Danzō Shimura had his subordinates count the numbers. In the end, it was determined that Konoha had lost a total of 600 shinobi (across all battlefields) with 1,000 injured. However, these were all minor injuries currently being treated by the medical unit, and they would be able to return to battle soon.
On the other side, Sunagakure had lost at least 4,000 shinobi. Among these, 1,000 were killed by the Uchiha clan shinobi, 800 by the Senju unit, and the remaining 2,200 were killed by all the other clans during the battle.
Looking at the 1:7 casualty ratio, Danzō Shimura's smile was as hard to suppress as an AK. He then glanced at Uchiha Ryun who had just woken up after Tsunade's careful treatment and gave him a friendly smile.
Uchiha Ryun nodded in response and smiled back. Both understood each other's unspoken calculations.
The original 8,000 strong force now had 7,400 remaining. After hearing the report from Danzō's subordinate, they looked at Danzō Shimura with admiration in their eyes. They never expected Commander Shimura to have such formidable military command abilities.
Danzō Shimura greatly enjoyed such gazes. Uchiha Ryun observed Danzō's expression and thought to himself that indeed, all humans enjoy flattery and pleasant words.
"Ryun, what are you looking at? At Lord Shimura?" Tsunade asked somewhat naively, knowing that Uchiha Ryun was the true commander.
However, boosting Shimura's battle achievements was the old man's order. That old man, really! Hmph.
Thinking this, she puffed out her cheeks. Uchiha Ryun snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Tsunade, unable to help but smile. "Yes. Look, doesn't Lord Shimura also look quite radiant when he smiles? No one is born wanting to hide underground and become a shadow."
Tsunade: "Huh?" She didn't quite understand why Uchiha Ryun would say such things.
Uchiha Ryun also realized, oops, he accidentally spoke his thoughts aloud. After all, Tsunade hadn't watched Naruto and didn't know that Danzō Shimura would later become the Hokage's shadow, the root buried deep underground.
"It's nothing. By the way, Tsuna, why haven't I seen Nawaki? How is he? Is he uninjured?" Uchiha Ryun suddenly asked.
Uchiha Ryun's sudden question about Nawaki successfully changed the subject, and Tsunade was successfully led astray by this topic.
"Nawaki is fine. He's currently learning ninjutsu from Orochimaru. But it's also thanks to your bomb suit." At this point, Tsunade chuckled.
After saying this, Tsunade recounted Nawaki's encounter with the ambush to Uchiha Ryun, who visualized the situation in his mind.
"You're saying Nawaki saw a black hand?" Uchiha Ryun raised an eyebrow. He already knew who it was but wanted to confirm.
"Yes, that's what Nawaki said. I even specifically asked if it was black gloves, and he shook his head saying it wasn't." Tsunade affirmed.
Uchiha Ryun nodded, now certain. This was none other than Zetsu, who was single-mindedly devoted to saving his mother and led Madara Uchiha down a path of no return.
When Madara was on the verge of success, he delivered a heart-stabbing blow, shattering Madara's dream of becoming a sage.
Actually, another point was that Madara's weakness was his back. He had told Hashirama in their childhood, "I hate people standing behind me most."
In the Valley of the End battle, Hashirama Senju "killed" Madara Uchiha from behind, and Black Zetsu also performed a heart-stabbing attack from behind.
All signs indicated that perhaps Madara's fatal weakness was his back. Having someone stand behind him made him very sensitive and uneasy (reference Madara urinating).
But back to the main topic.
Uchiha Ryun just didn't know how to explain this to Tsunade. At this moment, Danzō Shimura suddenly spoke up, "Ryun, come to my tent."
Uchiha Ryun was taken aback and frowned slightly at Danzō. Tsunade smiled and said, "Ryun, go attend to official business first."
Uchiha Ryun, moved by Tsunade's understanding, was driven by some impulse. He suddenly embraced Tsunade, his left hand cradling the back of her head while his right arm wrapped around her waist.
He took a deep breath at her neck, the fragrant scent entering his lungs through his nose. The softness against his chest stirred his emotions.
Under the night sky, the moonlight poured down, casting a silvery veil over the two figures.
The young girl's eyebrows lifted slightly as if stunned, her pupils contracting. Then a blush spread across her cheeks, and for a moment she seemed to forget to breathe.
In this silent moment, Tsunade could clearly hear the pounding of her own heartbeat. No, not just hers, but Uchiha Ryun's as well.
After a long while.
Uchiha Ryun released Tsunade and smiled. "Thank you for treating me, Tsuna. That's why I recovered so quickly."
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him. When he first collapsed, she had been very worried. But upon examination, she found he still had plenty of chakra left. He had been pretending.
However, she didn't expose him and instead played along until Uchiha Ryun "woke up."
"Your way of thanking me is to hug me?" Tsunade snorted, the blush on her cheeks not yet faded as she looked away.
"Uh..." Uchiha Ryun scratched his head, unsure how to explain. His emotions had surged, and he just acted on impulse. How could he explain that?
Tsunade peeked at Uchiha Ryun's awkward expression from the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile.
"Ahem. Well, go discuss official business with Lord Shimura first. Being so hesitant doesn't suit you." With that, Tsunade turned her back.
Her lips curved upward, feeling somewhat happy inside. But as the princess of the Senju clan, granddaughter of the First Hokage, and... (listing hundreds of reasons), she had to maintain her dignity.
Uchiha Ryun laughed. "Haha, then... then I'll go discuss matters with Lord Shimura first!"
With that, Uchiha Ryun headed toward Danzō's tent. At this moment, his steps were somewhat unsteady, almost stumbling.
Tsunade turned her head and saw Uchiha Ryun like this, unable to suppress a soft laugh, so quiet only she could hear it.
"Lady Tsunade, congratulations. It seems you've found someone you like." A cold voice spoke up. Tsunade looked over and saw it was Orochimaru.
Under the moonlight, Orochimaru's already pale face appeared even whiter. Tsunade's eyes carried a hint of smile.
"Oh? Shouldn't Orochimaru be teaching Nawaki instead of coming here to gossip?"
Tsunade neither admitted nor denied, attempting to change the subject.
"Heh heh heh." Orochimaru shook his head without speaking. He wasn't foolish enough to press further. Having gotten Tsunade's response, he already understood her thoughts. Why spell everything out?
It was just a pity for that fool Jiraiya, who didn't even dare to voice his feelings. Although Uchiha Ryun hadn't said anything either, at least he took action.
Seeing Orochimaru not responding, Tsunade frowned slightly but didn't say anything more. She headed toward Danzō's tent, planning to wait outside for Uchiha Ryun to come out.
She certainly wasn't going to admire the moon with this sneaky snake.