Chương 114

"Huh? Why are you telling me about it? Isn't it the norm around here? What was the famous quote again. Kill one head, two shall grow in its place." Rei joked. This made Laura look daggers at Rei, which made him smirk a bit.

"That was the motto of Hydra." Laura replied.

"Oh, you seem to know about them." Rei asked.

"Yes because my grandfather died under their guns." Laura replied and this made Rei make a double take as he didn't expect Laura to have such history with Hydra. Laura was a bit on the older side and it hadn't been long since the World War. So her having a dead grandfather belonging to the British Royal Forces wasn't a stretch. He just didn't expect that kind of information to be thrown at him.

"Okay.. Sorry about that. But you get what I mean." Rei apologized and this made Laura nod. She never saw her grandfather and only heard stories about him from her father, who was a toddler at the time, and his mother would tell him stories and thus the stories would pass on.

"Criminals would always exist regardless of what we do."

"But this is different. They go by the name - the Hand." Rei raised an eyebrow at that. He didn't expect them to show up now, but it made sense. It was during the New York War that they started to clamp in on New York, and now they were finally here.

"They also claim they're ninjas." Zabuza continued with obvious skepticism.

"So I was wondering... is it possible shinobi exist in this world too?" Rei couldn't help smiling.

"No."

"Hm?"

"There has never been a proper shinobi system in this world like ours." Rei replied casually.

"Anyone calling themselves a ninja is probably just borrowing the name because it sounds mysterious. Every world has people who imitate legends they barely understand." Zabuza let out a dismissive grunt.

"... Fake ninjas."

"Exactly." Rei didn't give much heed to this organization. An organization that lurk in the shadows and go after immortality like a bat out of hell, could never achieve much. Besides, they had the original shinobi among them so he was sure that Zabuza could handle them. But of course, it would be a surprise to Zabuza too if they came to life after killing them. Rei was looking forward to that.

Morning arrived much sooner than anyone expected. Before the first rays of sunlight had properly spread across Konoha, Rei had already brought both Sasuke and Kakashi back to their original hospital room. Kakashi remained asleep exactly as before, but Sasuke walked beside Rei. The nurses gave him a confused glance. None of them understood how someone who had been declared comatose the previous evening was now calmly standing up. Inside the room, Hana looked up from the medical charts she had been reviewing.

The clipboard slipped slightly from her hands the moment she saw Sasuke standing beside Rei. For several seconds she simply stared, unable to believe what her own eyes were telling her Relief slowly replaced the exhaustion on her face before she quickly composed herself and motioned for Sasuke to sit on the examination bed.

"... How are you feeling?" Hana asked professionally, though the concern in her voice remained impossible to hide.

"Do you have any headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea or difficulty remembering what happened yesterday? Tell me honestly, even if it seems insignificant." Sasuke answered every question without hesitation. Hana checked his pulse, examined both pupils, measured his chakra flow and carefully observed his reflexes before finally asking him to mold chakra into his fingertips. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

The blue glow appeared immediately, smooth and perfectly stable. She then instructed him to perform several basic movements before quietly letting out a long breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

"... Everything is normal." Hana admitted with genuine amazement.

"Your chakra network is stable, your nervous system shows no abnormalities and even your mental responses are completely coherent. Whatever happened... you're medically healthier than I expected." A warm smile finally appeared on her face.

"I'm glad you're alright, Sasuke." Before anyone could continue the conversation, the hospital door slid open once again. Naruto practically burst into the room with his usual energy while Jiraiya followed behind at a much more leisurely pace. They had originally come to collect Rei before departing in search of Tsunade, yet both of them froze the instant they noticed Sasuke standing there.

"... S-Sasuke?" Naruto blurted out.

"You're awake?!" Even Jiraiya's eyebrows rose in genuine surprise.

"Well..." the Sannin scratched his cheek with a grin.

"That certainly saves us one problem." He looked directly toward Sasuke before folding his arms.

"I was planning to bring you along on this trip before everything went sideways yesterday. Since you're back on your feet now, that plan is back on the table." A confident smile spread across his face.

"Naruto, Rei... looks like we've got one more traveler joining us. Pack whatever you need. We're leaving for Tsunade's trail as soon as we're ready." Sasuke was a bit confused but accepted this invitation. This man was a pervert, but this pervert had so much knowledge that he would love to know more and going out of Konoha would also serve as a training. The preparations didn't take long. None of them were carrying much to begin with.

Naruto stuffed several instant ramen cups into his backpack despite Jiraiya repeatedly telling him that restaurants existed outside Konoha. Sasuke packed little more than a spare change of clothes and a few ninja tools, while Rei simply carried a small travel pouch. If he needed something, he could always come back home or bring them from the MCU, so he always travelled light. By midmorning, the four of them stood outside Konoha's massive gates.

The familiar walls slowly disappeared behind them as they followed the forest road leading toward Tanzaku Town, where Jiraiya believed Tsunade had most likely wandered off to. For the first time in quite a while, Team Seven was walking together again, albeit with an entirely different instructor leading them and one person missing.

"So where exactly are we going? How far is she? And why do we have to walk? Can't we just jump through the trees the whole way?" Naruto couldn't keep quiet for more than five minutes.

"One question at a time, brat. She gambles a lot and thus we need to be careful in finding her, and the way she loses money, she would always be on the run. We aren't sprinting the entire journey because unlike you, some of us know how to conserve energy for when it actually matters."

"I've got plenty of energy!"

"Exactly my point." Even Sasuke let out the faintest snort, earning an immediate glare from Naruto.

"What? Even you're laughing at me now?"

"I didn't laugh."

"You definitely laughed."

"I breathed."

"You breathed funny!" Rei shook his head with an amused smile.

"I don't think that's something people normally accuse others of." Naruto immediately pointed toward Rei.

"See! Even Rei agrees with me!"

"No." Rei replied without missing a beat.

"I'm saying you're inventing entirely new crimes." Jiraiya burst into laughter while Sasuke quietly looked away, the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly. Watching the three teenagers argue over something so utterly meaningless. He had also noticed this small animosity between Naruto and Sasuke. But if one looked closely, one would also notice that both of them cared for each other. Naruto had always shouted about how Rei was his best friend.

But Jiraya always felt like Naruto's best friends were Rei and Sasuke. He had heard of how they fought a lot, but beneath everything there was genuine camaraderie. After nearly two hours of steady travel, Rei gradually slowed his pace before eventually stopping altogether.

"I'll have to leave for a while." The other three halted as well. Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Leave? Where are you going? There's nothing out here except trees."

"There is something I need to take care of." Rei answered calmly.

"It's a personal matter, and it'll be easier if I handle it alone."

"Will it take long?" Jiraiya studied him for a moment and asked. Just like Naruto, he was also confused. What would a genin like him need to do outside. If it was any other person, Jiraya would have thought that Rei was some kind of spy. If not for the fact he was able to battle against Orochimaru and how he brought Baki back which helped Konoha negotiate better, he wouldn't even even entertain such requests from Rei. But he always felt Rei was the most mature one.

And besides unlike some spies, Rei actually had his parents around and the way Rei was close to his parents made the notion of him being a spy completely absurd but there was still curiosity with Jiraya.

"It shouldn't take much time." Rei replied.

"Then how are you going to find us afterward? We aren't exactly staying in one place." Rei smiled before lightly tapping Naruto's shoulder.

"I already solved that problem."

"Huh?"

"I left a Flying Thunder God mark on you a long time ago. As long as you're alive, I can instantly locate and teleport to your position." Naruto being the idiot he was had for a moment forgotten that Rei could always teleport to his location due to the contract.