Taiichi ducked into an empty resting tent, pulled out paper and a pen from his pouch, and started writing a letter to Tsunade.
First, he poured out how much he missed her. Even writing it made his face burn—he felt ridiculous putting something so sappy on paper.
Next, he gave her a quick update on everything that had happened lately: the battles he'd fought, how he was doing, and a gentle nudge asking her to come back to Konoha for a visit whenever she had the chance.
The real reason for the letter, though, was the Yin Seal.
He explained that he'd seen the description of it in the notes she'd left him. With his chakra constantly running low during fights, the seal would be a perfect solution. Yesterday especially had been rough—he'd stood there completely empty, forced to watch wounded Leaf shinobi die right in front of him because he had nothing left to give them.
(He may have exaggerated that part just a little. Sure, he felt responsible as a medical ninja, but he wasn't about to shoulder guilt for things beyond his control.)
When he finished, he read the whole thing over. It sounded genuine and heartfelt. Satisfied, he formed the hand seals and summoned Katsuyu.
"Please deliver this to Lady Tsunade for me."
With the slug gone, all that was left was to wait for his teacher's reply.
Stepping out of the tent, Taiichi was about to head for the medical camp when he spotted a familiar golden head near the main gate. Minato was giving orders to a small group that had gathered.
It was Yohei, Saori, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin—all of them geared up and ready to move.
Taiichi walked over, curious.
Yohei spotted him first and waved with his usual energy. "Hey, Taiichi! You finally came out!"
Taiichi's face darkened. "I wasn't in prison. Why does that sound so dramatic?"
"I just went to a meeting and wrote a letter. The way you said it makes it sound like I was gone for years," he complained, which only made Saori and Rin cover their mouths to hide their laughter.
His eyes swept over the ready team, then landed on Minato. "Sensei, you're taking them out on patrol?"
"That's right," Minato answered with his usual warm smile. "We need to tighten security around the camp perimeter. Perfect chance to bring them along."
After yesterday's battle, Minato clearly trusted their abilities now. Even Obito and Rin had performed well beyond normal genin level.
Yohei slung an arm around Obito's neck and grinned at Taiichi. "You're stuck helping out at the medical camp for a while, right?"
He pointed toward the busy tents. "I heard you went straight back there last night the second your chakra recovered a bit and treated all the critically wounded. That's why you slept in this morning—you pulled another all-nighter!"
His tone was light, but Taiichi caught the hint of worry underneath.
Yohei gave Obito's shoulder a pat. "Since no one's assigning us missions right now and Captain Minato needs extra hands, tagging along with him for patrol is the best use of our time. Beats sitting around doing nothing, right, Saori?"
Saori nodded quietly in agreement. Their own squad was still short a member and their captain was busy, so taking independent missions came with too many restrictions. Following Minato was familiar and safe.
Obito puffed out his chest. "We're not dead weight! Besides, we've got Captain Minato leading us—nothing can go wrong!"
Kakashi stayed quiet, hands in his pockets, mask covering most of his face. He simply gave Taiichi a small nod.
The past weeks of intense fighting had pushed him forward fast. His Lightning Release had improved noticeably from trading notes with Saori. Right now he just wanted more real combat to test his new strength.
Rin stood behind Kakashi and offered Taiichi a slightly shy smile.
Looking at the group, Taiichi couldn't help but smile. Yohei's whole "we won't bother you, go do your important stuff" attitude—and the unspoken message that they could handle things without him—was kind of funny. Life really had flipped. Not long ago Minato had dropped Kakashi's team on him. Now it was Taiichi's turn to hand his own teammates off to Minato.
He had zero shame about it. Grinning at Minato, he said, "Then I'll leave them in your hands, Sensei. The front line just stabilized, so there might still be stray Sand ninjas lurking around. Stay sharp."
"Will do," Minato replied with a firm nod, then turned to the team. "Alright, let's move out. Kakashi and Obito, you take the left flank for scouting. Yohei and Saori, right flank. Rin and I will stay center for support."
The squad quickly fell into formation and vanished into the trees outside the camp in a blur of motion.
Taiichi watched them go for a moment, then turned and headed toward his own battlefield—the medical camp.
---
The battle in the Land of Rivers had ended, but the cleanup was only just beginning.
Yesterday's ambush had started at the planned spot and spilled all the way to the border of the Land of Wind. That left the follow-up teams with a massive job.
On top of their regular duties, they now had to search for survivors (or bodies), hunt down any Sand stragglers still hiding in the area, and clear the battlefield itself. In the summer heat, leaving corpses out too long would cause disease outbreaks.
