"Nothing is impossible!"
Uchiha Chiya's crimson gaze swept across them.
Before the words had even settled, he flickered directly in front of one of the ninja.
Their Mangekyō eyes met.
That ninja's eyes went blank in an instant, and he sank into a genjutsu.
The kunai in Chiya's hand drew cleanly across his neck.
Then Chiya flickered away just as cleanly. The ninja he had spoken to slowly fell to the ground.
Seeing this, the remaining Suna-nin exchanged glances. Their mouths pulled into savage grins.
"That jutsu just now clearly has a massive limitation!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill the Uchiha!"
"Rush him together! He has no strength left to use that jutsu again! As for genjutsu, just avoid eye contact with the Uchiha and you will be fine!"
Chiya looked at the swarm of ninja charging at him again.
Apart from the Mangekyō Sharingan, his greatest advantage had always been genjutsu.
As long as he could make eye contact, Chiya could take control of an opponent in an instant.
But these enemies fought as a coordinated team.
As long as their teammates could disrupt the flow of chakra inside them in time, the genjutsu could be broken.
With Chiya's current strength, even several genjutsu used in sequence could not control this many people.
Ordinary genjutsu was nearly useless against a large-scale assault of this kind.
'The number of enemies is ultimately just too large.'
'Forget it.'
'Just give everything. Stop holding back so much.'
Chiya drew a deep breath. His gaze focused on them again.
'Since you are all in such a hurry to die.'
'Then I will stop holding anything back either!'
"The Far Shore of the Yellow Springs!"
Three or four more blood vessels appeared in his crimson eyes as blood flowed from them once more.
The invisible pulse spread outward into the surroundings again.
This time it covered an even larger number than before.
It covered nearly every Suna-nin on the entire battlefield.
The invisible force was like the hand of death itself, seizing the bodies of the Suna-nin all at once.
Their life force seemed to take on a physical form, like tiny points of light being drawn out of them.
With Chiya at the center, ninja fell in swathes, like stalks of grass being cut down.
A cold and deathly silence spread outward in every direction.
He stood within it. The Mangekyō Sharingan had faded.
His jet black pupils contracted slightly. His vision was blurred at the edges.
A ringing filled his ears, as if countless tiny insects were crawling inside his skull.
He raised a hand and pressed his fingers to his temple. His fingertips touched warm liquid.
The blood that had seeped from the corners of his eyes had dried, but now, due to the excessive drain, it was seeping out once more.
'As expected.'
'That was still too much of a push.'
He had only ever been a genjutsu ninja before. Against a small number of enemies, he still had the advantage.
But facing this many enemies at once, his genjutsu options were far too limited.
'The number of enemies was ultimately just too many.'
The only thing Chiya could rely on now was the Mangekyō ocular jutsu.
Covering this many ninja in a single use, even with the advantage of the Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular jutsu, he had still taken on an enormous burden.
What made it worse was that his control over the ocular jutsu was not yet refined enough, which caused the drain on his ocular power to far exceed what he had expected.
But in the end, every last enemy was dead.
Tsunade noticed that Chiya's movements seemed somewhat stiff, and her heart lurched.
She ran over quickly.
Standing at his side, her golden hair blown into disarray by the wind, her jade-like eyes swept across the battlefield with alertness.
Finally they settled on Chiya's pale face.
Her brow furrowed slightly. Her fingers tightened without thinking.
As a core member of the Senju clan, Tsunade naturally understood the Uchiha's Sharingan more than most people did.
As the saying goes, the one who knows you best is your enemy.
As the Senju clan, the generational enemy of the Uchiha, they understood the Uchiha Sharingan even better than many Uchiha clan members themselves.
Just as in the original story.
The person who understood the Uchiha's Sharingan best was the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.
That man, the "God of the Battlefield," who was very particular about credit for jutsu development, that old fellow who shed tears looking back on the past.
Though Tsunade did not know the Uchiha clan as deeply as her great-grandfather did, she was a medical ninja, and she came from the Senju clan.
Her understanding of the Uchiha Sharingan already surpassed that of most Uchiha clan members.
She could see immediately that the blood coming from Chiya's eyes was a side effect of using the ocular jutsu.
She drew on the last of her remaining chakra. Green-glowing chakra covered both her hands, and she pressed them gently against Chiya's eyes to treat them.
Even while treating Chiya, she did not forget to turn and give orders.
"Medical Corps!"
"Escort the critically wounded back to the camp immediately!"
Her voice was cold but left no room for argument.
"Yes!"
The Konoha medical ninja snapped out of their shock.
They escorted the wounded back into the tent.
This time there was considerably more order than before. Today's battle had no doubt hardened their minds quite a bit.
Chiya cooperated fully and closed his eyes.
When Tsunade's treatment was finished and he opened them again, his vision still swayed slightly and blurred in and out.
His sight had clearly declined somewhat.
Chiya instinctively narrowed his eyes.
That helped him see a little more clearly.
The drain from this time was far more severe than he had anticipated. Even greater than when he had fought Hanzo before.
The setting sun at the border dyed the entire battlefield red, making the bodies of the Suna-nin look even more stark.
Chiya stood where he was. His face was pale, almost transparent.
He raised his gaze to meet Tsunade's worried eyes, and the corner of his mouth pulled into a faint smile.
"Tsunade. We are safe."
Tsunade walked up to him, stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly reached out and grabbed him by the collar.
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Her voice was kept very low, but it carried a suppressed fury.
"You covered over a hundred people with one ocular jutsu? Do you think your eyes are made of iron?!"
