Kurein held out for even less time than Hii Kōri had imagined.
Of course, this was also partly because he could use Yang Release to enhance his Medical Ninjutsu's effectiveness, allowing him to inflict torture with even fewer scruples.
As a user of the Reverse Cursed Technique, Hii Kōri's understanding of the human body was quite profound. On one hand, this provided an excellent foundation for his training in Medical Ninjutsu, Yang Release, and Taijutsu. On the other hand, it also made him intimately aware of how to inflict the most intense pain.
Of course, Medical Ninjutsu—a technique meant to heal others—being used in the realm of torture was probably something its creator never imagined, nor wished to see.
Sad as it was, that's how technology worked. Once created, how it would be used was no longer any concern of its originator.
To be honest, Hii Kōri was actually quite grateful to Kurein.
Serving as an emotional outlet, being a practice subject for Yang Release, Yin Release, and Medical Ninjutsu, "contributing" intelligence and a pile of Water Release insights, and after death, having his nerves stripped and made into little tools.
There would never be another brother this good (sheds tears).
The latter obviously didn't see him as a brother, though. Even when his spirit was almost broken by torture, he still found the strength to curse him ,in a sense, that counted as remembering.
And the intelligence Hii Kōri obtained from Kurein didn't really surprise him—the so-called "big operation" was naturally just relying on proactive attack to force the small-scale skirmishes between Suna and Konoha to transform into large-scale battles, allowing Hanzō to massively annihilate the enemy nations' ninja.
When it came down to it, Amegakure's strategic leeway wasn't large. Although they had home field advantage, their numbers were overwhelmingly insufficient compared to the other participating sides.
Moreover, the battlefield was their own country. The longer things dragged on, the more severe the destruction to the Country of Rain. Their previous choice to fight small-scale skirmishes with Suna and Konoha was essentially to mobilize sufficient resources.
With the goal of "driving the enemy out of the Country of Rain," they had to inflict unbearable losses on the other sides in as short a time as possible.
Of course, in Hii Kōri's view, Amegakure actually had other choices—like siding with Konoha or Suna. Judging from a interests perspective, that might even be the superior choice.
But Amegakure under Hanzō's leadership had always held high the banner of "independence." With this stance, his prestige in the Country of Rain actually surpassed the Daimyō's.
Having reaped the benefits of this stance, Hanzō also had to bear its consequences—at least for now, he absolutely could not compromise with any hidden village.
So Hii Kōri could roughly speculate on Amegakure's strategy. The intelligence extracted from Kurein's brain was mostly about the Country of Rain's secret geographical conditions, Amegakure's material dispatch, and data on other Rain jōnin.
As for where Hanzō planned to ignite the flames of large-scale war, even Kurein didn't know.
After all, Amegakure were the local powers here. Although their strategic leeway was limited, their tactical space was always broader than Suna's and Konoha's.
And after obtaining that intelligence, aside from holding a few meetings for analysis and study, Suna had no other room for preparation.
What else could they do? It wasn't like they could send someone to solo Hanzō.
Can't be done (wiggles finger).
Moreover, Suna had always been prepared for large-scale engagements. Not to mention other things, Hii Kōri's strategic weapon-class large puppets hadn't been deployed at all.
And the various equipment he'd prepared for "army group battles" couldn't be revealed on such a small-scale battlefield either.
Not just weapons—ninjutsu, techniques, and such—once exposed, they would definitely be studied by the enemy. In one-on-one situations, you could keep playing trump cards and continue hiding them by killing the opponent. But in war, you could never kill them all cleanly.
Since they'd be cracked sooner or later, of course you'd want to deploy them when they could cause the most casualties.
And during this phase of "wind sweeping through the tower heralding a rising storm," Chiyo—who had mysteriously withdrawn an elite group from the battlefield—finally returned to the Country of Rain, bringing with her news that "Konoha is about to officially launch a large-scale counterattack."
Hii Kōri had wanted to ask Chiyo where she'd gone, but now he had an idea and decided not to pursue it further.
After changing into his alias and returning to camp after a mission, he found Pakura—who had gone with Chiyo on that secret mission—waiting for him in his tent.
Pakura, who had already made quite a name for herself as the "Scorch Release ninja," was now pacing anxiously in the tent, completely uncharacteristically. When Hii Kōri lifted the tent flap and entered, the kunoichi, clearly lost in thought, was startled and subconsciously hid something behind her back.
Even when Hii Kōri asked what was wrong, she only spoke vaguely, biting her lip.
But after hesitating again and again, she finally handed what was behind her back to her lover.
"This... is something Chiyo-sama asked me to give you."
It was the Uzumaki Clan's ninjutsu insights.
"That old woman really... if she wasn't going to tell me from the beginning, why give this to me now?"
Sitting on the bed and taking the thick stack of books, flipping through a couple of pages, Hii Kōri casually tossed them into the scroll on his wrist. But contrary to Pakura's expectations, he didn't have any violent reaction—just complained ordinarily, like when he teased Chiyo about her pranks.
"Seems Konoha's intelligence department isn't up to par anymore. Sure enough without its original 'heart,' just relying on inertia can't maintain its original functions."
"Kōri... you're not angry?"
Seeing her lover instead focus his attention on Konoha's intelligence department, Pakura couldn't quite read his emotions.
She timidly sat beside Hii Kōri and incoherently began explaining: "Chiyo-sama was just carrying out village missions. If you're really angry, Kōri, don't blame Chiyo-sama..."
"Angry? Of course I'm angry. Keeping this from me for over two months over something like this—not even considering how much extra work it added for me."
Pushing up his slightly slipping non-prescription glasses, Hii Kōri's expression instantly turned cold and hard.
He looked down at Pakura from a dominant position, his gaze making the girl—usually as dominant outside as her bloodline—grow increasingly cramped, almost shredding the corner of her clothes.
"Although the Sealing Team and Barrier Team's skills are pretty good now, compared to the Uzumaki Clan, they're still far behind. If I'd gone, casualties would have been much lower."
"Huh? But Kōri, those were your clansmen."
Pakura was first startled by his tone and expression, then finally caught on and asked a bit stupidly.
"Eh... is there any possibility that from the day I was born, my surname wasn't Uzumaki, but Hii?"
The descendant of a First War deserter, Hii Kōri squinted and teased: "Maybe my biological parents would have thoughts about that, but I've never even met these so-called 'clansmen' before."
"Even if they really didn't want me involved, I could just pretend not to know."
"Really? You're not just comforting me, are you?"
With some concern clouding her judgment, Pakura cupped her lover's face in both hands and looked into his eyes, trying to find some trace.
To this, Hii Kōri let out a rather dull sigh, then simply pushed Pakura down beneath him, casually raising a soundproof barrier in the tent.
"Since you're so convinced I'm angry, then properly apologize to me, Pakura~"
"Wait, wait—wait a minute! At least let me take a bath or—mmph!"