Naruto and Hotaru were startled by the newcomers, but Kazuma was quick to reassure them. He had known his brother's two teammates for years. Yamato tensed up, but he didn’t move. He no doubt recognized their uniform and probably relied on Jun, who showed no surprise. The Uchiha clan leader didn’t miss Yamato’s lack of movement. He was touched. it was a big gesture of trust that Yamato showed.

“Jun,” Miyamoto greeted him as the latter approached. “Kanna and I quickly finished the mission, in case you needed any help.”

"And it seems that is the case,” Kanna added running a hand through her hair.

Jun felt his heart swell with affection. He had a different connection with Kanna and Miyamoto than he had with Natsumi and Susumu, his old teammates, but ... It was similar in a sense. They had been comrades for months, protecting each other, learning to understand each other with a look or a sign, sharing many perilous situations, and putting their lives at risk for each other. It created an indestructible bond.

“Thank you,” He replied; his tone contained a bit of emotion.

Shisui would have teased him for it. But neither Miyamoto nor Kanna was very focused on demonstrations of affection.

“What happened?”

“Nothing unusual, A C-rank mission gone bad,” Jun explained, instinctively returning to the formal tone of an official debriefing. “An unexpected enemy interfered. He died, but Yamato was injured. And the Genins need to return to Konoha.”

Miyamoto nodded and proposed.

“Do you want us to escort the Genins?”

Jun hesitated. He was the fastest. But ... Carrying Yamato was going to slow him down. In contrast, Miyamoto was a tad bit physically stronger and could transport an injured person more efficiently. He also possessed the Byakugan and could spot possible dangers from afar to avoid them.

Jun weighed his options. Miyamoto’s suggestion was a good plan. Moreover, he had started carrying Yamato anyway, he felt responsible now. And Jun was the only person who knew a little bit about Medical Ninjutsu. If Yamato’s wound reopened, he couldn't do much more, but at least he could try something.

Finally, it was a glance at the Genins that changed his decision. They had approached each other with a nervous air. Kazuma knew Miyamoto and Kanna, of course, but even he seemed tense. After the fight that they had just experienced, the three kids were still anxious. Leaving them with unknown ninjas was probably not the best idea. Jun could deal with them and help them cope with their emotions better than his two teammates.

“This is what we’ll do. Miyamoto will carry Yamato. Be gentle, one of his lungs has been punctured. Kanna, you will go with him. I already sent words to Konoha for help; there may be medics coming to meet you. I will bring the Genins back home at their own pace. Yamato, are you fine with that?”

Jun felt he had to ask since they were his Genins.

The Jonin, still leaning against the tree, had a faint smile.

“I have no objection. Nice to meet you, Kanna, Miyamoto. I’ll be in your care.”

Yamato was put on Miyamoto’s back, holding back a grimace of pain with each movement. The Hyuga activated his Byakugan and left. Kanna briefly tilted her head toward Jun, as a silent goodbye, then followed his teammate.

Jun was left alone with the three Genins.

“Do we continue to the village?” Kazuma timidly asked.

The Uchiha clan leader thought about it for a moment.

“It's a possibility. But now that there's no longer the urgency to bring Yamato back for treatment, we can go back to complete your mission.”

Jun also wanted to see the extent of the damage to the village. The priority had been Yamato at the time. But Jun hadn’t forgotten about the village where the Genins did the mission. There had been a fire, possibly injuries. He remembered all too well the devastation the Nine-Tails could inflict.

The three children looked at each other, then Naruto punched his palm.

“Yeah! We gave our word that we were going to arrest those bandits!”

“That's right,” Kazuma admitted reluctantly. “If we go back to Konoha now, they will continue to terrorize this place.”

The two boys looked at Hotaru. The little girl looked frightened but ended up nodding with a determined air.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Jun was pretty sure the bandits were far away by now, but he nodded anyway.

“On the way, you will tell me what happened… with all the details.”

Naruto turned pale. Curiously, Hotaru too. Kazuma stared at them, suddenly intrigued. With a strange feeling of apprehension, Jun realized that he was going to have to manage the fallout from whatever had happened there. Moreover, he knew Kazuma enough to know that he would not give up this mystery anytime soon and would try to get to the bottom of it.

