Chapter 160 – Advance and Doubt
Within the Sand Village's controlled territory of the Land of Rivers, Taichi's squad had become like a whirlwind of death, sweeping across the enemy's defensive lines.
In just five days, they had traveled from south to north—and then back from north to south—effectively touring the entire Sand Village frontline twice.
During that time, they had wiped out eight Sunagakure squads.
The only disappointment was that none of them had contained a jōnin.
Most were teams of genin led by a single chūnin.
Meanwhile, the Sand Village frontline camp had finally received reports about the mysterious squad wreaking havoc in their territory.
The reason they were discovered so quickly was simple.
This squad was absurdly arrogant.
Every time they finished a battle, they never bothered cleaning up the battlefield.
They simply left behind burning fields and the corpses of Sand shinobi.
---
Inside the largest tent of the Sand Village frontline camp, the atmosphere was both heated and tense.
Flickering firelight illuminated several hardened faces, their expressions weathered by years of desert winds.
A large map of the Land of Rivers lay spread across the central table.
Red and yellow flags had been pinned across its surface.
At the moment, yellow flags clearly dominated the territory.
A jōnin with fresh burn scars across his face pointed at the map with a wooden stick.
His voice carried a hint of vengeful satisfaction as he addressed the commander seated at the head of the table.
"Lord Shamon, the situation is exactly as we predicted."
"There is no doubt that Konoha's defensive line has developed a major weakness."
"Our newly developed poison has proven extremely effective."
"Konoha's antidote pills are almost useless against it."
Shamon remained silent.
He simply stared at the map, carefully analyzing the shifting positions of both sides.
The scar-faced jōnin continued his report.
"According to our intelligence agents, Konoha has been transporting poisoned shinobi back to the Land of Fire for treatment."
"Their frontline camp has no effective counter to our poison."
He slammed his fist onto the table, unable to hide his excitement.
"This has caused a serious shortage of manpower in their frontline forces!"
"In many areas, their patrols are practically nonexistent."
"They can barely maintain defensive positions around their key zones."
His words sparked murmurs of agreement throughout the tent.
Several shinobi leaned toward one another, whispering eagerly.
The mood in the room grew increasingly aggressive.
But not everyone shared that enthusiasm.
On the opposite side of the table, a young jōnin raised an objection.
"Everyone… please don't focus only on the surface situation."
He spoke calmly, though his tone was firm.
"Konoha may appear to be retreating and suffering increasing casualties."
"But in the past two days alone, multiple elite Konoha squads have infiltrated our controlled territory."
"Their attacks are precise and efficient. They move like the wind."
"Any of our patrol teams that encounter them are wiped out within minutes."
"At present, we still have no clear information about these squads."
"Our preliminary estimates suggest there are at least three such teams."
He paused, his voice growing sharper.
"Does that look like a force suffering from manpower shortages?"
"They're practically slapping us in the face!"
"And not just once or twice—"
"They're slapping us repeatedly!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became.
His face flushed with anger.
It was as though the humiliation inflicted by Konoha had personally insulted him.
"Jōnin Aokawa, calm yourself."
Shamon finally spoke.
"This is a strategy meeting."
"Everyone here is merely presenting their opinions."
He looked around the room calmly.
"All of us are here for the same purpose—the interests of the village."
"Our methods may differ, but our goal is the same."
Jōnin Aokawa took a deep breath after Shamon's reminder.
He nodded to the others in apology.
"My apologies. The recent losses in the rear lines have been heavy. I let my emotions get the better of me."
With that, he sat down and ended his remarks.
Just then, another jōnin sitting beside the scar-faced officer stood up.
His eyes were cold and calculating.
"Aokawa, you're being overly cautious."
"I see the situation very differently."
He glanced around the room before continuing.
"This actually proves that Konoha has reached its limit."
"That's exactly why they've begun sending out these elite squads—to harass us and slow our advance."
"If we become hesitant because of this, we'll fall right into their trap."
"They'll gain precious time to develop an antidote… or wait for reinforcements from their rear."
His voice grew more confident as he spoke.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"If we seize the moment, we could deal Konoha a devastating blow—"
"Perhaps even drive them entirely out of the Land of Rivers."
