Chapter 159 – Effortless Success
Taichi's voice wasn't loud.
Yet the moment he spoke, it was as if a thunderclap had struck the tent.
Every sound inside fell silent.
Even the groans of the patients paused for a moment.
"Really? Taichi… that fast?"
Director Fujita's eyes widened with joy. The good news had arrived so suddenly that it almost felt unreal.
"Of course," Taichi said with a confident smile.
"It's exactly what I suspected—this poison is derived from that red desert scorpion."
"And now that we know the source, I'll be able to produce the antidote within a day at most."
"Good! Good!"
Director Fujita paced excitedly in a small circle before suddenly remembering something.
She turned to the other doctors in the tent.
"Give all the patients painkillers—no more rationing them. Let everyone get a moment of relief."
Immediately, cheers erupted throughout the tent.
Both the patients and the medical staff were thanking Taichi and Director Fujita.
"Taichi, hurry and begin preparing the medicine," Fujita said quickly.
"I'll go inform Lord Jiraiya. He's been losing sleep over this poison problem."
"Alright, Director. Please go ahead."
Then Taichi turned to Rin.
"Stay here and help out where you can. I'm heading to the pharmacy to prepare the antidote."
Rin nodded eagerly.
Although she had only helped with simple tasks—fetching water and handing over tools—she felt a deep sense of pride hearing everyone praise Taichi.
At that moment, it felt as though she had discovered her own goal.
Her own path as a ninja.
---
Taichi worked through the entire night.
Inside the pharmacy room, he continuously experimented with different combinations of medicinal herbs, adjusting the ratios again and again.
Finally—
Just before noon the next day—
He succeeded in developing the complete antidote formula.
When the door of the pharmacy finally opened again, Director Fujita—who had been waiting outside the entire time—immediately stood up.
The first thing she saw was Taichi.
His eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, and his clothes were stained with traces of unknown medicinal substances.
Yet he looked extremely excited.
Waving a stack of notes and a small bottle in his hand, he shouted happily,
"It's done, Director!"
"Quickly bring some patients over. I've made a few antidote pills—we can test their effects immediately!"
He handed both the small bottle and the written formula to Fujita.
She wasted no time.
Two poisoned shinobi were quickly brought over.
At the same time, Fujita glanced at the paper in her hands.
It contained the full antidote formula—seven or eight medicinal ingredients along with a detailed and complex preparation process.
She looked up at Taichi.
Despite the exhaustion written all over his face, he was still glowing with excitement.
She wanted to say something.
But in the end, she remained silent.
There simply weren't words strong enough to express the gratitude she felt.
At that moment, two nurses helped the patients walk in.
From their condition, it was clear they were only lightly poisoned.
Even so, they were gritting their teeth tightly, enduring the pain without making a sound.
Seeing this, Director Fujita didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward, poured two pills from the bottle, and handed them over.
The two patients immediately took them.
Without a second thought, they tossed the pills into their mouths.
Behind them, Taichi was just about to warn them—
But it was too late.
He could only watch as they swallowed the pills whole.
The moment the pills reached their throats, both men's faces twisted with pain.
Director Fujita immediately became nervous and turned to look at Taichi.
But Taichi merely shook his head calmly.
No problem.
Only then did Fujita shift her attention back to the patients.
The two men had now swallowed the pills completely.
Almost at the same time, they both shouted toward the nearby nurse.
"Water! Quick—give us water!"
The nurse looked at them in surprise.
Still, she quickly brought over two cups.
Muttering under her breath, she said,
"You're not children anymore… and you still need water just to take medicine?"
The two patients didn't care about the nurse's muttering at all.
Grimacing, they snatched the cups the moment the water arrived and gulped them down in huge swallows.
Only after draining the cups did they finally slump onto the stools beside them, as if they had just been freed from torture.
Everyone around them looked confused by their exaggerated reaction.
Only Taichi, who had been quietly observing the entire time, finally spoke.
"Does it stop hurting now?"
The two men blinked in surprise.
The strong taste of the medicine had been so overwhelming that they had momentarily forgotten why they were even here.
They began patting themselves, checking their bodies.
"Hey… it really doesn't hurt anymore!"
"My head isn't spinning… and the numbness is gone too!"
"This medicine works incredibly fast!"
The other patient suddenly added,
"It just tastes horrible. I never want to eat something like that again in my life."
"Yeah! Same here! Never again!"
"Enough!" Director Fujita snapped.
"Do you think this is candy?"
Seeing them casually chatting while the medical camp was overflowing with patients made her furious.