Right now, Minato's patrol had reached a spot four kilometers southeast of the camp when a faint groan caught their attention.
The squad instantly dropped into a defensive formation and listened.
They soon found a Sand ninja inside a hollow tree, barely conscious and moaning in pain.
"Look, Captain Minato," Yohei said, pointing at the man.
"Collapsed chest, severe fire-style burns. He's not going to make it," Kakashi said after one glance.
"He looks about our age," Obito muttered, voice strangely quiet—somewhere between pity and helplessness.
"No value as a prisoner. Give him a quick end," Minato said after checking the wounds. Someone this young on the front lines was basically cannon fodder. Not everyone could be like Taiichi, Yohei, or Kakashi.
Yohei nodded and stepped forward. He looked down at the Sand ninja, who was still grimacing in pain even while unconscious.
"I'll make it quick so you don't have to suffer anymore. This is the most mercy I can give you."
His kunai flashed once, sliding cleanly up through the jaw and into the brain. The Sand ninja twitched once, then went still.
Scenes like this were happening all across the battlefield right now. Sometimes it was the enemy. Sometimes it was one of their own who wouldn't make it back to camp. In war, ending someone's suffering was often the only kindness left.
---
The news of Konoha's major victory in the Land of Rivers finally reached both the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand through the fastest channels.
Hokage's Office.
When Sarutobi Hiruzen read Jiraiya's detailed battle report and post-battle arrangements, his face lit up with joy at first… then quickly darkened.
A victory was good, of course. But something this large breaking out so suddenly was completely outside his expectations.
If the previous clashes had been small-scale border skirmishes between ninjas, this battle was essentially Sand's formal declaration of war.
At the same time, a thread of unease wormed its way into Hiruzen's heart. Jiraiya's report claimed it was purely self-defense, but Hiruzen wasn't blind. It was clear this had been a carefully planned trap set by Jiraiya and his staff.
And the plan had probably started the moment Taiichi finished developing the antidote—nearly a full month ago. Yet not a single person in the entire southern camp had reported any of it to him.
A long silence filled the office.
"Notify Advisors Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura to come for an emergency meeting immediately," Hiruzen's low voice finally drifted out from behind the thick pipe smoke.
"Yes, sir!"
Before long, the three advisors arrived. The moment they stepped inside, they were greeted by the usual thick haze of smoke—so heavy they could barely see the Hokage himself.
Koharu, the only woman, frowned and fanned the air, then walked over and opened a window. She gave Danzo a meaningful look.
Without a word, Danzo waved his sleeve. A gust of wind swept through the room and carried all the smoke out the window. The office cleared instantly.
Hiruzen watched them in silence. Once they were settled, he handed over Jiraiya's report without a word.
The three immediately noticed something was off, but they didn't understand why yet. They started reading.
By the time they reached the end and handed the scroll back, the office had fallen into heavy silence. Everyone was weighing the consequences this victory would bring—and what it meant for them and for Konoha.
"First of all, regardless of anything else, we won—and it was a major victory," Koharu spoke up after a moment, choosing her words carefully. "We have to praise this. Publicly."
The others nodded. That much was undeniable. With Konoha now facing enemies on all sides again, a big win like this would boost morale and send a clear warning to the other villages.
Hiruzen nodded along, but his expression only grew darker.
The three advisors were no fools. After a moment to process the report and connect the dots, they understood exactly why the Hokage looked so displeased.
Danzo kept his face neutral, but a faint trace of contempt flickered deep in his eyes. Can't even control your own student, and now you're wary of him too? You really have gotten old, Hiruzen. It's time to step down.
Koharu and Homura exchanged a quick glance but said nothing. This was a sensitive matter between a master and his disciple. Getting involved would only backfire later if the two reconciled.
Seeing that none of them were going to bring it up, Hiruzen took a deep breath and spoke himself.
"A victory should be rewarded, yes. But for an operation of this scale to happen without the village receiving any prior notice… that is a serious failure by the front-line leadership."
He let that sink in before continuing, voice heavy.
"If they had lost, the village would have been completely unprepared. What then? If Sand had pushed straight into the Land of Fire, how would we have responded?"
With the Hokage setting the tone, the three advisors knew exactly how to proceed.
Not long after, a formal commendation was drafted. It praised every shinobi who had fought on the front lines… while quietly stressing the absolute necessity of reporting all major operations to the village immediately. At the same time, a new batch of reinforcements was dispatched to Jiraiya's command—including two jonin who were explicitly appointed as advisors with direct input on all future decisions.
It was a clear power-sharing move.