Neji's Lingering Injury, and Tsunade Had No Idea What She Was About to Face

Kazahana Koyuki couldn't swallow her anger, but she was helpless and could only watch Naruto leave whistling. Suddenly, she realized that the road to having a royal heir was long and arduous.

Upon returning to Konohagakure, he hadn't even had a chance to drink a sip of water.

Someone from the Anbu came knocking, but this time it wasn't Uzuki Yugao; it was a completely new face. Wearing a white animal mask, they conveyed Kakashi's question.

"Battlefield, shall we go?"

When the Anbu brought the news back to the Hokage Building, Kakashi abruptly stopped himself from raising his glass to drink water.

"You mean, he agreed?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

"That's strange, it shouldn't be like this, how could he agree!" Kakashi looked surprised. He hadn't had much hope to begin with, but who knew he would actually agree.

"Lord Hokage, I'll be going now." The Anbu member readily agreed, knowing he shouldn't listen to topics unrelated to him; the more he knew, the more trouble he would cause.

"Okay." Kakashi replied, abandoning his tea and deep in thought. "Something's not right. How did this person suddenly become so insightful? Something's strange."

~~

"What bad intentions could I possibly have?" Naruto said, somewhat speechless, looking at Choji. "Can you please stop thinking of me in such an exaggerated way? I just want to do my part for the village."

"Naruto, I'm really happy that you have this thought in mind," Choji said earnestly, his brow furrowed. "But fighting alongside you makes me really nervous."

"What you're saying really chills me to the bone, Choji." He grinned maliciously and punched Choji. "I didn't come here willingly this time; it was only because of Ino..."

"That makes sense then." Choji breathed a sigh of relief.

"You fatso, what do you mean?" Naruto's expression was unfriendly.

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Watching the two playfully chasing each other from a distance, Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh softly. The Allied Shinobi Forces needed to set off, and this number of men was far from enough.

Ordinary ninjas don't stand much of a chance against those monsters. In a war, people are packed together, and it's impossible to see whether your own troops are winning or losing.

Even on the front lines of a battlefield, it's impossible to immediately engage in a one-line-up battle. The ninjas in front might be fighting fiercely while those behind them only start running a quarter of an hour later.

The ninjas at the front of the line engaged in battle immediately, while the rest could only stand in line, their hearts pounding with fear as they listened to the screams of their comrades. When morale is high, even a million men can surge like a raging sea.

If any ninja were to lose their composure first, the consequences could be disastrous if chaos ensued.

War, in its essence, largely depends on the hearts and minds of the people. Those who are fearless and undaunted can achieve victory against overwhelming odds, while those who are timid and hesitant, filled with fear, will suffer a crushing defeat even if they outnumber the enemy several times over.

The Allied Shinobi Forces were, after all, an alliance; with so many members, their minds were mixed, and they weren't even an army with the same goal.

Imagine a ninja from another country, standing in a line, hearing only deafening shouts and screams, and seeing only the backs of his comrades' heads and enemies suddenly rushing at him.

Will he suddenly break down at some point and turn back?

Thinking of this, Shikamaru couldn't help but sigh.

The Allied Shinobi Forces sounds impressive, but it's hard to say how effective they actually are. However, the Five Great Nations came up with this solution for the same troublesome enemy.

To say something contrary to his ancestors' ideas, Shikamaru had no expectations for this war and even thought they would lose.

"Besides you guys, who else is there? Where's Kiba Inuzuka?" Naruto suddenly remembered something. "Didn't he say he was going to get married? The year is over, why is there still no sign of it?"

"Don't even mention it, he had a huge fight with his family." Choji wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Run away from home?"

"It's not that serious," Choji said, waving his hand. "He just had his leg broken and spent two months recuperating at home. He hasn't been talking much since he was released."

"Holy crap, is it really that ruthless?" Naruto was startled, thinking to himself, "Would the Inuzuka Clan really do something like this?"

"Yes, the Inuzuka Clan can hardly hold their heads up in the village now." Choji lowered his voice, glanced around with his small eyes for a while, and only spoke with relief when he saw that no one was looking at him.

"After all, which family's younger generation doesn't go to the battlefield? The Inuzuka Clan's methods are indeed a bit hasty. But it's understandable, since Kiba Inuzuka isn't married yet and is already pregnant."

"These two things are actually quite bad, and they don't sound very nice."

