The starkly different attitudes of the two villages towards Tatsuma's situation only intensified the conflict between the Wind and Fire nations, but none of this had anything to do with Tatsuma himself.
The only thing relevant to him was that after who knows how long in a coma, he successfully woke up.
"You're awake? I'll go call Tsunade-sama."
In the dimly lit medical tent, Minato, who had been tired, saw Tatsuma's eyes seemingly open, instantly alert, jumping up from his small stool and about to rush out.
"Wait, cough, wait."
Hearing Tatsuma's words, Minato stopped, immediately turning back to Tatsuma and asking, "What's wrong? Tatsuma? Are you feeling unwell?"
"Water."
Tatsuma felt like his lips would crack when he opened his mouth, his throat was as painful as if it had been sanded with sandpaper when he spoke, and the inside of his cheeks, in contact with his teeth, also seemed to have been peeled off.
He didn't feel hunger, but he was extremely thirsty. His parched body and foggy brain both needed the moisture of water.
Minato, upon hearing this, didn't hesitate. He poured a glass of water but then thought of a better idea instead. He fetched two or three medical cotton swabs.
Soaking the swabs in water, Minato gently dabbed Tatsuma's lips with the wet cotton. Although it had been a long time since he attended Tsunade's medical classes, Minato remembered that patients who had undergone surgery or who had been comatose for a long time shouldn't immediately drink or eat.
As a disciple who had been by Tsunade's side, Tatsuma naturally understood this as well. He slightly opened his mouth, allowing the water to trickle into his mouth, slowly moistening it. With the external supply of water, his body gradually revived, and he began to produce saliva on his own.
After carefully swallowing a few times to ensure there were no issues, Tatsuma tilted his head slightly, indicating to Minato that he didn't need to feed him water anymore, then asked, "How's the situation now?"
Upon hearing this, Minato pursed his lips and said, "The situation is a bit dire. You've been unconscious for four days, so you're not very up-to-date on many things."
Minato set the water cup and cotton swabs aside before continuing, "On the day of the incident, we did indeed achieve victory. Except for a few Hidden Sand Village Jonin like Chiyo, no one else could break through our encirclement.
And after the reinforcements from the Hidden Sand Village arrived, Orochimaru-sama also declared a temporary ceasefire. The Hidden Sand Village requested the return of the bodies, and we all agreed, but..."
Here, Minato paused for a moment, glanced at Tatsuma's condition, and seeing that he was becoming more alert, he continued, "There were some issues after the exchange of bodies.
Hoshi's condition was too... In short, the Hidden Sand Village now accuses us of massacring their ninja and demands that we hand over the culprit who killed Hoshi."
"Haha~ I hope I'm not the one they're planning to send over?" Tatsuma chuckled. He wasn't worried because Minato mentioning it meant that such a thing was utterly implausible within Konoha. If Konoha were to agree internally, news like this wouldn't reach a Genin like Minato.
Minato also shook his head with a smile, saying, "How could the village possibly do such a thing?"
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma's smile became somewhat peculiar, but he didn't interrupt. Instead, he listened as Minato continued, "Both Orochimaru-sama and Tsunade-sama have refused, but there is growing resentment among the people of the Hidden Sand Village, demanding revenge.
They've even given you new nicknames, two of them. One is Konoha's Dragon, and the other is... cough... Jewel Crusher."
"It seems my reputation was stained after I crushed those "Jewels" hahahahahha"
Tatsuma naturally understood what "Jewel Crusher" meant because he indeed often struck at the balls of his opponents, including Hoshi, who triggered this incident, and whose jewels Tatsuma shattered.
However, Tatsuma frowned and asked, "So, when you say the situation is dire, it's because of the resentment sparked by Hoshi's body in the Hidden Sand Village?"
Minato nodded, saying, "Exactly. The Second Kazekage is highly respected in the Hidden Sand Village. Now that his descendant, or rather the only descendant capable of continuing the bloodline, has been slain by you...
Moreover, the fact that it was done in this manner has left the ninjas of the Hidden Sand Village very dissatisfied. The elders of the Hidden Sand Village have once again gathered the ninjas, and they are already advancing towards the Land of Rivers. It seems that a major battle is inevitable.
However, Orochimaru-sama is currently working on finding a way to dampen the intensity of this wave of public opinion from the Hidden Sand Village."
"Dampen it? Why would they want to dampen it?"
Tatsuma propped himself up slightly on the bed and sat up, saying, "We from Konoha should assist in spreading the decision of the Hidden Sand Village Elders, shouldn't we?"
"Huh?!" Minato was somewhat puzzled. Tatsuma chuckled and said, "The Wind and Fire nations have been at war for years, and countless ninjas die every year. But whether it's the Wind Country or the Land of Fire, they are accustomed to it.
