The next morning, the wind and rain finally subsided.
Chiya and Tsunade, the latter looking unusually radiant, stood outside what had once been Konoha’s defensive line.
In the distance, towering steel structures gleamed coldly beneath the morning sunlight.
A Konoha messenger hawk came flying toward them at high speed and landed in front of Tsunade.
The hawk transformed into a puff of white smoke, leaving behind only an intelligence scroll in her hands.
“The main camp has been relocated. It’ll take us about an hour to get there.”
“Mm. Then we’d better set out early.”
Tsunade rolled up the scroll and glanced at Chiya beside her.
His eyes were no longer bandaged, but there was still a faint trace of fatigue deep within his pupils.
He’s recovering pretty quickly.
She thought to herself.
Without realizing it, she slowed her pace slightly.
“Everyone, pack up! We’re leaving!”
“Yes, Lady Tsunade!”
Konoha’s Main Camp Outside Amegakure
Chiya, Tsunade, and the others arrived at Konoha’s main camp.
After passing through several checkpoints, they finally met the commander-in-chief of the campaign—
Sakumo Hatake.
He was a tall man with short, silver-white hair that stood up like steel needles.
Several faint scars marked his resolute face, while the calmness in his eyes revealed the experience of someone who had spent years on the battlefield.
He wore Konoha’s standard flak jacket.
The short sword strapped across his back remained sheathed, yet it still seemed to radiate a sharp killing intent.
When Sakumo saw Tsunade, he gave a slight nod.
His voice was deep and powerful.
“Tsunade.”
“You encountered an attack earlier?”
Tsunade crossed her arms and snorted.
“Sunagakure ambushed one of our units.”
“But it’s already been dealt with.”
“Dealt with?”
Sakumo paused.
“Do we have a detailed casualty report?”
Tsunade lowered her head, pulled a small ledger from inside her clothes, and handed it to him.
Anyone whose name appears in this ledger may one day have their name engraved on Konoha’s memorial stone.
“It’s all recorded here.”
Sakumo accepted it and flipped through the pages.
After seeing the casualties from the previous day’s battle, he let out a small breath of relief.
A smile appeared on his face.
“Tsunade, I’ll leave the medical supplies and medical-ninja operations to you.”
Tsunade could only nod helplessly.
“Cough, cough!”
Chiya suddenly coughed.
Tsunade immediately turned toward him with concern.
“Chiya, are you all right?”
That small exchange immediately caught Sakumo’s attention.
His gaze shifted.
He quietly studied the young man whom Tsunade seemed to care about so much.
Because Sakumo had been continuously stationed at the front lines, he hadn’t returned to Konoha for some time.
He knew very little about what Chiya had accomplished.
Especially the medical system Chiya had helped establish.
The only information he had received from the village was that Tsunade would be leading a group of medical ninjas to the front.
Naturally, Sakumo welcomed their arrival.
After all, as a commander who had spent years fighting on the front lines, he understood better than most how valuable medical ninjas were.
No one wanted to watch a friend or comrade suffer a serious injury and then die simply because there was no one capable of treating them.
Medical ninjas…
Who knew how many lives they could save?
Sakumo looked at the young man standing before him.
Pale complexion.
Black hair.
Black eyes.
Could he be the Uchiha Tsunade asked me to find?
One of his subordinates had been carrying out another mission.
Once he returned, Sakumo could ask him about it.
Just then—
Rapid footsteps came from outside the tent.
“Report!”
A Jōnin lifted the tent flap and entered.
His face was filled with barely concealed excitement.
“Lord Sakumo, yesterday’s battle report has been compiled!”
Sakumo glanced at Tsunade, Chiya, and the medical ninjas standing behind them.
After a brief moment of thought, he said,
“Read it.”
The Jōnin straightened his back.
His voice rang through the tent.
“Yesterday, our forces launched a surprise attack on the Sunagakure camp.”
“We killed a total of one hundred and thirty-seven enemy shinobi!”
“The entire combat force deployed by Sunagakure was annihilated!”
The shinobi inside the tent immediately brightened.
Someone couldn’t help but whisper in admiration.
“I never expected us to achieve such a result…”
“If Lord Sakumo hadn’t seized the opportunity yesterday, how could we have achieved such a great victory?”
