A lone ice island drifted on the endless sea. Strange currents held it in place, keeping it from wandering. On the platform, hundreds of Leaf shinobi rested hard, popping soldier pills without hesitation. The Mist reinforcements were only a few dozen kilometers behind them. Every extra minute of recovery could mean the difference between life and death.
Taiichi, Fugaku, and Hiashi stood at the edge of the ice, eyes fixed on the horizon while they talked.
Fugaku didn't hesitate when Taiichi warned him about his training style. A top-tier shinobi always had his own methods. If someone chose to become a student, they accepted the teacher's way.
"It's settled then," Fugaku said. "When we get back to the village, I'll have Itachi come and formally become your student."
He spoke quickly, almost like he was afraid Taiichi might change his mind.
Hiashi watched with open envy. Having Taiichi as a teacher would be a massive advantage, both inside Konoha and beyond. He wished he already had a son to offer. Even without learning anything special, the connection alone would be worth it. Look at the Second Hokage's students — every one of them still active was sitting in the village's highest positions.
The three of them reached an agreement right there on the floating ice. None of them could have guessed how much weight that single decision would carry for the future of the shinobi world.
An hour later they moved out again. Even the ones who hadn't fully recovered had to keep going. If the Mist forces caught up, everything they had just won would be at risk.
They didn't stop again. They circled wide and finally reached land without another break.
Leaf camp.
Tsunade received the report of another major victory and clenched her fists. Her face stayed calm, but inside she was thrilled. Good news was meant to be shared. She handed the battle report to her staff. After it made the rounds, excitement filled the command tent.
Someone finally shouted, "Total victory!"
The cry spread until the whole tent was roaring the words. The sound carried outside. Soon the entire camp was chanting "Total victory!" Tsunade looked at her people and smiled. Morale was high. Three straight wins had given Leaf a clear edge on the eastern front. Even if they played it safe from here, they should stay undefeated. But Tsunade wasn't interested in a stalemate. She wanted total dominance.
When Taiichi, Fugaku, and Hiashi led their forces back into camp, they were met with hungry, respectful stares. Victorious armies were always welcome, and the leaders who delivered victory earned even more respect.
Fugaku felt it most. The Uchiha had rarely been looked at this way by the rest of the village — at least not since he became a shinobi. The battlefield really was the best place for a clan to earn its name. The Great Elder had been right. The Uchiha needed to bleed and burn on the front lines if they wanted to lead the family through the complicated years ahead.
After settling their troops, the three commanders brought the jonin who had fought with them into the main command tent. A full after-action report was waiting.
The earlier messages had only given the broad strokes. Hearing the details from the people who had been there made everyone realize how close the victory had actually been.
"I can't believe Mist's reinforcements showed up that fast," Tsunade said. "You three were lucky to get out alive."
She wasn't exaggerating. War was unpredictable. One small mistake could turn a winning side into the losing one in seconds.
"But we did win," she continued, voice rising. "That means the heavens are still favoring Leaf. I was hoping for a few quiet days. Looks like we're heading straight into the next fight instead."
She looked over the assembled jonin.
"Your contributions have already been recorded. The reports will be sent back to the village."
Proud smiles appeared on every face. This was what they fought for.
Tsunade waited for the noise to settle, then spoke again.
"Mist's reinforcements are here. I want everyone's thoughts on how we handle the next phase. Speak freely."
The tent went quiet while people thought.
One Akimichi jonin spoke first. "Mist just took heavy losses and traveled a long way. They'll need time to rest and reorganize before they attack again."
Several heads nodded. Defeated troops usually needed time to recover their fighting spirit.
A Inuzuka jonin disagreed. "Only the old Mist forces were broken. The new thousand-man unit can fight on its own. They don't need the survivors."
Opinions flew back and forth. Every possibility was laid out. Tsunade, Taiichi, and the others listened carefully at the front.
When the discussion slowed, Tsunade looked at Nara. The man had been silent the entire meeting. Typical Nara — smart enough to let everyone else talk first.
Nara cleared his throat and stood a little straighter under Tsunade's stare.
"Everyone might be missing something," he said. "During the last battle we used a massive wave to completely destroy Mist's camp. Fugaku and Hiashi confirmed it — nothing was left standing."
He paused, letting that sink in.
