Orochimaru had also been sent to the battlefield, tasked with dealing with the restless Cloud ninjas, leading a force of five hundred ninjas from the village. The Cloud ninjas were proving to be even more troublesome than the Rock ninjas, for the Raikage's whereabouts were always uncertain—no one knew where he might show up on the battlefield.
The Sand's Fourth Kazekage had no choice but to personally take to the battlefield. Being the weakest of the Five Great Shinobi Countries, and with the previous Kazekage still missing, the Sand Village had no choice but to fight for their survival. To secure their interests, the Kazekage had to bring along the One-Tails Jinchuriki—otherwise, the Sand's assault on Konoha would have been nothing more than a suicide mission.
The Raikage, as always, was impulsive, with each successive Raikage being one of the strongest among their peers. Even before becoming Raikage, they were often active on the battlefield. This time, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki had also joined the battlefield. Had it not been for this, Sarutobi would have probably never considered sending Orochimaru to fend off the Cloud ninjas' invasion.
Konoha was now at war with three major nations at once, which put immense pressure on the village. Despite the abundant resources of the Land of Fire and its status as the most powerful in terms of national strength, having to face three different villages left Konoha's higher-ups feeling overwhelmed.
The battle in the Land of Rivers had started to slow, and the Sand's offensive had begun to falter. Meanwhile, the One-Tails Jinchuriki, having gone through several transformations, was nearing the end of their life. If the Sand were to continue sending the One-Tails Jinchuriki into battle, they risked losing him on the battlefield. If that happened, the Shukaku would die along with its host, and reviving them would likely take decades.
Would the Sand Village be able to endure a situation without a Jinchuriki for over ten years? Rasa would never accept that. Even if he could, once he returned to Sunagakure, he would be burdened with endless duties and possibly even lose his position as Kazekage.
Faced with such a situation, Hiruzen had no choice but to visit Fugaku Uchiha, hoping that he would gather a group of ninjas to defend against the Hidden Mist's potential interference.
At this time, the Uchiha Clan had no intentions of rebellion. Some villagers were discontented with their harsh enforcement methods, occasionally voicing their complaints, but the Uchiha Clan paid little attention to these murmurs. Fugaku, in his prime, still harbored the ambition of gaining enough military merit to earn a seat as a candidate for the Fourth Hokage, hoping that such a position would change the public perception of the Uchiha Clan.
However, Fugaku failed to see their position in Konoha clearly. The high-ranking officials barely acknowledged them, and the common villagers had a strong dislike for the Uchiha. They found themselves stuck in the middle, unable to rise or fall. Even during the first major conflict, no Uchiha ninja had been sent to the battlefield—only registered ninjas like Obito Uchiha had been dispatched.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Grass, after the Rock ninjas had estimated Konoha's forces, they quickly divided their troops, preparing to open multiple fronts. Miyamura, facing the Rock ninjas' strategy, had no choice but to respond, or else the enemy might invade the Land of Fire from another direction.
As a result, medical ninjas were split up according to their skills and specialties, with the smallest medical teams being assigned to different battlefields. In the largest camp, there were only two small squads of medical ninjas, even with Aoki, a medical jōnin, sent out. This meant that, for the time being, the medical division of the camp truly fell under Hyuga Mirai's management.
But it wasn't enough. With only two squads—eight medical ninjas—there wasn't much manpower to handle the full load. Fortunately, the second batch of supplies had arrived, and it contained a substantial amount of medicine. Although the Hyakusa Trade Association's supplies couldn't restore the ninjas to full health quickly enough, they could save lives, ensuring that at least the wounded could survive long enough to return to battle.
The conflict between Konoha and the Rock ninjas had now dragged on for nearly a month. In the medical camp, three tents were almost filled with wounded soldiers.
Mirai had just finished tending to one of the injured when a medical chunin approached to report.
"Hyuga-sama, the wounded tents are full. There's no more room."
Sighing, Mirai asked, "How many people are stabilized and unable to fight for the short term?"
"Twenty-seven."
"Have them ready for transfer. I'll inform Miyamura of the situation. These people will be added to the list of those returning to the village."
Mirai then prepared to leave the tent and speak with Miyamura, but as he reached the door, he paused and turned back to address the medical ninjas inside. "Also, notify the others that, from today onward, unless there's a major incident, everyone must maintain at least half of their chakra. All external injuries should be treated with medicine and non-chakra-assisted surgery."
"Yes, Lord Mirai," the other medical ninjas responded quickly and efficiently.
To an outsider, it might have seemed strange—grown ninjas obeying the orders of a young man. But only these medical ninjas understood how exceptional Mirai truly was. His medical knowledge was unmatched, and his ability to manage such a task with only two squads was nothing short of impressive. If not for their efforts in the rear, the front lines would have been overwhelmed by the sheer number of injured soldiers.
