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The frontline conflict with the Land of Earth was constant, but both sides were only skirmishing.
It was less about direct confrontation and more about probing.
Probing each other's strength and endurance.
Even these probes, however, left plenty of ninja wounded.
As expected, Heshu was promptly dragged off by Tsunade to help.
By just that single morning, Heshu's reputation had already spread among the injured.
"Oh! You mean that cute little girl in the purple cheongsam, right?"
"Yeah, yeah! That's the one. Tsukimi Heshu, I think!"
"It is Tsukimi Heshu! Getting treated by her was great, wasn't it!"
"Didn't hurt at all, and the wound closed up super fast!"
"No kidding!"
"And she's so gentle!"
"Totally!"
…
Oblivious to all this, Heshu was eating the issued bento box.
A bento reserved for medical ninja.
The other fighters had to make do with soldier pills.
"Uh…"
Under Sarutobi Aoki's intense gaze, Heshu paused, then offered her box. "If you want it, Aoki, you can have it."
Sarutobi Aoki was also one of the injured masses who'd withdrawn from the battlefield that morning.
He flushed and shook his head. How could he take Heshu's food?
He just… wanted to look at her properly.
"Can you stop staring?" Uchiha Juri, his hand wrapped in bandages, raked Aoki with a disdainful look.
"…"
Aoki gritted his teeth. Why was this Uchiha Juri everywhere?
"I'm not looking at you, so mind your own business!"
"But your stare is polluting the air!"
"Yours is the one who—"
"…"
The two started their verbal sparring again. Heshu wisely chose to relocate.
Just as she took a step, the medical tent's flap was thrown open violently.
"Move! All capable ninja, with me! Cloud nin and Stone nin are attacking simultaneously!"
Everyone froze for a second. Then, all who could move bolted from the tent. That included Uchiha Juri and Sarutobi Aoki, mid-argument.
"Cloud nin?"
Heshu frowned.
From her morning in the medical tent, she'd learned the main fight was with Earth's Stone nin. Logically, Mist nin from Water and Cloud nin from Lightning should be locked in their own fierce battle right now.
So why had Cloud nin suddenly detoured all the way to attack Konoha's frontline base?
"Tsunade-nee!"
Heshu wanted to go see for herself. She looked at Tsunade, who was bandaging someone.
"Go on."
Tsunade's hands paused, then she added, "Be careful!"
"Okay!"
Heshu vanished.
Tsunade looked up, her brow deeply furrowed. She knew how much the village meant to Heshu, how kind she was. Of course Heshu wouldn't just sit idle. But Tsunade wanted to protect that very kindness. She'd seen too many important people die. If this last thing she wanted to guard withered too… she didn't know how she'd face Konoha. Face the whole shinobi world.
The camp's atmosphere grew tense in an instant.
Dealing with Stone nin was troublesome enough.
Now they had the even more formidable Cloud nin to contend with.
"Heshu?"
Kakashi, geared up for combat, appeared before her. He was headed for the Cloud nin battlefield; his sensei, Minato Namikaze, had already rushed ahead.
"Kakashi-senpai, I'm coming too."
Heshu's voice was firm.
Kakashi glanced at her, then turned and ran. "Keep up."
Heshu followed.
The main battlefield against Earth was a vast plain in the center of the Land of Grass.
The Cloud nin, launching a blitz from afar, had chosen to assault from the right flank of Konoha's base.
Heshu and Kakashi reached the fighting quickly.
The clash was already underway.
A thousand, maybe two thousand ninja locked in combat. The scale was immense.
Watching it in anime was one thing. Seeing it for real was completely different.
The overwhelming, awe-inspiring energy made Heshu's blood sing.
Brutal and dangerous, yes. But it was thrilling, too!
Strangely, Heshu—who usually attracted enemy attention like a magnet—was being conspicuously ignored by the Cloud nin.
Heshu looked at the Cloud nin, each one packed with bulging muscle. Then she looked at her own slender arms and legs. A realization dawned.
Every Cloud nin was a powerhouse. Even their women were muscular.