"If you're cured, then get out of here! The medical camp is already overcrowded!"
"Yes! Yes!"
The two men quickly helped each other up and hobbled out of the tent.
---
"Taichi… what was that about just now?" Fujita asked.
Although she had scolded them harshly, she was still responsible enough to ask.
Taichi waved it off.
"Nothing serious. The medicine just tastes terrible."
"When you produce more later, you can mix in a little honey to improve the flavor."
His tone was casual.
After all, most of the medicines he created tasted awful—even he had gotten used to it.
Director Fujita immediately smiled.
Looking at the bottle in her hand—three antidote pills still remaining—she quickly called over a nurse.
"Give these three pills to the patients with the most severe poisoning."
After giving the order, she began carefully studying the formula Taichi had written.
But the more she read, the deeper her frown became.
Producing the antidote according to the formula wasn't difficult.
However, the medical theory behind it…
She could only understand about half of it.
Shaking her head helplessly, she looked toward Taichi.
He was already yawning repeatedly.
Only then did she realize—
He hadn't slept for an entire night.
And the work he had been doing required intense mental effort.
A wave of guilt washed over her.
"Taichi, go get some rest," she said quickly.
"I'll handle the antidote production from here."
Taichi nodded.
"Alright. I'll go rest for a bit."
His steps were unsteady as he walked back toward his tent.
He truly was exhausted.
---
After Taichi disappeared from view, Fujita picked up the formula again and hurried toward the medical logistics department.
There were specialized pharmacists there responsible for preparing medicines.
After all, on the front lines, they couldn't rely on the village to provide everything.
Battlefield conditions changed constantly.
If they had waited for the village to solve the poison problem, half the frontline forces might already have been dead.
After arranging the production work, Fujita immediately headed toward the central command tent.
Such important news had to be reported to the frontline commander.
---
"You're saying the antidote has already been developed?"
Jiraiya's eyes lit up with joy.
This was the best news he had heard in days.
The constant screams of poisoned shinobi echoing throughout the camp had been devastating for morale.
"Yes, Lord Jiraiya," Fujita replied.
"Taichi completed it overnight. We've already begun mass production."
"In another day or two, every shinobi leaving the camp should be able to carry an antidote pill."
"Heh!" Jiraiya grinned proudly.
"Just as expected from my disciple!"
"He's got my style—whatever he does, he succeeds!"
He paced around the tent happily, muttering to himself.
"My disciple… my disciple…"
Fujita couldn't help rolling her eyes.
Wasn't Taichi clearly Tsunade's student?
"Lord Jiraiya, I've delivered the report," she said.
"I still need to supervise the medicine production, so I'll take my leave."
Without waiting for his reply, she turned and left.
---
Only then did Jiraiya snap out of his prideful mood.
Seeing the now-empty tent, he shrugged and shouted outside.
"Shikaku! Shikaku! Get in here—great news!"
Soon, a young shinobi entered the tent.
It was Nara Shikaku, serving as Jiraiya's strategist.
The moment he arrived, Jiraiya grabbed him excitedly and explained the antidote situation in just a few sentences.
Then he grinned.
"So tell me…"
"Can we use this opportunity to give Sunagakure a proper trap?"
Shikaku's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You mean…"
"Feign weakness… lure the enemy deeper… then surround and annihilate them?"
Jiraiya nodded repeatedly with a mischievous grin.
The two men huddled together, whispering and plotting for nearly an hour before finalizing the plan.
However, Shikaku eventually raised a concern.
"Lord Jiraiya, the later stage of this plan requires us to temporarily withdraw the camp."
"Shouldn't we report this to the village first?"
"If something goes wrong, the higher-ups might hold us responsible."
Shikaku was simply offering a reasonable reminder.
But Jiraiya frowned.
The plan was bold—and risky.
But if it succeeded, the rewards would be enormous.
And Konoha's current leadership preferred caution above all else.
After Orochimaru's earlier proposal had been rejected, there was no guarantee they would approve such a daring plan.
Yet opportunities like this were rare.
If they missed it now, they might never get another chance.
"Forget reporting it," Jiraiya said firmly.
"If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
In that moment, the authority and resolve of one of the Legendary Sannin became clear.
Shikaku nodded.
Truthfully, he also wanted the plan to proceed.
But as merely an advisor, he needed someone like Jiraiya to take the lead.
Soon, secrecy orders were distributed throughout the logistics, medical units, and all shinobi who knew about the antidote.
Those who had already been cured were even ordered to disguise themselves as wounded and be loudly escorted toward the rear lines.
