Chapter 124: Devine Mind

Tatsuma chose "Devine Mind," and the effect it brought wasn't just about understanding how to use his body to absorb impact. Or rather, it didn't even require much thought—his body would react instinctively the moment it touched the ground.

The effect of "Devine Mind" was evident in that extremely short moment; he thought of several ways and simultaneously weighed the pros and cons of each.

He actively chose to roll to absorb the impact, and the angle at which his shoulder touched the ground was calculated by him. After rolling to get up, his still unhealed left shoulder didn't even bleed from the force.

This was something he couldn't achieve solely through instinct. Perhaps instinctively, he would have made the same rolling movement to absorb the impact, but his left shoulder might not have been spared from the force, risking secondary injury. His neck and head might have been affected to some extent, and there would likely have been more mud stains on his body.

After some thought, Tatsuma optimized his instinctive actions. This kind of thinking speed, which surpassed instinctive reactions, was something Tatsuma had never experienced before, and he felt great about it.

"Why do you have to be so cool even when falling?" Jiraiya, supporting Tatsuma, grumbled discontentedly. As an onlooker, Jiraiya even felt a sense of admiration for Tatsuma's ability to make even falling look graceful.

This elegance made Jiraiya somewhat jealous. Hearing Jiraiya's words, Tatsuma turned his head, looking quite serious. "Jiraiya-sensei, is there a possibility that it's because I'm really handsome?"

Tatsuma's profile as he turned his head made some of the older Ninjas in the team behind him pause for a moment. His hair color, his eyes, and that feeling of orchestrating everything from behind the scenes...

"He really resembles Second Hokage-sama. No wonder the Sand Ninjas gave this kid that nickname," remarked a middle-aged Ninja from the Inuzuka Clan. Even though the boy in front of him was talking nonsense, he exuded the same commanding presence as Second Hokage-sama when issuing important orders in the past.

Tsunade and Orochimaru's faces turned dark. They knew that the nickname Tatsuma had regarding Second Hokage wasn't flattering; this kid didn't have a single nickname that was positive.

Although Jiraiya didn't know the details of the previous battle, he couldn't stand Tatsuma's showy appearance. He hobbled over to Tatsuma and, with his heavy hand, ruffled Tatsuma's hair messily.

At this moment, the group walked out of the encirclement of Rain Ninjas. Though there were still Rain Ninjas watching from afar, everyone's mood relaxed.

Orochimaru looked around and addressed the people who had come to rescue them. "Everyone, I deeply appreciate your coming to our rescue."

Upon hearing this, the Konoha Ninjas around quickly waved their hands, saying it was the village's arrangement and that comrades should help each other. Orochimaru nodded and continued, "But this matter is not yet settled. We need to leave the Land of Rain as soon as possible and report back to the village. Those responsible for communication, please make sure to report everything accurately."

When it came to business, the relaxed expressions of the people around tightened once again. There were no more polite words. The Ninja responsible for communication exchanged ideas continuously, discussing how to report back to the village efficiently, accurately, and completely.

Seeing that they all understood the importance of the situation, Orochimaru didn't offer any further instructions. Instead, he looked at Tatsuma, who was busy untangling his hair with his fingers, and began to speak.

"Tatsuma, you are a very talented Ninja, but your fighting style is too aggressive. I have rarely seen you finish a battle unscathed, and this is something you must take seriously.

At the same time, I understand the pride that your talent brings, but showing eagerness to face Ninjas like Hanzo is absolutely unacceptable. You must never do it again."

Orochimaru then looked at Minato Namikaze, pursing his lips and saying, "Words on the battlefield must be concise. Don't make Tatsuma's mistakes."

Tatsuma and Minato both nodded, but whether they could change was another matter, especially for Tatsuma.

He didn't want to get injured, but every time he fought, his left shoulder always ended up in an unsafe position. Any slight mistake with his left shoulder could result in an injury, and he wasn't sure if the augmentation from "Devine Mind" could change this.

As for his pride and showing eagerness to face Hanzo, those weren't true. It wasn't because of arrogance that he showed that expression to Hanzo. When he did, Hanzo wasn't in front of him. He was just immersed in a landscape that only he could see.

Seeing both of them wearing thoughtful expressions, Orochimaru felt somewhat reassured. He wasn't their sensei, but he couldn't help saying these things today.

If their senseis were more reliable, he wouldn't have to. Especially Tsunade. Orochimaru really didn't want Tatsuma, a promising young Ninja, to go astray because of Tsunade's negligence.

"Are we going back to the village directly? Or are we going to find Danzo to assist him in withdrawing the troops?" Tsunade asked at this moment. The helplessness on Orochimaru's face deepened. These two teammates of his weren't just unreliable as senseis; they were unreliable as Ninjas as well.

Now they only have one choice, and that's to return to the village. They are under the surveillance of the Rain Ninjas, and if they obediently return to the Land of Fire, the Rain Ninjas naturally won't stop them.

But if they dare to detour to the south of the Land of Rain to find Danzo, the Rain Ninjas will definitely stop them, and might even anger Danzo again.

After all, from the perspective of the Rain Ninja, who knows whether these Konoha Ninjas are going to help with the withdrawal of troops or join Danzo's army to strengthen the Konoha forces, making trouble in the Land of Rain?

"Back to the village. Leave Danzo's matters to sensei," Orochimaru commanded, albeit silently. Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. She actually didn't want to go find Danzo, but after hundreds of Ninjas had been lurking for months, it seemed like a waste to just return to the village after doing so little.

Tsunade worried that these Konoha Ninjas might be dissatisfied. After all, in three months, they could have completed dozens of missions on the front lines. Now, they could only complete one mission, and the effort and reward were not proportional at all.

