Chapter 127: The Third Hokage Cancels His Plans in Rage

Orochimaru admitted that Takuya had influenced him in some ways. In the past, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill those three kids, thinking it would be a mercy to send them to the next world. After all, if they survived, they'd only face more suffering.

"Yeah, right. Like I'd believe that," Jiraiya said, flipping Orochimaru off.

Orochimaru ignored him and continued walking away.

Unfazed, Jiraiya just shrugged it off. Orochimaru had always been that way—cold and unapproachable. Looking back at the cave where the kids were hiding, Jiraiya muttered, "Hang in there, kids. It's not your fault, it's the war's."

Meanwhile, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato were still hungrily devouring the food they had found.

As he chewed, Yahiko spoke up, "I wonder if we'll ever see Takuya-sensei again. If the war ends, he'll probably go back to Konoha."

"Let's finish eating and find a place to train. Nagato's already using jutsu, so we can't fall behind," Konan added.

Among the three, Nagato was the most talented. With just a few pointers from Takuya, he had managed to extract chakra and use jutsu in no time, much to the envy of Yahiko and Konan. Unfortunately, they didn't have Nagato's natural talent, so they had to work even harder to catch up.

Their paths were already diverging from what was written in the original story. Without Jiraiya's direct guidance and moral teachings, their personalities were slowly but surely taking a different shape.

Back in Konoha, the Hokage's office was still brightly lit. The usual hustle and bustle had been replaced by an eerie silence. Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado sat in silence, their expressions grim.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looked even worse.

Chiyo's successful raid on their camp felt like a slap in the face, leaving Hiruzen and his advisors stunned.

"Danzo was too careless," Koharu finally said, breaking the silence. If it had been anyone else, she would have been the first to lash out, calling them useless. But Danzo was a special case. Criticizing him would be like criticizing herself and Homura because it was their influence that had secured Danzo's position as the commander of the frontlines.

Blaming Danzo would be the same as admitting their own mistake.

Turning to Hiruzen, Homura spoke up, "Hiruzen, the most important thing now is to organize a team of medical-nin and send them to the frontlines. There are still many injured waiting for treatment; this can't be delayed."

"I know that," Hiruzen replied, his face darkening further as he let out a frustrated sigh. "I've already ordered some of the wounded to be sent back. If all of them are crowded in the camp without proper treatment, it will only lead to more problems as time goes on."

"But the real issue is…"

As he spoke, Hiruzen's frustration reached a boiling point. He slammed his hand on the table, his voice rising.

"Danzo's negligence led to the camp being breached by the Sand ninjas. And as if that wasn't bad enough, he's so focused on his own glory that he's ignored everything else! Now, the medical unit has been wiped out. Do you realize how difficult it is to train medical-nin?"

"We're already stretched thin in the Land of Rivers, and now we're supposed to pull together a team of medics to send to him?"

"It's bad enough that his carelessness cost us the medical unit, but then he recklessly chased after the enemy, got himself surrounded, and only managed to escape after losing an eye and an arm."

What the hell is wrong with you, Danzo?

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru fought tooth and nail to bring down Amegakure, and now Hanzō is ready to negotiate peace. But here you are, screwing things up on our end.

Not only have we suffered heavy losses, but now we've given Hanzō and the other villages something to laugh about.

Once word gets out, Konoha is going to be a laughingstock. And Danzo will be the butt of the joke.

After a long rant, the Third Hokage finally calmed down.

"Split the wounded into groups and send those with lighter injuries back to the village. We need to figure out a way to send a team of medical-nin to assist Tsunade with treating the injured."

There was no way he could let Danzo continue to run things on the frontlines.

Koharu and Homura had initially planned to have Danzo take charge in the Land of Rivers as well, and Hiruzen had even considered it. But after this mess, that idea was completely off the table.

No way in hell.

If you can't even handle the camp in Amegakure, how do you expect to manage in the Land of Rivers? The enemies there are even more relentless.

Their constant attacks are already giving me a headache. If Danzo goes and makes things worse, we might as well call off the war.

Koharu and Homura could only sigh inwardly as they looked at the Third Hokage. Danzo, it's not that we didn't support you, but you screwed up too badly this time.

Back at the camp, the walls that had been breached by the Sand ninja had been repaired, but the scars left by the attack were still visible.

Inside one of the newly assigned tents, Nawaki let out a long sigh.

"I thought we'd get treatment as soon as we got back to camp, but... well, guess not."

Looking at the almost empty medical unit, Nawaki felt a pang of regret. He used to help out the medics whenever he could, but now there were only a few left, barely able to change bandages and clean wounds.

As for actual treatment? Forget about it.

Even Danzo, the commander, was gritting his teeth and bearing the pain. Unless Tsunade returned or Konoha sent a new batch of medics, the injured would just have to tough it out.

"Oh, quit whining. There are guys here missing arms and legs, and they're not complaining. You've just got some cuts and bruises—what's there to be so down about?"

"Minato almost lost his future happiness, and he's not moping around like you."

At that, Takuya couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Yagami Takuya!"

Minato glared at him, gritting his teeth, while Takuya waved it off, wiping away tears of laughter.

"Sorry, couldn't help it."

Nawaki chuckled too. Compared to Minato, his own situation didn't seem so bad. A hurt arm was nothing—Minato had nearly lost something far more precious.

"Ha! That's too funny," Nawaki said, bursting out in laughter himself.

But his laughter was cut short when Minato smacked his injured arm, making him wince in pain.

You're evil!

It was just a joke—did you really have to hit me where I'm hurt?

"Takuya,"

After a while, once the laughter had died down, Nawaki suddenly spoke up.

"When all this is over and we're back in the village, will you train with me? I want to work on my taijutsu and kenjutsu."

The more time Nawaki spent with Takuya and Minato, the more he realized his own shortcomings. He wanted to get stronger.

"As long as you don't mind getting beat up, you're welcome to join us," Takuya shrugged. "Another punching bag wouldn't hurt."

I've been beating up Minato for years now—might be nice to have a change.

Minato shot Nawaki a sympathetic look.

"Yagami Takuya!"

Just as they were talking, Takuya was thinking about what to make for dinner when an ANBU ninja appeared.

"What's up?"

"This is a mission from Lord Danzo, assigned to your squad. Prepare to depart in two hours."

Handing Takuya a mission scroll, the ANBU ninja then left the tent.

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