Dense branches and leaves overlapped above the forest, blocking out the sky.
Dazzling sunlight slipped through the gaps and fell across the ground, scattering into specks of pale gold.
From somewhere deeper in the woods came the occasional cry of birds and insects.
But beneath those faint forest sounds, there was a low, broken sob.
Tears dampened the soil, leaving dark marks in the dirt.
“Dad—!
Dad—!”
Might Guy knelt beside his father, his vision blurred by tears.
At that moment, Duy’s clothes were torn beyond recognition.
His hair and skin had been scorched black, and streams of crimson light still crawled across his body.
The air was thick with the sharp stink of burned flesh, and steam rose from him because of the terrifying heat still trapped inside his body.
It was a horrifying sight.
As if a living person had been roasted alive right in front of them.
And yet, not a single person there felt fear.
All they felt was endless grief.
“Guy… it’s my fault.
I arrived too late.” Akimichi Chōza stood to the side and let out a helpless sigh.
“Please accept my condolences.
Duy… he was a hero of Konoha.”
Shiranui Genma and Ebisu stood silently nearby, their eyes filled with sorrow.
Just moments ago, Guy’s father, Might Duy—a man who had only ever been a genin—had burned his own life away to save them.
At the cost of his life, he had defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, all of whom were already jōnin-level shinobi.
He had killed four of them and left the remaining three gravely wounded.
And now…
They could only watch helplessly as the man who had saved their lives walked step by step toward death before their eyes.
At that moment, a faint rustling sound reached their ears.
Even while drowning in grief, everyone instantly became alert.
Had the three surviving Kirigakure jōnin returned to finish the job?
A ruthless glint flashed through Akimichi Chōza’s eyes.
He tightened his grip around the long staff in his hand and snorted coldly.
“Hmph.
If those bastards dare come back, I’ll make sure every last one of them is buried here today.”
The moment Chōza finished speaking, four figures suddenly landed before them.
They were not the Mist shinobi who had fled earlier.
They wore Konoha forehead protectors.
They were Konoha ninja.
The one leading them looked no older than fourteen or fifteen.
He had long brown hair tied back with a Konoha forehead protector, and beneath it was a pair of large, dark-brown eyes.
He wore a white trench coat over his uniform.
He took an identification card from his coat and showed it to Akimichi Chōza.
“Konoha Medical Department.
I’m the leader of the medical team.
We came to provide support and treat the wounded.”
As he spoke, his gaze had already fallen on Might Duy lying on the ground.
Time was precious now.
Every second was a struggle against death itself.
Without hesitation, he gave orders to the three medical-nin behind him.
“Check the others for injuries immediately.
Once you’re done, come assist me.”
“Yes, Lord Haruto!”
The three medical-nin answered respectfully and quickly split up, heading toward Might Guy, Shiranui Genma, and the others.
Meanwhile, the boy named Nohara Haruto walked straight to Might Duy’s side.
His brows drew together.
Might Duy’s condition was even worse than he had imagined.
At first, Haruto had believed that with his nearly miraculous medical ninjutsu, saving Duy would not be too difficult.
But now that he was seeing Duy’s injuries with his own eyes, even Haruto could not help feeling that this would be extremely troublesome.
Even if I treat him myself, the chance of saving him is only around twenty to thirty percent…
If it were anyone else—even Tsunade—there probably wouldn’t be the slightest hope.
Unless the Sage of Six Paths’ Yang Release were to reappear in this world.
However, while Nohara Haruto was assessing Duy’s condition, Guy, who had been drowning in grief, suddenly roared at him in anger.
“Why are you only here now?!
Where were you before?!
Why did you have to wait until my dad was already… already…”
By the end, his voice broke.
He could no longer speak through his sobs.
Nohara Haruto froze for a moment.
He had always held Might Duy in respect.
That was precisely why he had been paying attention to Duy’s movements, predicted the moment he might lose his life, and gathered his team in time to rush here and try to save him.
Yet now, after being blamed for no reason, his gaze inevitably turned cold.
His eyes swept down sharply.
“If you don’t want your father to die in front of you right now, then you’d better move aside.”
W-What?
Guy froze where he stood, unable to react.
He could not understand what the boy in front of him—someone who only looked two or three years older than him—was saying.
Guy was still young and did not understand the situation.
But Akimichi Chōza did.
He immediately grabbed Guy, who was still kneeling beside Duy, pulled him up from the ground, and dragged him to his side.
Then, with surprise and caution in his voice, he asked Haruto tentatively,
“You mean… Duy can still be saved?”
Haruto thought for a second before answering.
“If I use everything I have, I can raise the success rate to thirty percent at most.”
Thirty percent.
An astonishingly high chance.
Others might not understand what that number meant, but a battle-hardened shinobi like Akimichi Chōza certainly did.
In Chōza’s eyes, Might Duy’s injuries were so severe that he already had one foot in the coffin.
He had never seen anyone survive wounds this terrible.
Yet the boy in front of him was saying he had a thirty percent chance of saving him.
That alone proved how terrifyingly skilled this young medical-nin was.
Akimichi Chōza took a deep breath.
Then he bowed slightly, his tone carrying genuine respect.
“Please do everything you can.
This man is a hero of Konoha.
All of us hope he can live.”