Choji glanced at Naruto and noticed that his expression was a little strange, so he quickly tried to cover it up.

"Ah, I wasn't talking about you. I meant... anyway, I wasn't talking about you. Ino's incident was an accident, I understand. It's normal for young people to have accidents."

"It wasn't exactly an accident," Naruto suddenly said, leaving Choji bewildered. "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Hinata is pregnant too."

Choji blinked, looking shocked.

"You did this on purpose?"

"Not really, just lucky, but it's definitely impossible that I didn't know." Naruto rubbed his chin. "Let me tell you the truth, I deliberately avoided the timing during that period and didn't take any precautions."

"That can't be that accurate, can it? Me too."

"Although the outcome may not necessarily be as I expect, the probability is still quite high, after all, I am young and strong, and I get enough sleep every day."

"What's the connection between these two?" Choji scratched his head.

"Well, the activity level is definitely different," he explained. "If you eat and drink excessively and don't exercise, how long can you maintain that level? Activity level, huh?"

Choji: "."

"I originally thought only Ino was pregnant, since I can't visit Hinata often, and the opportunities I can find are really limited," he said with a smile.

"But in the end, Hinata also became pregnant, which is one of the best pieces of news I've heard this year."

"Is it because we don't have to go to the battlefield?" Choji paused for a moment. "Does that mean... even you, Naruto, have no expectations for the battlefield?"

"Yes, it's so obvious what's going on on the battlefield." He patted Choji on the shoulder. "Don't be so naive. Things on the battlefield aren't entirely determined by the battlefield itself."

"Why is this happening? I was really confident about this war," Choji muttered, somewhat unconvinced.

"You can't judge a book by its cover. Kabuto's mischief is nothing compared to the fact that the Five Kage are not on the same page." Naruto sighed. "Anyway, it's not time yet, so don't overthink it."

Choji listening to Naruto's words, Choji was still somewhat confused, his head feeling slightly throbbing. What did "not yet the time" mean? When was "the time"?

However, Naruto didn't give him a chance to think it over, and turned and walked into the camp, disappearing from sight.

The camp was divided into several areas, with the Medical Unit's area in the southwest corner. The Konohagakure Medical Unit's flag was flying above it, making it the most conspicuous landmark.

However, Sakura had already returned to Amegakure and wasn't with the group, so Naruto naturally wouldn't head towards the Medical Unit. He was only using it to pinpoint the location; he vaguely remembered Choji saying that Team 3 seemed to be east of the Medical Unit.

He planned to visit Neji, having heard that the man was seriously injured, and being his brother-in-law, he figured a brief visit, though a bit late, would at least show his respect.

In the instant he lifted his foot, Naruto suddenly realized that he had seemingly taken away the core members of Konohagakure's Intelligence Department and Medical Department. Ino was pregnant and at home, and Sakura had practically disappeared.

He took a deep breath and suddenly felt that he had committed a great sin.

But then he thought about it again and realized that he had actually restrained himself; at least he hadn't harmed Tenten too. Otherwise, four of the Konoha 12 Hokage 12 would be missing.

After all, someone like him, whom Mei Terumi welcomes with Mizukage, could easily seduce anyone he wanted to harm.

Speaking of Mei Terumi, it seems this woman has already forgotten about that incident. But that's alright, it was just an accident anyway, ninjas don't need to dwell on it so much.

The Mizukage truly lives up to his Mizukage; there's a reason for it.

After searching through several large tents, Naruto finally found Neji in an inconspicuous tent, but Neji.

"Where are they?" He lifted the thick curtain and went inside.

"Who?"

"Rock Lee and Tenten." He looked around.

"They've gone on a mission. They're in charge of escorting supplies. They should be back tonight." Neji's face looked a little pale. He coughed, and the candlelight flickered.

"This place is so deserted, there isn't even a light." Naruto took out a generator from his Sealing Space and ran to a deserted spot without saying a word.

With a gurgling sound, the oil was poured out, and with a ferocious expression, Naruto pulled the rope, the deafening noise attracting countless onlookers. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, Naruto quickly pulled the rope back.

"I didn't expect this tent to be so soundproof. Look, there's a light now, isn't there?" He skillfully installed the light bulb and then took out a kettle to boil water for tea.

He had originally planned to take out the gas stove to grill the meat, but then he thought that the tent was not well ventilated, so he decided against it.

