The sun was already high in the sky.
At this point, Shimizu and his two companions were utterly exhausted. To reach Rakuyō City as quickly as possible, they had even used up all their Military Rations Pills along the way.
As for Mercury—she would rather risk chakra exhaustion than swallow another pill.
Clearly, she was still afraid of the side effects.
Earlier, she had swallowed one without hesitation only because of the pressure of battle. Now that the external threat was gone, she refused outright…
Shimizu couldn't help but wonder whether she had planned it all along—if she ran out of strength again, she could simply let someone carry her back.
Because of that, he completely abandoned any thought of turning back for another strike.
With their most important "eye" for reconnaissance in this state, how could they possibly talk about fighting again?
Fortunately, they finally arrived safely at Rakuyō City, the military fortress located in the southwestern region of the Land of Fire.
Rakuyō City wasn't large. In Konoha's decades-long history, it hadn't played a particularly significant role in wartime.
When the decision was first made to construct this military stronghold in the southwestern interior of the Land of Fire, it sparked prolonged debate. After all, there were no powerful external threats in that direction.
But in the end, they reasoned that without such a fortress, the southwestern gateway of the Land of Fire would lie completely open. Any hostile force could march straight into the interior and strike directly at Kikyo Castle.
And Kikyo Castle was Konoha's final line of defense.
Ultimately, the Fire Daimyō reluctantly approved the construction of Rakuyō City. However, due to limited funding, its scale never reached that of a proper military town.
"Captain!"
One of the Konoha ninja guarding the gates recognized Shimizu.
"It's Yoshizawa," Shimizu said, recognizing the man above.
"Open the gates!"
Soon, the three entered Rakuyō City. Tenkō and the other team leaders were already waiting at the entrance, as if they had been standing by for some time.
"Did everyone make it back?" Shimizu asked.
Tenkō froze for a moment—he had expected Shimizu to ask about the mission's success. He quickly replied, "A total of twenty-four people returned. As for the mission, we killed thirteen Hidden Sand ninja and successfully rescued two more members of the Third Division. Captain Ōzoku is also out of immediate danger."
"Twenty-four returned…" Shimizu counted silently. He had taken Team 6 with him—four people in total. Three had fallen in the initial clash with the Sand. That meant five of their comrades now lay forever in that canyon.
Five lives in exchange for thirteen Sand ninja killed and three Third Division comrades given a chance to survive.
"Bringing twenty-four back is a decent result. Team 6 lost three men as well..."
"There were simply too many Sand ninja in the canyon… Even with the Byakugan, it was impossible to avoid every fight," Yoshizawa explained helplessly.
Shimizu nodded in understanding. "The report's ready?"
"Yes." Tenkō had always been diligent. Upon returning to Rakuyō City, he had prepared everything immediately. "It's here."
Shimizu picked up the few heavy pages of the mission report. "I'll consolidate the information and send it back to Konoha. Then we'll see what instructions the Hokage gives…"
He believed he had handled the situation as perfectly as possible. Any further intelligence gathering would require paying for it with lives.
And given the overwhelming strength of the enemy, charging in recklessly would likely cost more than it gained.
"By the way, Captain Ōzoku is out of danger—does that mean he's fine?" Shimizu hadn't forgotten that one of Tenkō's tasks had been to rescue Captain Ōzoku.
"He's no longer in mortal danger. But to be precise, we've only suppressed the poison's outbreak. Captain Ōzoku has already been sent back to Konoha…"
"It's that serious?" Shimizu was surprised. Even the medical ninja in Rakuyō City couldn't cure it?
Because a regular ninja corps was stationed here, that meant there should definitely be medical ninja at the jōnin level.
Even jōnin couldn't do anything about it?
"According to a senior from the medical unit, we don't have a good solution for this kind of puppet master poison… It's probably a newly developed toxin from the Hidden Sand."
No wonder…
In Shimizu's memory, during the Second Great Ninja War, Sunagakure's poisons hadn't been this troublesome.
"Then all we can do is wait for news from Konoha… Dismissed for now. Everyone get some proper rest."
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
...
Now that they had reached one of the rear headquarters—Rakuyō City—it was only natural to recuperate properly. Intelligence sent back to Konoha wouldn't receive an immediate response, but their peaceful time likely wouldn't last long either.
After all, it was wartime. The village wouldn't leave elite forces like them idle for long.
After finishing the mission report and submitting it by letter, Shimizu began reviewing the gains and losses of this battle.
The moment he clashed with the Hidden Sand's puppet masters, he realized his shortcomings.
Against opponents like puppet masters—who possessed strong close-combat capabilities and wielded poison—he had no effective countermeasure.
He lacked a proper weapon…
But even if he obtained one, he still had no clue how to develop Wind Release chakra.
And then there was the Flying Thunder God technique—so incomprehensible it felt like a heavenly scripture. Should he ask Minato for guidance? And how would he even go about it?
On top of that, his dynamic vision couldn't keep up with his own speed. That flaw was far too serious. Every time he used Lightning Release: Chidori, he had to risk his life.
This tightrope-walking approach—one mistake would mean eternal damnation.
If only he had the Sharingan…
But the risks were too great…
Fortunately, puppet masters were relatively rare within Sunagakure, and the situation hadn't deteriorated to that extent.
What was more pressing now was that, in the near future, his Wind Release longsword would arrive.
He should focus first on refining Wind Release chakra—that was his top priority.
Thus, for the next period of time, Shimizu devoted himself to extracting and refining Wind Release chakra.
In Sunagakure, Wind Release was extremely common and ordinary. But in Konoha, it was exceedingly rare.
Counting the Konoha ninja known to use Wind Release, Shimizu could only think of a few.
For example, someone like Orochimaru—until he had sufficient means to protect himself, Shimizu truly didn't want to cross paths with him again…
Perhaps there were Wind Release users within the ANBU, but none were in Shimizu's squad.
So he didn't even have anyone to consult.
He could only work things out on his own…
For a ninja without talent to attempt to develop a chakra nature he had never touched before in a short time—it was naturally extraordinarily difficult.
Just as he was at a complete loss, Shimizu suddenly sensed someone rapidly approaching his house.
That speed…
"Shimizu."
Huh? That voice…
Isn't that my summoned beast?
Wasn't Minato on the western front? Why would he be here?
Chakra kunai?!
Shimizu instinctively reached for his ninja pouch—but the three-pronged kunai wasn't there.
Then he suddenly remembered—he had given Minato's kunai to Uchiha Megumi.
He had promised Sawei, and naturally he had taken it seriously. It was all to ensure her growth as safely as possible. If she ever encountered danger, Minato could look after her.
But now…
Why had Minato come here?!