"Bastards! You will regret this!"
Shinnosuke Sarutobi shouted furiously while being dragged across the camp by Raizen.
His clothes were dirty.
His face looked exhausted.
Yet even now, his mouth refused to stop.
"This will be the worst mistake you Uchiha have ever made!"
Several nearby shinobi had already stopped what they were doing and turned toward the commotion.
Whispers slowly spread through the camp.
"Mark my words, you bastards!"
Shinnosuke continued struggling angrily.
But Raizen didn't even bother responding anymore.
He simply kept dragging him forward silently.
His patience had already run out long ago.
"Just shut your mouth already."
Genzo suddenly kicked Shinnosuke from behind hard enough to make him stumble forward.
Shinnosuke gritted his teeth in anger, but before he could shout again—
Raizen tightened his grip even harder.
The atmosphere around the camp had become tense enough already.
Nearby, injured shinobi lying on stretchers quietly watched the scene unfold.
Among them were Tomiko and Flame.
Both of them were heavily wounded, yet Shinnosuke's constant shouting still reached them clearly.
Flame silently watched the Uchiha for a few moments.
Confusion slowly appeared in his eyes.
'Do the Uchiha really not fear the consequences at all...?'
After everything that had happened—
The calmness shown by Raizen, Genzo, and the others no longer felt normal to him.
Then his gaze shifted toward Tomiko beside him.
Tomiko quietly looked toward the Uchiha in the distance.
Raizen.
Genzo.
Suki.
And finally—
Toyoma.
A faint, bitter smile appeared on her face.
'...It was simply our bad luck that the Uchiha we confronted were Hawk.'
There was clear regret hidden in her eyes now.
Because at this point—
Even she understood something.
The people standing in front of them were not ordinary Uchiha.
A short distance away, Toyoma Uchiha quietly watched everything unfold.
The evening wind moved through his dark hair while the noise inside the camp slowly grew louder.
Then suddenly—
Footsteps approached from behind.
Toyoma slightly turned his head.
Shishu had arrived.
Unlike the chaos around him, Shishu's expression remained calm and stern.
He stopped directly in front of Toyoma.
"Toyoma."
His voice was firm.
"You have no right to judge Shinnosuke-sama."
The atmosphere nearby immediately became quieter.
"Only the Third Hokage has the authority to judge him."
Shishu looked directly into Toyoma's eyes.
"So stop creating this ruckus."
His tone became colder.
"And don't drag the Uchiha clan into your actions."
Toyoma Uchiha heard Shishu's words and calmly looked at him.
"Did I ask for your advice?"
His tone remained flat.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward Uzuku, who was currently acting as the commander of the camp.
Behind him stood shinobi from Dove, Neutral, and Hawk factions.
All of them were elite Uchiha who had been fighting since the beginning of the Third Shinobi War.
The true pillars of the clan.
Toyoma slowly looked back at Shishu again.
"What I'm doing right now is protecting the clan."
His voice was calm enough for everyone nearby to hear clearly.
"That bastard accused us of working together with the Mist just to protect his own image."
The surrounding shinobi quietly listened.
Even several non-Uchiha shinobi had stopped to watch now.
Toyoma continued calmly,
"If I simply let him return to the village and wait for his father to judge him..."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"...then one thing is certain."
"To protect his own name, he will bury the truth and accuse us by any means possible."
The camp became quieter after hearing that.
Meanwhile, Shishu frowned deeply.
"Nonsense!"
His voice rose slightly.
"The Third Hokage-sama is fair and just. He will investigate the matter himself."
Then he looked toward Shinnosuke, who was currently kneeling at the centre of the growing crowd while being stared at with contempt from every direction.
"And what you're doing right now is also wrong."
Shishu's tone became sharper.
"Failing a mission does not make someone a traitor—"
"I'm not holding him here because he failed a mission."
Toyoma immediately cut him off.
The atmosphere instantly became tense again.
"Nor because he retreated after seeing an enemy stronger than himself."
Toyoma slowly stepped forward.
The evening wind quietly passed through the camp.
"I'm holding him here because this bastard killed his own teammate so that nobody would learn about his cowardice."
Every nearby shinobi froze slightly after hearing that.
Then Toyoma pointed directly toward Shinnosuke.
"And after that..."
His eyes became colder.
"...he tried to place the blame on those of us who were actually risking our lives."
The silence around them became heavy.
"Is that really so difficult to understand?"
Shishu's expression darkened slightly.
Before he could reply—
One of the Uchiha Jonin nearby suddenly spoke.
"Shishu... Toyoma isn't wrong here."
The Jonin crossed his arms while staring at Shinnosuke coldly.
"If this bastard returned to the village first after accusing us..."
His voice became heavier.
"...then tell me, would we have to stand in front of the Hokage and prove our innocence?"
Several nearby Uchiha immediately frowned after hearing that possibility.
Another Jonin spat toward the ground.
