The strategy against Konoha was clear: delay. That was the consensus Hattori and Ebizo had reached.
After all, their opponent was incredibly strong. A straightforward confrontation was out of the question; their best hope was to wear Konoha down through a prolonged engagement, forcing them into a position where they'd eventually have to yield.
But this strategy was easier said than done. Konoha wasn't naïve and wouldn't let the Hidden Sand Village lead them by the nose.
This was also why Hattori wanted an alliance between Sand Village and Konoha.
Since they couldn't defeat Konoha, why not join forces with them? Together, they could take on battles they could win, and Sand Village could recoup the losses it had suffered over the years.
For Hattori, this wasn't cowardice; it was strength aligning with strength!
Unfortunately, Hattori had no decision-making power in Sand Village at the moment, forcing him onto the toughest path—defeating Konoha!
Or, perhaps, just scraping by with a victory.
"Well, it's one step at a time now," Hattori sighed as he headed in the direction where the Sand Village puppet troops had recently retreated, planning to catch up with them and have them take him to see Ebizo.
Before he could land, though, a familiar figure standing on gold dust blocked his path.
It was none other than Rasa.
"Rasa?"
Seeing Rasa suddenly blocking his way, Hattori's face lit up with surprise.
"You're just in time! I'm here to reinforce you guys, so take me to see old Ebizo!"
"…"
But Rasa didn't immediately respond to Hattori. He glanced first at Pakura behind him, then at the slug perched on Hattori's shoulder.
"Who are you?"
"???"
Hattori's face went blank for a moment before he looked at Rasa with an incredulous expression.
"Oh, Little Rasa, did the Konoha guys hit you so hard that you've gone stupid? Did you forget? I'm your long-lost dad!"
Rasa: "(╬￣皿￣)"
Get lost!
Seeing Hattori's irritating face, Rasa wanted nothing more than to slap him to the ground, then send him off with a Gold Dust Funeral.
After several deep breaths, he finally calmed his anger, shot Hattori a cold glare, and flew off on his gold dust without another word.
Seeing this, Hattori grinned, then patted the giant-winged dragonfly under his feet.
"Good buddy, follow that guy up front! Wherever he flies, you fly. When he lands, you land!"
"Buzz…"
At Hattori's command, the dragonfly instantly surged ahead, hovering right over Rasa's head, making Rasa's face darken even more.
To shake Hattori off as soon as possible, Rasa increased his speed and soon landed in a clearing.
The clearing wasn't naturally formed; it looked like the result of a massive impact. A faint burnt smell lingered in the air.
Around them lay numerous wounded soldiers, most unable to move, groaning in pain.
Seeing this, Hattori frowned as he landed.
"It looks worse than I thought…"
He de-summoned the dragonfly, sending it back to the spirit world, and approached the wounded to begin treatment.
Given the large number of injured, he used basic healing jutsu to conserve his chakra, only performing advanced regeneration or palm healing for the most critically injured.
Even so, his chakra quickly dwindled like water poured into sand.
But the results were evident: by the time his chakra was nearly depleted, over 200 wounded had been healed or stabilized.
This display instantly raised the morale of the Hidden Sand ninjas.
"Haha, there's hope for us now!"
"He healed over two hundred people! Even Lady Tsunade from Konoha couldn't do that!"
"Lord Hattori is incredible…"
Amid the cheers, Hattori wiped the sweat from his forehead and popped a soldier pill into his mouth.
Watching Hattori, the previously stern-faced Rasa couldn't help but smile slightly.
Although he found Hattori annoying, he had to admit that Hattori's arrival was timely.
"With his medical ninjutsu, our odds against Konoha have just improved."
"Indeed."
Unbeknownst to Rasa, Ebizo had come up behind him, nodding in agreement.
"This kid's timing is perfect. Alone, he's as effective as our entire medical team. This will ease our burdens considerably!"
"Master Ebizo!"
Rasa immediately saluted, then said hesitantly, "He has a slug on his shoulder that looks a lot like Tsunade's…"
"Yes, I noticed that."
Ebizo nodded with a grin.
"Don't worry. No village would waste a genius like him as a spy. Besides, he's originally from Sand Village. I trust him."
He patted Rasa's shoulder reassuringly.
"Rasa, both you and the Third Kazekage inherited the Second Kazekage's Magnet Release. You're natural-born leaders; remember to think big, okay?"
"Yes, I understand!" Rasa nodded resolutely at Ebizo's words.
Seeing his response, Ebizo nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Dawn is almost here. Gather the troops and prepare to defend against Konoha's attack as planned!"
"Yes!"
Rasa acknowledged the order and left.
After he was gone, Ebizo walked over to Hattori, offering him a water pouch.
"Tired? Here, drink some water."
Hattori took the pouch without hesitation and gulped it down.
"Ahh…" He let out a burp, wiped his mouth, and returned the empty pouch to Ebizo. "Thanks!"
"No problem."
Ebizo smiled, taking back the empty pouch before asking, "So, why did you come? Did sister send you?"
"Yes." Hattori nodded. "When we heard the explosion, teacher guessed Konoha had used a tailed beast, so she sent me here."
"She knew Konoha had deployed a tailed beast and still sent you?"
Ebizo looked at him in surprise but quickly seemed to understand, nodding.
"That makes sense. With your medical skills, you can significantly reduce the casualties caused by a tailed beast."
"No, that's only part of the reason."
Before Ebizo could finish, Hattori shook his head and, with a serious expression, said:
"My main purpose here is to deal with Konoha's tailed beast!"
"Deal with Konoha's tailed beast?"
Ebizo was stunned. "How do you plan to do that?"
"Hehe, you'll see when the time comes!"
Ebizo: "..."
(End of Chapter)