The tent immediately split into two camps.
Arguments broke out from every direction.
No one could convince the other.
Gradually, however, the heated discussion died down.
One by one, everyone turned their attention toward the man seated at the head of the table.
The frontline commander had remained silent the entire time.
Aside from calming Aokawa earlier, he hadn't spoken once.
Now, as the tent fell quiet and all eyes turned toward him, he finally raised his head.
His voice was hoarse but decisive.
"Shajiu makes a valid point."
"But Aokawa's concerns are also worth considering."
"Konoha's current predicament is real."
He tapped the map slowly.
"These so-called 'elite squads' are more likely desperate measures from an army running out of manpower."
"Their actions don't slow us down."
"On the contrary—they expose Konoha's weakness."
He suddenly stood up and stabbed his finger onto the map where Konoha still controlled a large area.
"Orders!"
All the Sunagakure jōnin immediately rose to attention.
"First—intensify the offensive!"
"All units currently resting in camp, including reserve forces, will reinforce the front line immediately."
"Drive forward like wedges into Konoha territory."
"Your primary objective is to inflict maximum casualties and force them to bleed continuously."
"Second—deploy elite puppet masters."
"Aokawa will select additional personnel to form specialized hunter squads."
"Your mission is to track down and eliminate those troublesome Konoha teams."
"Let them understand one thing—"
"Under the desert wind and sand, no rat escapes alive."
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"If Konoha has drawn its blades, then we will snap those blades one by one."
"The balance of victory always favors the side that applies relentless pressure."
The orders rang out like iron striking steel.
Morale surged throughout the tent.
Under their commander's direction, the war machine of Sunagakure was about to crash even more fiercely into what appeared to be a crumbling Konoha defense.
But in the end—
Who would have the last laugh?
---
While Sunagakure held their meeting, Taichi's squad had already returned to camp after completing their mission.
"Taichi, are we taking another mission next?"
Yōhei asked eagerly after turning in their report.
"Let's rest for a day first," Taichi replied.
"I need to check on the medical camp during that time."
"If we take another mission, it'll be the day after tomorrow."
Then he looked suspiciously at Yōhei.
"Why? Do you have something personal to take care of?"
Yōhei scratched his head awkwardly.
"It's Obito."
"I dragged him into training last time, and now he keeps pestering me."
"Since we're free anyway, I thought I'd give him some more 'guidance.'"
"I see."
Taichi nodded thoughtfully.
Actually, that wasn't a bad idea.
With Minato away and Rin busy in the medical camp, Obito and Kakashi were mostly idle.
Training with Yōhei and Saori would benefit them.
Suddenly, Taichi had an idea.
"Yōhei, bring Saori along."
"And drag Kakashi with you too."
"He's a Lightning Release user, and his strength isn't bad."
"It'd be good for him and Saori to exchange insights about Lightning techniques."
"Oh?"
Yōhei's eyes lit up.
"He's that strong?"
After all, Kakashi looked even younger than Taichi.
Yet Taichi had just called him "not weak."
That meant he must be a real prodigy.
"Of course he's strong," Taichi said casually.
"He's the son of the White Fang of Konoha."
"You can imagine how good his inherited swordsmanship must be."
"And his Lightning and Earth techniques are already quite refined."
"If you don't use the Sharingan, you might not even beat him."
That was all it took.
Yōhei's competitive spirit ignited instantly.
"No way I'm losing to some eight-year-old kid."
"Saori! Let's go find them right now!"
Without even resting, he grabbed Saori and ran off.
Saori glanced at Taichi before leaving.
Taichi nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Kakashi developed a Lightning technique called Chidori."
"It has huge potential."
"You should learn from each other."
Watching the two of them leave, Taichi turned and headed toward the medical camp.
---
Because of manpower shortages, Konoha shinobi on the front lines were under enormous pressure.
As a result, injuries were becoming more frequent.
The shinobi Taichi was treating at that moment was already the second time he had appeared in the medical tent within just a few days.
Fortunately, this was Konoha.
Their medical ninja training and techniques were the best in the shinobi world.
If this had been another village, the frontline would probably have collapsed under such casualty rates.