Could it be… they looked down on her?
"Outta the way, brat!"
Another Cloud nin roared past Heshu, his blade aimed at a Konoha ninja behind her.
"…"
"…"
A bewildered Heshu and the ordinary Konoha genin, now caught between two Cloud nin, shared a look of mutual suffering. The genin's temples were bulging with strain.
For the sake of her reputation—and the genin's life—Heshu drew Shinsō, easing her comrade's peril.
"Not just an ordinary kid after all!"
Finally, someone noticed Heshu.
The Cloud nin before her sized her up, then charged.
"Lightning Style: Impact Stream!"
Blinding arcs of electricity gathered in his hands, buzzing with a harsh, grating noise.
Heshu's figure flickered. In a blink, she was above him. Shinsō pierced his throat.
She landed lightly.
In all martial arts, speed reigns supreme.
The old masters weren't wrong.
The battle had entered a white-hot frenzy. Almost every ninja on the field just grabbed a weapon and lunged at the nearest enemy.
No more Cloud nin skipping past Heshu. Now, at least five were headed straight for her.
They came for her. A glacial torrent of chakra erupted from Heshu's right arm. Her power surged, a deep, bone-chilling force rippling out like waves.
Frost swirled around her arm. In an instant, a colossal ice bird materialized. The temperature plummeted.
It was bright June, but it felt like deep winter to the Cloud nin.
A piercing, ethereal cry seemed to echo as the ice bird twisted in the air. In less than a blink, it shot toward the Cloud nin.
Giant talons extended, tearing through bodies too slow to react.
Wherever the ice bird passed, everything froze solid.
The Cloud nin facing it paled.
The next second, his body was shredded.
"AAAGH!"
Screams rose one after another.
Even those not directly torn apart found limbs—or parts of their bodies—flash-frozen by the bird's chilling aura.
And once frozen, movement seized for a critical instant.
That instant was all the Konoha ninja needed.
Finally, under a combined assault from dozens of reacting Cloud nin, the ice bird shattered into glittering motes that dispersed on the wind.
Minato's figure flashed across the battlefield, his blade claiming too many lives to count.
After what felt like an age, the field grew quiet.
Heshu lifted her foot. Sticky, congealing blood covered the ground.
Every single attacking Cloud nin was dead. No exceptions.
Minato didn't rest. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach the next battlefield.
So much work, Heshu thought with a sigh.
She stayed, a look of concern on her face, and walked over to a Konoha ninja kneeling on the ground.
The ninja was charred black from head to toe by lightning, stray arcs still flickering over his scorched skin. Heshu's expression softened with pity. "Don't worry. I'll heal you."
She placed her hands on him, unleashing her healing technique.
Those with lighter injuries began voluntarily carrying the immobile, critically wounded, lining them up beside the ninja Heshu was treating.
[Ding! Target Kakashi Hatake's Favorability: 61!]
Heshu sighed inwardly. Kakashi's favorability drops fast, but climbs so damn slow!
…
By the time they'd dealt with the waves from Cloud and Stone, dark hues stained the horizon.
Because of the Cloud nin's surprise attack, Orochimaru called a tactical meeting.
In the largest tent, Orochimaru sat at the head. Tsunade and Jiraiya flanked him.
Minato sat below Jiraiya. Heshu sat below Tsunade.
Others filed in and took their seats according to rank: strategist Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and several other Konoha jōnin who hadn't been seen before.
"Why did Cloud attack us so suddenly? Weren't they fighting the Mist?" Akimichi Chōza voiced the first question.
Orochimaru looked at Nara Shikaku. "Any news from our spies in Cloud?"
Shikaku shook his head, expression grave. "Our Cloud spies haven't sent any messages for over a month."
The mood in the room darkened.
If a spy went silent for over a month, there was only one likely explanation.
They were dead.
Shikaku continued, "Our war with the Stone has entered a critical phase. If Cloud joins in…"
He didn't need to finish. Everyone understood.
If Cloud joined, Konoha's situation would deteriorate drastically.
Any advantage they'd held over the Stone would turn to dust.
