The next morning, the wind and rain finally stopped.
Chiya and Tsunade, whose face was full of color, stood outside what had once been the Konoha defensive line. In the morning light, the tall steel structures in the distance gave off a cold gleam.
A Konoha messenger hawk came flying in fast and landed in front of Tsunade.
It turned into white smoke and disappeared, leaving only an intelligence scroll in her hand.
"The main camp has moved. It will take us about an hour to get there."
"Alright. Then let's set out early."
Tsunade put away the scroll and glanced at Chiya beside her.
His eyes had already had the bandages removed, but the depths of his pupils still carried a faint shade of exhaustion.
'He recovered pretty fast.'
She muttered to herself inwardly, but slowed her pace without realizing it.
"Everyone, pack up and get ready to move out!"
"Yes! Lady Tsunade!"
...
The Konoha main camp outside Amegakure.
Chiya, Tsunade, and the others arrived and passed through layer after layer of checkpoints. They finally met the commander of this campaign, Hatake Sakumo.
He was a tall man. His silver-white short hair stood up straight like steel needles. His firm face was marked with several shallow scars, and his brows carried the composure of someone who had spent long years on the battlefield.
He wore the standard Konoha flak jacket. The short blade on his back, even sheathed, gave off a faint sharp killing intent.
After seeing Tsunade, Sakumo gave a slight nod, his voice low and firm.
"Tsunade. You were ambushed before?"
Tsunade crossed her arms and gave a cold snort.
"A Suna-nin squad set up an ambush, but it has been dealt with."
"Dealt with?"
Hatake Sakumo paused for a moment.
"Do you have a specific count of our casualties?"
After hearing that, Tsunade lowered her head, took out a booklet from her jacket, and handed it over.
'Anyone whose name can go on this list will one day be carved onto Konoha's Memorial Stone as a hero.'
"It is all in here."
Hatake Sakumo took it, opened it, and looked through it roughly.
Seeing the record of the previous day's fallen inside the booklet, he let out a breath of relief, and a trace of a smile appeared on his face.
"Tsunade, I will need you to take charge of the medical supplies and medical ninja situation here."
Tsunade heard that and gave a helpless nod.
"Ahem."
Chiya coughed once. Tsunade turned her head and looked at Chiya with concern.
"Chiya, are you alright?"
This scene made Hatake Sakumo sharply sense that something was different between the two.
Sakumo shifted his gaze and quietly studied the person Tsunade was showing such concern toward.
Because he had been at the front lines the entire time, Hatake Sakumo had not returned to the village.
He was not aware of what Chiya had done.
In particular, the matter of building the medical system.
He had only received intelligence from the village saying that Tsunade was to lead medical ninja to the front lines.
He was naturally welcoming of medical ninja coming to the front lines.
This commander, who had spent years at the front, understood well the value of medical ninja.
No one wanted to see their friends and comrades one day suffer a severe injury and die in agony with no one to treat them.
'Medical ninja, I wonder how many lives they will be able to save.'
He looked at this young figure with a pale face, black hair, and black eyes.
'Could this be the Uchiha that Tsunade asked me to have someone find?'
'That subordinate of mine still has another mission to carry out. When he returns, I can ask him about it.'
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.
"Report!"
A jonin lifted the tent flap, his face showing joy he could not hide.
"Lord Sakumo, the battle report from yesterday has been tallied!"
Sakumo swept his gaze over Tsunade, Chiya, and the medical ninja standing behind them, thought for a moment, then said:
"Go ahead and read it."
The jonin straightened his back, his voice loud and clear.
"Yesterday, our forces launched a surprise attack on the Suna-nin camp. A total of one hundred and thirty-seven enemy combatants were eliminated. The combat unit deployed by Sunagakure was completely wiped out."
The ninja inside the tent immediately showed pleased expressions. Some could not hold back and spoke in low voices of admiration.
"I did not expect such results from this operation."
"If Lord Sakumo had not seized the opportunity yesterday, there would not have been such a great victory!"
"That's right. In this great Konoha victory, Lord Sakumo charged to the front, broke through the puppet unit, and deserves the highest credit!"
