Chapter 17: Cleaning up

“There are some fishes that go out of the net, Hotaru…”

“Leave it be, we need to save our chakra Hiura”

The scenery surrounding the boy could only be said as devastating, the groan of alive mobs, scream of pain and cries filled the place.

The thugs that covering the bridge, with an approximate number of over 100 become less than 40.

Most of them injured, there’s several that unscathed but ran away immediately. They waste no time by picking up their friend or co-worker, even their boss abandoned by them.

Ran away from the scene where blood and parts of body littered over here and there.

Pale-faced, Gato gulp hard. He pissed his pants off, and a reeking smell of piss combined with the smell of blood.

“Eww… this bastard is disgusting”

Hiura complained while tying the man up, and gave the rope over to Hotaru. He then ran towards the location of his teacher and the protection target.

Meanwhile, Erika doing her best in using medical ninjutsu while healing the boy in her care.

Hotaru and Hiura then give the man to Kakashi’s team, not long after they check Sasuke’s condition and found that he’s still alive, albeit punctured by needles.

Telling Sakura to calm down, they then heal the man while carefully removing the needles out of him.

“So, can you tell us why’d you come here Hayate?” spoke Kakashi ignoring the background

“We’ve received a special mission from my spying target… that now became a revival mission” Hayate said while looking at Erika’s side, she’s still doing her best in helping the boy, that should already be a corpse by now.

“He’s dead…” Kakashi said in low-tone

“You think so senpai?”

They then hear Erika’s cries

“Not yet Sensei! He’s still alive, although his heart slightly damaged. He can still be saved, from my inspection he uses his Ice on the wound around his heart to stop his injury from worsening. Although it is only a last try of his, it’s working! That’s why, move your ass here, Hotaru! Hiura!”

Hearing the girl’s shout, Hiura and Hotaru hurried to her location. While Zabuza that hear the remark brighten up, keeping his hope high.

Zabuza knows that the higher his hope, the more pain he’d feel when they failed. However, he can’t refuse his hopes in the survival of the boy he took in.

He picked the boy while he’s still a jounin from the hidden mist, when that happens, he can see the despair beneath his gaze. He feels a connection between him and his gaze…

The same thing he felt after slaughtering his peer in that accursed place.

He then took care of him… no, to be exact, he was taken care of by the boy. While so, he teaches the boy how to be a ninja.

“C-can you really save him…”

“We’ll try our best”

Erika said so to the man that show his tears to them, even though he also to be taken care. He’s still asked the progress, and try to help the group of kids on the operation.

While they operating Haku, the villagers come and help them while the old man grandkid use holding a pan and gearing up with metallic wares around his body, the other villager also coming along while bringing a hatchet, knife, even a ladle, and broom.

When they see the sight of the bloody bridge many of them puked on the spot.

Kakashi and Hayate then asked them to help in cleaning up the bridge, and corpses.

Of course, they only asked the adult man to help to deal that matter while some brave wives also help out of pity, in helping the still alive and groaning mobs.

While the man picking the corpses and parts of the body, the woman taking care of the wounded and injured thugs.

Some of them breathe their last breath on their care, while the wives try to cheer them up to hold on. However, out of 20 of them, 9 dies…

“Since when do they became this brutal Hayate?”

“Brutal? They do what they can to diminish the opposite party and lowering the enemy’s moral Senpai… you know how impossible that is to take care of hundreds of grown up in a jiffy, with low-cost right?”

“I know that… but, I never expect a fresh graduate would be able to do this… are you planned it?”

“No, it’s Hiura… the child is smarter than he looked…”

“Hey! I hear that sensei!” Hiura suddenly shouts to the 2 that walk near them.

“Focus Hiura!” Erika smacks his head because the boy losing focus.

“Ouch!”

.

..

“what’s the progress?” spoke Hayate

“We’ve done the best we can, all that left is only the person’s will life…”

“So, how about the other 2? They don’t follow you?”

“Hotaru’s exhausted his Chakra and collapsed. Naruto taking care of him, while Hiura patching up the big guy with pointy tooth…”

“How about Sasuke?” Kakashi question

“He’s getting his consciousness back already and being nursed by Sakura”

It’s been several hours since, most of things already taken cares of.

While Hotaru’s collapsed because he’s overworking himself with his small chakra reserves. Using chakra strings and medical jutsu really taken a toll on him, and after the adrenaline died down, he collapsed on the spot.

Naruto that sees it, panicked and takes care of him.

While Sasuke’s regaining his consciousness not long after the battle ends. He’s still aching all over, and Sakura has taken care of him since she found him. She hugged him while crying, Sasuke standstill while looking at Naruto.

They stare at each other as if checking each other, then look away from each other.

The day soon ends, the sun has set and the end their clean-up that day.

***

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