Tsunade studied the ninja tools on the sand for a while, her expression growing more serious by the second.
Minato and the other three watched her closely—it was clear to all of them that the deadly poison crafted by Chiyo wasn't something easily countered.
"I need to analyze the components of this toxin," she finally said.
An hour later, Tsunade put down the kunai and rose to her feet.
Turning toward Minato, she said, "Report everything about this battle back to the village truthfully, but until The Third gives his approval, we must temporarily withdraw for now."
All four nodded solemnly—defeating Chiyo's Poison wouldn't be something they could pull off overnight.
At the same time, Minato thought inwardly that during the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha had been stuck fighting in the Land of Wind for nearly a year precisely because of this very issue.
"Understood," he replied obediently.
Tsunade's tense expression slowly eased as she added, "In that case, I'll also leave the mission report to you this time."
Minato hesitated slightly—normally, intelligence reports were handled directly by designated personnel or the unit's commanding officer.
"Hehe, Tsunade is just trying to help you get used to things early. Go ahead and write it," Sakumo said with a chuckle while patting Minato's shoulder as he approached.
"Huh?"
Minato blinked briefly before understanding—he realized that Tsunade had just acknowledged the achievements The Fourth had earned. If The Third promoted him, Minato, already a Special Jonin, would naturally become a Jonin.
And as an actual Jonin—a true pillar of the village—not only did one need strong combat skills, but often had to lead a small squad on missions.
As for the details and specifics of those operations, they needed to be compiled into a mission report and submitted to the Hokage afterward.
The battlefield report was one such type.
Minato almost wanted to refuse, but at that moment, Tsunade had already left the tent carrying those ninja tools.
Internally sighing bitterly, he thought that writing reports was something trivial to him, considering he had once been a Jonin and even The Fourth Hokage.
There was absolutely no need for any "getting used to"…
...
Inside the Hokage Office of Konoha Village.
The Third Hokage stared intently at the frontline mission report on his desk, frowning deeply, especially after reading the statistics of casualties. His sharp gaze flickered with a trace of anger.
But having lived through the Ninja World War himself, he knew that sacrifice was the price of war—it wasn't long before that anger gradually transformed into sorrow.
Images of those determined yet smiling faces flickered through his mind like memories caught in the wind.
Normally, high-ranking officials—especially Kages who led the villages—kept emotional ties with their subordinates to a minimum.
It wasn't that they lacked compassion—it was simply that leadership demanded constant composure and restraint over one's emotions.
Yet the Third Hokage was exactly the kind of leader who cherished relationships deeply, treating every ninja within the village as his companion.
Sighing heavily, though the campaign hadn't gone smoothly, he held not a single ounce of blame toward Tsunade and the others.
First fighting in the Land of Rain, then waging war in the Land of Wind — they were undoubtedly heroes in the hearts of the Third and the people of Konoha village.
As he neared the end of the report, the Third came across a sentence that seemed simple at first but caught his attention.
[Minato Namikaze has retrieved samples of ninja tools required to counter Chiyo's Poison]
The Third had long grown accustomed to seeing Minato's name appear in battle reports — it wasn't even the first time it showed up in this one.
"Who wrote this report?"
After reading through it, the Third felt the report was written with exceptional clarity and precision.
Yet this handwriting — he'd never seen before.
"This handwriting… could it be Tsunade's?" The Third noticed an unfamiliar signature at the bottom of the report, its handwriting noticeably different from the rest.
[Minato Namikaze]
"This report was actually written by Minato?" The Third raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone laced with mild astonishment.
That young kid always managed to surprise him.
His talent as a ninja had already surpassed any young ninja the Third had ever seen — perhaps even rivaling the legendary Sannin.
But what truly surprised the Third was how remarkably well Minato had handled his very first attempt at writing a battle report.
If one's strength and ninjutsu talent showed their potential as a ninja, then his ability to compose a report like this revealed his leadership potential.
A proud smile spread across the old man's face...
...
At the border of the Land of Wind.
Konoha forces had been stationed there for over a month now.
As time passed, the once-defeated Konoha ninjas' low morale had somewhat improved; however, a strange unease still lingered in everyone's expressions — clearly not fully recovering from the defeat.
And the only way they could truly recover was by defeating the Suna Ninja in battle and redeeming themselves.
However, all the ninja involved knew after that last battle how dangerous their enemy was — a fellow nation among the Five Great Nations, not easily defeated.
Still, they understood — retreating to the border of the Land of Wind wasn't surrender. It was regrouping.
Tsunade-sama was actively seeking a way to counteract Chiyo's poison used by the Suna Ninja.
Because of this, she practically hadn't slept at all. If even their commander behaved like this, then none of them had any reason to slack off.
The next morning, just before dawn.
Minato rushed to the tent where Lady Tsunade resided upon receiving her summons.
As he lifted the curtain to enter, Minato immediately sensed a stifling atmosphere.
Tsunade's tent hadn't been aired in days — in fact, she'd barely left it, surviving only on dry bread.
Not having seen each other for over a month, Tsunade's complexion appeared somewhat pale.
But at this moment, the excitement visible on her face couldn't be hidden.
"I've found the antidote method!" Tsunade announced to Minato and the others, her voice carrying a relaxed tone as well.
After fighting nonstop for a month, achieving results naturally made her feel a deep sense of pride — anyone would feel the same.
"That's great news!"
Even Sakumo Hatake and Hiashi Hyuga couldn't help but sigh, and even Orochimaru, who already knew Tsunade's abilities, showed visible delight this time—after all, the poison Tsunade had deciphered came from Suna's Chiyo.
Although Tsunade had once neutralized Sanshouo's deadly poison, she later explained it was only possible thanks to documents left behind by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
As Minato had mentioned earlier, throughout the Ninja World, no one other than Tsunade could probably neutralize Chiyo's poison.
Minato, who had known the result in advance, allowed a faint smile to appear on his face.
After all, neutralizing Chiyo's poison would mark the beginning of Konoha turning the tide from defeat to victory.
A moment later, Tsunade suddenly shifted her tone and said,
"However, there is still one complication in removing Chiyo's poison."
...
...
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