "Yusuke Uchiha is heading out for a mission on the outskirts of the village." Danzo raised his eyebrow interested.
"And what's his mission?"
"To retrieve the scroll that was stolen in the war by the Stone Shinobi." A smirk formed on the elder's lips.
"Is that so?" He stood up from his chair and walked until he stood in front of his subordinate. "I have a copy of each of the village's scrolls hidden in this building. I know pretty well which scroll was stolen, and I know that in it there's no relevant information on the village or its secrets." He continued to smirk as he paced around his office. The ANBU remained still in his kneeling position. "Warn the Stone Shinobi. Tell them that Konoha is ready to claim its belongings. That way, they'll prepare an ambush and crush Yusuke and his team before they get anywhere near that scroll."
"But Danzo-sama..." The ANBU started saying but immediately shut up at the intense glare the elder gave him.
"Yusuke Uchiha is nothing but a hindrance. And in order to keep moving on, we have to eliminate it."
* * *
Takeshi walked along with his teammate across the crowded streets of the Konoha village. He sighed and observed everything around him trying to pull out his mind from the pool of boredom in his head.
"Hey Kazuki, what if we tell Hanako to go training with us? She likes to train." He spoke, earning a grunt from his friend.
"Why so much interest in Uchiha, Takeshi?" Kazuki asked.
"What?" Takeshi blushed slightly, thing that did not go unnoticed by his companion. "That is not true..." he said as he childishly inflated his cheeks.
"Really? Then why are you blushing?" asked the raven haired boy pointing out his cheeks, teasing him while he laughed.
"Don't point at me, it is impolite," Takeshi said shaking his friend's hand.
"Hey, don't change the subject! You like her, don't you?"
"No."
"Takeshi likes-" Kazuki failed to finish since Takeshi had covered his mouth with both hands. When he had finally calmed down Takeshi withdrew his hands slowly. "Are we going to look for her?" Kazuki mumbled resignedly.
"If you want to," Takeshi shrugged, starting to walk towards to the Uchiha Compound.
"It's you who wants to be with her!" Kazuki cried to his friend before running to catch up with him.
When they had finally reached the front of the house of the Uchiha, they knocked on the door shyly. Hanako's father was the one who opened it to find the two young men.
"Good afternoon, sir..." Takeshi spoke shyly. "Is Hanako home?"
"Of course." The man smiled. "Hanako, you have visits!" he called for his daughter and she came downstairs a few seconds later.
"Oh... it's you guys," she said when she saw her teammates standing at the door.
"We're happy to see you as well, Uchiha..." Kazuki said sarcastically.
"Do you know them?" Hanako's father asked.
"Of course, Dad. They are my teammates, Takeshi Komatsu and Kazuki Mitokado." She presented her comrades to her father.
"I see, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," they responded both in unison. Hanako's father returned inside, leaving her with her friends.
"And well, what do you want?" she asked, returning her attention to them.
"Well..." Takeshi spoke nervously.
"We wanted to know if you would join us in training," Kazuki said finally, when he noticed that his friend would not have the guts to speak.
"I'd like to go, but I have a mission tomorrow and I have to prepare myself."
"I thought that we were given the day off?" Kazuki noted.
"Yes, but I'll go with my father to a B-rank mission," Hanako added happily. "Isn't that cool?" she said, this time jumping out of excitement.
"B-rank?" Takeshi asked wide eyed. "But we are just Genin, B-rank missions are for Chunnin or Jounin."
"I know, but Dad said that the Hokage had accepted. I'll also be going with Dad's team. I'm pretty sure that everything will be fine," the girl said in an attempt to reassure his friends. "I learned how to make a fire jutsu, perhaps this is my chance to put it into practice."
"Hanako..." Kazuki began to say.
"Okay..." Takeshi said to everyone's surprise. "Take care."
"Thank you, I will!" Hanako said hugging her best friend and then Kazuki. Then she went back inside her home leaving her two companions alone outside.
"Why did you do that?" an annoyed Kazuki asked Takeshi who was starting to walk back to his house.
"Because she'll do it anyway, we can't change her mind," he said.
"Do you know how dangerous it is?" Kazuki reminded him.
"She is strong. I know that nothing will happen to her. Trust her," he said to his friend giving him a smile, although Kazuki noticed by far that it was fake and that on the inside Takeshi was pretty concerned about her safety. Kazuki watched as Takeshi walked away. Now the only thing they could do was wait and hope that everything would turn out well and that nothing bad would happen to the brunette.
* * *
On the next day in the morning, four ninjas were located at the village gates preparing themselves for their leave.
"Are you ready, kid?" One of the ninjas asked to the smallest.
"Yes, Father," she answered excited and with a grin plastered on her face.
"Is it the first time that you go out of the village, kiddo?" Another of the ninjas asked the little girl.
