Temporary Team-Up

Uchiha Daiki's final strike not only took out the last remaining enemy, but also allowed him to comprehend the complete kunai-throwing technique—never missing a shot.

As long as a target was within his line of sight, he could hit it with precision regardless of the distance.

Furthermore, his throwing technique had been enhanced, allowing him to hurl kunai with maximum power while using the least amount of strength.

This move was not to be underestimated.

If used properly, it could even kill enemies by catching them off guard.

Uchiha Daiki was very satisfied with this.

He casually turned around. At that moment, the Konoha Chunin guards approached him as well.

During the intense battle just now, he had been focused on killing enemies and eliminating threats, so he had not felt anything unusual.

Now that the heat of battle had faded and the enemies no longer posed a threat, Uchiha Daiki suddenly felt a faint pain spread through his body again.

The wounds on his body, which had not fully healed, began to split open and bleed once more.

He endured the pain, his sharp brows knitting slightly as he looked at the young female ninja who had walked up to him.

She happened to look up and meet his gaze.

"You're from the medical unit, right?"

"I remember you collapsed in the forest earlier. Your injuries should have been beyond saving, which was why we left you there temporarily. But now you..."

The female ninja, who looked to be in her early twenties, stared into Uchiha Daiki's eyes and muttered to herself in surprise and confusion.

"Ah, yes. I got a little hurt."

"Help me bandage it up."

Uchiha Daiki said with an easy smile, then suddenly blacked out and fell toward her.

When Uchiha Daiki woke up again, he discovered that night had already fallen.

Yet they were still in the forest.

Judging by the surroundings, this was no longer the clearing where they had first clashed with Kirigakure's pursuers.

However, they were clearly still on the battlefield.

Whether it was the smell of gunpowder and blood lingering in the air, or the residual elemental traces left behind by ninjutsu of various attributes clashing—

Everything told Uchiha Daiki that this was a real battlefield.

Uchiha Daiki curiously turned his head toward the guards from the logistics support unit sitting beside the campfire.

"You're awake?"

The pretty female ninja looked over at Uchiha Daiki.

A hint of curiosity shone in her bright eyes.

Another male ninja spoke up as well. "Given the state of your injuries, you should have received further treatment from medical ninja on the spot, or been sent back to the village."

"But unfortunately, all the medical ninja we were escorting have been killed. We also can't contact your original team, so we can only keep you here for now."

As he spoke, the beautiful female ninja stood up, brought over a roasted wild chicken, and handed it to Uchiha Daiki.

She continued, "We've received a new mission from our superiors. We have to remain on the battlefield and continue fighting to stop Kirigakure's forces from launching surprise attacks on our border."

"Your injuries are recovering quickly. Since there doesn't seem to be anything seriously wrong with you, temporarily join our team. We'll withdraw once we find your original team or receive new orders. In any case, eat something first..."

With just a few brief exchanges, Uchiha Daiki quickly understood the current situation.

The medical unit, originally tasked with supporting the battlefield, treating the wounded, and transporting casualties, had been scattered by a Kirigakure enemy attack.

Some were dead, while others were injured.

Forget about saving people—they were having trouble protecting themselves now.

Uchiha Daiki had nothing particular to say about such a situation.

That was the cruelty of war. In combat between ninja, killing the healers first was perfectly normal.

"But are my injuries really recovering that quickly?"

As he muttered to himself inwardly, he subconsciously touched his wounds.

They had indeed scabbed over.

His body still hurt a little, but fortunately there were no signs of infection or further deterioration.

"In that case, there's no need to return to Konoha..."

Uchiha Daiki thought silently to himself.

His earlier decision to return to the village had mainly been due to his injuries.

Now that his body was fine, there was no need to follow the original plan. As he ate the roasted wild chicken in his hand, he asked the beautiful woman before him, "Your eyes are beautiful. What's your name?"

The female ninja, who had been about to turn back toward the campfire, paused slightly upon hearing that. She turned around to look at Uchiha Daiki in surprise.

The disbelief in her eyes flashed away in an instant, and she answered, "My name is Uzuki Sen."

"Uzuki Sen?"

Uchiha Daiki wondered inwardly, very much wanting to ask what her relationship with Uzuki Yugao was.

But in the end, he held himself back and said nothing.

At this moment, Uzuki Sen began introducing the other ninjas to him as well.

"His name is Sarutobi Shio, this is Hyuga Koji, and he is..."

Uzuki Sen looked at the other man lying on the ground beside them, who appeared to be at death's door, and her gaze dimmed.

"He is our captain, Aoyama Shinsuke."

Uchiha Daiki remembered that the man had fought fiercely earlier. He seemed to be a ninja skilled in Taijutsu.

The man had already been injured while fighting the Kirigakure ninja.

He just hadn't expected that after taking a nap, the guy would be dead when he woke up.

"The battlefield really is brutal. What do we do now?"

Uchiha Daiki quickly finished off a roasted pheasant.

Without the slightest restraint, as though he had known these ninjas for ages, he walked straight over to the campfire and picked up the remaining half of the roasted pheasant to keep eating.

Hyuga Koji was somewhat surprised by his actions, but did not show it. Instead, he answered, "We're only resting and eating here briefly. We'll head to the front lines afterward to provide support."

"What he means is, we were waiting for you to wake up."

Sarutobi Shio cut in to explain.

This guy was clearly not very good at conversation.

Of course, it was also possible that he simply didn't like Uchiha Daiki.

That was why his attitude was noticeably colder than Uzuki Sen's and Hyuga Koji's.

Uchiha Daiki swiftly finished the half-roasted pheasant in his hand, then gave the other man a meaningful look from above and casually tossed the leftover bones in front of him.

Then, without paying any attention to his reaction, he turned around, spread out his sensory abilities, and began checking the surrounding area.

Seeing Uchiha Daiki act so casually, Uzuki Sen, Hyuga Koji, and Sarutobi Shio exchanged glances, all of them looking somewhat surprised.

However, they did not voice their thoughts. Instead, they all turned to look at Uchiha Daiki, whose actions seemed rather strange.

At that moment, Uchiha Daiki walked directly toward the front left.