Watching Takuya and Tsunade's antics along the way, Minato felt like a third wheel. Tsunade hardly paid him any attention, her focus entirely on Takuya.
Despite all the joking around, once they were far from Konoha, Tsunade became serious. She started scanning for enemy traces, setting traps, and scouting for a campsite—nothing was left undone.
Just as Minato thought Tsunade had finally gotten serious, she pulled out a deck of cards and raised an eyebrow at Takuya. "How about a couple of rounds?"
Minato: …
What kind of people are these? They were still thinking about playing cards at a time like this. Wait, why are you looking at me? Don't tell me I have to join in too?
Help me.
Minato, on the verge of tears, held the cards, silently pleading for help, but Takuya just ignored him.
Enjoy yourself. Takuya thought with a mischievous smile.
Takuya declined to play, so Tsunade dragged Minato into a two-player game of Landlord. She took full advantage of Minato's lack of understanding of the rules, nearly reducing him to tears.
He was so close to begging, "Please, I'll just give you the money, can you let me off the hook?"
Traveling light, with only a few sealing scrolls filled with medical supplies, their progress wasn't slowed much. They encountered no Sand Village shinobi along the way, reaching the Rain Country in just two days.
"This is the most inhospitable place I've ever been to, no contest," Takuya observed. The sky was perpetually overcast, rain fell constantly, and the ground was riddled with puddles and mud.
Luckily, shinobi could channel chakra to their feet, making it easier to traverse the mud. For ordinary people, traveling even a hundred meters would mean slipping and falling several times.
"Be cautious; enemies could appear at any moment. We're only a few miles from the Konoha camp," Tsunade warned. Her nerves were on edge as they entered Rain Country, knowing that even though they were behind Konoha's front lines, enemies could still pop up unexpectedly.
Hanzo was known for sending teams to circle behind enemy lines and attack Konoha's supply convoys.
Shaking the rain from his head, Takuya asked, "Why not set up camp near the border? The environment there is better than in Rain Country. This humidity makes transporting supplies and treating the wounded much harder."
Precious supplies could be stored in sealing scrolls, like the medicine Tsunade carried. But weapons and food had to be transported by cart, making these conditions a significant challenge.
And injured soldiers? Their wounds would easily get infected in this environment.
"It was the commander's order," Tsunade responded with a roll of her eyes.
Of course, her irritation wasn't aimed at Takuya but at the man sitting safely in camp, issuing orders—Danzo Shimura.
Right, Danzo's handiwork. Takuya thought.
Danzo was skilled in scheming and betrayal, but when it came to commanding an army… It would have been better to give command to Orochimaru!
Orochimaru had a natural talent for this, though his tactics were ruthless, often using bait to lure in prey. Still, at least he was competent, unlike Danzo… Without the support of the Third Hokage and his ties to Tobirama, Danzo wouldn't even be qualified to oversee the camp, let alone be the commander.
It was clear Tsunade held a deep grudge against Danzo. She had likely had a rough time on the front lines.
The remaining miles passed without incident, and they successfully arrived at the Konoha camp.
Shinobi battles differed from those of conventional armies, which often relied on massed ranks and brute force. Shinobi typically engaged in smaller-scale skirmishes. Only in major battles would you see hundreds of shinobi mobilized at once.
In the usual structure, there were squads, platoons, and companies. Squads consisted of three shinobi, platoons of twelve, and the size of a company depended on the situation.
After verifying their identities, the three entered the camp, and Tsunade immediately led them to the medical unit.
"Lady Tsunade,"
Along the way, they were greeted by many who respectfully acknowledged her presence.
Tsunade kept her expression serious, nodding slightly in response.
"You two help out with the wounded for now. Nawaki will be with you, so ask him if you have any questions," Tsunade said as she disappeared into a tent to change clothes, before diving into treating the severely injured, leaving Takuya and Minato to fend for themselves.
"Someone help hold him down!"
As new recruits, Takuya and Minato exchanged glances before moving to restrain a struggling patient.
What the…!
Seeing the patient's condition, Takuya gasped. What did this guy go through? He was in horrible shape.
His skin was pitted and covered in blisters, many of which had burst open. Did someone douse him in acid?
As Takuya and Minato held the patient down, the medical ninja treating him let out a sigh of relief.
"You must be new here, right?" The medical ninja glanced at their young faces as he worked on the patient, casually asking.
"Yes, we are," Minato nodded, then hesitantly asked, "Sensei, his injuries…?"
Minato wanted to ask what had caused the man's injuries but realized it might be impolite, so he stopped himself. He didn't want his or Takuya's first impression with the medical team to be a negative one.
The medical ninja didn't seem bothered, instead offering a friendly smile. "It's no secret—he was poisoned by a puppet master from the Sand Village. If it weren't for Lady Tsunade's antidotes, many more of us would've died."
"The Sand shinobi are truly despicable, attacking us while we're already engaged with the Rain Village, and even sending an army into the Rain Country to fight us."
The medic's tone turned bitter as he cursed the Sand Village for their underhanded tactics.
"Even with an antidote, if treatment isn't timely, it can be fatal, right?" Takuya observed.
This guy's probably scarred for life. He'd be kicked out of the Red Light District if he tried to go there, Takuya thought, somewhat morbidly. The man's injuries were horrifying.
The antidote wasn't a miracle cure. The Sand Village constantly developed new poisons, trying to inflict maximum damage on their enemies.
Konoha was always on the back foot, only able to create antidotes after encountering a new poison. They were fortunate to have Tsunade, or the death toll would be much higher.
The medic gave Takuya a surprised look, impressed that someone so young understood this. He nodded, "If it's a new antidote and the poison is treated immediately, there's usually no problem. But if they don't have the antidote or can't get help quickly, many of our shinobi die from it."
He glanced at Takuya and Minato, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and gestured for them to lift the cloth at the back of the tent.
…
Damn it!
I thought you were a helpful mentor, but you just wanted to prank us! Takuya fumed, resisting the urge to curse.
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