"That means every supply Mist had stored on that island is gone. Food, weapons, medical supplies — all of it washed out to sea. The reinforcements didn't bring enough to replace all of that."
An Akimichi jonin scratched his head. "Nara, just give us the conclusion. You're making my head hurt."
Nara didn't get annoyed. He and the Akimichi had known each other since they were kids.
"My point is this: Mist won't slow down. They'll speed up. Their own supplies won't last long. Before their next shipment arrives, they're going to hit our supply lines hard. They might even raid coastal towns for food and resources."
One Sarutobi jonin with a thick beard looked outraged. "They wouldn't dare attack civilian towns. That's an unspoken rule among the great villages."
Nara gave him a flat look. "It's only 'unspoken' until someone's desperate. Once their supplies run out, that rule becomes nothing more than something to argue about at the negotiation table."
The tent fell quiet. Most of them agreed with Nara's assessment. Mist was going to get creative — and ugly — in the coming days.
Tsunade finally spoke.
"Mist is still one of the Five Great Villages. Don't get arrogant just because we've won a few fights. The next battles will be harsher. Be ready for anything. They could land anywhere along the coast, or they could slip through neighboring countries and hit us from unexpected directions."
She stood up.
"Orders. Hyuga will form sea reconnaissance units and push out over the water. Catch them before they reach land. Aburame and Inuzuka, supported by Hyuga, will handle land reconnaissance. Focus on the old Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Hot Springs. Don't let any Mist infiltrators slip through. Uchiha will create twenty mobile teams of ten shinobi each for rapid response. Reconnaissance units are to observe and report — do not engage unless you have a clear advantage. That's all."
Every jonin answered at once. "Understood!"
Tsunade waved a hand. "Dismissed. Taiichi, stay."
The others filed out, glancing at Taiichi with a mix of envy and respect. No one resented him. He had simply performed too well for anyone to hold a grudge.
Once the tent was empty, Taiichi walked up to Tsunade with a grin. "Sensei, you kept me behind for a reason?"
Tsunade gave him a flat look. "Drop the act."
She got straight to the point. "You brought back a group of Mist medical-nin as prisoners, didn't you?"
Taiichi immediately understood where this was going.
"You want to use them?"
Tsunade nodded like it was obvious.
"People with real medical talent are rare. People willing to become medical-nin are even rarer. We have a ready-made batch sitting in our camp. It would be wasteful to ignore them."
Taiichi gave her a thumbs-up. "Sensei, you're bold. But they were Mist shinobi yesterday. We have to be careful they don't cause trouble."
Tsunade stared at him like she could see right through his skull.
"You used that blood-ignoring genjutsu on me and you have sealing skills strong enough to lock down a few chunin at most. Don't pretend you can't handle them."
Taiichi scratched the back of his head, caught. He had shown her both techniques before.
"Guess I can't hide anything from you, Sensei. I was hoping to slack off a little."
Tsunade didn't waste time arguing. "This job is yours. More medical-nin means less work for you in the medical tents too."
She waved him out before he could complain.
Taiichi stepped outside the command tent, running a hand through his messy hair. He looked up at the clear sky and sighed heavily. No point fighting it. Tsunade had already made the decision.
He turned and walked toward the prisoner camp.
The camp held far more than just the newly captured medical-nin. Over the past month of fighting, Leaf had taken dozens of Mist prisoners. Right now there were at least seventy or eighty held here.
When Taiichi arrived, the guard captain bowed respectfully but still stepped in front of him.
"Taiichi-sama, you need Lady Tsunade's written order to enter."
Taiichi handed over the order she had just given him.
"I'm here to take the Mist medical-nin we captured earlier."
The captain checked the document carefully, then handed command to one of his men and personally led Taiichi inside.
This was Taiichi's first time in the prisoner camp. It wasn't the dirty, chaotic mess he had half-expected. The tents were clean. The only real difference was that every tent flap was tied open so the guards could see inside at all times. Every prisoner had their chakra sealed and wore heavy shackles on their wrists and ankles. A special collar with dense sealing runes sat around each neck. If anyone tried to leave the marked area, the collar would detonate.
When they reached the section holding the newly captured medical-nin, several guards were in the middle of fitting the women with collars. They stopped the moment they saw Taiichi and the captain, bowing quickly.
Taiichi returned the bow, then looked over the Mist medical-nin with open interest.
Tch. They really were pitifully beautiful.