"Mikage-sama, Sunagakure has launched another attack."
Inside the command tent, Nara Mikage frowned as he listened to the scout-nin's report.
"Sunagakure suffered a defeat in the first battle yesterday. Why would they attack again so soon?"
Logically speaking, after a small-scale defeat, they should need time to rest and regroup. Konoha not launching a counterattack right away was already being merciful.
But instead of recuperating, Sunagakure had launched another offensive.
"What on earth is the Sunagakure commander thinking?"
Nara Mikage fell into deep thought. He didn't believe the enemy commander was a fool—anyone given command on the battlefield wouldn't be an idiot.
If they dared to launch another attack, they must have some confidence in victory.
As for the source of that confidence...
"Could it be poison?"
He quickly pieced it together. Sunagakure must have developed a new kind of poison—only then would they dare launch such a bold offensive.
He immediately issued a command to his subordinates.
"Have Renya-san report to me at once!"
...
"Renya-kun, Sunagakure has launched another attack," Koharu Utatane said.
Shimura Danzo's eyes lit up, as if he could already see military merit waving at him.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to the battlefield and kill some enemies!"
Watching Renya gain so much recognition and praise yesterday had already left him jealous beyond words.
Only by racking up military merits through killing enemies could he close the gap between them.
Renya leaned back against the tree and looked up at the two of them.
"Don't rush. The commander hasn't issued any orders yet."
On the battlefield, discipline was extremely important—especially in a war between two nations.
Without orders from the commander, acting on one's own was not advisable.
As for yesterday?
That was only because Danzo had egged him on...
Hearing that, Shimura Danzo quickly calmed down.
Renya was right. Battlefield discipline was crucial.
As operatives carrying out specialized missions, ninja had to follow orders absolutely. It could determine the success of a mission and the safety of their lives.
Unified command allowed them to coordinate precisely in the chaos of battle, utilizing advantages in ambush, assassination, and intelligence gathering.
Acting without permission could expose their position or disrupt strategic plans—like finely-tuned components that had to operate according to command to achieve their tactical goals.
Their actions yesterday, by acting on their own, had violated these rules.
It was only because Nara Mikage chose not to pursue the matter that they hadn't been punished.
"Renya-san, Mikage-sama has summoned you," the scout-nin said respectfully.
Ever since word of Renya developing the antidote had spread through the camp, everyone treated him with deference.
"You two wait here for me," Renya said as he stood up, giving Danzo and Koharu a brief instruction before leaving with the scout-nin.
Shimura Danzo stared at Renya's back with a complicated expression.
This guy had only been on the battlefield for one day and was already familiar with the commander.
When the war ended, the merits Renya earned would be completely out of his reach...
"Damn it!" Danzo clenched his fists in frustration.
Koharu Utatane looked at Danzo with a sympathetic gaze.
...
Inside the command tent.
"Mikage-sama, you called for me?" Renya asked.
Being summoned at such a time clearly meant a special task.
Otherwise, they would have already been deployed to the battlefield.
"Renya-san, Sunagakure has launched another attack," Nara Mikage said, looking directly at Renya.
"I suspect they've developed an even more potent poison. Otherwise, they wouldn't have attacked again so soon. So..."
"No matter how far Sunagakure goes in developing poison, trash is still trash," Renya said calmly.
"Give me a sample. I'll develop an antidote within half an hour."
The poison from yesterday wasn't even as good as the ones he made at age ten.
Crude and completely ineffective.
Hearing this, Nara Mikage finally let out a breath of relief.
With Renya saying that, he could rest easy.
He had seen firsthand how Renya developed the antidote yesterday. He knew Renya was incredibly skilled in that area.
"Renya-san, please wait a moment. The poison sample should arrive shortly," Nara Mikage explained.
When Sunagakure launched the attack, he had already sent ninja to intercept them.
It shouldn't be long before someone brought back a sample.
"So I don't need to go to the battlefield?" Renya suddenly asked.
Nara Mikage was taken aback. Only then did he remember that Renya had been dispatched as a high-level combatant, with jōnin-level strength.
Leaving him in the rear to develop antidotes did seem like a bit of a waste.
However, creating the antidote was of utmost importance!
"Renya-san, I believe your role in the rear is more important than going to the frontlines!" Nara Mikage said firmly.
In large-scale battles, medical-nin were vital.
Sunagakure's poison attacks could rapidly weaken enemy forces. Medical-nin could counter that specific threat.
Ensuring the sustained combat capacity of their own troops was equivalent, in tactical terms, to neutralizing a key enemy strategy.
Nara Mikage kept Renya in the rear precisely because of how important his antidote-making abilities were to the entire campaign.
Compared to Renya's individual combat power, his detoxifying skills held even more strategic value.
Being able to eliminate the risk of mass poisoning could decide the outcome of the war.
After all, making sure their forces didn't get whittled away by poison was the foundation of victory.
And he had already seen it happen yesterday.
It was only thanks to Renya's antidote that they were able to turn the tide!
"Renya-san, from now on, you'll be stationed in the medical corps to focus on developing antidotes," Nara Mikage said, placing a firm hand on Renya's shoulder.
His scouts had already found out that the reason Sunagakure's poison had become so potent was because they now had a poison-making genius in their ranks.
That genius had followed the commander to the battlefield, specifically to use his poisons against Konoha.
If not for Renya, Konoha wouldn't have been able to develop an antidote so quickly.
So what if Sunagakure had a poison genius?
Konoha had an even stronger detox genius!
Just thinking about how Sunagakure's freshly developed poison had already been cracked by Renya made Nara Mikage want to laugh.
Meanwhile, Renya looked utterly baffled at Nara Mikage.
What the hell?
Why am I suddenly a medical-nin?
I only made one antidote. That doesn't mean I should be stuck in the rear!
Renya had trained hard all these years precisely so he could protect himself on the battlefield.
And now, on only his second day out there, he was reassigned to the rear as a "medical-nin"?
It felt like punching a pillow—completely unsatisfying.
"Mikage-sama, developing antidotes doesn't take me long. I can still find time to fight on the battlefield," Renya said quickly.
"Renya-san, I know you want to serve the village, but your detox work is far more critical!"
Renya had just opened his mouth to argue when Nara Mikage cut him off.
"Your presence on the battlefield of the Land of Wind is far too valuable. I won't allow anything to happen to you!"
In other words, he was worried that Renya would get injured or worse on the battlefield.
And then no one would be left to deal with Sunagakure's poison.
"I... I understand."
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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