"We need an operative to send messages," Shikaku proposed. "Whether in war or anything else, undercover agents are essential. The machinery breaks down without them. Worse, lagging intel leads to catastrophic outcomes."
"Training a deep-cover operative is incredibly difficult. Where do we find someone now?" Chōza shook his head. "The ninja sent to Earth were our last batch of embedded agents!"
"Then we find someone now to go undercover!" Shikaku's brow furrowed. "We must have someone placed in Cloud. Otherwise, the intel gap in a two-front war will cause massive casualties!"
"I'll go!"
Minato's voice was earnest.
"…"
Shikaku shook his head. "No. Your reputation… precedes you."
He was being blunt.
A slightly abashed smile touched Minato's lips.
Heshu, observing the expressions around the room, suddenly felt a sharp, piercing gaze.
Hm?
Who's peeking now?
Even during something this serious?
With her growing reputation, Heshu had noticed a serious problem lately.
Wherever she went, people glanced at her covertly.
The bolder ones even discussed her.
She put on a stern face and followed the gaze. It led straight into a pair of pale gold, vertical-slit pupils.
"…"
(｀Δ´)!
Oh. It's Snake Uncle.
My mistake.
Heshu stiffly looked away.
Wait.
No!
Heshu's hair stood on end.
What were they just talking about?
Sending an undercover agent to Cloud?
So why was Snake Uncle looking at her like that?
Alarm bells began blaring in Heshu's mind.
"The operative," Orochimaru's voice cut through the air. All eyes turned to him. "Should be someone unknown to the enemy, yet competent. Someone… misleading."
His gaze swept the room, lips curving slightly. He continued, each word deliberate. "Preferably young. Female is better. Possessing exceptional healing ability would be ideal. And utterly loyal to Konoha. With nerves of steel."
With each word Orochimaru uttered, Heshu's smile grew stiffer.
Slowly, inevitably, subtly… every gaze shifted from Orochimaru.
To Heshu.
"…"
Is this your revenge, Snake Uncle?
Heshu felt like crying.
But brave cowards fear no hardship.
She looked back at them with an expression of pure, childlike innocence. Her beautiful sky-blue eyes were filled with trust for the adults before her.
Ah… This feels a bit inhumane… Nara Shikaku thought with an internal sigh. But he agreed with Orochimaru. This child was the most suitable candidate.
SLAM!
A tremendous sound shattered the tent's silence.
Tsunade erupted, slamming her palm on the table.
CRACK!
A sharp splintering noise. A web of fissures exploded from under her hand, racing across the tabletop.
"Who dares?!"
Tsunade's icy glare swept over every face in the room. A scornful smile twisted her lips. "What skill you all have! Forcing a child like this! Aren't you ashamed?"
Tsunade's temper knew no patience.
Minato inwardly agreed. He supported Tsunade's stance completely. But his voice carried less weight here; most present were his seniors. He couldn't refuse as bluntly as Tsunade-sama did.
Tsunade stood protectively before her. Heshu felt a warm tug in her chest.
Being protected feels pretty good.
"I'll go."
This time, it was Kakashi who spoke.
He met Orochimaru's gaze for a moment, then bowed his head slightly. "Orochimaru-sama, let me be the operative. Tsukimi Heshu only graduated a year ago. Her mental fortitude might not be sufficient."
Heshu was taken aback.
Minato's lips quirked. Kakashi, always so tsundere.
"Go where?! None of the kids are going! Let the adults handle it!" Tsunade glared at Orochimaru.
Nara Shikaku sighed, rubbing his temple. "No reasoning with Tsunade-sama…" he muttered, voice low.
It was still loud enough for Tsunade to hear.
Her gaze snapped to him.
Shikaku coughed lightly and looked away.
Honestly, for the collective good, his choice was also that girl, Tsukimi Heshu. Even if the guilt weighed heavily on him. In just one morning, he'd heard countless ninja praise her. And here they were, arguing over sending her, while she just sat there quietly, lost in thought… It was painful to watch.
Shikaku sighed again.
"I'll go."
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