"Yes," she replied harshly to being called "kiddo".
"I see... You'll have fun..." said the last, walking over to Yusuke. "What's the plan, Captain?"
"If we leave now, we'll arrive in the evening to the village where we'll find the missing scroll. We'll look for a place where we can take refuge without being detected and, at midnight, we'll attack to recover the scroll." Everyone nodded and looked at the little girl. "We will not rest until we get there, if you get tired let me know and one of us will carry you."
"Don't worry about me, Father. I'll be fine," the girl assured him. "After all, I'm a ninja, like you," she said pointing to the headband with the symbol of the Konoha village on her forehead. The others just smiled to the confidence of the girl and departed for the border between Kusagakure and Iwagakure, the setting where their mission would take place.
After several hours of traveling, as expected, Hanako got tired and had to be carried by one of the shinobi from Yusuke's team.
"You shouldn't have brought your daughter with you, Yusuke-san," the one carrying Hanako ─who at this point was sound asleep─ said. "Where we are going is a place where Konoha is considered an enemy and the Third War has barely ended. Most likely, they'll wait until we want to recover what was lost and they'll be waiting for us Yusuke. It's possible that the mission happens to be of a higher rank."
"The Hokage gave me the necessary authorization." Yusuke frowned thinking of the possibility of an ambush.
"That's a lie. Hiruzen would never put at risk the life of a little girl." There was a pause. "You didn't say anything, did you? Why did you bring her, Yusuke?" the ninja inquired.
"So Danzo wouldn't lay a finger on her," he said calmly. Trust me Yoshito, if there were another option I would have taken it,' he thought.
"I don't know what the elders have against your daughter, but I can assure that she would have been safer back in the Village than here with us." The ninja narrowed his eyes as Yusuke just remained calm looking forward, without even taking glances at him.
"You would be surprised," he finally muttered. "Hanako needs experience, she needs her instincts to naturally develop. And that can only be achieved if she's thrown into real life."
"Is that what you want?" The ninja widened his eyes. "You are going to destroy her childhood, Yusuke."
"If that makes her strong," Yusuke said with sadness in his eyes which was noticed by the other ninja. "Then let it be."
"I can't believe you." The ninja sighed as he watched Yusuke intently. "I seriously can't."
"That's because you don't understand." Yusuke slightly frowned. "Her chakra is special and if she becomes a Shinobi, it is most likely she won't have a peaceful life. She is the goal of many others seeking her power. Like Danzo... I just don't want that to happen, Yoshito. She needs to learn to defend herself."
"Back in the village there's a lot of people who can protect her. Fugaku-san, Akira-san...even her own sister," Yoshito said to his companion. "Here, it's only us against an army of Kusagakure and Iwagakure Jounin. You're making a big mistake, Yusuke. Some of us will probably die in this mission." The Uchiha only continued forward without saying anything. Yoshito sighed.
After this, the Shinobi remained in silence until they reached a small cave on the outskirts of the village. Hanako woke up in time to hear the strategy that was to be carried out at midnight to retrieve the missing scroll. They had everything planned, however when they were to take it into action, they didn't think that a large group of ninja from Iwagakure and Kusagakure would be waiting at the entrance of the cave.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" One of them asked laughing. "Shinobi from Konoha?"
"It seems that there were no elite ninjas to send a child to missions like this one..." Another one said as he played with a kunai on his hands. One of the ninjas of Yusuke's team positioned himself in front of the brunette as he tried to protect her.
"I can take care of myself!" she complained.
"Sorry but these ninja are just too much for you. You can't defeat them on your own." He -trying to protect her- was the one who had carried her during the trip.
"It's over, we are surrounded!" Another of the leaf ninja said desperately.
"We can still try..." Yusuke said as he activated his Sharingan.
"Maybe," Yoshito said. Hanako imitated her father and also activated her mastered Sharingan, calling the attention towards her. "Well to be a kiddo, your eyes have been well trained..." Yoshito muttered amazed.
"It seems that this is going to be interesting." The ninja from Iwagakure laughed again slightly while wearing a camouflage technique to appear invisible. The others imitated him. The Uchiha due to their Sharingan could see where all the ninjas were, but they were also too many to reveal the position of all of them. In a single attack, they killed one of the teammates from Yusuke, leaving only the two Uchiha and Yoshito.
"Girl," Yoshito turned towards Hanako. "I need you to go into that building, and look for a red scroll that has a Konoha seal on it. When you find it, rush directly to the village, forget about us." Hanako widened her eyes when realization hit her. "We will distract the ninjas and buy you some time." She turned to look at Yoshito and her father as she felt her chest tighten. She shook her head as a she felt her eyes get watery.
"I..." She tried to say but she got cut off.
