Taiichi didn't hesitate. He looked at the hopeful faces around him and gave them the answer they were waiting for.
"We won. Big win."
For one second everything went quiet. Then the camp exploded into cheers. The sound spread fast, turning the whole rear area into a wave of pure relief. A few of the younger medical-nin hugged each other and jumped around. Some of the older shinobi wiped their eyes without shame. No one mocked them. Everyone felt the same thing.
It took more than ten minutes before the noise died down enough for Taiichi to pass on Jiraiya's orders. Logistics and medical teams were to move back to the main camp immediately and start setting up for the wounded.
Director Fujita and the logistics leads jumped into action. Within half an hour the entire temporary camp was packed and ready to move. Taiichi stayed with them. With Sand forces scattered and running, it was too risky to let the medical teams travel alone. He would escort them personally.
They reached the old camp by evening without incident. The place was already busy. Lightly wounded shinobi had been sent ahead to guard the heavier cases until the medical teams returned.
"Move!" Director Fujita barked the second they arrived. "Half the medical staff set up equipment. The other half start treating the critical cases. Now."
The medical unit fell into practiced rhythm. People carried stretchers, raised tents, and poured healing chakra into the worst injuries. Taiichi didn't stand around either. Four shadow clones appeared beside him and immediately joined the work.
While the medical teams handled the wounded, logistics personnel restored the camp's defenses and command structures. Barriers went back up. The main tent was raised. Everything was moving fast.
A few hours earlier, on the actual battlefield, things hadn't been as clean as the rear camp believed.
Sand had broken, but Chiyo and Ebizo had managed to rally most of their jonin. Rasa joined them after fleeing into the sky. Their numbers were down to roughly three hundred, but the elite core was still intact. They fought while retreating and eventually linked up with their Kazekage.
Rasa looked at what was left of his force and made the call. Three red signal flares shot into the sky. The remaining Sand forces stopped trying to hold any ground and ran for the border.
Minato's group shadowed them but didn't press hard. There was no point. Sand's best fighters were still dangerous, and Leaf had already won. Forcing a final stand would only cost more lives on both sides.
The rest of the Leaf army hunted the scattered Sand stragglers without mercy. It was ugly, one-sided work. No pity. No hesitation. That was war.
Jiraiya stayed back from the chase. His job was command. He kept the pressure on the retreating forces while making sure wounded Leaf shinobi were stabilized and sent rearward as fast as possible. Simple field treatment saved lives that would have been lost to blood loss alone.
By the time night fell, the main camp was overflowing with wounded. Taiichi recalled his last two shadow clones and sent them to help. His real body stayed in the center of camp, eyes half-closed, chakra sensing stretched wide. He was the last line of defense while everyone else worked.
When the moon was high, Yohei's team finally returned.
Taiichi spotted them from a distance and felt his stomach drop. Only five people. Obito was being carried on Yohei's back, coughing blood. Kakashi and Rin were supporting him on either side. Everyone looked beat up, but Obito was clearly the worst.
Taiichi stood up and walked straight toward them.
Rin saw him first. Her face crumpled with relief. She wiped her eyes and leaned closer to Obito. "Obito, it's okay. Taiichi's here. He'll fix you."
Obito tried to smile, but another mouthful of blood came up instead. Rin stopped talking.
Taiichi reached them and did a quick scan. The others had cuts and bruises. Obito's injuries were deeper. Lung damage, internal bleeding. Taiichi didn't waste time. He placed a hand on Obito's chest and flooded him with dense Yang chakra, stabilizing him first.
One temporary shadow clone stayed on guard duty. Taiichi's real body focused entirely on keeping Obito alive.