"This kid's constitution isn't like others'."
Junko Watanabe remarked. She had already learned about Minato's unusual physical condition during the Hot Springs Country Mission.
Yet from her eyes and expressions, traces of previous worry could be seen fading away.
"I see."
Minato smiled awkwardly. Because the Nine-Tails' chakra had been sealed deep within his soul, even Junko's sensing ability or Tsunade-sama's medical techniques couldn't determine the truth.
Moreover, when the Nine-Tails' chakra was fed back into his body, it had already undergone some changes.
Minato sat up and found himself inside a tent.
Not far from him were several candles burning.
"How are you feeling now?" Nawaki asked beside him. Despite Minato having awoken, he still remained anxious.
"It's alright now," Minato replied with a light smile.
Upon hearing this, Nawaki still didn't feel reassured. He immediately stood up and said, "No, I have to find my sister and let her examine you again."
Minato grabbed his arm, saying, "Really, I'm fine. At a time like this, we shouldn't disturb Tsunade-sama and the others unnecessarily."
He gave Nawaki's arm a firm squeeze to show that he truly was fine.
Nawaki finally nodded. With Konoha having just suffered a defeat, Tsunade and the other commanders must be going through a lot right now.
After all, they were the ones who led so many of their fellow shinobi here from the village, and now these comrades would remain here forever — casualties of war whose bodies hadn't even been recovered in the chaos of defeat.
Minato understood this kind of feelings well—he might have once been known as the "Yellow Flash," but he always seemed to arrive too late when his closest ones needed him most.
Defeat never tasted good.
What concerned Minato more was whether Tsunade and the others had come up with any effective countermeasures against the Sand Ninja Unit.
The key issue among these was naturally how to neutralize Chiyo's Poison.
Knowing the outcome of the previous Great Ninja World War, Minato wasn't too worried about Tsunade eventually neutralizing Chiyo's Poison—though the path this time might not follow the same course.
Thus, he turned to Junko beside him and asked, "Has Tsunade-sama already sent people back to the battlefield?"
"How did you know?" Junko's expression shifted slightly at Minato's words, as did Mikoto's nearby.
Junko hesitated briefly before replying, "Yes."
Once he grasped the overall situation, it wasn't difficult for Minato to deduce what Konoha's current leadership should do next.
Still, this covert return mission might turn out fruitless.
Minato rose and stepped outside the tent. It was well past midnight, but none of the Konoha shinobi camping on the sand dunes showed any sign of sleep. Grief and sorrow were etched across their faces.
Seeing such a scene, Minato frowned slightly.
...
Inside Chiyo's tent at the Sand Ninja Unit's encampment.
Liufei entered the tent lit by candlelight and found Chiyo still awake.
Chiyo appeared deeply troubled.
"Mother, why haven't you rested yet?"
With no one else around, Liufei directly called Chiyo Mother.
Chiyo sat in silence, eyes locked on the battlefield report lying on the wooden table before her. She let out a quiet sigh.
"Are you still worried about the shortage of ninja tools?" Liufei asked. Before the war began, the amount of tools each Sand Ninja carried was meticulously recorded.
This was all part of Chiyo's strategy to counter Tsunade. After all, the granddaughter of the Senju clan—one of the "Sannin," as named by Sanshouo Hanzo—was capable of neutralizing even the poison of Sanshouo himself.
Today's advantage belonged largely to Chiyo's Poison used by both the Sand Ninja and Puppet Brigade.
Still, losing weapons like kunai in battle was nothing unusual.
Seeing that Liufei thought she was overreacting, Chiyo sighed again and said, "Even if they were destroyed during combat, not finding even a single trace behind means something is definitely off."
However, she couldn't prove this suspicion of hers.
But something in her gut told her that things weren't as straightforward as they seemed.
...
As dawn approached, inside the temporary rest area of the Konoha forces, no one could sleep. The defeat felt like running away with their tails between their legs—it hit their morale hard.
Minato stood before his tent, silently observing everything around him.
Suddenly, within his sensing range, a familiar chakra fluctuation appeared. Several dark figures also emerged into sight.
The sound of shuffling footsteps rang out.
Only then did some among the Konoha shinobi finally notice them—a squad led by Sakumo.
When Minato saw Sakumo's serious expression, he already knew how the mission had turned out.
"Just as expected... Chiyo was prepared ahead of time," he muttered under his breath.
After returning to the camp, Sakumo immediately dismissed the team and made his way toward the tent where Tsunade and the others were stationed.
...
Inside the tent, three pairs of anxious eyes turned toward him the moment he entered. Especially Tsunade, whose bloodshot eyes revealed how much mental strain she'd endured.
Sakumo shook his head and said, "The Sand Ninja have indeed cleaned up the battlefield. I couldn't find even a scrap of broken kunai or shuriken, nor any trace of corpses either."
He had brought back five Jonin skilled in detailed reconnaissance, yet they found absolutely no evidence of tools used. Even attempts to locate where the Sand Ninja might have buried bodies yielded nothing.
"You wouldn't gain anything even if you recovered the bodies. With Chiyo's skill, unless the poison was directly applied onto the tools, toxins diluted in the bloodstream can't be analyzed," Tsunade stated.
"How do you know that?" Hiashi questioned.
"Because I could do it myself," Tsunade replied.
Sakumo's face darkened. "Damn it!"
Tsunade and the other two shared his frustration, but there was nothing they could do.
Just then, a voice came from outside the tent.
"I must speak with Lady Tsunade."
Upon hearing those words, the four looked at each other, pupils narrowing slightly. A sharp jolt of shock shot through them.
They recognized the speaker instantly—it was Minato, who should still have been unconscious.
Sakumo looked at Tsunade and smiled. "I told you, this kid wouldn't stay asleep for three whole days."
Tsunade was momentarily startled. Then the tent flap lifted and Minato walked in.
Although his face remained somewhat pale, there wasn't a trace of dejection in his expression.
For a ninja, one's vitality and spirit reflects their physical condition. Obviously, Minato seemed fine.
"Kid, you're alright already?"
This made Tsunade, who had absolute confidence in her medical ninjutsu, feel somewhat incredulous. So she flashed over to stand before Minato, checking him again.
When she confirmed that Minato had fully recovered, astonishment appeared on her beautiful face.
Minato just gave a faint smile in response, then he looked at the four people inside the tent.
"Esteemed elders, may I participate in this tactical discussion?"
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