Chapter 24 Uninvited Guest
Naruto had no idea what this meant and he was starting to feel disgusted by it.
But he always felt that something was wrong, as if something was wrong, so he also copied the document.
He put the folder back where it belonged, shook his head as if that would dispel the fear in his heart, and then picked up the folder below that he was looking for in the first place.
This document was much thicker, filled with various reports and photos, and on the cover it read: The Country of Whirlpools was Destroyed.
When I opened the folder, a musty smell hit me, the smell of forgotten reports and ten years of shame.
He flipped through the documents, the papers were so fragile that they seemed like they would break at the touch, and page after page of text and pictures flashed before his eyes.
Most of it was nonsense and useless, the only things of value being a few maps detailing the deployment of troops.
The contents of the report were contradictory and inconsistent. He saw the seal with the word "root" again, which appeared almost every other page.
One of the reports looked different—it was written on different paper, with water stains and tiny tears, as if it had been written directly on the spot.
The first part of the report was blurry, but Naruto was able to make out the end.
[——All dead or missing. Unable to distinguish between Konoha and Iwagakure ninjas. Both sides have large numbers, with Konoha far outnumbering Iwagakure. Neither Konoha nor Iwagakure found the treasure house, and the storm forced both sides to retreat. Unable to continue the search.]
Treasure trove? The word is written strangely, like a proper noun.
The Kyuubi had taught him quite a few words, and he had read enough history and ninjutsu books to know that this was unusual.
The word "Storm" was also written in a strange way. When Naruto turned the page, he found a disturbing line of writing on the back.
We are no longer welcome on this island.
All the hospitality and tolerance we once had disappeared with our failure.
We can't even bury our dead.
Only the people of the Whirlpool Country can calm its anger, but the people of the Whirlpool Country have all perished. 】
******
By the time he had cleaned up the mess in the upstairs room and made sure all the doors were locked, there was only an hour left and the building would soon be filled with early risers.
He walked out of the library smoothly and headed out along the corridor without causing any commotion, however, just as he turned the corner towards Jiraiya's office, he almost bumped into someone.
He stepped back in panic, one hand instinctively swung for the nose, only to hit the other person hard in the ribs.
What an idiot.
His brain took in several pieces of information at once - a man, shuriken, special jonin - and then panic set in, leaving only one thought in his mind: I'm going to be expelled, and the Kyuubi will die.
But then, the man let out a groan of pain and Naruto looked up, his panic temporarily subsiding.
This particular jonin looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
Aside from the painful groan and the slight tremor in his jaw, the man showed no signs of pain - but Naruto could almost feel the waves of pain pouring out of him.
"Damn it," the man cursed under his breath, running a hand into his hair to push the strands of hair that had fallen on his cheeks behind his ears, but he quickly regained his composure and looked down at Naruto.
"Hey, what are you doing, kid? Isn't it time to get up yet?"
Naruto hesitated for a second, knowing that he wasn't good at lying, but after sensing more than just pain emanating from the other, he gave up on the idea of making excuses.
Guilty?
But his intuition seemed certain, and as he stared at the man for a moment, blinking, the feeling grew stronger, until he began to catch a glimpse of something in the depths of the other's eyes.
Naruto rubbed his face and the particular jonin seemed to misunderstand his intentions because he noticed that Naruto's eyes were red and puffy.
He suddenly looked uneasy and raised his hands, as if Naruto was a landmine and he accidentally stepped on it, and if he moved a little more violently, he would be blown away.
"Where is Iruka-sensei? Have you gone to look for him?" he muttered to himself, his voice so low that it was almost inaudible. If it weren't for Naruto's amazing hearing, he probably wouldn't have heard what he was saying.
"What are you doing here?" he asked gruffly, his voice a little hoarse, as if it was him, not Naruto, who was in the spotlight.
The guilt in the air was growing stronger and stronger, Naruto could almost smell it.
Naruto rubbed his nose, he had just hit the other person's bone.
The man forced a smile that was uglier than crying, but did not answer his question.
"You all right, kid?" he asked.
"I wanted to ask how you are," Naruto blurted out, his tone gentler than he intended because he was too tired, and when he took a deep breath, he could smell the faint smell of blood on the other person, which was emanating from under the ninja uniform.
"Do you need to see a doctor?"
The forced smile on the man's face disappeared instantly, the thousand blades made a crisp clicking sound between his teeth, and his jaw loosened. He narrowed his eyes, frowned, and his face was full of confusion.
"How do you know?" he asked.
Naruto was confused by his question and could only blink blankly.
"Well, because you're hurt?" Naruto said, because he thought it was obvious.
However, this may not be the case, because the other person's eyes widened in an instant, and then were quickly covered with a layer of haze.
The man stood unsteadily and suddenly reached out to hold on to the wall.
He clenched his teeth and his shoulders drooped limply. His disguise collapsed in an instant, just like all the air in a balloon was drained out.
"Shit," he said hoarsely. "I'm sorry, kid, I guess your teacher isn't around right now?"
This time it was Naruto's turn to be confused, as he didn't understand what this had to do with Iruka-sensei.
"Iruka-sensei? I don't think he'll be here for a while. Don't you need to go to the hospital?"
The man shook his head. In less than a minute, his face turned pale as paper, beads of sweat kept appearing on his forehead, and he tried hard to stand up straight.
"No...hospital..." he muttered, then fell forward stiffly.
Naruto moved his feet alertly, supported his chest with his shoulders, and caught the fallen man.
He was so heavy that Naruto could hardly catch him, and just like that, he was forced to be tied to an unconscious ninja.
"Really..." He complained to the air.
He wondered whether he should send the man to the emergency room of the hospital, but he rejected the idea as soon as it occurred to him.
Iruka-sensei's house wasn't far from here - it would be just as easy to take him to Iruka-sensei's house as it would be to take him to the hospital.
He just hoped he wouldn't get into trouble.
