Chapter 150: Never Let Your Guard Down
In the midst of the rainforest, the sound of raindrops falling and the rushing water brought by the early monsoon could be heard. If one were to solely listen to these sounds, it would undoubtedly be very soothing. However, what's eerie is the absence of any sounds from small animals or insects.
If it were a person standing in this rainforest, they would likely feel a chill down their spine and their hairs would involuntarily stand on end, because the hostility within the rainforest seems to linger indefinitely.
"Who goes there?"
Suddenly, a deep voice echoed in the rainforest. With this voice, even the flowing water of the early monsoon seemed to cease, and the sound abruptly stopped.
The rainforest became increasingly quiet, with only the sound of raindrops falling on fallen leaves and puddles.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a loud noise startled hundreds of Konoha Ninjas. They all wielded ninja tools, some already prepared to make hand seals, and looked vigilantly towards the source of the sound. Leading them was a young ninja with long white hair.
"I've been running around for so long, escorting reinforcements for you, and this is how you treat me?!" Hearing this irritable voice, the white-haired ninja actually smiled. He raised his hand to signal the surrounding ninjas not to be nervous, then scratched his head and said, "Tsunade, you're several days later than agreed. I thought something had happened to you."
Although he said so, Jiraiya had no intention of approaching Tsunade in the distance. Tsunade rolled her eyes at Jiraiya, waved her hand, and instantly, over three hundred ninjas emerged from the rainforest.
Tatsuma and Minato both waved to Jiraiya. Seeing his students and disciples, Jiraiya's smile grew even brighter. However, after scanning around, he showed some doubt and asked, "Tsunade, where's Orochimaru? And Nawaki, didn't they come to the front line as well?"
As he spoke, the ninjas around him became alert once again. Although Tsunade and the others in front of him seemed perfectly normal, they still needed to remain vigilant at all times, after all, this was the wisdom of their predecessors.
"Don't look around so much. Nawaki said he wants to go to the battlefield, and Orochimaru is temporarily staying there to guide him. You can contact Danzo's side." Tsunade explained, then Jiraiya quickly said, "Hey! Look at you, speaking as if I don't trust you."
Although he said so, Jiraiya, without changing his expression, gestured to his rear. He himself approached Tsunade a bit, slightly opening his hands in welcome, then continued, "I've been waiting here for you to come back, just haven't seen Orochimaru, which made me a bit worried. However, this batch of Genin you brought is of high quality. There are quite a few I hadn't noticed before."
As he spoke, his gaze swept over the faces of the ninjas behind Tsunade. Tsunade knew Jiraiya was still somewhat guarded, feeling a bit annoyed, but still explained, "On the way here, Tatsuma and Minato dealt with several groups of Rain Ninja with them. Although their strength hasn't improved much, they've honed their ability to conceal their movements."
Jiraiya nodded again, finding Tsunade's explanation quite reasonable. At the same time, he drew closer to Tsunade, even entering an unsafe distance. If the other side launched an attack, Jiraiya might not even react in time.
"Heavenly Kick of Pain!" Watching Jiraiya's expression, Tsunade immediately delivered a direct kick.
"Boom!" Smoke erupted, and Jiraiya vanished from sight. Simultaneously, a crater appeared where he had been standing. Tsunade raised an eyebrow and said, "What exactly are you trying to test?"
"Nothing, nothing! Just haven't seen you in so long, thought I'd crack a joke," Jiraiya quickly responded.
At that moment, Jiraiya emerged from the nearby rainforest, wearing a pained yet joyful expression on his face. He jogged over and began rubbing Tatsuma and Minato's heads.
After a few tests, especially experiencing Enhanced Strength firsthand, Jiraiya finally believed. Moreover, after confirming the news from the other battlefield, he enthusiastically exclaimed:
"Everyone, you must be tired from the journey, right? Let's gather up and take a rest first. We'll discuss the mission arrangements tomorrow," Jiraiya said.
At this moment, Tsunade let out a heavy sigh and said, "You've confirmed our identities, but I haven't confirmed yours yet."
Jiraiya knew Tsunade was just being stubborn, but he wasn't annoyed. He just smiled and asked, "How do we confirm? A secret code or a mission scroll?"
"A secret code? I've long forgotten about that kind of thing," Tsunade shook her head. She didn't really feel like probing, she was just annoyed with Jiraiya. Jiraiya quickly nodded and said, "Let's confirm it later then. For now, let's just come in and rest."
Tsunade nodded in agreement. Jiraiya looked at Tatsuma and Minato, who were carrying two large bags, and asked, "What supplies did you two bring? Any food ingredients? We've been fasting in the camp for the past few days, only Military Rations Pills left."
The previous plans were very demanding, and with Tatsuma and the others delayed for a few days on the road, the camp's supplies were almost depleted, at least in terms of food ingredients.
Tatsuma patted the bag behind him and said, "We've brought enough. It should last for a while."
Jiraiya nodded happily, then turned to Tsunade and said, "We've also accumulated some wounded recently. In the past few days, several cases have turned into severe infections."
