Chapter 152

"Your Highness, thank you for saving my life this time, but I must ask for another favor. Could you please help treat the other injured ninjas? I promise, you will be greatly rewarded afterward!"

After stopping the leader of the Anbu guard, the Third Hokage turned around and looked at Leo with a face full of gratitude.

The Third Hokage didn't need Leo to help in the battle; he just needed him to use his miraculous healing jutsu to save lives, especially those ninjas who were so badly injured that the Konoha medical team couldn't save them.

Every ninja Leo saved was a bit of strength restored to Konoha.

"Of course!"

Leo was more than willing to help save lives. For every Konoha ninja or even Sand ninja he saved, he not only earned the gratitude of that individual but also gained favor from Konoha's leadership and all its ninjas. How could he pass up such a profitable deal?

Moreover, wizards don't suffer from a lack of magical power. As long as he wanted, he could save anyone on the battlefield who wasn't completely dead.

Nodding solemnly, Leo first healed the injuries of the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage, fighting alone against Orochimaru and the reanimated First and Second Hokage, was indeed under great strain, resulting in numerous injuries on his body. However, none of these wounds were too severe.

After healing the Third Hokage, Leo chose the Konoha Chunin Exam arena as the treatment point and instructed the Anbu to bring heavily injured ninjas one by one for magical treatment.

As Orochimaru retreated, the Sound ninjas naturally followed, leaving only the Sand ninjas still fighting Konoha's ninjas.

But with only the Sand ninjas, there was no way they could match Konoha's ninjas. They were soon overwhelmed and forced to retreat in disarray.

Half an hour later, Leo, drenched in sweat and his body trembling slightly, slowly performed a spell gesture, once again using a healing charm to save a severely injured villager.

The Anbu captain, responsible for Leo's safety, looked at his state with a face full of concern and advised, "Your Highness, please take a rest. Continuing like this is too dangerous."

From his perspective, the prince had already saved over three hundred ninjas and villagers injured in the ninja battles. Judging by his outward appearance, his chakra was clearly severely depleted.

He knew that for a ninja, severely overextending chakra could lead to death.

Leo shook his head, showing a warm smile. "It's alright. They are all precious lives, with families, loved ones, and friends. How can I just let them be taken away by death? I can hold on a little longer!"

His current state was a deliberate act of control over his body, pretending to be exhausted, when in fact, he was completely fine.

But people are like this: if he seemed perfectly fine, his healing efforts would appear cheap, and those he saved, while grateful, wouldn't pay it much mind.

However, if he showed enough struggle—even to the point where he seemed on the brink of death from chakra depletion yet continued to save others—the effect would be vastly different.

And considering his noble status as a prince, saving the lives of ordinary villagers and ninjas at the risk of his own life made him appear incredibly compassionate.

"Your Highness!"

The Anbu captain and the ninjas and villagers saved by Leo all looked at him with expressions of profound gratitude.

Yes, thinking of how devastated their spouses, children, and parents would be if they died, they felt a deep sense of gratitude towards the prince.

"Your Highness, forget about saving those damned Sand ninjas. Don't put yourself at risk for their sake!"

At this point, a Konoha ninja, full of anger, spoke up.

He thought that if the prince only saved Konoha's ninjas and villagers, ignoring the invading Sand ninjas' fate, it would surely be less taxing.

Leo shook his head again. "Right now, I am a healer, and as a healer, I cannot ignore those in need. They may be at fault, but they are still lives. Since they're here, I'll save them. Whether they live or die in the future will be for Lord Hokage to decide."

Hearing Leo's words, the captured Sand ninjas, who had been tied up, all looked down in shame.

The leading jonin, Baki, even spoke up, "Your Highness of the Land of Fire, we are deeply grateful for your willingness to treat our Sand ninjas. We will always remember this kindness!"

Leo nodded with a smile and, once again, feigned a shaky posture as he performed a healing spell, saving a Sand ninja who had been impaled through the stomach and was on the verge of death from blood loss.

"Your Highness is truly too kind!"

...

Around noon, the Battle of Konoha came to an end. The majority of the Sand ninjas, led by Baki, including Gaara, the Jinchuriki of the One-Tail who had been defeated by Naruto, were all taken back to Konoha for temporary detention, awaiting negotiations with the Sand Village's leadership.

In the afternoon, Konoha's Anbu ninjas found the decaying corpse of the Fourth Kazekage in a dense forest in the Land of Rivers.

In the evening, Leo was invited by the Third Hokage to the Hokage's office.

And the first thing the Third Hokage said when they met almost made Leo jump out of his seat.

"Your Highness, we are truly grateful for your assistance this time, saving the lives of seventy-eight of our fine Konoha ninjas and two hundred and twelve villagers from death. If you don't mind, I'd like to take you on as my fourth official disciple!"

"Lord Hokage, are you sure you're not joking with me?"

Leo sat back down, composed himself, and asked.

The Third Hokage smiled and shook his head. "I'm not joking with you, Your Highness. Your help to Konoha this time is invaluable. You don't lack money, and we in Konoha are also trying to restore our village after the destruction and don't have much to offer financially."

"But I know you enjoy learning ninjutsu, and with your natural talent for all five chakra natures, if you're willing, I'm well-versed in all five elements and can guide you in learning ninjutsu. Consider it a form of repayment. Of course, given your noble status, if you find it inappropriate, I could also provide you with some of our Konoha's ninjutsu scrolls. Although it might not be enough to repay the help you've given us." 

"Teacher, please have some tea!"

Without hesitation, Leo immediately stood up, poured a cup of tea, and offered it to the Third Hokage.

He couldn't let such a golden opportunity slip by. Whether or not the Third Hokage's reasons were entirely true, becoming his disciple would undoubtedly benefit him greatly.

It was something he had never even considered before.

He had always thought it was impossible; as a prince of the Land of Fire, not born in Konoha, the Third Hokage and Konoha's leadership would naturally have some reservations about him.

Forget becoming the Third Hokage's disciple—even being taken in by Jiraiya or Kakashi seemed out of the question.

That was why he hadn't come to Konoha initially and had instead gone straight to the Fire Temple to study under Chiriku.

...