"Just where did this bastard get the courage to accuse the Uchiha of being traitors?"
"Just for his position, he killed his own teammate."
Another Uchiha looked at Shinnosuke with disgust.
"What a bastard."
Then suddenly—
Someone from the back of the crowd shouted,
"Both father and son are the same!"
The crowd turned slightly.
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
For a moment—
silence spread.
Then more voices slowly joined in.
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
The shouting rapidly spread through the camp.
Toyoma quietly looked toward the crowd.
Even some shinobi from other clans had started joining the chant now.
Several Hyuga shinobi watched coldly from the side while others whispered among themselves.
Meanwhile, Shinnosuke's face had already turned red from rage.
Even Tomiko and Flame looked grim after hearing the crowd openly insulting the Sarutobi name itself.
"You worms!"
Shinnosuke suddenly shouted furiously while struggling against Raizen's grip.
"Who are you calling a coward?!"
But nobody stopped.
Instead—
The chanting only became louder.
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
Meanwhile—
inside one of the medical tents nearby.
Jiraiya silently stood beside Might Duy while several medical shinobi treated his injuries.
Duy's entire body trembled from pain.
"Ahhh..."
A painful grunt escaped from his mouth as one of the medical shinobi carefully checked his shattered arms and legs.
The sound of cracking bones inside his body alone was enough to make the younger shinobi nearby pale slightly.
Then finally—
One of the medical kunoichi slowly lowered her hands.
Her expression became heavy.
And without saying anything—
The medical kunoichi quietly shook her head toward the others.
The atmosphere inside the tent instantly became heavier.
"There is no real chance..."
Her voice sounded hesitant.
"It looks like this senior used some kind of forbidden jutsu that destroyed his body from the inside."
As she spoke, her eyes slowly moved toward Might Duy lying on the bed.
Even now, his body trembled slightly from pain.
Bandages covered almost every part of him.
Then the kunoichi turned toward Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya-sama..."
She hesitated for a brief moment before continuing.
"Might-senior is no longer fit to continue life as a shinobi."
The medical tent became completely silent.
"Even walking properly... or doing ordinary daily work may become difficult for him now."
Jiraiya slowly lowered his eyes after hearing those words.
For a moment—
He said nothing.
The sounds of medical equipment and weak breathing quietly filled the tent.
Then finally, Jiraiya looked toward the Uchiha kunoichi treating Duy.
"Is there really no other way?"
His voice was noticeably lower now.
"Maybe one of your clan's healing pills could still help somehow... or some other method?"
He already knew the Uchiha possessed several secret medicines they never revealed publicly.
Normally, he would never ask something like this directly.
But for Duy—
He had no choice anymore.
The kunoichi silently listened before slowly shaking her head again.
"Jiraiya-sama..."
Her expression became complicated.
"Toyoma-sama already ordered us to use every possible method to treat Senior Duy."
A faint bitterness appeared in her eyes afterwards.
"But..."
She looked toward Duy once more.
"...we truly don't have any way to heal damage like this."
The words fell heavily inside the tent.
Jiraiya quietly clenched his fist.
For the first time since arriving at the battlefield—
He genuinely felt helpless.
Then suddenly—
loud shouting from outside the medical tent echoed through the camp.
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
The noise outside only continued growing louder.
Jiraiya heard the shouting from outside clearly.
At first, confusion appeared on his face.
Then suddenly—
He remembered something.
His expression changed instantly.
"...No way."
The moment those words left his mouth, Jiraiya immediately rushed out of the medical tent.
The cloth entrance swung violently behind him as he moved through the camp at high speed.
The shouting outside only became louder.
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
"Hypocrite father! Coward son!"
Several shinobi had already gathered near the centre of the camp.
Even medical staff and injured shinobi had stopped what they were doing to watch the scene unfold.
Jiraiya quickly pushed through the crowd.
And the moment he saw what was happening—
His expression froze.
At the centre of the gathering stood Shinnosuke Sarutobi and the remaining ANBU.
They were surrounded from every direction.
Shinobi openly cursed them without restraint.
Some looked furious.
Others looked disgusted.
And a few simply watched silently with cold eyes.
The situation had already completely spiralled out of control.
Then Jiraiya's gaze shifted toward the other side of the crowd.
There stood
Toyoma Uchiha, Shishu, and several other Uchiha shinobi.
The atmosphere between them felt dangerously tense.
Jiraiya gritted his teeth slightly.
"Just what has this boy done now...?"
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Author note :
This chapter was focused less on fighting and more on consequences.
Up until now, most of the conflict stayed between a few people, but once ordinary shinobi start reacting, things become much harder to control. Rumours, anger, and public opinion can sometimes damage people more than the battle itself.
I also wanted to show the difference between personal justice and village authority through Toyoma and Shishu. One side believes truth should be exposed immediately, while the other believes only official authority has the right to judge.
The man stopped the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, yet the cost was almost everything.
Thank you for reading.
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