**********

Kazuma, Hotaru, and Naruto moved inside a small barn without a word. Jun had guided them to the village, but they had not reached it until nightfall. Seeing that they were completely exhausted, the Jonin had ordered them to monitor the place and not move. Supposedly, he was going to do some scouting. Kazuma thought he was going to hunt and capture the bandits himself. This aroused an uncomfortable feeling of jealousy deep in his stomach. Again, he was weak, and his big brother had to protect him, or even outright do the job for him.

Kazuma sighed and looked at his two teammates. Jun ordered them to talk about what happened and to be honest with each other. He had glanced particularly at Naruto when he said those words.

Kazuma put his chin in his hand, scrutinizing his blond teammate. He could no longer hold his curiosity.

“So ... Do you have a Kekkei Genkai related to healing, what is it called?”

Naruto scowled and looked elsewhere.

“No.”

Kazuma and Hotaru exchanged an incredulous look.

“You took a sword across the body!” The young Uchiha exclaimed.

“That's right,” Hotaru said. “I saw it too. What happened?”

Naruto had tucked his head into his shoulders, but there was something that looked like fear in his eyes when he replied.

“It's a secret.”

Kazuma hesitated. People tended to forget it, because he was always nice and helpful, but Kazuma was also someone smart. He didn’t have the calculating side of Jun, the memory of Izumi, or the instinctive fighting ability of Neji. But Kazuma understood people. He put clues together. He loved solving mysteries.

“It's that secret, right? The S-rank secret that no one has the right to reveal except you.” Kazuma concluded.

Naruto suddenly straightened up, looking horrified.

“You know?!”

“No,” Kazuma answered honestly. “But I know there's a secret, that it's S-rank, and that's why no clan leader has the right to approach you. I know it may have something to do with the fact that you're a Uzumaki, and the ANBU was following you. I know all this, but I don't know what the secret is.”

But I could guess it, Kazuma almost added. He remained silent though. A heavy silence fell on the group. Naruto and Kazuma were staring at each other. Hotaru's gaze was going from one to the other, undecided. Finally, she was the one who spoke first, in an uncertain tone.

“This secret...Is it... dangerous?”

Naruto began by shaking his head vigorously, then stopped, and then nodded hesitantly. Kazuma wasn’t sure what to make of it. Of course, all the secrets were dangerous. It was why they were kept secret. But did Naruto have trouble realizing this danger? Was it difficult to accept, perhaps?

“Dangerous for you?” Hotaru asked again.

“For us?” Kazuma added.

“You can tell us, you know.”

“Even if it's a Kekkei Genkai, we will keep it a secret!”

Naruto fell to his knees, his fists clenched, his jaw contracted, as if he were trying to hold back a surge of emotions. Finally, he let everything out.

“It's... I... I didn't choose it, ok? It was done to me when I was a baby, and no one told me. I never knew why everyone hated me, and all my life it's been like that! The whole village, everyone looked at me with hatred and indifference, as if I were a monster as if they wanted me to go away. And no one was telling me why.

But I know, now, and it's not my fault, and people hated me anyway! They hate me still, even though I’ve done nothing wrong! But I'm going to prove them wrong, I'm going to prove to them that I'm someone they can respect and who can protect them. But they don't see it, they don't see it yet, they just see this thing… And I don’t want to tell you, because if I tell you, you will be like them, you will see only that too! You won’t see Naruto, you will only see that thing.”

He stopped, out of breath. His eyes were wide and he looked terrified, desperate, furious. Kazuma suddenly thought of Neji. His other brother. Neji had never screamed or panicked like that, but he too had that frantic fear, that helpless rage in his eyes, sometimes. When he spoke of the Hyuga Main Branch and the Caged Bird Seal. When he spoke of the fate that awaited him.

Kazuma swallowed, suddenly remorseful. Did he really need to know? If the secret was so terrible, so sad, wouldn't everyone be happier not knowing? He was going to open his mouth to apologize when Hotaru spoke with a low voice.

“Do you think we will turn our back on you so easily? Naruto ... You and Kazuma stayed when Samidare revealed my past. We are a team. Do you think we don't owe you that?”

Kazuma was surprised. He had almost forgotten the confrontation with Samidare, and the story told by the Kiri's ninja. It happened this morning, but it seemed so far away.

“Hmm” Naruto mumbled. “It's not the same, Hotaru…”

Hotaru suddenly stood up and turned her back on them. The gesture was so unexpected that Naruto stopped talking. A second later, Hotaru opened her kimono and let it slide over her shoulders, revealing her back.

Her back ... There was a huge piece of metal encrusted in her back.