Chiya was pulled slightly forward by her grip, but he was not bothered. He only gave a light laugh.
"What else was I supposed to do? Watch them close in and finish you off?"
Tsunade choked on a response. The grip of her hand loosened slightly without her realizing it.
She knew, of course.
If Chiya had not stepped in, not one of those Konoha medical ninja or combat ninja would have survived.
But seeing him in this weakened state, the nameless fire in her chest could not be pushed down no matter what.
"I just... do not want you to sacrifice yourself for me."
She finally pushed those words out through gritted teeth.
She let go of his collar and took hold of his arm instead.
"Come on. Back to camp."
Chiya's gaze swept across the bodies covering the ground, then looked toward the setting sun sinking gradually beyond the horizon in the distance.
He simply let Tsunade support him, and walked step by step toward the camp.
"Do your eyes still hurt?"
Tsunade looked at the side of Chiya's face and asked quietly close to his ear.
A faint trembling could be heard in her voice.
"They hurt. But if Tsunade personally takes care of me tonight, I will recover very quickly!"
Seeing the smile on Chiya's face, Tsunade's expression froze.
Then her face flushed with embarrassment and irritation.
"You!"
"You evil little Uchiha! Is that all you ever think about?"
Chiya looked genuinely puzzled.
"Tsunade, what is it that I am thinking about? I just asked you to put some eye drops in. How does that make me an evil Uchiha? It seems the princess of the Senju clan has quite a lot of prejudice against us Uchiha."
Staring at Chiya's completely earnest expression, Tsunade began to second-guess herself.
'Take care of me... treatment... eye drops?'
She could not help but reflect inwardly. 'Did I misread this little brat?'
'Did I overthink it?'
Just as Tsunade was lost in thought, Chiya's hand came to rest on her cheek. Smooth and soft. Genuinely lovely.
Tsunade looked at Chiya just like that.
Those bright brown eyes, usually so full of stubbornness, filled with a mist of tears.
"Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
Chiya curled a finger and wiped away the tear that had fallen.
Tsunade quickly turned her face away, dabbed at her eyes, and then looked back.
"You rotten little Uchiha. You are such a worry."
Hearing those words, Uchiha Chiya understood. She had been so worried about him that she cried.
He slipped his arm free and pulled her firmly into his arms.
"Hey, there are still people around!"
Tsunade's face went red. She had not expected Chiya to be this bold.
"We are a fine match, you and I. Why should we let those troublesome people have any say? Who cares about them!"
...
That night.
The campfire crackled. The shadows of two people stretched long across the entrance of the tent.
Chiya leaned against a weathered rock, medical bandages wrapped around both eyes, covering them completely.
Chiya had originally only intended to do a few eye exercises and then use some eye drops in the evening to take care of them.
Who would have thought Tsunade would go ahead and apply medicinal herbs and wrap them in bandages.
But feeling the cool sensation coming from his eyes, it did seem to be helping his recovery quite a bit.
Naturally Chiya did not refuse Tsunade's good intentions.
On top of that, he was obediently holding a bowl of medicinal soup that Tsunade had firmly pushed into his hands.
Bitter and astringent. He drank it with a constant frown.
"Tsk. This stuff is harder to drink than Suna-nin poison. I am already using the external medicine. Why do I have to drink this too?"
He swirled the dark black liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
"You are not using this chance to get back at me, are you?"
"Be quiet and drink it all."
Tsunade sat across from him with her arms folded. The campfire cast a warm glow over her golden hair.
She glared at Chiya, but when she saw the pallor of his face, her eyes softened slightly without her realizing it.
Tsunade turned her face away and pretended to organize the medical kit, though her fingers absently traced the edge of the bandages.
Chiya tipped his head back and drained the bowl. He grimaced at the bitterness, then suddenly waved the empty bowl toward her.
"Tsunade, do you have any candy?"
"Are you three years old?!"
She snatched the bowl from him in irritation, but paused for a moment when their fingertips touched, as if she had just remembered something.
Tsunade suddenly stood up and began rummaging through the medical kit, making enough noise to sound like she was dismantling the tent.
Chiya tilted his head and "watched" her, listening as she dug out a small paper packet and shoved it roughly into his hand.
"Last one. Take it or leave it."
Chiya unfolded the packet. His fingertip touched a round, smooth candy.
He paused for a moment, and his smile deepened.
"So Tsunade carries candy around with her."
"Stop talking! That is for stabilizing blood sugar in wounded soldiers!"
He put the candy in his mouth. The sweetness washed away the bitterness of the medicinal soup.
The night breeze drifted past. Chiya heard Tsunade settle back down onto the ground, the faint rustling of fabric against the sand, and then...
A very soft, very quiet sigh.
"If you pull something like that again..."
Tsunade's voice was so low it was barely audible.
"I will sew your Sharingan shut with needle and thread."
Chiya smiled, then suddenly reached out toward Tsunade and found the tips of her hair with perfect precision.
"What are you smiling at?!"
She swatted his hand away, but the tips of her ears had gone red.
"Nothing."
"I just think... it is really good to be alive and share a tent with you."
Tsunade went still.
The campfire crackled, throwing a few sparks into the air.
She looked down at the side of his face traced by the firelight, her eyes full of warmth.
"It is getting late. Tomorrow we still need to regroup with the rest of the team!"
"Tsunade, let us go rest too."
"I cannot see right now, so I will have to rely on you."
"You rotten little Uchiha. Only because you are injured today will I help. Do not let there be a next time. Understood?"
"..."
The night wind carried the distant sand across the camp, but it could not blow away the warmth gathered around that one small campfire.