Chapter-95

As the hours passed, we find Naruto and Isao standing in front of a large window. The Uzumaki had some burns on his body from the mercenary's explosion, but nothing irrecoverable. Toho's boss had both arms bandaged, including his right shoulder. Pain and fatigue showed on his face, yet he resisted being hospitalized.

Because not everyone came out well...

They were both in a hospital, more precisely in the surgery room, watching through the window as Yumi was in intensive care, treated by several doctors focused on stabilizing her. She was stabbed in the stomach, with damage to her spine and a punctured kidney. The result was grim.

"Is that guy dead?" asked the bearded giant, seeing a mask placed on his daughter to help her breathe.

"Yes..." was Naruto's simple response. Frustration and helplessness filled him as he observed the scene, raising his head to see the worried look on his boss's face.

"You know, she was always the strong one," Isao spoke again, feeling a knot in his stomach as he saw his daughter's heart rate decreasing. "When her Oka-san died... I sank into the habit of alcohol. Not a single night passed without me being drunk and angry at this world for taking away someone I loved the most..." The shinobi remained silent, listening to the girl's father maintaining a dry voice. "But when she was only eight years old, she told me that we had to be strong for her Oka-san. We had to be together and overcome all obstacles," he said, even though his voice was breaking.

"..." Naruto watched the doctors trying to revive Yumi with electroshocks, but she still didn't wake up.

"I worked so hard for her, broke my back working to ensure she never lacked anything... even at night, I stayed up studying her school books to help her the next day. No matter how tired I was, I always wanted to enjoy time with her... my little Yumi," the giant's eyes began to crystallize as he watched the doctors relentlessly trying to bring his daughter back to life.

"She won't give up, Isao… she's just as stubborn as you," said the shinobi, trying to comfort the girl's father. However, the gloomy silence in the emergency room persisted.

"I know..." Raising his right hand slowly, the bricklayer put it against the glass. "You know, she always wanted to be a doctor. This was her last year at medical school. She was so smart; she helped her Oto-san maintain his construction business, and you'd see her studying to get ahead... she got all that from her Oka-san, no doubt." Saying this, he rested his forehead on the glass, praying for anyone who might listen to save his little girl.

"Mr. Toho," an elderly doctor left the emergency room to address both men. They waited anxiously to hear about the current condition of young Toho. "Your daughter is stable. We almost lost her, but she's strong. She will recover," he said professionally without smiling, keeping Isao and Naruto tense.

"However?" came the painful question from the bricklayer, looking through the glass at his daughter connected to various devices keeping her stable.

"Her spine... was damaged by the weapon, affecting some important nerves. I'm sorry to say your daughter may never walk again... I'm sorry," the doctor left, leaving them both alone.

Naruto remained serious, pain evident in his eyes. "Isao... I'm sorry, this is..." Everyone nearby heard a crash as the teenager's body hit a wall. Isao grabbed him by the collar, keeping him suspended.

"I don't want your apologies!" Isao shouted, tears streaming down his face. Furious, he looked at the shinobi, who kept his head down. "This is your fault! Look at what you caused! My girl! My baby! Look at me when I talk to you!" Using his free arm, he forced Naruto to meet his eyes, "If you want to do something... go after whoever is behind this." Separating him from the wall, he threw him down the hallway. "I don't want you near us again, Uzumaki! I don't want to see you near my daughter! Get out!" With that last scream, he entered the room where his daughter was hospitalized.

Meanwhile, Naruto lay on the floor, gazing at the hospital's white ceiling. Silently, he stood up, walking towards the exit. Before leaving, he glanced one last time at Yumi, unconscious with her father sitting beside her. Turning his gaze forward, he walked until he reached the exit.

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It was a cold autumn night in the great city of Kyoto, a city with a bright future, good schools, and several job opportunities. However, like every thriving place, it had some hidden darkness.

On a dock by the sea coast, dark trucks surrounded an old warehouse, where disturbing sounds echoed—loud bangs, splashing of blood, and screams of pain. Inside, men in formal suits formed a circle, tormenting a captive in a metal chair.

The assailant, an adult man with gray hair and a thick beard, ruthlessly beat the hostage. Wearing black glasses that covered his eyes and a blood-stained gray jacket, he demanded clarity from his victim, a common man with bruised and bleeding features.

"I told you already! He's back! He wrecked the factory, destroyed the merchandise, and killed most of our men!" The captive, with blood-spattered mouth, received a brutal blow, followed by the leader forcefully gripping his neck.

"You claim someone invaded my factory, ruined my merchandise, freed my employees, and put them in the hands of the authorities, bringing the police down on us?" growled the gray-haired man, revealing yellow eyes with a slit pupil. His fury manifested as a yellowish liquid oozed from his hand, causing the captive to scream in agony. "Tell me who orchestrated this! Make him suffer a hundred times more than you, you disgusting rat! Who is causing me trouble?" The burn on the exposed flesh of the captive's neck was revealed as he was released.

Weakly breathing, the bound man lowered his head, then burst into laughter. The mob around him grew angrier, especially their leader. "He's not a person... he's not," the captive said, raising his head. "We thought he disappeared a year ago—a relief for everyone. Russia, the United States, Colombia, Germany—he's spilled blood everywhere." The captive denied knowledge of his return. "But now... he's back, and no one is safe. The grim reaper, death itself in person... Ronin has returned." A tense silence filled the old warehouse, broken by the mobster's slow clap.

"What a great story..." The mobster sighed in frustration, then shrugged. "And what does this urban legend want? Why did he spare you among 'my' men, now just mutilated corpses?" He spoke furiously, circling the chair as the captive breathed heavily.

"He wants the word to spread. In every attack, he leaves a man alive to deliver the message." Trembling, the captive looked up, hearing a sound from the ceiling that others ignored.

"What's that message?" The mobster stopped, gripping the captive's head, forcing eye contact.

Shaking his head, the tied man trembled, struggling against his restraints. As the gangster leaned in to hear, he whispered, "Where is All for One?" The moment the question was asked, all lights in the warehouse extinguished. Confusion enveloped the gangsters as they readied weapons and activated their abilities.

A hooded silhouette descended from the ceiling, surrounded by men pointing their weapons. From the dock, distant glows of gunshots and silenced screams echoed, marking the end of a chapter in the old warehouse.