The rain intensified, washing over Kanon's delicate face until it was impossible to distinguish her tears from the downpour.
Coming to her senses, she gently propped Naruto up. Her hands glowed with the soft light of the Mystical Palm Technique as she tenderly began to mend his broken body.
Suddenly, a ninja hound burst from the distant brush. Seeing the twin-tailed girl with a mask perched on her forehead, the dog froze in surprise.
"Kanon... Is that you, Kanon?!"
Recognizing Kakashi's summon, Kanon said nothing. She remained silent, her entire focus poured into healing Naruto.
"Why... how did it come to this?" Pakkun muttered, his voice laced with confusion.
In the distance, Kakashi emerged from the undergrowth, his posture slumped and weary. As he drew closer and saw Kanon tirelessly treating the unconscious Naruto, his heart felt as though it were being flayed by a blade.
Each throb of pain was like a heartless gust of wind, shredding the happy memories of Team 7 into jagged fragments, leaving behind nothing but wounds that refused to close.
He approached them slowly. Kanon didn't look up, nor did she speak; she simply continued her medical ninjutsu.
Pakkun leaned down, sniffing the headband lying near Naruto, the one with a deep, jagged scratch across the Konoha symbol. He looked at Kakashi with pity.
"It's Sasuke's."
Kakashi closed his eyes, his expression a mask of helplessness and agony.
"Kanon... let me take over."
But the moment he moved to step forward, a massive, crimson skeletal hand smashed toward his face. Blood leaked from Kanon's Mangekyō Sharingan as she glared at him with eyes full of coldness and grief.
Kakashi's pupils shrunk. The strike was too fast he couldn't dodge. He reflexively raised his arms to shield his face, but the blow never landed. The Susanoo arm halted a mere inch from his nose before slowly fading into mist. Even now, she couldn't bring herself to strike her sensei.
"Why... why are you always late?"
"Kakashi, why is it always like this?!"
Kanon's voice was a jagged edge of resentment. She could endure her own suffering, but seeing Naruto and Sasuke in such soul-crushing agony made her blood boil. Only after the curtain had fallen did Kakashi finally grace them with his presence. It was a bitter, infuriating realization.
Her words hit Kakashi like a physical blow. He withered like a plant struck by frost, nearly collapsing where he stood.
"I'm... I'm sorry..."
"Don't say it to me! Say it to my brother! Say it to Naruto!" Kanon roared. She swung a fist at his face, but at the last second, it merely grazed his cheek.
A teacher for a day, a father for a lifetime. She truly couldn't hurt him. The memories of Team 7 were too precious to discard, and she wasn't a monster like Itachi Uchiha, capable of slaughtering her own kin and friends. Though Kanon had defected from Konoha, she still possessed a line she would not cross.
"Kanon, why didn't you hit me...?" Kakashi asked, his expression complex. Perhaps a punch would have made the guilt easier to bear.
Without a word, Kanon gathered Naruto into her arms and handed him over to Kakashi.
"Take him back."
"Kanon, come back with us."
"Don't dream, Kakashi..."
With those final words, Kanon turned and vanished into the distance. Kakashi didn't try to stop her; he knew that in his current state, he lacked the strength, or the right, to make her stay.
Looking down at the boy in his arms, Kakashi sighed heavily. He looked toward the spot where Kanon had disappeared and whispered dejectedly:
"In the end, I still didn't make it in time..."
"I'm so sorry..."
"Naruto, your fatal wounds were healed by Kanon... Knowing you, you must have fought with everything you had."
Time passed, and the rain eventually tapered off. As sunlight began to pierce through the clouds, Pakkun spoke softly.
"The rain washed away the scent. We can't track them anymore."
"Besides," the dog added, "saving Naruto takes priority over chasing Sasuke and Kanon."
Kakashi nodded grimly. He hoisted Naruto onto his back and began the trek back to Konohagakure.
Shortly after they departed, a strange figure emerged from the ground, a being resembling a venus flytrap, clad in a black cloak embroidered with red clouds.
"Now, this has certainly become interesting."
…
Naruto began to drift into consciousness. Sensing the blur of trees passing by, he realized he was being carried.
"Kakashi-sensei..."
"Where's Sasuke?"
Suddenly, three medical ninja appeared at Kakashi's side.
"Kakashi-sama, what is Naruto Uzumaki's condition?"
"He's fine. His life-threatening injuries have already been mostly healed," Kakashi replied.
"Sasuke... where is Uchiha Sasuke?" Naruto managed to croak out.
Kakashi remained silent, his head bowed. In that moment, silence said everything.
"What's the status of the other Genin?" Kakashi asked the medics.
"Sir! By the Hokage's orders, the First and Second Medical Teams were deployed. We've located the injured across the region."
"They've been given emergency treatment and are being transported back."
As the medics detailed the condition of the others, Kakashi's brow furrowed. Hearing their reports, Naruto's eyes trembled. These were the comrades who had followed him, and he had failed to bring Sasuke back. He felt as though he had betrayed everyone's trust.
As his heavy eyelids fell shut once more, a single tear traced a path down his cheek. In his final moments of lucidity, his thoughts turned to his best friend, Kanon. He wondered how she was... and if she would be angry with him for fighting so violently with her brother.
At the Konoha Hospital, Choji and Neji, the most critically injured, had already been rushed into surgery.
Shikamaru, who had escaped with the lightest injuries, sat with a heavy expression. He was drowning in self-reproach; he felt that beyond believing in his teammates, he had accomplished nothing as a leader.
He ignored Temari's attempts at conversation and stood to leave. Just then, Shizune and Tsunade emerged from the operating rooms, informing him that the surgeries were successful. Choji and Neji were out of danger.
"By the way, Kakashi and Naruto just returned. Though Naruto was badly hurt, his fatal wounds seem to have been treated beforehand."
"He is no longer in critical condition!"
"What?! His fatal wounds were healed? By whom?" Tsunade asked, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"According to Kakashi... the one who saved him was..."
"Sasuke Uchiha's sister, Kanon Uchiha!"
"What?! That brat?!" Tsunade exclaimed, stunned.
The rest of the room was equally shocked. Even Temari couldn't hide her surprise; no one expected Kanon, who had been missing for so long, to still be alive, let alone helping them.
Tsunade let out a long sigh. "Well... that makes two of them."
"Shikamaru," Tsunade said softly, "it seems the mission was a failure."
The usually lazy and cynical Shikamaru began to tremble at those words.
"However... the fact that everyone is alive is more important than anything else..."
Hearing that, Shikamaru finally broke. In front of everyone, he let out a sob, tears of regret streaming down his face.
"Next time... I will complete the mission perfectly..."
…
Meanwhile, Sasuke followed Kabuto into Orochimaru's laboratory.
"Sasuke, you are the chosen one," Orochimaru hissed smoothly.
"I don't care about that. Just give me power!"
Orochimaru turned his head, a look of deep satisfaction crossing his face as he surveyed Sasuke's current state. Everything was proceeding perfectly for the Reanimation Jutsu three years from now.
Seeing Sasuke's arrogance, Kabuto leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Though the face is different, the man before you is still Orochimaru-sama."
"If you don't want to die, you'd better show a little more respect."
Sasuke didn't blink. He cast a freezing sideways glance at Kabuto, releasing a surge of killing intent so sharp that Kabuto instinctively recoiled several steps, nearly collapsing to the floor in shock.