Hyuga Arin received one piece of good news—and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that he had farmed another hundred thousand-plus experience points.
[Experience: 384312]
He had also finally completed Stone Breathing.
[Stone Breathing (lv1) EXP (0/500) Trait (None)]
The bad news was—
The Cloud ninja had retreated.
When Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru returned to the main battlefield where the fighting was densest, all the Cloud ninja turned around and fled without the slightest hesitation.
In no time at all, every last Cloud ninja vanished, leaving without any intention of lingering.
Hyuga Arin actually felt a bit reluctant to see them go, but there was no way he could stop their retreat. He could only watch them leave with lingering regret.
All that remained were the Konoha ninja, beginning to clean up the battlefield and retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades.
Orochimaru walked up to Arin, staring at the flames still burning on his forehead. He couldn't help but stick out his tongue and lick his lips.
There was already a hint of that future, sinister vibe.
Arin eyed Orochimaru warily.
"Orochimaru-sensei, why do you look like you want to dissect me?"
Orochimaru scratched his cheek.
Was it really that obvious?
"Ahem." He coughed awkwardly, trying to cover up his thoughts. "Your bloodline limit… it's very impressive."
A thirteen-year-old ninja who had already developed a bloodline limit—and one with such terrifying heat. When they arrived earlier, he had even seen those flames explode.
A brand-new bloodline limit like this had enormous research value.
And the fact that it came from a Hyuga only made that value skyrocket.
"It was just developed," Arin said, suddenly looking expectant. "Hey, Orochimaru-sensei, how about we spar a bit?"
Orochimaru shook his head rapidly.
With how lethal Arin's Fire Release bloodline looked, he was afraid he'd turn into a roasted snake.
"You'd better not spar with people using this Fire Release," Orochimaru said seriously. "It's too easy to hurt someone."
Even if Arin could control the flames themselves, he couldn't control their temperature.
Normal sparring was about mutual improvement. Sparring with Arin was about turning yourself into barbecue.
The blue flames on Arin's body slowly extinguished, and disappointment appeared on his face.
Orochimaru's mouth twitched.
So he really did want to roast him.
"So… does that mean the Cloud front is over?" Arin asked, looking toward the distant cliffs. With his Byakugan, he could no longer see any Cloud ninja.
"This front is finished," Orochimaru nodded, his expression turning solemn. "Next, we'll be moving to completely conclude this war."
Arin looked at him with visible disappointment.
"Conclude it? So soon?"
Why do you look disappointed?! Orochimaru stared at Arin speechlessly.
At the Cloud front's main Konoha camp, cries and groans filled the air.
This battle had cost Konoha many lives, and the number of injured was even greater.
In the open space of the camp, rows upon rows of stretchers were laid out.
Tsunade was personally treating the wounded, but even with her strength, she could only prioritize those on the brink of death.
Her summon, Katsuyu, was also channeling Tsunade's chakra to provide basic treatment to the injured.
When Arin and Orochimaru walked out of the command tent, this was the scene that greeted them.
"Konoha has far too few medical ninja," Arin said as he rolled up his sleeves, clearly intending to help.
"When the war first began, Tsunade proposed that Konoha train medical ninja," Orochimaru said, shaking his head. "But Sensei rejected it."
Training medical ninja required massive resources, and during missions, medical ninja also needed dedicated protection.
It was a good proposal—but it had been raised during wartime. Konoha simply didn't have the time or capacity to restructure squads and cultivate medical ninja.
"But what are you planning to do?" Orochimaru asked, completely confused by Arin's sleeves-rolled-up posture.
"I'm a medical ninja too. Of course I'm going to help," Arin replied, looking at him like this should be obvious.
"You? A medical ninja?" Orochimaru had even more question marks.
With killing intent that strong, Arin being a medical ninja was impossible.
If Arin said he moonlighted as a slaughterhouse butcher, Orochimaru would believe him.
But a medical ninja?
Had the sun risen in the west?
Arin rolled his eyes. "I'm Tsunade-sensei's personally taught medical ninjutsu disciple."
And his medical ninjutsu was already level four—no worse than those so-called experienced medical ninja.
Well… aside from Tsunade, there really weren't many experienced medical ninja anyway.
Arin went straight in to help treat the wounded. Tsunade glanced at him once, then ignored him.
She had taught Arin medical ninjutsu for a while, originally hoping to cultivate him as a medical ninja—but that plan had ultimately failed.
Although his medical experience was limited, he could still handle basic treatment.
Tsunade returned her focus to the ninja before her, whose neck had been nearly severed yet who hadn't died.
If he wasn't treated immediately, he truly would die. She used the Mystical Palm Technique while stitching the wound with wire.
With no proper medical tools, she had to make do with whatever was available.
Just as she was carefully treating him—
"All done. Next."
Arin's voice rang out.
Tsunade glanced over and saw a ninja sitting up on his stretcher—a lightly injured patient.
Her heart sank slightly. At a time like this, priority should be given to the critically wounded.
She sighed internally. Arin's medical knowledge still seemed insufficient.
Then she saw Arin walk toward a critically injured ninja who had lost an arm and was unconscious—and relaxed.
So he did understand priorities.
She refocused on her patient.
"All done. Next."
Tsunade's hand suddenly trembled, and the wire pierced the patient's cheek.
The ninja who had just regained consciousness stared at her resentfully.
Tsunade smacked him on the head, knocking him out again.
She couldn't help but look toward Arin.
And then her eyes widened.
That critically injured ninja was no longer in danger—and had even regained consciousness!
When did Arin's medical skill become this good?!
Arin glanced at his medical ninjutsu, which had just leveled up on its own, and nodded in satisfaction.
[Medical Ninjutsu (lv5) EXP (0/8000) Trait (None)]
Look at that—medical ninjutsu leveling itself up, while every other skill demanded experience.
The difference was enormous.
[Experience +853]
Arin stared at the experience gained, deep in thought.
Healing experience was calculated based on the patient's strength and severity of injury.
The ninja he had just treated was only a genin, but was critically injured and near death—yet still gave over eight hundred experience.
The previous one had been a chūnin, also heavily injured but not dying, and had given a similar amount.
Arin scanned the area, then deliberately walked toward the most severely wounded patients.
If there was no more battlefield experience to farm—
He'd just grind it right here instead.
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