The next day,
The Hidden Mist withdrew in a daze.
The major ninja clans of the Hidden Mist all expressed dissatisfaction. What was this? They just pulled out like that, gaining nothing. What kind of battle was that supposed to be?
Especially the Hidden Mist assassination unit, the Kaguya clan, and the Yuki clan—they were extremely displeased.
The Hidden Mist assassination unit had been nearly wiped out by the Uchiha, and the few survivors kept shouting day and night about making the Uchiha pay in blood.
The Kaguya clan had been bullied miserably by the Hyūga, so the entire clan was determined to wash away their shame, even if it meant mutual destruction with the Hyūga.
Unfortunately, even if some fish die, the net won't tear at all.
As for the Yuki clan, they were among the first to land and immediately ran into the cold-blooded Shimura Danzō.
So the hot-headed Yuki clan ended up fighting a war of attrition with Danzō's Root—trading life for life.
A great ninja clan and a massive Root organization were both reduced to just a handful of survivors.
War must be approached with caution—don't let hot blood rush to your head.
That was the situation on the Hidden Mist side. Though confused, they still obeyed the Third Mizukage's orders and began to withdraw.
As for Konoha,
Shimura Danzō was naturally overjoyed.
This battle was a solid achievement, and he had taken another step toward the distant position of Hokage.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kamito and Hyūga Hiyasu looked at each other.
"Was that you?" Kamito asked.
"I've been with you the whole time. What do you think?" Hiyasu replied.
"Then was it Shiken?"
"Want to ask him?!"
Kamito picked up the kikaichū marked with summoning and sealing formulas, recalling what Aburame Shiken had said when he gave it to them:
"If you dare use it casually, you'll become insect feed."
"…Yeah, never mind. It's not a big deal. We can just ask when we get back. No need to rush."
Kamito said sheepishly.
"Tch, coward."
"Then you send it."
"I believe in managing resources wisely. People who waste resources will be punished by heaven."
"Tch, same difference. Coward."
"You…"
Just as they were arguing, a weak voice came from nearby:
"Um… since we're not fighting anymore, what do we do with this?"
The pale-faced Aburame Tatsuma pointed at a small-scale Poison Technique beside him.
"Damn, I forgot about this. What a hassle. Should we call the Hidden Mist back and let them leave after we finish using this jutsu?"
Kamito said.
Hidden Mist: Listen to that—does that even sound human?!
"You think the Hidden Mist are idiots? Aburame Tatsuma, you're from the Aburame clan too. Do you have any way to deal with it?" Hiyasu asked.
What, you don't have a solution? Then how dare you use this kind of poisonous insects? Nano poison insects—where would the Aburame clan even have a way to counter them?
"No. Aburame poison insects—nothing can counter them."
His weak tone carried three parts seriousness, three parts helplessness, and four parts pride.
Though no one knew how Tatsuma managed to say it like that, in Kamito and Hiyasu's ears, it sounded exactly like:
"Damn, you're useless and still this arrogant? Where do you get the confidence?"
"Forget it, Kamito. This guy's a waste too. It's been days since we called him over, and this is all he managed. It's nowhere near Shiken's level."
The two of them took turns belittling him.
Come on—back in the Land of Rain, it took hundreds of Aburame ninja working together, okay? Here it's just me alone. Being able to reach this level is already impressive, you know? You amateurs shouldn't talk nonsense when you don't understand. Besides me, who else here can even handle this? Show some respect for technical staff, alright?
But Tatsuma only dared to think all that silently.
After all, just a few days ago, these two dared to kill people right in front of Danzō-sama. Compared to that, this was nothing.
So he could only say against his will:
"You're both right, sirs. But how do we deal with this place? If the poison insects inside are released, nothing within dozens of kilometers will survive."
"Alright, this has nothing to do with you anymore. You can go," Hiyasu waved him off.
Now back in the Konoha camp, Tatsuma had a stomach full of complaints with nowhere to vent.
They dragged me here… and now this…
Hmph. I'm aggrieved, but I won't say it.
Better go get something to eat first.
Damn Uchiha Kamito, damn Hyūga Hiyasu—dragging me into overtime work and not even willing to give me a meal. Heartless capitalists. Let's see when you go bankrupt.
Meanwhile, Kamito and Hiyasu decisively activated one of their extremely precious kikaichū, sending the situation here to Aburame Shiken.
Your clan's stuff—deal with it yourselves.
Then, another insect of theirs suddenly exploded.
A small bottle appeared, containing several tiny bugs, with a note attached:
"Aburame Special-Type Insect · Nano Poison Insects (Phosphorus Devourer Insects) — Solution."
"As expected of Shiken. Reliable," Kamito said.
He immediately opened the bottle and released the insects. They quickly burrowed into the Jar Poison Technique, clearing out the nano poison insects inside.
Kamito and Hiyasu watched as the purple poisonous gas visibly decreased at high speed, and both felt relieved.
All settled.
But Hiyasu noticed something strange—
"Isn't the Jar Poison Technique supposed to be a sealed cultivation chamber? How did those insects get in? The sealing formula outside didn't seem to stop them at all."
"Well, who knows? Who knows what kind of weird insects Shiken has developed this time. He seems to understand barrier and sealing techniques even better than that stuff."
"True… but no matter how I look at it, it feels like we've just been background characters lately. We haven't had any chance to shine."
Hiyasu analyzed carefully.
"Uh… yeah, seems like it," Kamito nodded.
The battlefield in the Land of Water came to an end.
...
Let's switch scenes...
...
Konoha Village,
Hiruzen Sarutobi also received the news that the Sand Village and the Hidden Mist had withdrawn.
He was overjoyed.
"Homura, plan a grand welcome for Konoha's returning heroes. Make it grand and imposing. These are all heroes of Konoha—we must not neglect them."
"No problem. Hiruzen, just take a look at this budget and approve it."
Mitokado Homura was also extremely excited. He had long wanted to organize something big. Back when he managed the finance department, he wished he could split one coin into two. Now that the leader had spoken, he could finally spend like a rich man.
"Ahem, Homura… waste is a great sin. Let's keep this event simple."
After reading the budget, Hiruzen immediately took back his words.
What a joke—this budget wasn't something he could afford. This was something the Fire Daimyō should be looking at.
"…Alright."
Mitokado Homura, who had just straightened his back, slumped over again.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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