The Konoha camp had sustained significant damage. Even though Aoki had received word of the enemy's impending attack in advance, the short amount of time available meant he couldn't evacuate all the supplies and the wounded. Furthermore, there was little time to set up traps to defend against the enemy.
Despite Hyuga Mirai drawing away twelve of the Iwa-nin, nearly forty elite Iwa-nin still rushed toward the Konoha camp. The remaining defenders in the camp numbered fewer than a hundred, with over twenty seriously injured who couldn't fight and another twenty medical ninjas.
Fortunately, Miyamura understood the importance of both the camp's resources and medical ninjas. She immediately called in reinforcements, pulling some ninjas back to assist the camp.
When the front-line Konoha ninjas returned, they arrived just as the Konoha camp was about to be breached. Five of the remaining squads had almost all been wiped out, and three of the medical ninjas had been killed.
Bakugari, the leader of the Iwa-nin, had been preparing to destroy the Konoha camp when he realized that reinforcements were arriving, and their numbers were nearly equal to his own. If he continued his attack, he risked being bogged down by a continuous stream of Konoha reinforcements, unsure whether his forces would be able to retreat safely.
However, the results of his attack were minimal. He had only killed around twenty people, and the camp's supplies had not been fully destroyed, which frustrated him immensely.
"Hmph, Konoha scum. Consider yourselves lucky this time, but at least we captured your genius medical ninja. It's not all for nothing," Bakugari sneered. He then ordered his subordinates to use a combined Earth Release technique and withdraw.
The Konoha ninjas who heard Bakugari's words immediately grimaced. The "genius medical ninja" he referred to could only be Hyuga Mirai from the Hyuga clan.
Many of them turned to look at the Hyuga clan reinforcements arriving to help. Five members had come to assist, including four branch family members and Hyuga Kiyo.
"Aoki-senpai, where is Hyuga Mirai?" Hinata Kiyo asked loudly. After her question, some of the medical ninjas slightly turned their heads, and Aoki could not avoid answering. He relayed the truth.
"Mirai went outside the camp on a reconnaissance mission. Shortly after, he fired a signal flare."
Aoki didn't know what had happened after that, but since Mirai had fired the flare, it was clear that he had encountered the enemy. Moreover, the Iwa-nin had mentioned something before leaving, which meant that Mirai had most likely been captured.
Upon hearing Aoki's words, Hyuga Kiyo immediately grew anxious and was about to set off to chase the Iwa-nin. However, the four branch family members quickly noticed her movements. As soon as she made a move, they stepped in and stopped her.
"Lady Kiyo, it's not the right time to chase them."
"Move!" Hyuga Kiyo growled, her anger barely contained. "A clan member was captured by the enemy, and you still won't come with me to rescue them?"
"The enemy numbers are considerable. We cannot risk the safety of the main family." The branch family guard was firm. The Iwa-nin had dozens of soldiers, and the reinforcements from Konoha, including those who had just returned, were nearly equal in number. Even if they all pursued, it wasn't certain they could rescue Mirai from the Iwa-nin, especially with only five Hyuga clan members.
It was clear that no one else had the intention of pursuing and rescuing Mirai. After all, their mission had been to assist the camp, not to rescue Mirai.
What if they were ambushed? If the Iwa-nin turned back, the Konoha camp would truly be lost.
Thus, the reinforcements would not pursue the Iwa-nin to rescue Mirai. Even if a Hyuga ninja acted alone, they would not be allowed to do so. Losing a medical jonin was already painful enough, and if the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan were to be captured, the entire team would be held accountable.
Hyuga Kiyo didn't want to give up on the idea of pursuing, but the four branch family guards refused to let her go. Even invoking her status as a member of the main family was useless. Frustrated and trembling with rage, she ultimately couldn't pursue.
Konoha had suffered considerable losses. If the camp hadn't been ambushed, the medical ninjas on the front lines would have been able to continuously heal their comrades, slowly wearing down the Iwa-nin.
But now, nearly half of the camp had been destroyed, and nearly all of the defenders had fallen. Even the medical ninjas were all injured. It was impossible to treat the other wounded—many of them would need time to recover themselves.
Just then, Hyuga Mirai returned, looking disheveled from the intense battle he had just fought.
"Mirai-kun!?" The guards on duty at the camp were in disbelief upon seeing him. How had someone who was supposed to have been captured by the Iwa-nin returned?
Given his messy state, they wondered if he had escaped or if he was pretending to be someone else.
"It's me," Hyuga Mirai said, activating his Byakugan. The veins on his face were unmistakable, serving as the best proof of his identity.