...
Sakumo heard the praise from the crowd but showed no pride.
Instead his brow furrowed slightly. Thinking of Tsunade's booklet from a moment ago, his gaze turned toward her.
"The time of your ambush was also in the afternoon?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"More or less."
Sakumo's fingertip tapped the table lightly, and his voice dropped.
"At that time I was leading our forces in a surprise attack on the Suna-nin main camp."
'Could this have been a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain?'
His eyes were sharp. He was clearly thinking about whether they had fallen into an enemy trap.
'If they had learned the location of Tsunade's medical unit, why did Sunagakure not send an elite squad to intercept them?'
'Could there be something behind this that I am not yet aware of?'
Just then, a faint voice came from a corner.
"This, can this also be called a great victory?"
Everyone was startled. They turned to look and found it was a young medical ninja who had come with Tsunade.
That ninja saw all eyes fall on him and was startled by his own boldness.
But thinking of how Uchiha Chiya had shown his power the day before, he gathered his courage and continued speaking.
"The battle report from Lady Tsunade's side is far more remarkable, isn't it? Lord Chiya eliminated three to four hundred elite Suna-nin on his own. Even Ebizo of Sunagakure fell at Lord Chiya's hands."
His voice grew smaller and smaller, until at the end it was nearly a mumble.
The inside of the tent went instantly silent.
Every single gaze snapped toward Chiya at the same time. The air seemed to freeze.
The jonin who had been reading the battle report stood with his mouth wide open. He did not even notice when the scroll in his hand slipped to the ground.
Hatake Sakumo's pupils suddenly contracted.
"Three to four hundred?"
'If that is the number that launched the surprise attack, then it finally makes sense.'
'Targeting and eliminating the opposing medical ninja unit first would be the simplest and most effective outcome.'
'Using the killing of the opposing medical ninja to gradually expand the advantage and raise morale.'
'As for why the casualty number was so low.'
'Could it be.'
He looked sharply at Chiya. For the first time, his gaze carried shock.
This young Uchiha who had been silent the entire time still stood there calmly.
But it was only now that Sakumo noticed the faint but real pressure that surrounded the other person.
'Like a demon blade still held in its sheath.'
"Tell me the details."
Sakumo's voice became serious without him intending it.
The medical ninja swallowed his saliva and described it in a stuttering voice.
An overwhelming Suna-nin force, a desperate encirclement, and then, those Sharingan eyes like a nightmare.
"They, they were like they had all the moisture drained out of them. They turned into dried corpses in an instant."
The temperature inside the tent seemed to drop all at once.
Almost every ninja who had just learned this showed rapidly shifting expressions, going from shock to alarm.
Some even took half a step back without realizing it.
'This is no longer just being powerful. This is what can only be called a battlefield meat grinder.'
Hatake Sakumo was silent for a long time, then walked with large steps to stand in front of Chiya.
Under the stunned gaze of everyone present, this man known as Konoha's White Fang extended his hand with great solemnity.
His voice carried excitement unlike anything before.
"A record like this is enough to go down in Konoha's history."
"With you joining us, I believe this war will come to an end very soon."
His voice no longer held only polite praise. It was genuine respect.
Chiya smiled slightly and clasped his hand.
"Just good luck."
Tsunade stood to the side. She watched the two clasped hands, then swept her gaze over the reverence mixed with fear in the eyes of everyone in the tent. A complex feeling rose in her chest.
'These fools.'
She understood all too clearly what kind of price was hidden beneath Chiya's casual words at this moment.
She suddenly spoke, breaking the heavy atmosphere inside the tent.
"Where is the casualty ward? I need to check on the treatment situation."
Sakumo sharply sensed the impatience in her tone, glanced at Chiya with a thoughtful look, then pointed toward the west side.
"The newly built medical tent. The medical supplies and so on have already been prepared as the village requested."
Tsunade had already turned and walked out. The blue-purple outer robe on her body cut a clean arc through the air.
Chiya watched her retreating figure. The corner of his mouth lifted in a way that was barely noticeable.