Shisui went ahead further in the building with two ninja following behind him like little siblings. Even though both of them were a few years older than Shisui, it didn't change the fact that Shisui was the more mature one.
Having faced much more than these two would ever do, killed more people than they would have saved as medical ninja, Shisui already had the aura of someone who would lead.
As they reached the Hokage's office, he presented his report to the ANBU who appeared in front of the gate. As an ANBU himself, he was not stopped by the secretary or anyone else.
After he gave his report to the ANBU, he took the seat in front of the office, still in his ANBU clothes with his face covered by the bear mask.
The two medical nin also took seats next to Shisui, understandably nervous since they were now going to meet the same person who had given the order for their death—the same person who was responsible for the death of more than a hundred ninja they had been working with for the past month.
But they also knew they couldn't do anything other than wait. After painfully waiting for 10 minutes, which felt like 10 years, the doors opened once again.
With Hiruzen and Shikaku both inside the office, the ANBU who had opened the gate asked all three of them to go inside as the Hokage was now ready to meet them.
"Good morning, Lord Third, Shikaku-san," Shisui said, bowing in front of both Hiruzen and Shikaku, but the two behind him were now struck with their words in their mouths.
The cunning fox they were told about, the demon who was always plotting to kill the ninja of other villages, was sitting in front of them.
But unlike what they had thought, he was not looking like some crooked politician, but a friendly neighborhood grandpa who would sometimes give food to orphanages.
For a second, they even thought he was not Hiruzen but someone else, though Shisui's actions made that thought vanish into thin air. After overcoming their confusion, they bowed towards Hiruzen as well—well, Emiko did. Haruto needed a bow to his ribs from his sister to come out of this trance.
Though none of them said anything, not knowing what to say, they were what one would call 'war prisoners,' their lives hanging by a thread which was the order from the man in front of them.
But their fear washed away like an ice cube in the heat of summer when Hiruzen finally opened his mouth.
"Excellent job, Shisui. I expected nothing less from you. Also, saving these two kind souls was just the cherry on top... You two can raise your heads," Hiruzen said, seeing the two medical nin keeping their heads down for the last minute.
There were small tears forming in the eyes of both of them. They released a breath they didn't know they were holding. The tension of not knowing what their fate would be, the fear of a death sentence after reaching the village, the fear of not being able to save each other—all of these fears were holding onto their hearts like a vice, slowly crushing them. But when Hiruzen finally gave them their lives back through some simple words, their emotions erupted.
In the long run of things, these two ninja would not do anything big either for Konoha or Iwa. They would just reach specialist level in their lives if they tried extra hard, and that too very late. So there was no reason for Hiruzen to give them a chance and make holes in their perfect plan.
But he still did, showing that not every ninja enjoyed killing without a reason. If given a chance, most would choose to show unexpected kindness, even if it might cost them.
"There is no need for you two to cry. You are safe now, though I am a little busy at the moment so we will discuss your future later. For now, please take some rest in the ANBU quarters," Hiruzen said with a smile.
Both of them nodded their heads, though it didn't stop the tears flowing through their eyes like a dam wall had broken.
After they left, the actual report started. Though Shisui had already presented a detailed one, this time was equally important. After he recounted everything he found in the outpost with the detail of every proof they had to leave behind.
After everything was reported, he finally said the last part.
"I am sorry for the death of one of the—"
"There is no need for you to feel sorry, Shisui. Everyone who participated in this mission knew what they were getting themselves into. You actually saved others from having the same fate. This is the best possible outcome we could have hoped for," Shikaku said, as the Jonin Commander of Konoha, the person who had the second-most authority in Konoha after Hiruzen.
"Thank you, Shikaku-san," Shisui said and then turned to Hiruzen.
"Then I will take my leave, Lord Third. I have to reach the Land of Hot Water soon," Shisui said with a little bit of urgency in his voice. According to initial arrangements, he should have reached Konoha by early morning, before 7 AM, but due to matching the pace of two chunin-level ninja, he could only reach at 11:30. Now he had to travel 1600 km in just 4 hours.
"There is no need for you to rush it now, Shisui. Plan B is initiated," Shikaku said.
"Plan B? Is there any problem with the Kumo outpost?" Shisui asked.
"Nothing big, just their fuinjutsu array was a little too developed. According to Jiraiya, even we don't have any outpost as protected as that one, so he had to spend the previous night analyzing it, and will start the attack today," Hiruzen said, a tired look on his face.
"Even better than us?" Shisui asked, the same question which would arise in everyone's mind who would hear this shocking detail.
After the Uzumaki were gone, Konoha, who had the best relations with them when they were around, were the ones who were best at fuinjutsu now, having decades of head start against other major villages.
Understanding Shisui's confusion, Shikaku clarified the doubt.
"The array is not something we can't build—it is just very expensive and over-exaggerated. But any of our base arrays around the village are much more complex than that one."
After finally getting a sound explanation, Shisui nodded. It was so in the nature of Kumo to spend over the top on the military budget.
While Shisui was thinking all this, Shikaku and Hiruzen were analyzing his condition.
"How are you faring after the mission, Shisui?" Hiruzen asked.
"Not at my best, Lord Third, but I should still manage to get back to the caravan in no time," Shisui replied, misunderstanding Hiruzen's intention.
He was not worried about that; rather, he and Shikaku were discussing the possibility of sending Shisui to the Kumo outpost as well as reinforcement. But now seeing his condition, in this state, he would be just a little bit better than any elite jonin once he reached there.
And the chance of losing an S-rank like that was rather unsettling, so they decided against it after listening to Shisui's reply.
"You can take some rest for now, then proceed with your second mission," Hiruzen said.
"Thank you, Lord Third," Shisui said, bowing a little and leaving the office behind.
***
(A.N: next chapter coming soon ^~^)