Within the camp, it was quiet. Despite housing over two thousand ninjas, there was not even the slightest sound, as if even their breaths were deliberately suppressed.
The cause of this phenomenon was the news from another camp, another battlefield. Two days ago, Danzo led a legion of ninjas to launch a sudden attack on the Sand Ninja camp, engaging in a major battle with the original frontline teams from Hidden Sand Village and the support teams led by Ebizo.
The Konoha ninja legion was pinned down by the Sand Ninjas and unable to retreat. Meanwhile, on another front, during negotiations in the midst of the war between the Wind and Rain countries, Chiyo agreed to the war reparations demanded by Hanzo.
After concluding the brief war with Rain Ninjas led by Hanzo, Chiyo led over a thousand Sand Ninjas to reinforce. Danzo's team was caught in a pincer attack from the front and rear. Undoubtedly, within a mere day, the Konoha Ninja legion suffered a crushing defeat.
However, if it were just one defeat, even an extremely severe one, it would not excessively affect the current camp where Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru were stationed and commanding.
The reason for the silence in this camp is the crushing defeat of the Konoha Ninja legion led by Danzo. In order to allow other ninjas to retreat, a large number of Konoha ninjas stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Until now, the remnants led by Danzo have already retreated, but there has been no word from those ninjas who stayed behind.
"You guessed it right," Jiraiya, stationed at the communication center, looked at Orochimaru, who was also waiting for news, and said with a complicated tone.
Orochimaru found it difficult to maintain his usual composure. His brows furrowed, lips tightly pressed together. Instead of immediately responding to Jiraiya, it took him a while before he spoke with a hoarse voice:
"Senju. Perhaps only they, with such fervent and sincere love for the village, are willing to sacrifice for it."
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Jiraiya couldn't help but nod. In Konoha and even in various ninja villages, there are fearless ninjas willing to sacrifice for the village. But to say which ninja clan would take this belief as the faith of the entire clan and adhere to it...
Only the Senju Clan.
Even if the Senju Clan is dispersed, even if the surname of Senju is revoked and they no longer carry the "Senju" name, their love for the village and the spirit of willingness to sacrifice for the village have not been taken away.
It's just that there are too many. In this battle, almost all the Senju Clan members who were dispersed and their descendants with combat capability have sacrificed.
Even though the final intelligence hasn't come back yet, both Jiraiya and Orochimaru know they won't return.
Jiraiya looked up at the small workshop that had not been set up for long in the camp and said, "Who's going to check on Tsunade's condition?"
Although he said so, his hands were already on his knees, ready to get up. Jiraiya knew it wasn't the right time to approach Tsunade because, given her temperament, she would likely lash out at others.
But someone had to check on her. Besides, Jiraiya felt he had gotten used to Tsunade's punches. What did it matter if he got seriously injured again?
"I'll go."
At that moment, a voice, also somewhat hoarse but with the characteristic hoarseness of a boy going through puberty, rang out. It was Nawaki, clad in a tight-fitting suit. There was no longer the previous foolishness on his face, but a seriousness. He said, "After all, she's my sister, and this is also a family matter."
Seeing his disciple suddenly exude a bit of maturity, Orochimaru was somewhat stunned. For a moment, he didn't know whether to agree or oppose his disciple's decision.
"Aren't you being ridiculous?! What Tsunade least wants to hear right now is any mention of the Clan's existence," Jiraiya said, grabbing Nawaki who was about to walk away.
Nawaki was about to say something when a young ninja with blond hair exclaimed, "Sensei, it's Tatsuma!"
"Tatsuma? What happened to Tatsuma?"
Jiraiya quickly looked to where Tatsuma had been, but there was no one there. His heart raced, and he looked towards the poison workshop, only to see Tatsuma already reaching for the door handle.
"Gulp~"
Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Nawaki, and Minato all involuntarily swallowed. It was too late to stop Tatsuma now. They could only hope that Tatsuma's body could withstand it.
Inside the poison workshop, Tsunade sat at the workbench, her face devoid of any emotional fluctuations. It was as if it were the most uninteresting day, doing the most uninteresting thing imaginable. It was calm, or rather, numb, numb like a factory worker on an assembly line.
"Click~"
As Tatsuma entered the poison workshop and gently closed the door, the faint sound seemed to awaken Tsunade. She turned to see Tatsuma and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Sensei, you haven't assigned me any tasks today, and there haven't been any wounded or sick in the camp recently. I came to ask if there's anything I can do?"
Tatsuma's expression was also calm, as if he hadn't heard any news today. His calmness surprised Tsunade. Her mouth and chin twitched unnaturally for a few moments, and she clenched her teeth, not answering immediately.
After a while, Tsunade seemed to suppress the inexplicable surge of emotions. First, she sighed, then said, "Prepare all the poisons we previously researched."