“Exactly. Konoha won a major victory this time. Lord Sakumo personally led the charge and broke through the puppet forces. He deserves the greatest credit!”
“…”
Sakumo listened to their praise without becoming arrogant.
Instead, his brow furrowed slightly.
He remembered the casualty ledger Tsunade had shown him.
Then his gaze turned toward her.
“The time you were attacked…”
“Was that also in the afternoon?”
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
“More or less.”
Sakumo lightly tapped his fingers against the table.
His voice became more serious.
“That was when I was leading my men in the assault on Sunagakure’s main camp…”
Could this have been a diversion?
His eyes sharpened as he considered whether they had fallen into an enemy trap.
If Sunagakure knew the location of Tsunade’s medical unit, why hadn’t they sent an elite force to eliminate it?
Could there be something else going on that I’m not aware of?
At that moment, a timid voice came from the corner of the tent.
“Is… is this really considered a major victory?”
Everyone froze.
They turned toward the speaker.
It was a young medical ninja who had accompanied Tsunade.
The young man immediately realized that everyone was looking at him and became frightened by his own outburst.
But when he remembered what Uchiha Chiya had done the previous day, he gathered his courage and continued.
“Wouldn’t Lady Tsunade’s side have a much more astonishing battle report?”
“Lord Chiya single-handedly annihilated three to four hundred elite Sand shinobi…”
“He even killed Ebizō of Sunagakure…”
His voice grew quieter and quieter until it was almost a mumble.
The tent instantly fell silent.
Every gaze turned toward Chiya.
The atmosphere seemed to freeze.
The Jōnin who had been reading the report opened his mouth wide.
The scroll slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
He didn’t even notice.
Sakumo’s pupils contracted sharply.
“Three to four hundred?”
If that was the actual number of enemies involved in the ambush, everything suddenly made sense.
The most straightforward and effective strategy would have been to eliminate the enemy medical unit first.
Once the enemy’s medical support was destroyed, their casualties would gradually increase while their morale collapsed.
But then—
Why had the casualty numbers reported by Tsunade’s side been so low?
Could it be…?
Sakumo suddenly looked at Chiya.
For the first time, genuine shock appeared in his eyes.
The Uchiha youth who had remained silent this entire time was still standing there calmly.
But only now did Sakumo notice the faint pressure surrounding him.
It was like a demonic blade concealed within its sheath.
“Tell me everything.”
Sakumo’s voice had unconsciously become solemn.
The medical ninja swallowed nervously and began describing what had happened.
“Wave after wave of Sand shinobi…”
“A desperate encirclement…”
“And then…”
“That pair of Sharingan eyes…”
“They… they were like something out of a nightmare.”
“They looked as though all the moisture had been drained from their bodies…”
“They instantly became dried corpses…”
The temperature inside the tent seemed to drop.
Almost every shinobi who had just learned the truth went through the same progression—
Shock.
Then horror.
Some even unconsciously took half a step backward.
This isn’t merely strength.
This is a battlefield meat grinder.
Sakumo remained silent for a long time.
Then he strode toward Chiya.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone present, the man known throughout the shinobi world as the White Fang of Konoha solemnly extended his hand.
There was unprecedented excitement in his voice.
“This achievement is enough to be recorded in Konoha’s history.”
“With you joining us, I think this war may be over very soon.”
There was no longer any mere courtesy in his praise.
It was genuine respect.
Chiya smiled faintly and shook his hand.
“I was just lucky.”
Tsunade stood nearby.
She looked at their clasped hands.
Then she glanced at the mixture of awe and fear in the eyes of everyone inside the tent.
A complicated feeling welled up inside her.
Idiots…
She understood better than anyone what kind of price Chiya had paid beneath that casual smile.
She suddenly spoke, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
“Where is the wounded-patient camp?”
“I need to inspect the treatment situation.”
Sakumo immediately noticed the impatience in her voice.
He thoughtfully glanced at Chiya before pointing toward the west.
“The newly constructed medical tents are there. The medical supplies and medicines have already been prepared according to the village’s requirements…”
Tsunade had already turned around and walked outside.
Her blue-violet outer robe swept through the air behind her.
Chiya watched her departing figure.
The corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.