Uchiha Mei didn't return that night.
The next day, Konoha and the Mist Ninja clashed fiercely on the battlefield that had been cleared earlier by the reconnaissance squads.
Aside from a skeleton crew left behind to guard the camp, everyone from the Konoha camp was mobilized.
Apparently, the Mist Ninja didn't expect Konoha to launch such a large-scale offensive, and they were caught off guard.
However, the Mist Village's overall strength in the Land of Bears clearly surpassed Konoha's by a wide margin.
Though Konoha gained an initial advantage through the element of surprise, that advantage wasn't enough to turn the tide into a decisive victory.
As expected, the battle turned into a stalemate.
The sound of slaughter rang on the battlefield for an entire day and night.
Uchiha Yuan and Hyuga Asana stood in the camp, looking solemnly at the battlefield wreathed in smoke and fire.
"So this is what a real battlefield looks like? Compared to this, our previous recon missions were just kids playing house," Hyuga Asana said.
"Yeah... I didn't expect it to be this brutal."
"How many people do you think died in this day and night of slaughter?"
"Who knows? But the casualties must be considerable."
After Yuan said this, both fell silent.
After a long pause, Asana finally spoke again. "No wonder Lord Orochimaru didn't let us recon squads take part in the main battle."
"On a battlefield like that, recon teams can't leverage their strengths—and might even get surrounded," Yuan agreed.
"True. Still, after the battle ends, we'll probably be sent in to clean up—finish off any Mist Ninjas who aren't dead yet," he added.
"Yuan, do you think we'll win this battle?"
"Probably. The jonin wouldn't have acted recklessly. They had a lengthy strategy session, and with the Nara clan's leader involved in planning, they wouldn't move unless they were confident."
"Let's hope you're right."
After a few more hours, the sounds of battle began to subside. Soon after, cheers erupted from the direction of the battlefield.
Konoha had won!
Just as Uchiha Yuan had predicted, Orochimaru issued a new order to all standby recon squads—assemble immediately and begin battlefield cleanup.
This mission primarily involved gathering tools, scrolls, and resources from dead Mist Ninjas—and finishing off those still alive.
Their own fallen comrades were handled separately by designated personnel; they didn't need to intervene.
Yuan's team quickly assembled and headed toward the battlefield.
What greeted them first was corpses—both Mist and Konoha ninjas.
Uchiha Yuan suppressed his inner discomfort and got to work.
He had expected that in such a large-scale battle, at least a few enemies would have played dead or been left dying—he hoped to "scavenge" a few attribute points that way.
But to his surprise, even after using his Heart's Eye ability to search thoroughly, he didn't find a single Mist Ninja still alive.
Yuan couldn't help asking Shibi Aburame, "Sensei, we've searched this long—why aren't there any Mist Ninjas pretending to be dead or left in critical condition?"
"You think ninja battles are that easy to escape from? Once a side goes down, the enemy will show no mercy. They always finish the job and confirm the kill."
"Trying to survive on the battlefield by playing dead? Nearly impossible."
Yuan fell silent after hearing that.
It seemed that ninja combat was even more brutal than he had imagined.
With a sigh, he gave up the idea of getting "lucky points" and focused on gathering supplies.
All of Konoha's recon teams were dispatched together. After half a day, they had stripped nearly everything useful from the fallen Mist Ninja.
As for the bodies, they didn't destroy them—Mist Village would likely send people to recover them later.
By the time Uchiha Yuan finished his round of searching, he had collected a good haul of supplies and over a dozen sealing scrolls.
These scrolls had belonged to ninja who died before they could destroy them—just like Yuan's parents.
Usually, only fairly strong ninja could afford sealing scrolls, and what they stored inside was typically more valuable.
Orochimaru's main reason for sending them to clean the battlefield was to recover these scrolls and supplies.
Yuan was quite curious about what was inside the scrolls. He wanted to open them for a peek, but Shibi Aburame stopped him.
According to Shibi, these scrolls couldn't be opened casually—they might contain traps or hidden jutsu meant to kill posthumously.
Also, if the scrolls weren't claimed by the ninja who killed the owner, their contents were considered village property and off-limits.
Yuan pouted but gave up the idea of opening them.
An hour later, the sweep was fully completed, and Yuan's team left the battlefield.
Even though few enemy ninjas survived, the sheer scale of the battle worked in Yuan's favor.
He found three Mist Ninjas clinging to life and finished them off—earning 3 more attribute points. He now had 12 points total.
Back at camp, Yuan and his teammates turned over all collected materials to Shibi Aburame.
Shibi brought the items to Orochimaru.
About ten minutes later, Shibi emerged and said to them, "Lord Orochimaru wishes to see you."
"See us? Are you sure, Sensei?" Yamanaka Kagetsu asked in surprise.
Shibi shook his head. "I'm not mistaken. Honestly, I'm also surprised. I don't know why Lord Orochimaru would want to meet three genin."
What Shibi said was true—there were countless genin in the village, and even more on the Bear Country front.
Even though Yuan and Asana were excellent for their rank, it still seemed odd for someone of Orochimaru's stature to take notice.
So when Orochimaru said he wanted to meet Shibi's three subordinates, not only Shibi but everyone in the command tent had been astonished.
Still, Orochimaru was the supreme commander here. If he wanted to meet some genin, no one would object.
A moment later, the three genin were led by Shibi into the central command tent.
From the outside, it didn't look particularly large—but upon entering, it was much more spacious than Yuan had expected.
There were two meeting tables inside, one large tabletop resembling a sand-table war map—clearly a model of the Bear Country—and a massive terrain map hanging on the far wall.
As the three of them stepped inside, everyone in the tent turned to look at them.
(To Be Continued...)