"What brings you here?" Neji Hyuga was somewhat amused and exasperated. This guy always acted unconventionally, but he was extremely loyal to his friends.

"Isn't there a war going on? I came over to take a look." Naruto casually grabbed a can of tea and popped it open. "Mainly because Hinata heard you were injured and was very worried about you."

"I'm fine, Hinata is so kind." Neji knew that praising this person would be useless; praising Hinata would be much more effective.

"Why are you acting like this even though nothing's wrong? Did someone rip your kidneys out on the battlefield?" He picked up the lid of the hot water bottle, glanced at it, and then turned off the power.

With a whoosh, boiling water was poured onto the dried tea leaves, instantly creating a cloud of steam.

"I broke a few ribs, and the Medical Unit didn't have the facilities to treat me, which delayed things for a while." Neji's voice was weak and he sounded a bit feeble.

"Can't we go back to the village to recuperate?" Naruto, somewhat surprised.

Neji shook his head, his eyes dimming for a moment. "I am the head of the clan. I cannot hide behind the scenes, otherwise all the efforts I have made before will be meaningless."

Naruto understood this.

After all, he was in control from a first-person perspective throughout the entire process, and the feud between the main and Branch Family Main Family of the Hinata was not so easy to reconcile, even after the Caged Bird was abolished.

However, the Hinata faces more and more problems. Caged Bird abolished, the hatred between the Branch Family and the Main Family will not diminish. Neji who can mediate, or even intervene to keep things under control.

Those old fogies in the Main Family are used to being waited on and treated like royalty; they'd love for Neji to die sooner. If they knew he was injured and recuperating in the rear, they'd probably cause trouble.

"I told you, you should have just listened to me back then. If you had just stirred up conflict between the new and old generations of the Main Family, you wouldn't have had to worry about so much," Naruto said slowly, blowing on his hot tea.

"This is not a good thing to do." Neji sighed, and his sighs became more and more frequent. "These methods cannot be hidden; they will all be exposed in the future."

"Who dug this out?" Naruto glanced at him, thinking to himself that Neji was still too young. "Time will erase everything. By the time they realize it, those old fogies from the main Main Family will already be in their graves."

"The Hinata to break free, you have to be thorough. Being timid and hesitant will do you no good. Whatever you're afraid of, that's what they'll do."

"Isn't history always written by the victors? As long as Hinata Hyuga clan as a whole is moving forward, the clan is thriving, and everyone can walk in the sunlight, who cares about those old stories?"

"So what if they get out? Who wants to be a slave after being used to a good life?"

Neji remained silent. Naruto's words made sense, but he didn't have the courage for the time being. He was still hesitating, struggling to hold on, wondering if he could find a second way.

Naruto was also observing Neji, and suddenly realized that the once proud genius seemed to have suffered a lot now. He didn't know how to describe it, and only felt a little heavy in his heart.

"Forget it, there's no point in talking about this all the time." He waved his hand.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Neji sighed.

"It's alright, let's not talk about that today. Let's talk about something useful," Naruto said. "I'll think of a way to see if we can bring the Fifth Hokage back to heal your hidden injuries."

"The Fifth Hokage?" Neji holding the teacup. "Didn't she already leave the village?"

"Yes."

"Do you know the whereabouts of the Fifth Hokage?"

"I don't know." Naruto shook his head honestly, "But we'll find her eventually. The Fifth Hokage, that woman, she didn't deliberately hide her tracks."

"Even so, finding someone in a vast sea of people must be very troublesome, right?" Neji said.

"Yeah, luckily I have money."

"What?" Neji was taken aback.

"I have money, I have plenty of money. I can just have someone spread the word and lure Tsunade to come to me." Naruto said smugly. "Unless that old woman lives deep in the mountains, she'll come back to me sooner or later."

Neji's lips twitched slightly. "Naruto, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"Hmm, where did your money come from?" Neji's eyes were meaningful, but he didn't continue. "Well, let's try it out first, but don't make too much of a fuss."

He knew Neji had guessed where his money came from, the subtext being that he shouldn't risk making a fuss to avoid trouble.

"It's alright, there won't be any trouble," he said, silently adding to himself, "All the money from those nobles will be mine before the war ends."

"Ahem, don't worry about all that, have some tea." Naruto chuckled, then, hearing a noise outside, he got up.

"They wouldn't be back early, would they? I'll go out and check."