"You can all go back and rest now, as I have already dealt with most of the injuries on the patients."
Amamiya Rei raised her voice slightly as she noticed more and more medi-nin gathering nearby, clearly intending for everyone present to hear her.
Much like Abe Yoichi earlier, the medi-nin stared at Amamiya Rei in shock.
"Y..you alone treated the injured in… three entire wards?"
The medi-nin who asked the question looked as though his worldview had just been forcibly rearranged.
Amamiya Rei nodded calmly and replied, "I used to help out at the Konoha Hospital, and there were always many injured shinobi there as well, so in order not to delay treatment, I have been continuously refining my medical ninjutsu."
"From now on, I also hope that all of you senpai will be willing to give me your guidance."
Under different circumstances, such words might have carried the sharp edge of provocation, yet when all the medical-nin present met Rei's sincere and earnest gaze, any trace of such suspicion was instinctively suppressed.
After all, she was just a kind-hearted young girl who neither feared hardship nor fatigue, so how could she possibly understand what provocation even meant?
Abe Yoichi stared at Amamiya Rei without blinking.
She really was… an angel.
Abe Yoichi roared internally.
"Rei, let's go eat dinner together!"
"Honestly, you did so much work today that I'll give you my chicken leg tonight!"
"Hahaha, then I'll give Rei my chicken leg too!"
"..."
Surrounded by enthusiastic medi-nin as they headed toward the dining area, Amamiya Rei did his best to suppress the urge to burp.
He politely declined everyone's insistence on giving him the only chicken leg available.
He had already eaten more than enough.
...
A hawk sliced through the clear blue sky, crossing half of Konoha before landing on a vermilion-painted window frame.
A hand extended from inside the window, removed the message tube tied to the hawk's leg, and the bird began calmly preening its feathers on the spot.
The owner of that hand opened the letter, sat down on a chair, and read it carefully.
Having received no further instructions, the hawk spread its wings, gave a powerful flap, and soared back into the sky, circling freely above Konoha.
Inside the Hokage's office, silence reigned.
After an unknown amount of time, a long sigh finally sounded, accompanied by the faint rustle of paper being set down upon the desk.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood from his chair and walked toward the window, gazing out at the village that showed no sign of being affected by the war, warmth surfacing quietly in his eyes.
When he recalled the contents of the letter, however, his expression grew heavy once more.
The letter had come from the front lines.
It was not a battle report.
It was a letter from Yamanaka Inoichi.
And the subject of that letter was Amamiya Rei.
Its contents did nothing more than confirm Sarutobi Hiruzen's judgment.
Amamiya Rei was a good child.
Yet it was precisely because she was such an impeccable seedling in both character and talent that Sarutobi Hiruzen felt guilty about forcing her growth.
It had been he who leaked the movements of the reinforcement unit to the enemy shinobi.
Because more than anyone else, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that only when facing life and death would a person's true nature be revealed.
Amamiya Rei's performance had unfolded exactly as he had anticipated.
She had hesitated to deliver fatal blows to the enemy out of kindness, yet ultimately chose to kill when her companions were injured.
What comforted Sarutobi Hiruzen was that Rei had not remained trapped in anguish for long after killing.
Her actions on the battlefield, including constructing hospital wards with Mokuton, had also been recorded in the letter.
Watching the hawk glide through the clouds, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled faintly.
Only by enduring wind and rain, fire and lightning, could the strongest bones be forged.
Because he placed extremely high expectations on Amamiya Rei, it was all the more necessary that she be thoroughly tempered by war.
The hawk landed on Sarutobi Hiruzen's arm extended out the window.
He placed the reply he had already written into the message tube and secured it to the hawk's leg.
With a gentle upward motion, he sent the bird skyward.
The hawk vanished like a bolt of lightning, disappearing from Sarutobi Hiruzen's sight.
...
Late at night, when all was quiet.
Amamiya Rei lay on the bed inside his tent, grinning from ear to ear as he stared at the two glowing status bars floating above him.
This was truly miraculous, so wonderfully satisfying that even Bulbasaur eating corn chips and wandering into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse would pale in comparison.
Shinobi who could survive long enough to fight on the battlefield were undeniably more nutritious than those sent back to the village hospital.
His chakra had surged to 14,800,000, while his sunlight value had climbed to 1,470,000.
Several ninjutsu had also reached the threshold for fusion.
This was only the first day, and Amamiya Rei had already begun imagining the magnificent life that awaited him.
If he could also eat shinobi from other villages on the battlefield, he could even switch flavors once in a while.
This was the life of his dreams.
Even after completing the ninjutsu fusion, Amamiya Rei still could not fall asleep.
Brimming with energy, he decided to step outside the tent and admire the moonlight.
Avoiding the patrol-nin and sensory-nin with ease, he soon found a quiet, open cliff at the rear of the camp.
Sitting upon a rock, he briefly felt the urge to howl at the moon.
Naturally, that remained a mere thought.
If he actually did something like that, where would his pretty face go?
Amamiya Rei reached back and touched the biwa strapped behind him, instantly feeling reassured.
Although the biwa was large and inconvenient to carry, its usefulness was undeniable.
He had carried it all day, wrapped in black cloth and slung across his back without complaint.
He had noticed Kakashi and Shisui casting curious glances at it more than once, all of which he calmly pretended not to see.
A strange sensation suddenly swept over Amamiya Rei's entire body.
Amamiya Rei released his perception.
A foreign chakra presence emerged behind him.
A flash of steel cut through the air..
The snake lunging for Amamiya Rei's neck was immediately severed into two pieces.
Even after being cut in half, the snake continued writhing.
Finding the sight unpleasant, Amamiya Rei averted his gaze and looked toward the figure emerging from behind a tree.
Orochimaru.
His face bore that same unsettling smile as always.
Without warning, Orochimaru extended his arms, and countless snakes surged from his sleeves, rushing toward Amamiya Rei like a living tide.
As the snake swarm closed in, Amamiya Rei accelerated his blade.
Heads fell one after another.
Blood splattered across the ground.
With an increasingly sour expression, Amamiya Rei stared at Orochimaru and asked, "Why did you attack me?"
Orochimaru let out a hoarse chuckle.
"This is not an attack."
A true attack would never be this gentle.
"This is a test."
Rei frowned slightly, confusion flickering across her face as she asked, "Why are you testing me?"
"Because my sensei, Hokage-sama, instructed me to help you train and improve your strength."
Orochimaru slowly licked his upper lip with his long tongue, his gaze never leaving Amamiya Rei.
"I see."
Amamiya Rei nodded in sudden realization, her brows relaxing as she offered sincere thanks. "Then I truly must thank Hokage-sama, and I must also thank you, Orochimaru-sama. From here on out, I look forward to your guidance."
Orochimaru fell silent.
You actually believed that?
Amamiya Rei continued to stare at Orochimaru with her wide, sparkling eyes.
A free tool was still a tool, and there was no reason not to use it.
***
If you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a vote and share your thoughts in the comments. I'd love to hear what you think! 💕
Don't forget to check out my Telegram channel for more fresh updates and newly added novels.
https://t.me/starlitscript