But just because Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law died, it sparked this war. Now that the descendant of the Second Kazekage has died, they want to escalate the war. Doesn't that imply that... except for the Elders, the lives of other Sand Ninjas don't matter!"
Minato's eyes lit up as he said, "Are you suggesting we spread the idea that the Hidden Sand Village Elders don't value the lives of grassroots ninjas, only caring about the lives of the Elders and their descendants?"
Thinking about this, Minato pondered for a moment before continuing, "Setting aside past grievances for now, let's just consider this war. Hoshi was just one among countless ninjas from both countries who have died.
Whether it's Konoha or the Hidden Sand Village, many more ninjas have died, but the Hidden Sand Village Elders don't care. They only care when their own relatives or disciples are killed.
They're even willing to sacrifice the lives of their own village's ninjas to avenge their loved ones and disciples."
"You truly are clever, Minato. You understand it well. This plan shall be called... 'The lives of grassroots ninjas matter too!'"
Tatsuma chuckled and said, "Could you please discuss this idea with Orochimaru-sama? It seems I'm... still somewhat incapacitated."
Tatsuma could sense that he didn't seem to have any serious injuries. Most of the wounds he sustained in battle had been healed by the Nine-Tails Chakra, and the remaining injuries were likely taken care of by Tsunade within these four days.
However, Medical Ninjutsu is not omnipotent. It can heal a person's wounds, but it cannot replenish the blood lost by an injured person. The newly healed muscles and bones also need to adapt.
Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Minato nodded but didn't leave immediately. Tatsuma looked slightly puzzled, and Minato gestured outside, saying, "Wouldn't it be a bit rude to wake up Orochimaru-sama at midnight?"
Upon hearing this, Tatsuma consciously began to survey his surroundings. It was quite dim around him. Initially, he thought it was because the tent was poorly lit, with only the faint glow of some medical instruments.
However, upon closer observation, Tatsuma realized that it was actually very dark outside, with only a few flickers of firelight. The tent wasn't tightly sealed, which allowed him to see the surroundings clearly.
Seeing that Tatsuma finally understood the situation around him, Minato didn't explain further but curiously asked, "Tatsuma, I'm really curious. What was the reason that finally made you dare to kill an enemy?"
"Sigh~" Tatsuma sighed and wore a troubled expression, saying, "Why do you all think that I didn't kill enemies because I was afraid? I must have said it more than once: I just didn't want to do something wrong."
"And now? Don't you think it's not wrong anymore?"
"No, that hasn't changed. I've just stopped scrutinizing my own life. I used to hear people say that a life not examined is not worth living.
I've always believed that, so I've constantly scrutinized every choice I make. I believed killing was wrong, but over-scrutinizing led me to unconsciously avoid it at all costs.
But living with this excessive scrutiny is exhausting. Now, I feel like life sometimes doesn't need too many reasons. Doing some meaningless things or occasionally being a cog in the machine can alleviate a lot of troubles."
Tatsuma laid back down and continued slowly, "Mutual killing is wrong, and it's not a real solution to conflicts. It's a primitive, direct method, existing since the beginning of life.
Since life began until now, who knows how many years have passed, thousands upon thousands of years if not way more. So, I believe we should use a more advanced approach to solve conflicts.
But my abilities are limited. When someone puts a knife to my throat, or to the throat of someone I care about, I can't think of any other way to resolve it. So, I choose the same simple method as everyone else.
Until I find a truly "advanced" method to resolve conflicts, I simply refrained from killing. In the end, the only one who would be moved by this is myself, and it could even harm me and those I care about.
I choose to use violence to stop violence, not because I agree with it or because I think it's right, but simply because I can't find another way.
But if I can think of a better way, or if someone else does, I will change again."
With that said, Minato didn't respond, remaining silent for a while before saying, "Tatsuma, I envy you. You can think of so much, while I can only follow what others say."
"You're already remarkable, Minato. Most people spend their whole lives unable to even live a conventional life properly, so being as you are now is already pretty good.
But real change can only be achieved by a very few people. I've had that desire, but I lack the ability. I... I'm just a man who troubles himself over trivial matters."
After Tatsuma finished speaking, he closed his eyes. He didn't want to sleep; he just didn't want to continue discussing the topic. Minato, being someone skilled at reading the atmosphere, remained silent too, leaning back against the chair and falling asleep once more.
After Minato fell asleep, Tatsuma opened his eyes again. Even though Minato didn't say anything, Tatsuma could guess why the rescue had come so timely that day.
"We'll both have longer and more fulfilling lives, Minato. Thank you."
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