Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 459 The Returner of Dawn

The last dark cloud in the sky quietly dissipated.

A long-awaited, brilliant golden ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell precisely down, illuminating the path down the mountain ahead of them.

Warmth, a real, warm touch, fell on Yahiko's face.

He instinctively stopped, looked up, and closed his eyes, which had been soaked by the rain for too long.

The damp, earthy smell that had been lingering in his nostrils for days seemed to have been evaporated and dissipated by the sunlight, replaced by a clean, new-life-like air that almost brought tears to his eyes.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan stood side by side on the mountaintop, bathed in the long-awaited morning light.

The soaked clothes clung to my skin, bringing a slight chill, but the warmth of the sun seeped in little by little from my hair and cheeks, dispelling the cold and fatigue that had accumulated deep in my bones.

Yahiko clenched his fists instinctively, his nails digging into his palms, the stinging pain keeping him acutely aware of his surroundings.

This is not an illusion; they succeeded.

They met the demigods and emerged with a covenant.

The boy turned around and looked at his companions behind him.

Xiao Nan stood there quietly, gently tidying the paper flower that had been dampened by the rain at her temple. Her movements were slow, carrying a sense of cherishing what she had just survived.

Nagato looked down at his hands, which were particularly clear in the sunlight. He could feel a new, heavy power growing from the bottom of his heart.

"The surrounding area... has been cleared out."

Nagato's voice was soft, yet carried an unprecedented certainty: "A huge gap has appeared in the defenses. It's like... someone deliberately opened a path for us."

Yahiko opened his eyes, and his orange eyes, reflecting the brilliant morning light, were surprisingly bright.

"Haha, you're quite trustworthy!"

He grinned broadly, all his fatigue vanished, and familiar energy returned to him.

Konan took out three soldier rations wrapped in oiled paper from her ninja tool pouch and handed them to the two men.

"Let's replenish our energy first."

She said softly, "The mission isn't over until we get back to camp."

"Okay, okay, Xiao Nan."

Yahiko took the soldier's ration pills, stuffed them into his mouth without any hesitation, and mumbled his words indistinctly.

Nagato silently accepted it and chewed it carefully.

"Let's go."

Yahiko spoke, his voice slightly hoarse, but every word was filled with unwavering determination.

The journey home was completely different from the journey there.

The three of them hurried down the winding mountain path, their steps light and rhythmic.

Nagato's vast and keen senses were like an invisible net, covering the surrounding area.

In his view, the once jagged and impenetrable defensive lines of Iwagakure and Sunagakure now had one huge and strange gap after another.

In the northeast direction, a Rain Shadow squad that was supposed to be conducting cross-patrols was inexplicably marching rapidly in the opposite direction to the east, as if they had received some urgent orders, completely exposing the area they were responsible for.

In the valley to the south, several sentries on watch lit a campfire and sat around it, seemingly complaining about the damp weather and the poor food.

These seemingly absurd scenes all testify to the sincerity that Hanzo promised atop that tower.

When the familiar campfire of the Konoha camp and the flag of the Land of Fire fluttering in the wind finally came into view on the distant horizon, Yahiko, who had been forcing himself to stay strong, suddenly stumbled.

Xiao Nan quickly caught him.

"I'm fine..."

Yahiko waved his hand. He looked at the campsite, which seemed incredibly warm in the morning light, and listened to the faint voices and laughter carried on the wind. A complex and intense emotion suddenly welled up in his heart.

It's not a cold, steel tower, there's no endless rain, and no betrayal or murderous intent to be constantly guarded against.

There was a campfire, companions, and people waiting for them to return.

"us……"

Yahiko turned around, looked at Nagato and Konan who were also gazing at the camp, and solemnly said, "You're back."