"Go." Her father looked at her with a kunai in hand. Hanako clenched her hands into fists. "I believe in you, Hanako." Then she noticed the explosive tag tied to its hanger and Yusuke threw it to a tree near them.
When it exploded, all the area was submerged in thick smoke. Taking advantage of the commotion Hanako managed to leave the battlefield, hiding behind the shadow of a house. She ran quietly, trying to not be noticed by any of the guards; although thanks to Heaven, there were just a few of them since they were all fighting the two infiltrators. After she arrived at the big building mentioned, Hanako was able to easily enter and seek out the scroll. When she finally found it in one of the drawers of the desk on the top floor, she smiled victoriously and kept it in her backpack. When she returned to the battlefield, she noticed that Yoshito had been murdered and her father was wounded and completely surrounded. The tightness in her chest came back.
"DAD!" The girl couldn't help but scream in horror.
"Hanako...run. Don't let them get to you," the man said to her daughter, although there was a deeper meaning to those words than what she could understand. Hanako, at seeing one of the ninjas charging at her, took off to one of the rooftops and began to flee, possessed by terror. The ninja threw a kunai and got her in her back, although the girl disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving in her place a log.
"Shit..." the ninja said, looking everywhere around him for the girl. "You should not be very far away girl, admit it, you have no escape." He laughed maliciously.
Hanako watched him, hidden in the shadow produced by a house. He was right, she had no escape route if it wasn't dying right there.
From where she was, she could see how they tortured her father. Thanks to her eyes she could read his father's whisper, his last words to her before they stabbed him with their sword right through his heart.
I'm sorry, Hanako. I didn't want you to see this... And he died, his body dropping to the hard soil motionless. I believe in you. She heard his voice in her memories, the last time she actually heard his voice was before he threw the kunai with the explosive tag. Her mind then drifted to when they had their walks; sometimes they would just lie down on the ground and watch the clouds. They would think the many strange shapes each cloud may have and then laugh at the silliest ones.
She felt a strange warmth envelope her in an embrace and she couldn't help but think about her father's hugs every time she had a nightmare. She wanted to wake up; this nightmare just seemed too real. She closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip so tightly that a trickle of blood fell across her chin. This wasn't a nightmare. She fell to her knees as they couldn't hold her weight any longer. The warmth still continued to envelope her and tighter. She braced herself as several treacherous tears were running down her cheeks.
I will always be here for you, don't be afraid.
Those words... He would always say to her those words just to calm her down. She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands to try and stop the tears from falling. 'Stop it,' she said to herself. 'Ninjas don't cry.'
"So, here you are." She heard a male voice behind her and her body stiffened. She turned to look at him, her Sharingan still activated. "This time I will not let you escape," he said derisively.
"This time I will not run away..." she hissed venomously. She felt something strange, not only her whole body was burning but her eyes as well.
"Oh really? And what will you do?" he mocked until his voice faded and his eyes widened. "Your eyes...what happened to your eyes?!" He immediately pulled out a kunai and got into a fighting stance. Hanako looked to her surroundings and noticed a large tank full of gas.
"The gas in that tank over there is flammable right?" she asked maliciously as she threw a kunai with an explosive tag, making it explode close enough so that a hole was opened on one side of the tank, letting the gas escape all over the small village. Quickly, the girl ran, taking advantage of the distraction the explosion caused on the ninjas, and positioned herself over the top of the large tank while the remaining ninjas stood just below it.
"Quick! Don't let her do anything, she's just a kid!" One of them screamed with wide eyes, noticing that the girl started to make some hand seals.
"Too late." She did the tiger seal announcing it would be a fire technique. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu." From her mouth came out a big ball of fire. As it made contact with the gas, fire spread and quickly consumed all the village. The smoke of the burning started to go up and take possession of the oxygen. Because of this, Hanako began to gasp for air and fell to her knees, starting to lose her consciousness.
She felt strong arms wrap around her and she was pulled out of the fire and smoke into the woods that surrounded the village. The girl barely opened her eyes and noticed a familiar orange mask.
"You again?" she said looking uneasily at him.
"I see that this time you remember me," he responded with a deep voice. "You're lucky to still be alive," he continued as he carried her on his back. After a few minutes they stopped over the top of a hill, from which the small burning town could still be seen. "Look at what you did." He showed her the fire that was reducing everything of what was formerly a village to ashes. "You told me earlier that you'd become strong." Hanako tightened her fists grabbing the black clothes of the man. "With this you've already shown me how much potential you actually have." He started walking away from the hill. "I will take you back to Konoha. From there you'll have to give the report to the Hokage and the news of the deaths of the Shinobi accompanying you." She looked sadly to the ground.
"Thank you..." she said to the man's surprise.
"For what?" He raised an eyebrow from behind his mask.
"If it wasn't for you, I would be dead by now. Thank you," she said again, closing her eyes before drifting into unconsciousness.