Taiichi focused on healing Yohei's eyes while the others stayed quiet inside the tent. No one wanted to break his concentration.
Yohei's eyes had taken real damage from overusing Susanoo for so long. Taiichi didn't scold him for it. In that moment, Yohei had chosen to protect his comrades without worrying about his own secret. That kind of choice deserved respect, not blame.
After about half an hour, Taiichi pulled his hands back. He glanced around and noticed everyone else was injured too. The fight had clearly been brutal.
He created a shadow clone to treat the others, then turned back to Yohei. "So? Have you thought about what you're going to do now?"
Kakashi and the others looked up, confused.
Yohei met Taiichi's eyes, then glanced at his teammates. Since Taiichi wasn't keeping them out of it, he decided to trust them too.
He had known for months that the Uchiha clan and the village were heading toward conflict. His parents leaned conservative, and he agreed with them. The radicals inside the clan were dangerous, and the village leadership was already suspicious of the Uchiha. A pair of Mangekyō Sharingan would only make everything worse.
"I don't know," Yohei admitted, shaking his head. "This all happened too fast. I wasn't ready. Do you have any ideas?"
Taiichi sighed. This was exactly why he had rushed here the moment he heard the news.
"First, I need to know where you stand."
"I want peace with the village. No question. I'm a Konoha shinobi through and through."
"Good. Then we don't wait. You're coming with me to see Jiraiya right now. We'll make your position clear through him and report it to the Hokage. That way we cut off any crazy ideas from the radicals in your clan and reduce the suspicion from the village leadership at the same time."
Yohei hesitated. "Right now? Everything's still chaotic."
"We have to move fast. Word about your Mangekyō is already spreading. If we don't lock down your stance before the wrong people start making plans, things will get messy fast. Hesitation only gives them room to work."
That was all Yohei needed to hear. He trusted Taiichi completely.
"Let's go."
The two of them stepped out of the tent and immediately drew attention. Taiichi's reputation from the southern front had already reached this camp. Whispers started spreading the moment people recognized him.
They made their way to the main command tent.
Jiraiya looked exhausted when they entered, dark circles under his eyes and bloodshot from lack of sleep. He didn't even ask how Taiichi had gotten there so quickly.
"Taiichi. You picked a hell of a time to show up."
"Jiraiya-sensei, I came because of Yohei."
Jiraiya rubbed his face. "I figured as much. That Susanoo of his was hard to miss."
Taiichi didn't waste time. He laid everything out—how he had told Yohei to keep the Mangekyō hidden, how Yohei had used it anyway to save the camp, and how they needed to get ahead of both the Uchiha radicals and the village hardliners before either side could use this against them.
He finished by saying, "Yohei's with the village. We need to make that official before anyone else gets ideas."
Jiraiya stared at him for a long moment, then let out a tired laugh. "You really don't pull punches, do you?"
He looked over at Yohei, who stood quietly but firmly.
"Alright. I'll report it. I'll make sure the Hokage knows exactly where Yohei stands and that we're backing him. With you, Minato, and the rest of us on his side, the balance shifts. That should keep the worst of the politics in check for now."
Taiichi and Yohei exchanged a quick look of relief.
Jiraiya's expression darkened again. "Now that we've handled that… we need to talk about the Cloud attack."
He slammed his fist on the table.
"Two hundred and seventy-four dead in one night. Five jonin among them. And Cloud just officially declared war this morning."
Taiichi's face went cold. "What do you need from me?"
"I want you and Minato to go after them. Kill as many as you can before they reach the sea. We can't let them walk away from this without paying for it."
Minato was already tracking the retreating force. Taiichi didn't even hesitate.
"I'm in."
Jiraiya looked relieved. "Good. The two of you together should be able to hit them hard and still get out if things go bad. Don't take unnecessary risks, but make them regret ever stepping foot in our camp."
Taiichi nodded. Before he left, he stopped by the medical area and sent five more shadow clones to help with the wounded. Then he found Yohei again outside.
"I'm heading out with Minato. Tell the others I'll be back."
Yohei grabbed his arm. "Be careful. That Eight-Tails isn't something to mess around with."
Taiichi grinned. "Don't worry. We've got Flying Thunder God. If it gets too hot, we'll be gone before they know what hit them."
He flashed away toward the medical camp one last time, leaving behind a single sentence for the wounded shinobi watching him.
"Rest easy. I'm going to make them pay for this."