"Take me to see them."
As soon as they got down to business, Tsunade's expression turned serious. Jiraiya led the way, and Tatsuma and Minato followed obediently.
The camp here was much simpler compared to the one on the battlefield. The main structure was a cave, with somewhat poor lighting inside and an underground river dividing the cave in two.
However, this also made it convenient for them to access water without leaving the camp, and the mountain wall where the cave was located helped them better defend against Rain Ninja.
But if they wanted to launch an attack, this camp had no advantages at all. Fortunately, their presence here was to engage with Rain Ninja, to appease them, so they didn't need to consider attacking.
The camp here wasn't as clearly divided as the one on the battlefield. There were two vents, one for cooking and the other for accommodating the wounded, while the rest of the people were gathered elsewhere.
Arriving at the area where the wounded were gathered, Tsunade frowned at the dim surroundings and asked, "Have the batteries run out too?"
Jiraiya nodded because the Ninja in this camp had been urgently mobilized, and various supplies were insufficiently provided. Moreover, the allocation of Ninja types was also not reasonable, so they had been enduring difficulties for some time.
However, on the battlefield, everyone endured as much as they could. That's just how it was. But for healthy ninjas, it was tough, let alone for the wounded.
Without batteries and with the Land of Rain constantly dark, they found it difficult even to examine wounds, which was why some of the wounded had developed severe infections.
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma and Minato didn't need to be told. They unloaded their backpacks and searched for sealing scrolls containing batteries and other supplies. After unsealing them, they began replacing the batteries.
Soon, the medical camp lit up, and Tsunade quickly began examining the condition of the wounded. Most of them had developed infectious complications, which could be deadly on the battlefield.
Not only was it more challenging to heal these wounds, but the recovery time was also longer. Before fully recovering, going into battle was basically a death sentence as their weakened bodies couldn't support combat.
"Minato, coordinate with your sensei for supplies. Tatsuma, prepare for surgery with me. Nono, assist Tatsuma. Others who want to learn can observe, but don't interfere with the surgery. The rest, follow Jiraiya's arrangements," Tsunade quickly issued orders.
Minato nodded, shouldered his own backpack and Tatsuma's, and followed Jiraiya into the distance. Nono and some Genin also gathered around the medical camp.
Shikaku touched his spiky ponytail and prepared to follow Jiraiya. He knew Jiraiya intended for them to rest. Wouldn't it be better to rest early?
But as he took a few steps, Tsunade seemed to remember something and said, "Members of the Nara Clan, stay behind. Some of the wounded have head injuries and can't use anesthesia. We need your Secret Jutsu to assist."
Shikaku's expression fell, while Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza, in perfect harmony, pushed Shikaku towards the medical camp and then happily followed Jiraiya.
"Sigh, what a hassle," Shikaku muttered, looking like a marionette with no spirit as he headed towards the medical camp. There were about three to five others with a similar appearance, with spiky ponytails and the same laziness, as if it were a segment ingrained in their clan DNA.
Tsunade regretted agreeing to Danzo's decision to leave all the Chunin who knew Medical Ninjutsu at that camp. After all, with so many accumulated wounded, having only two medical ninjas plus an assistant who could only clean and stitch wounds made things quite difficult.
Especially within the battlefield camp, where they couldn't use hospital imaging equipment, some internal injuries could only be relied upon the descriptions of the wounded. Coupled with the medical ninjas' own judgment and chakra sensing, the efficiency was even lower.
But fortunately, the master and disciple had the most suitable summoning creature for medical ninjas—the Shikkotsu Forest's Katsuyu. Katsuyu's special chakra could quickly detect the conditions of patients or wounded personnel, reducing the time needed for observation and examination.
This time it was Tsunade's summoning, Katsuyu. Tatsuma summoned a slightly larger-sized Katsuyu to assist, but it lacked the conditions for comprehensive sterilization and detoxification. Tatsuma used sealing jutsu to create a barrier, isolating the external environment to achieve sterilization and detoxification within a small area.
Just like in battles against Rain Ninja, they were susceptible to toxin infiltration. However, this time Tatsuma couldn't use his recently developed Delicate Illness Extraction Jutsu because of too much external interference. He didn't have the necessary environment to maintain absolute focus.
The master and disciple could only treat each patient individually. As for Shadow Clones using Medical Ninjutsu, it was too intricate for them and later feed back of memories will be too much to process.
Not to mention that Shadow Clones, relatively speaking, were uncontrollable. The only truly safe and controllable clone jutsu that could meet Tsunade's requirements was the Wood Clone Jutsu, but neither of them could learn it.
Because that technique, only Senju Hashirama could use it.
In other words, other attribute clones are created from a certain element, Shadow Clones mimics the body with chakra, while Wood Clones involve chakra combined with the body's cells, making them the most stable and controllable..
The master and disciple toiled away for a full four days before finally healing all the wounded. Now, it was time for their own recovery and rehabilitation work.
But before they could rest, news suddenly arrived at the camp of a Rain Ninjas attack.
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