Ryun led the team, bringing the five kids down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, they encountered a group of commoners, men and women, old and young. Seeing the group return, they could not help but shout.
"Thank you, Shinobi Sir, for saving my daughter, for allowing my family to be reunited."
"Thank you, Shinobi Lord, for bringing back my wife. I will never forget this great kindness."
"Thank you, Lord, thank you, Lord..."
The crowd knelt down, looking at Ryun and the others with tears in their eyes. Seeing this, Ryun had the five kids step forward to help the people up. Chōza scratched his head. "Teacher, I tried to persuade them, but they wouldn't listen. They insisted on kneeling here."
Ryun nodded. "It is fine. You worked hard, Chōza, leading so many women down the mountain." Ryun patted his head and smiled.
Chōza shook his head. "Compared to Teacher and my classmates, my part was insignificant." He was very aware; from start to finish, he had only moved a large rock and led the rescued women down the mountain. He was not tired at all.
"You should not say that. Without your protection, if something had happened on the way, wouldn't our efforts have been in vain? The credit belongs to everyone," Ryun instructed. He then had Chōza join the group of five kids to comfort the villagers.
Ryun walked up to the village chief and helped him up. "Elder, this is not necessary. As long as you report the case, we of Konoha have no reason not to mobilize, to come and help everyone."
The old man was now crying his eyes out. He had not expected that in just half a day, Ryun and the others would have rescued the village women. Such speed, even back in the days when the Third Hokage was in office, was never this fast!
"It is just a pity that some people will never return." Ryun's eyes dimmed. Upon hearing this, the villagers became even more sorrowful, and even the six kids fell silent.
"It is not your fault! Blame those damned mountain bandits!" A woman now stepped forward, gritting her teeth.
"The mountain bandits have been eradicated by us, from top to bottom, not a single one remains," Ryun replied.
At this, the women all burst into tears. With their great vengeance achieved, their hearts finally found some solace. The village chief invited Ryun and the others to return to the village for a meal. Ryun declined. After having the six kids return the remaining food supplies to the villagers, the group departed.
The villagers watched Ryun's retreating back until it disappeared from sight before gradually returning to their homes.
"Teacher, do you think things like this happen often in the world?" Shinnosuke sighed. In his heart, he was unwilling to believe the answer he suspected.
Yet Ryun nodded. "Many. Very many. So many that every moment, villagers are being plundered, being taken up into the mountains," Ryun said plainly.
"How can we eliminate such situations?" Namikaze Minato asked, his eyes filled with obsession and expectation, hoping Ryun could give him a perfect answer.
"Eliminate? Elimination is impossible. Because the ugliness of human nature cannot be erased by just one person, or by some people joining together. Where there is light, there is darkness. At best, we can only achieve mitigation," Ryun said with a smile.
"Mitigation?" Minato was stunned.
"Yes, that is right. Mitigation. After we return, I will convene a meeting regarding this matter. At that time, you can attend as my disciples," Ryun said. Although he had only instantly defeated one Chunin in this battle and had not really fought much.
Through Minato's experience and the villagers' suffering, he had gained some insight. Besides protecting Konoha, as Hokage, he also wanted to do his humble part to protect the people of the Land of Fire.
Minato nodded, his eyes lighting up. "I will definitely be there then!"
"Good, you must listen well and learn well at the meeting," Ryun said, patting Minato's freshly washed hair with a smile.
Minato nodded, indicating that he would. The others, however, twitched at the corners of their mouths. They wanted a good day of rest! This mission, with the travel and the action, was so tiring!
Ryun seemed to have guessed their thoughts, the corners of his mouth turning up. "Because your performance during this mission was quite outstanding, you are hereby granted three days of rest. The meeting will be convened on the last day of your rest period."
"Hooray!"
"Teacher, you are my god!"
"I am starving! I am going to eat a huge meal when we get back!"
...
The five kids were all overjoyed. Only Minato was there, thinking seriously. Ryun could not help but sigh inwardly; worthy of being called the man who best embodies the definition of a shinobi, even at such a young age, he thought more deeply.
The group returned to the village entrance and went to the mission hall. Because the Hokage himself had refused the villagers' reward, the mission hall did not make things difficult. They crossed out the mission and, smiling, still gave Ryun and the others their payment.
Ryun refused. It would not be fair to others. So, he took the six kids to a restaurant. Oh, right, it was the Akimichi family's restaurant.
The staff at the Akimichi BBQ restaurant saw Ryun returning with the six kids and, after carefully observing that none were injured, immediately sent one person back to inform their clan leader.
Torifu, upon receiving the news, immediately said, "The Yamanaka family must also be notified." Throwing on a coat, he hurriedly ran towards his family's BBQ restaurant. His eldest son, oh, how his father had missed him! After this trip, he must have lost weight from hunger!
Yamanaka Kumokai, who was in charge of the intelligence department, had received the news the moment the group entered Konoha. He had also sent someone to inform Torifu, but for some reason, it only arrived after the Akimichi family's notification.
The other major clans also had their own informants and connections. At this moment, the leaders of the five clans were all heading towards the Akimichi BBQ restaurant, their steps somewhat hurried, wanting to see if their children were injured or hungry.
Ryun, meanwhile, was grilling meat for the children. The children were eating happily, with the staff providing an unlimited supply of iced fruit juice. The drinks ensured they ate heartily.
While they were still eating, their room door was suddenly knocked on. A waiter entered first and said, "Lord Hokage, there are six people outside requesting an audience."
Ryun used his Soul Perception Technique to check, then smiled. "Let them in."
The waiter, having received permission, breathed a sigh of relief. Besides their own clan leader and the leaders of the other clans, even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was there!
This made him, a mere waiter, break into a cold sweat. It was not that he had never seen or interacted with these people before, but this time, they had all come together. This put him under immense pressure. He just wanted to serve some dishes, but ended up being stared at by these people.
They signaled him to go in and ask. 'Good grief, when immortals fight, the little ghosts suffer. I have witnessed it today!'
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