"Mirai-kun, you're alright!" The guards, seeing the Byakugan, relaxed their guard and greeted him with joy.
"How's the camp?" Hyuga Mirai asked as he walked inside.
The guard ninja replied, "The damage is quite severe. The Iwa-nin's surprise attack came too suddenly. Thankfully, Mirai-kun, your warning allowed us to prepare."
Without wasting time on further conversation, Mirai walked deeper into the camp. As more people saw him, the news quickly spread that Mirai had returned.
"Mirai-kun, I'm glad you're okay!" Aoki, the senior medical ninja, exclaimed, his eyes red with emotion. He was a senior to Mirai, but during the crisis, it was the young Mirai who had risked his life to warn them. Even more troubling, Aoki hadn't fully implemented Mirai's warning before it was too late. When he learned from Bakugari that Mirai had been captured, Aoki had been consumed by guilt. Seeing Mirai safely return finally eased his heart.
"Are you injured, Mirai-kun?" Aoki asked as he noticed the bloodstains on Mirai's clothes, his concern evident.
"This is the enemy's blood," Mirai said with a wave of his hand. "I'm lucky, I didn't get injured." He then glanced over at the medical camp and realized things were much worse than expected.
Fewer than ten medical ninjas were still able to move and treat others; the rest needed to rest. Some were severely injured and would likely never fight again, their ninja careers effectively over.
Given the current number of medical ninjas, it was clear they wouldn't be able to handle the treatment of all the injured from the front lines. Help would have to be requested from the village.
After listening to Aoki explain the situation, Mirai had a general understanding of things. He was about to help alleviate the pain of a few wounded when the sound of urgent footsteps reached his ears.
Hyuga Kiyo pushed aside the curtain and quickly walked toward the camp. But as she got closer, her speed slowed, and only in the final few meters did she return to her usual pace.
She gave Mirai a hard look and, after a moment of silence, asked, "How did you escape from the Iwa-nin?"
"Because they never actually caught me…" Mirai shrugged and said, "I led the pursuing Iwa-nin to a trap-laden area about a kilometer south, and using the terrain to my advantage, I killed them all and hurried back."
Mirai briefly recounted his actions, simplifying the details of his strategy. His story left Aoki, Kiyo, and the other ninjas stunned. From Mirai's explanation, they even felt the Iwa-nin seemed rather foolish, but when they themselves fought the Iwa-nin, it felt like they were the ones at a disadvantage.
Mirai's return brought a much-needed boost to the morale of the medical camp. After over a month of struggle, their respect for Mirai had grown to the point where it rivaled their admiration for Tsunade herself.
A day later, the battle at the front lines finally began to slow. The Iwa-nin likely received word of reinforcements or had simply reached their limit. Miyamura, though, had proven the true resilience of the Iwa-nin. She had held on until the Iwa-nin retreated without even collecting their fallen comrades' bodies. Konoha's ninjas finally returned to the camp, and the battlefield was left in a state of chaos.
Once the main forces returned, Mirai was immediately thrown into the hectic task of treating the wounded. Meanwhile, other ninjas worked on rebuilding the camp and setting up defense traps.
This battle had been one of the fiercest Konoha had faced in the Land of Grass. Nearly two hundred Konoha ninjas were wounded, and the casualty rate was about a third. The worst loss was among the medical ninjas, with over half of them either dead or severely injured, leaving fewer than ten still capable of healing. Even with medical seals, they couldn't treat all the wounded. They could only stabilize a portion of the injured before sending them back to Konoha.
They would also need to report the situation to the village and request reinforcements—both combat troops and medical ninjas. If Konoha didn't send help soon, their defense line in the Land of Grass would likely collapse.
As for the Grass ninjas, after Danzo had been reassigned back to Konoha, their attitude became uncertain. Miyamura had notified the Grass ninjas before the battle, but after the fighting ended, they hadn't seen any sign of them.
Miyamura also went to the southern part of the camp, where the Iwa-nin had been defeated, and retrieved their bodies. Though their brains had been destroyed, the ninja tool pouches could still hold valuable information. The twelve Iwa-nin corpses were likely the only positive outcome of the battle.
Everything else, from the camp's surprise attack to the grueling defense, couldn't be considered a victory.
"Everyone," Miyamura said gravely in the meeting tent, "the responsibility for the surprise attack on the camp lies with me. I will report the situation truthfully to the Hokage and request reinforcements. Until the next batch of reinforcements arrives, I've decided not to engage the Iwa-nin directly."
No one disagreed with his decision. Given the severe shortage of medical ninjas, fighting the Iwa-nin head-on would only result in more casualties.
(End of Chapter)
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