The role of medical ninjas is indeed unparalleled. On the first day of battle, apart from the more seriously injured, almost everyone else's wounds were treated, ensuring sustained combat effectiveness. Such results were thanks to the not-so-numerous medical ninjas. Their hard work and dedication allowed Konoha to gain such a significant advantage on the first day of the war.
As the leader, Orochimaru had to admit the importance of medical ninjas. Originally, Tsunade had faced immense pressure when she requested Konoha to start training medical ninjas. However, the higher-ups initially rejected this request due to a shortage of personnel.
Nonetheless, Tsunade did not give up. She expressed her strong desire for this, so the higher-ups took a step back and agreed to train medical ninjas, but it was not prioritized. Therefore, the number of medical ninjas in Konoha was still not large at this time.
Orochimaru believed that as long as the war continued, more people would realize the importance of medical ninjas.
Under Nanako's treatment, Ye Zi quickly recovered to a near-full state. His injuries were relatively light, just some exhaustion. After the treatment, he ate a large amount of food and then, with Orochimaru's approval, went to a private tent to rest well.
In this battle, there was no doubt that his performance could be recorded as a significant achievement. If it weren't for him, Dan would undoubtedly have died, and Konoha's new generation might not have survived either.
The next morning.
He woke up feeling extremely refreshed. He hadn't slept that long in a long time; usually, he only slept for four hours at most. This feeling was really good.
He quickly washed up and left the tent, heading to get breakfast.
The tents in the camp were neatly arranged, and Konoha ninjas in standard uniforms moved between them through the gaps.
As he went straight to the breakfast distribution area, many Konoha ninjas looked at him with indescribable expressions.
He remained calm, seemingly unaware of the unusual gazes from others, though he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
In just one night, it seemed that his act of eating enemy flesh had spread throughout the Konoha army.
Those who could see why Ye Zi did it didn't spread the news, like Dan, who only mentioned it to Orochimaru and Tsunade and expressed his doubts.
Orochimaru and Tsunade were among the few who understood that Ye Zi's body was different from normal. They knew his physique was unique but didn't expect it to be this extreme. Orochimaru didn't think it was a big deal, but Tsunade was somewhat interested, believing that he might have greater potential than Kushina.
Those who didn't know thought it was just Ye Zi's peculiar preference. By last night, the story had gradually spread.
Konoha's army was large, but mostly in groups. When a message spreads, it causes ripples that create numerous disturbances, so the news spread very quickly.
The eyes watching Ye Zi were filled with various emotions: disgust, fear, confusion, and so on. No matter the type, none of the gazes were friendly. Most looked at him as if he were a monster.
He had anticipated the kind of reaction his actions would provoke, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly or so intensely.
He didn't care.
Passing through the crowd of gazes, he reached the breakfast distribution area.
His arrival made the Konoha ninjas in line unconsciously move aside.
The few people responsible for distributing the food instinctively took a step back upon seeing Ye Zi walk straight toward them.
Is eating the flesh of enemies really that terrifying? Is it so hard to accept?
Not really; it's just that rumors spread faster than anything. Each retelling of the story added a new twist, transforming it from him merely gnawing on a limb to him torturing Iwa ninjas while devouring their corpses and occasionally emitting sinister laughter, as if consuming corpses was just a special fetish.
Facing such a person, even if he were from Konoha, it was hard to approach, interact, or even converse with him.
Ye Zi walked in silence. The few people responsible for distributing food trembled slightly, seemingly forgetting their duties.
He furrowed his brows slightly, not caring about their reactions. He simply grabbed seven or eight portions of food with both hands and turned to leave.
As he left, no one said anything or paid attention to the fact that he took so much food.
On his way back, he endured another wave of scrutinizing looks. He didn't mind at all and didn't care who spread the news. It was so easy to spread such news in the face of those he saved.
He focused on his own path and ignored the gazes.
When he first came to this world from Earth, it seemed he was destined to be alone.
Back in his tent, he suddenly realized why Orochimaru had approved him having a separate tent. He smiled wryly and silently consumed the seven or eight portions of food.
After eating, he lay on the simple hard bed, staring at the top of the tent, letting his thoughts drift back to distant memories.
In that world built from garbage, in the dark, low crevices, among the piles of foul-smelling refuse.
Scenes flashed by quickly, eventually stopping at the fire that turned the night sky red, burning all the disturbances and malice to ashes, turning those beings more terrifying than humans into ashes…
Ye Zi's vacant gaze slowly focused, and his expression grew indifferent.
At that moment, the faint sound of footsteps came from outside the tent.
The owner of the footsteps entered the tent without asking, lifting the cloth curtain.
He turned his head, looking somewhat surprised. He stood up and said, "Why are you here?"
Orochimaru replied calmly, "Just came to check on you."
"Oh," Ye Zi responded coldly.
"Do you mind?" Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged despite Ye Zi's coldness.
He shook his head and said calmly, "It doesn't affect me."
"That's good. I won't suppress this news because it's useless. It may be even tougher after the war ends." Orochimaru seemed to come specifically to explain this to him.
"I don't mind." Ye Zi said flatly.
Orochimaru gazed at him deeply. After confirming that he truly didn't mind, his hoarse voice seemed to carry a hint of mockery: "So-called victory is irrelevant to the means; what matters is that the enemy is dead and we are still alive. You did well."
Ye Zi looked at him and nodded slightly.
"Don't die."
With that, Orochimaru left.
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