"Okay."
Tatsuma didn't say anything extra. He took out tools like mortars, beakers, measuring cups, test tubes, etc., from the toolbox, and various materials from the storage cabinet to begin material processing.
Tsunade glanced at the materials Tatsuma was handling, then got up and took out some more refined equipment from her own toolbox. Once Tatsuma finished handling the materials, he handed them over to Tsunade, who began refining and extracting.
Outside the poison workshop, Jiraiya and the others anxiously waited, anticipating the sound of smashing or seeing the walls break and Tatsuma flying out. However, it wasn't until noon that Tatsuma appeared.
Moreover, he didn't come out beaten or thrown out. Instead, he walked out through the door, without any signs of injury.
"Tatsuma?! Are you okay?"
Jiraiya quickly approached Tatsuma, squeezing his shoulders and arms. Tatsuma struggled a bit and said, "I was fine, until you started squeezing me, now I might have internal injuries."
Relieved to hear Tatsuma's joking tone, Jiraiya sighed and asked, "What were you doing in there? And how's Tsunade?"
"Working, preparing poisons. Sensei is fine, but I need to hurry to prepare lunch. Sensei is waiting," Tatsuma replied.
Without further explanation, Tatsuma headed towards the mess hall. Jiraiya, still skeptical, lingered near the poison workshop, wanting to check the situation inside. However, the workshop was sealed and opaque, with only a ventilation hole and a waste water pipe.
Soon, Tatsuma returned from preparing lunch and found Jiraiya, who was like a large toad, squatting by the door, seemingly trying to peek inside through the gap. As one of the assemblers of the poison workshop, Tatsuma understood its sealing properties well.
"If you want to see, just boldly open the door. Or is Jiraiya sensei also afraid?"
Tatsuma chuckled and then, after asking Jiraiya to step aside, he walked into the workshop. Before Jiraiya could see what was inside, Tatsuma closed the door, leaving Jiraiya hopping madly at the door.
"Hmph! Am I afraid? I'm not afraid at all!" Jiraiya muttered to himself outside the poison workshop for a long time, seemingly trying to psych himself up. Finally, he gathered his courage, his face set with determination, and reached out for the door handle of the poison workshop.
At the same time, Orochimaru, who was also watching, immediately pulled Nawaki and Minato away from the area. Seeing Orochimaru's demeanor, which resembled preparing for a major battle, Jiraiya's heart skipped a beat.
His hand hesitated on the door handle, but eventually, Jiraiya summoned his courage once again, twisted the handle of the poison workshop door, and put on a greasy smile. He said, "Tsu.."
"Get lost!"
"Okay."
Thud~
Jiraiya closed the door, looking disheveled and puzzled. How did Tatsuma go in without any trouble, while he encountered this right after opening the door?
Not far away, Nawaki also puzzledly remarked, "Why did Sister get mad at Jiraiya instead of Tatsuma?"
Nawaki rarely used honorifics with Jiraiya. After all, as Tsunade's brother, he had grown up watching Jiraiya being submissive to his sister and often getting beaten up. It was hard for him to feel respect for Jiraiya.
Orochimaru was also pondering. Although Tsunade's attitude towards Jiraiya was usually not good, most of the time it was because of Jiraiya's own actions. When it came to important matters, Tsunade rarely made things difficult for Jiraiya and even defended him several times.
Just like the last time they were surrounded by Iwa-nin.
Today, in Orochimaru's view, Jiraiya's actions were not a problem. After all, as teammates, it was natural to visit in such a significant situation.
Considering Tatsuma's situation, Tsunade probably hadn't reached the point of losing her rationality yet. Why then did she...
Minato rubbed his chin and said, "Sensei hesitated too much. With Tsunade sensei's strength and sensory abilities, she must have known that he lingered at the door for a long time. Once a girl knows that a guy has hesitated about her, she'll resist, or even get angry, let alone hesitation in action. Going straight through the door, like Tatsuma did, is the best solution."
"Is that so?"
Jiraiya, who returned dejectedly, heard his disciple's words and appeared defeated.
Seeing Jiraiya looking downcast, Minato quickly waved his hand and said, "Sensei, it's just my personal speculation, don't take it seriously."
"Minato, you understand all this, I get it. But why does that little bastard Tatsuma understand it too?!" Jiraiya said somewhat impatiently. After all, he had heard that Tatsuma didn't even receive a Valentine's Day chocolate when he was in the Ninja Academy. While Jiraiya might not have received as many as Orochimaru back then, he still got some!
'Although it was from an old lady I helped on the way to school...'
"Ah, well..."
Minato didn't know how to respond, but Orochimaru chimed in, "It's normal for Tatsuma to understand these things given his talent and intelligence. Of course, it's also normal for someone as talented and intelligent as you not to understand."
"You snake!"
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