When he reached the command tent, Mirai was surprised to see a few familiar faces, looking exhausted, as if they had just arrived. However, one person's gaze and smile made him feel uncomfortable, despite others referring to him as the "Golden Little Sun."
"Mirai-san, is there an issue with the medical camp?" Miyamura immediately asked upon seeing Mirai.
Hyuga Mirai looked away from Minato's team and calmly spoke to Miyamura, "These are the next batch of injured to be sent back to the village. It's best to arrange for them as soon as possible—the medical camp is already overcrowded."
Miyamura took the list, glanced at it gravely, and replied, "I understand."
Mirai had heard the same thing countless times before.
"There's one more thing, Miyamura-san. The healing seals in the medical camp have been depleted for a while now. Regarding the previous request..." Mirai trailed off, his tone not holding any hope.
"I'm sorry, Mirai," Miyamura said with a troubled expression. "The healing seals are all gone, and the pressure on the village's medical resources is mounting. The next batch of supplies will likely only include medicine."
Mirai sighed, having heard such excuses before. It was becoming harder to ignore. Still, once the experimental base in the Land of Tea was up and running, he would be out of here as quickly as possible.
But before leaving, Mirai had every intention of getting a few more forbidden techniques from Orochimaru, especially the Edo Tensei technique.
"Hey, why the long face? Once I, Lord Obito, destroy the Rock ninja's supply line at Kanabi bridge..." Obito began with bold optimism, trying to cheer Mirai up. However, before he could finish his sentence, Kakashi stepped in and interrupted him.
"Obito, a ninja must not reveal the details of a mission to anyone outside the team," Kakashi said coldly, his eyes narrowing with reprimand.
"Damned Kakashi!" Obito muttered under his breath, realizing his mistake. He knew he had been out of line, but as teammates, he had simply wanted to offer some comfort. It was his first time handling such an important mission, and his excitement got the better of him.
Mirai's thoughts immediately went to the Rock ninja supply line when Obito mentioned Kanabi Bridge. Miyamura had been keeping an eye on this supply line for a while, sending several assault teams, but none had succeeded in completing their missions.
However, with Minato's skill, destroying Kanabi Bridge should be no problem. His Flying Thunder God was formidable, and infiltrating behind enemy lines was not difficult for him. It would make sense for him to go—Kakashi and the others didn't necessarily need to accompany him, as their abilities might not be fully utilized in this mission.
"Miyamura-san, if I may ask a question that might seem inappropriate, please feel free to ignore it," Mirai said, casting a glance at Minato's team before addressing Miyamura. "I have no doubts about Minato's strength. With his abilities, he can easily handle behind-the-enemy-lines tasks. But what about Nohara Rin? If I remember correctly, she is a medical ninja. What use does a medical ninja have in a mission behind enemy lines?"
The pressure on the medical camp was overwhelming, and despite his multiple requests for support, each time he was either brushed off or told to hang on.
It was infuriating. Just moments ago, they had been told there would be no immediate reinforcements, and yet now, a medical jōnin was being sent on a behind-enemy-lines mission. Mirai couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the way some people thought. How did foolishness and normalcy differ?
"This... The mission was assigned to Minato's team. Nohara Rin is part of that team. As for the assignment of team members, only the captain has the authority," Miyamura explained, as his position only slightly outranked Mirai's.
Although Mirai's prestige and background were more than enough to disregard Miyamura's status, even if he was the frontline commander, Mirai didn't argue. Unlike the powerful ninja families, Miyamura had no influence in Konoha's politics.
"Hey, Hyuga! Are you looking down on Rin?" Obito exclaimed angrily when he noticed Rin's downcast expression after hearing Mirai's question.
Mirai didn't respond to Obito's outburst. Instead, he nodded at Miyamura and Minato and then left the command tent.
Medical ninjas in Konoha held a low status, having only developed as a specialty under Tsunade's influence over the past decade. With many of their allies having left the village, their low position was unsurprising. The issue was that the resources were poorly utilized, and that was a problem rooted in leadership.
'When I get back, I'll have a word with Orochimaru,' Mirai thought. 'The Fourth Hokage is out of his reach, but if I could bring Orochimaru into my faction, it would be much more beneficial. Science without financial backing is doomed to stagnate.'
As Mirai left, the command tent fell into silence.
Minato stepped forward, smiling as he patted Rin on the shoulder. "Rin, would you rather join Kakashi and Obito on the mission, or stay behind to treat the injured? No matter what you choose, your teacher will support you."
"Of course, She wants to go with us!" Obito started, but Kakashi immediately cut him off.
"Obito, let Rin decide for herself," Kakashi said calmly.
"Tch, Kakashi," Obito muttered, but under Kakashi's steady gaze, he held back from arguing and turned to Rin, waiting for her decision.
"I still want to go on the mission with everyone!" Rin said, after a moment of hesitation, her voice firm with determination.
(End of Chapter)
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