---
When Taichi finally woke up from his sleep, he immediately received the secrecy order.
At the same time, he learned the full details of the plan.
He couldn't help admiring it.
Konoha really does have brilliant minds.
People who could create opportunities from impossible situations…
And identify the one critical breakthrough among countless variables.
Jiraiya and his strategist clearly excelled at this.
With nothing else to do, Taichi walked toward the medical camp again.
Yōhei and Saori were nowhere to be seen.
They had probably already left on missions.
This had been agreed upon beforehand.
Their squad was extremely strong.
Unless the village assigned a specific team mission, there was no need for all three of them to move together.
Especially with a captain like Taichi, who had many roles to fulfill.
Whenever they arrived at a frontline camp, he would inevitably spend time helping in the medical unit.
There was no need for Yōhei and Saori to wait for him.
---
As Taichi entered the medical camp, he quickly spotted Rin working nearby.
It seemed Minato still hadn't returned from his mission.
After a day of practice, Rin had gradually begun adapting to the work.
Taichi quietly walked up behind her.
She was using the Mystical Palm Technique fairly skillfully to stop a patient's bleeding before wrapping the wound with bandages.
The entire process wasn't perfect yet.
But she didn't make any mistakes.
After finishing with one patient, Rin stood up to move to the next—
Only then did she notice Taichi standing behind her.
Her face immediately lit up with surprise and joy.
Taichi raised a thumbs-up.
"Well done, Rin."
"Looks like you've adapted here pretty quickly."
Rin smiled gently.
"That's only because Director Fujita asked everyone to take extra care of me—for your sake."
"So I still have to thank you."
She brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
Taichi laughed lightly.
"Alright. Seeing you doing so well puts my mind at ease."
"Just keep following your instincts. If you run into any problems, come find me."
"I'll go see if there's anything else I can help with."
He waved and walked toward the area with the most patients.
---
Over the next few days, events unfolded exactly as Jiraiya and Shikaku had planned.
As more poisoned shinobi appeared, they were secretly transferred to the rear after treatment.
This created the illusion that Konoha's forces were suffering heavy losses.
Soon, the number of available shinobi on the front lines began to drop.
Konoha's casualty reports gradually increased.
Watching the wounded flowing into the medical camp each day, Taichi sometimes felt a pang of discomfort.
But he understood.
This was part of the plan.
Victory always required sacrifice.
---
Then one day, Taichi's squad received a mission order.
They were to move forward and intercept Sunagakure squads, while supporting Konoha teams that had been defeated.
This too was part of the strategy.
Sending elite teams forward would reinforce the illusion that Konoha was desperately committing its best forces to stabilize the situation.
---
Near the border of the Land of Wind, the terrain changed dramatically.
The forests grew sparse.
Low hills dominated the landscape.
Branches of the Shinano River spread across the region like veins.
Taichi and his teammates moved swiftly through forests and rivers, patrolling the vast area.
Because of manpower shortages, ordinary Konoha shinobi were rarely sent here anymore.
This area was already close to Sunagakure's defensive territory.
Not long after beginning their patrol, Taichi suddenly sensed something.
"At one o'clock. Two kilometers away."
"A Sunagakure squad."
"Looks like a chūnin team."
He changed direction immediately.
"We'll eliminate them with ninjutsu."
"Make sure the attack is loud."
At full shinobi speed, two kilometers took only three or four minutes to cover.
Before the enemy even noticed them, Yōhei and Saori had already prepared their techniques.
Their hand seals were held in a state just short of release.
The moment the distance closed—
Taichi launched Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet.
Yōhei followed with Great Fireball Technique.
Saori unleashed a Lightning Net.
The three attacks roared forward together.
---
Meanwhile, the Sunagakure squad had no idea danger was approaching.
Their recent battles against Konoha had been going well.
Their growing confidence had dulled their vigilance.
By the time flames and lightning crashed down on them—
They still didn't even know where the attack had come from.
Two shinobi reacted quickly enough to escape the blast zone.
The other two were not so lucky.
Paralyzed by lightning and consumed by fire—
By the time the techniques faded, they were already dead.
As for the two survivors…
Their luck lasted only a few seconds longer.
Before they could even turn around—
Two figures appeared beside them.
A blade across the throat.
A kunai through the heart.
They died instantly, without pain.
---
The entire battle had lasted less than twenty seconds.
Taichi glanced briefly at the battlefield.
There was no need to clean up.
In fact, the point was to make sure Sunagakure discovered the scene.
The three regrouped.
Without a second glance, they vanished into the landscape—
Continuing their hunt.