Many figures rushed to Haruto Saito's side. At that moment, he lifted his head and dispersed the healing chakra light from his hands.
"Are you okay?"
"Are your injuries serious?"
Several ninjas spoke one after another, their expressions filled with concern. Haruto Saito was now the personal disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi, and he was still very young. Because of this, most Konoha ninjas had changed their attitude toward him. It wasn't necessarily out of flattery, but if anything happened to him, the Hokage would definitely hold someone accountable.
Other ninjas might be fine, but those responsible for patrolling and defending this residential district—the Konoha Defense Corps—would not be able to escape punishment!
In fact, this situation was already a major problem. The enemy had infiltrated the core residential area where Konoha's high-ranking officials lived. Someone was definitely going to have to take responsibility!
"I'm fine," Haruto Saito said as he stood up and shook his head. "Already healed!"
Many people breathed a sigh of relief, not questioning him further.
None of them truly understood the strength of the assassin Zero Thorn. They had no idea who the attacker Haruto had killed actually was. When Zero Thorn had completely overwhelmed Haruto and repeatedly inflicted serious injuries on him, they had yet to arrive. Afterward, the battle was shrouded in thick mist, concealing the fight between Haruto and Zero Thorn.
Now, Zero Thorn's corpse had been completely obliterated.
There was no evidence left!
No one would know that Haruto Saito had killed a terrifying death warrior with elite Jōnin-level strength.
Haruto casually glanced around, observing the expressions of the surrounding ninjas. His heart relaxed. It seemed that no one had detected the presence of his Shikotsumyaku (Dead Bone Pulse). That ability absolutely could not be exposed! It was the Kekkei Genkai of the Kaguya Clan from Kirigakure. If anyone found out that Haruto possessed Shikotsumyaku, who knew how much suspicion and trouble it would bring?
More and more Konoha ninjas were still arriving at Tsunade's mansion.
Meanwhile, in the western part of the village, where the initial explosion had occurred in the crowded marketplace, the battle seemed to have ended. No more explosions could be heard, and there was no longer any significant chakra fluctuation.
Konoha's strongest fighters had rushed to the marketplace immediately, so even if there were more enemies there, they would have been easily dealt with. That was expected. Hanzo wouldn't have sent too many death warriors to Konoha.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Five figures appeared in the courtyard one after another. Leading them was Koharu Utatane, followed by her personal guards.
"Lady Koharu!" Many ninjas greeted her.
Koharu Utatane's face was dark with anger. She said nothing as she walked around the courtyard, surveying the aftermath. The battle was already over. That much was clear at a glance. She was checking for casualties. Many ninjas had been injured, mostly from the explosive tags' widespread destruction.
Whoosh!
Another figure appeared out of thin air—right next to Haruto Saito. It was Hiruzen Sarutobi!
"Lord Hokage!" The ninjas saluted.
Haruto caught a faint scent of blood from Hiruzen. When the explosion first occurred, the Hokage had personally gone to the marketplace and killed enemies himself.
"Are you alright?" Hiruzen examined Haruto closely.
Haruto looked quite miserable—his clothes were tattered, soaked in blood—but his complexion wasn't too bad, and his life force remained steady.
"I'm fine," Haruto shook his head. "Thanks to them arriving in time and holding off some of the assassins, otherwise... I might already be dead!"
Haruto knew how to handle situations like this. He made sure to credit the Konoha ninjas who had come to his aid.
"Hmm." Hiruzen nodded. "As long as you're safe."
"Teacher, do you know who these attackers were?" Haruto asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Rain ninja death warriors!" Hiruzen replied immediately, his face cold. "Hanzo sent them!"
"So it was them… no wonder their chakra felt somewhat familiar," Haruto said with a look of realization.
"There were only two battle sites—the main street and here," Hiruzen continued. "Clearly, Hanzo's true objective was to kill you! Judging by the time it would take them to reach Konoha, these death warriors must have been dispatched a few days ago. Hanzo probably doesn't even know I've taken you as my personal disciple yet. So… he must have received some kind of information that made him desperate to eliminate you!"
Some kind of information that made Hanzo want him dead?
It was obvious.
The news that Haruto was the new Black Samurai had spread!
Hanzo had learned that Haruto had found the Black Samurai Armor and had become the new wielder of its power!
Haruto was a rogue ninja from the Hidden Rain Village!
Because he had claimed the Black Samurai Armor, the Land of Rain had fallen into turmoil. Hanzo had wasted a tremendous amount of manpower and resources searching for Haruto but had failed to find him. He was undoubtedly furious.
And on top of that, Teridou had been captured by Konoha because of Haruto. This had dealt a huge blow to the Hidden Rain Village!
Although Hanzo might not have known that Haruto was the key figure behind Teridou's capture, he would definitely blame him since it all started with Haruto.
All these factors combined had most likely led Hanzo to send death warriors to assassinate Haruto.
In reality, just the fact that Haruto was a rogue ninja was enough for the Hidden Rain Village to want him dead. But sending elite Jōnin-level death warriors meant that there were deeper reasons behind their actions.
"Hanzo is reckless. He will pay the price for this!" Hiruzen looked westward, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
Under the night sky, Konoha remained ablaze with lights, and the noise of the village did not settle until dawn. It had been a long time since Konoha had experienced something like this. An assassination attempt was one thing, but to create such a massive disturbance? Konoha had lost several Jōnin in the attack. Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious and had ordered a full-scale village-wide investigation.
Haruto Saito joined the search effort and helped uncover over a dozen spies from the Hidden Mist, Hidden Rain, and Hidden Sand Villages. These spies had disguised themselves as ordinary travelers and were staying in various inns in the crowded marketplace.
As for the death warriors—none remained.
It was confirmed that every single Hidden Rain death warrior had participated in the attack.
And every single one of them had died.
At dawn, the search ended.
Exhausted, Haruto returned to Tsunade's mansion. The estate had been completely wrecked, but the main building had remained untouched.
Instead of going to the guest room, Haruto headed to a storage room on the first floor. He opened a wooden door leading to the basement.
The basement wasn't very large, and it was cluttered with various stored items.
Holding a candlestick, Haruto descended the stairs, walking deeper inside. He placed the candle on a stack of old furniture, then flipped his wrist, revealing a set of mysterious cards that only he could see.
These were all the rewards dropped from killing Zero Thorn!
Haruto felt a surge of anticipation.
As for why he came to the basement to check?
It was simple—the Hyuga Clan was too damn nosy!