The medical camp was packed.
Injured shinobi lay everywhere, groaning in pain.
And these were trained ninja—far more resilient than ordinary people.
Otherwise, the scene might have resembled hell itself.
Taichi had already created four shadow clones to help treat patients.
Compared to ordinary medical ninja, his chakra reserves were enormous.
More than 50,000 units of chakra—roughly equivalent to five elite jōnin combined.
With his superior medical skill, the workload he handled alone rivaled that of half an entire medical team.
It wasn't that other medical ninja were incompetent.
Most of them spent nearly all their time studying medical knowledge and practicing healing techniques.
Very few people—like Taichi or Tsunade—could balance medical mastery while developing strength in other areas.
With Taichi's help, the number of patients began dropping rapidly.
By the second day of his rest period, most of the injured had already been treated.
But when his shadow clones finally dispelled, their accumulated exhaustion flooded back.
Even Taichi staggered slightly.
Fortunately, Rin quickly reached out and caught him.
"Are you alright, Taichi?"
Director Fujita also rushed over immediately.
Her expression was full of concern.
After all, Taichi had become the pillar of the medical camp.
If something happened to him, the entire operation would collapse.
"I'm fine," Taichi said, shaking his head.
"The fatigue from the shadow clones just came back all at once."
"I'll recover after some rest."
But Fujita clearly didn't believe him.
Many medical ninja could use shadow clones—but they rarely did.
The chakra cost was high, and the backlash after dispelling them could be severe.
If ordinary shinobi used four clones for nonstop healing like Taichi had done, they would probably collapse on the floor foaming at the mouth.
"There are barely any patients left now," Fujita said firmly.
"You're going back to rest."
Seeing Taichi hesitate, she raised her voice.
"Immediately. Right now."
"Rin, escort him back to his tent and make sure he rests."
Taichi sighed in surrender.
"Alright, alright. I'm going."
Honestly, arguing with a worried middle-aged woman was a losing battle.
Especially when she meant well.
As Taichi and Rin approached his tent, they suddenly heard a familiar burst of laughter.
When they lifted the tent flap—
Sure enough.
Minato was inside.
Obito was animatedly describing the hilarious training sessions he'd had with Yōhei over the past two days.
Minato listened with wide-eyed amusement.
Taichi's arrival immediately drew everyone's attention.
Except Obito.
His attention instantly locked onto Rin.
Taichi walked over and sat beside Minato.
"Just got back from a mission, Senior Brother?"
"Yeah," Minato replied with his warm smile.
"Thanks for taking care of them these past few days."
"It's nothing," Taichi said.
"They're my friends."
"Besides—aren't those two practically brothers now?"
He glanced toward Yōhei and Obito, who were wrestling playfully nearby.
The pair had become an oddly entertaining duo.
Ever since they started training together, Yōhei constantly found excuses to "discipline" Obito.
Sometimes it was for rude behavior.
Sometimes for sloppy training.
Honestly, Taichi sometimes wondered if Obito secretly enjoyed it.
But since both of them seemed happy, he let them be.
Maybe that was just the Uchiha way of bonding.
Minato watched them with a gentle smile.
But then he sighed.
"Honestly, I haven't been a very good squad leader."
"I only led them on low-rank missions for a month… and after that I had no time to teach them properly."
Taichi didn't respond.
Because deep down, he agreed.
Minato hesitated.
His gaze shifted between Taichi and the others.
Taichi immediately felt a bad premonition.
"Senior Brother… what is it?"
Minato laughed awkwardly.
"Well…"
"Your squad happens to be missing one member."
"How about letting Kakashi join your team for missions—for a while?"
Taichi stared at him in disbelief.
Did he just say that with a straight face?
You're dumping your own student onto me?!
What do you think this is?
Are you Tsunade? Am I Jiraiya?
Taichi complained furiously in his mind.
But the more he thought about it…
…the less terrible the idea seemed.
First, they trusted each other completely.
There was no risk of infiltration.
Second, their strength wasn't bad.
Especially Kakashi.
He was already close to special jōnin level.
If anything, Taichi might actually be getting a good deal.
The only concern was their lack of battlefield experience.
But that could be fixed with proper guidance.