Tsunade nodded and said, "Going back is good. There are quite a few injured people, and I'm currently unable to treat them all."

At this point, Orochimaru remembered something and asked calmly, "Is yours technique some kind of Secret Jutsu? Does it have a time limit?"

What Orochimaru mentioned was the Enhanced strength Tsunade displayed during their battles with the Iwa ninja forces these past few days. Orochimaru originally thought it was the result of Tsunade's training, but today Tsunade suddenly shut down.

Not only was she unable to unleash her previous formidable strength, but even the efficiency of her recovery from injuries and exhaustion had decreased significantly, with little difference from before she spent a whole year in seclusion practicing.

Tsunade nodded, not being wary of Orochimaru's actions in the cave, and said, "Yes, I've depleted my stored Chakra, so I can't sustain that kind of power anymore."

After a brief moment of thought, Orochimaru roughly understood the general effect of the jutsu Tsunade was practicing and didn't inquire further.

The speed of the team returning to the village was not fast. At least, they wouldn't make it within the three days Hanzo mentioned. After all, there were quite a few wounded in the team, as well as patients like Jiraiya who couldn't move independently. Tsunade's own condition was also very poor, so she couldn't treat them.

This is also why Orochimaru needs communication ninjas to quickly transmit the message back. The village's response was simple: they assured their safety back to the village, and nothing else needed to be concerned about.

However, three days later, when they were barely halfway back to the village, Danzo's commanded troops hadn't withdrawn from the Land of Rain, nor had there been any news of Hanzo declaring war. But it seemed that important negotiations were underway.

Tatsuma could imagine the situation of the negotiations. Konoha was unwilling to give up its advantage over the Hidden Sand Village and reluctant to withdraw easily. Konoha's solution was probably to initiate a three-party negotiation, which, of course, had nothing to do with the Hidden Rock Village, but involved Konoha, Hidden Sand Village, and Land of Rain.

Konoha's demands would certainly be for the Hidden Sand Village to cease hostilities first, then ensure that its own advantage was not lost, withdraw from the Land of Rain. As for whether to continue fighting in the future and where, that would be discussed later.

Hidden Sand Village would definitely not agree to such demands. This situation is similar to a gambling table where the winner wants to withdraw early, but the loser is definitely unwilling because continuing the game means there's a chance to win back, but once they withdraw, what they've lost cannot be reclaimed.

In this situation, the demands of the Hidden Sand Village are also easy to deduce: Konoha must surrender first and compensate for the losses of war. If Konoha doesn't want the war to escalate, Hidden Sand Village is not afraid to escalate it.

Already trapped in a gambler's dilemma, Hidden Sand Village doesn't mind having one more opponent in the Land of Rain. After all, this could be an opportunity to win on both fronts. If they succeed, not only can they recover their losses but also make a substantial profit.

In this scenario, as the mediator, Land of Rain is also in a difficult position. After all, it's a small country and doesn't have enough leverage to play along with both Konoha and Hidden Sand Village. No matter how they play, Land of Rain is bound to lose.

The quickest way is to assist Konoha, their invading enemy, in driving out Hidden Sand Village from their territory. But doing so would mean antagonizing Hidden Sand Village to the point of no return.

As for assisting Sand? Sand is already weak, and even with the assistance of Rain Ninjas, they don't have an absolute advantage over Konoha. They can't simply drive Konoha away, and they would also incur the wrath of Konoha.

No matter what, Land of Rain will be targeted by major powers; that's the helplessness of a small country.

Tatsuma knows how Hanzo will ultimately choose: to flip the gambling table altogether. Since they must antagonize major powers, they might as well antagonize the biggest ones. "I'll fight Hidden Sand Village, and I'll beat up Konoha too."

At the same time, Land of Rain must develop. Can't small countries and big countries play together? Then Land of Rain will become a major power.

In the original work, why did Land of Rain go to war with the Land of Iron, a country it doesn't border? Could it be they wanted an enclave? Tatsuma doesn't think so. He believes Hanzo's aim isn't the Land of Iron but the five or six small countries between the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron.

Departing from the Land of Rain to the Land of Iron, the only country with a powerful military at the end of this line is the Land of Iron. The process of defeating the Land of Iron is, in itself, the process of nibbling away at these small countries.

Once Hanzo manages to unify these few small countries, then he truly gains the qualification to compete with the Five Great Nations, but the Land of Rain doesn't have the capability to fight on three fronts.

No matter how strong Hanzo is, he cannot contend with a single country, let alone multiple countries. Ultimately, he will have to give up on this plan.

Of course, these events haven't happened yet. Currently, the Land of Rain, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Fire are still in the pre-war negotiation stage. Hanzo hasn't flipped the table yet, and the Land of Iron cannot anticipate being involved.

Tatsuma knows he can't stop Hanzo from flipping the table now, but he hopes Konoha can stabilize Hanzo and delay his actions as much as possible, because Tatsuma needs time.

The battlefield is his best place for growth, but he also needs to stay alive. To survive, Tatsuma sets his sights on his soon-to-reach 10,000 points in "Strength," "Stamina," and "Spirit."

As long as these three attributes can also receive additional amplification, his strength will undergo a significant improvement.

Tatsuma looked at Minato, who was reading a scroll, and said, "You truly live up to your reputation, Minato! Studying so diligently even on the road. But as they say, practice makes perfect. How about a real showdown?"

Minato's body twitched, instinctively replying, "Alright!"

Others who were resting looked on with speechless expressions. Do these two kids have no concept of anxiety?

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