Hyuga Ken's Corpse, The War Effort Is Dire

These four squads were all led by the Inuzuka Clan. In the dark forest, their large, sturdy ninja dogs moved lightly and silently, like ghosts. The Inuzuka Clan ninjas wore dog-skin coats, running on all fours, racing alongside their own ninja dogs.

The scent information was gathered and compiled, but in the end, they found nothing... Obito's single burst of fire had burned the enemy's scent clean away, leaving only the choking smell of roasted meat.

This scorched, dry odor made both the ninja dogs and the Inuzuka ninjas uncomfortable, their noses itching.

"Big sis, we found nothing!" "Nothing found." Another squad gathered over, "My ninja dog caught a whiff of blood earlier, but after tracking it for a while, it disappeared again."

Uzumaki Mikayo ran with an injured Rock Ninja on her back. Her body emitted a faint, glowing white light.

This was an innate ability of hers, one that could erase her own "information" while she moved—

Whether it was the scent information ordinary people could smell, or higher-level scouting and reconnaissance ninjutsu like the Byakugan or chakra sensing, none could perceive her. She had no time to think; the appearance of the Inuzuka Clan ninjas had pushed her vigilance to its peak.

The rustling sound of her feet stepping on grass and tree roots was amplified in her ears by her alertness, making her even more cautious.

Could this sound be heard by the enemy? This was her first time on a battlefield, or rather, her first time carrying out this kind of mission, and her heart was in her throat.

If she were a seasoned ninja, she probably wouldn't mind this kind of rustling sound. Even if the noise were louder, they would ignore it, thinking it normal.

But she was not a seasoned ninja.

Carrying someone on her back, whenever she encountered a ninja, she would hide and lie low, and after they had gone far, she would quickly move on.

Her nerves were stretched taut, sweat covering her body, yet she deliberately suppressed her breathing, afraid to take deep breaths, fearing she would draw the pursuers. Just ahead, there was a large tree, so she leaned against it with her burden, wanting to rest for a moment.

But the moment she leaned back, the two of them fell backward, tumbling into the tree. They rolled down a man-made stone staircase with a clatter.

Uzumaki Mikayo's skin was scraped and bruised all over from the steps. Beneath her skin, a dense network of nerves was transmitting information she herself didn't even know, controlling her subconscious, making choices at critical moments.

The fact that she had made it here was due to the subconscious choices those nerves made when she turned or took a step.

What she was about to encounter next was also an arrangement made by those nerves...

She set down the wounded soldier and began searching the pitch-black cave.

Soon, she found a tent, and inside it, the already dead Hyuga Ken. Hyuga Ken's dark, empty eye sockets stared back at her.

Uzumaki Mikayo instinctively stepped back, nearly falling to the ground. Only then did she come to her senses and look around. "This... what kind of place is this? Culture vessels, nutrient solution... where are this person's eyes?" She mustered her courage and examined Hyuga Ken's corpse. Untying the cloth band around his head, she saw the Caged Bird.

Uzumaki Mikayo thought to herself, "A ninja from the Hyuga Clan?" Suddenly, an idea rose in her mind. "If we get this body, can we Rock Ninjas also cultivate a Byakugan?"

Cloning technology wasn't exactly new in the ninja world. If she could bring this corpse back...

This thought suddenly became intense.

Her teammate finally woke up. "Where is this place?" At the bottom of his heart, lingering memories of listening to Uchiha Kin's "talk-no-jutsu" remained. "Yan Liu, don't listen to that guy... Don't believe a single word from a Leaf ninja."

"Kaede, you're awake? That's great." After she spoke, she quickly explained the situation to Kaede. Kaede said, "Could it be that this Hyuga was a branch member trying to escape his fate here, and failed?"

Uzumaki Mikayo said, "That should be it. But what it is doesn't matter to us. Kaede, what matters is that we've obtained a Hyuga Clan corpse—its significance isn't just intelligence, but..."

"The Byakugan?"

"Exactly!"

"Then let's hurry back. Yan Liu, I can move now. You carry the corpse, and I can walk on my own."

"I think we need to wait..." Uzumaki Mikayo was very cautious, which surprised Kaede, but that surprise had barely arisen when it eerily disappeared. Behind him, that web-like network of nerves was rapidly transmitting information, sending out signals before quickly fading away.

The Leaf side searched here all night and continued searching through the next day before giving up. They had no time to waste here.

The front lines were under heavy pressure now. The Rock Ninjas were steadily advancing, and Leaf was fighting a difficult battle. Every bit of strength was precious.

In the afternoon, an order came down from headquarters: a portion of the Medical Ninjas were actually being pulled to the front lines to fight.

The words "Medical Ninja" and "combat" placed together felt so out of place.

Uchiha Kin's medical squad naturally became busy.

"Captain, have all the Medical Ninjas gone to the front? Will it be our turn next?" Jasmine asked with some worry.

Golden Chrysanthemum sighed. "I never imagined the situation would become this dire."

Uchiha Kin gave a noncommittal "Mm" and reassured them, "Don't worry. Unless it's the very last moment, no one will send us to the front lines." On this point, Uchiha Kin was very confident—his Nerve Secret Technique was the guarantee.

And the commander currently at the front lines was an even greater "guarantee." No one understood the value of a Medical Ninja like him better than Orochimaru!

Everyone in this world had a price. Whether one became cannon fodder or was treasured essentially depended on one's own ability.

"Ting." The tweezers pulled out a shuriken and dropped it into the tray, then another shuriken...

In just a short while, Uchiha Kin had removed over twenty shuriken from this wounded soldier.

Then Jasmine and Golden Chrysanthemum applied medicine and bandaged the wound.

Medical Ninjutsu?

Because of the shortage of personnel, they no longer used Medical Ninjutsu now. They used medicine to stop bleeding, and recovery relied entirely on natural healing.

The number of Medical Ninjas had decreased, but the number of wounded had increased dramatically, forcing them to abandon using Medical Ninjutsu on patients whose lives were not in danger, conserving chakra as much as possible to be able to treat the severely injured.

And outside the medical tent, wounded lay out in the open, the injured covering the ground...

Uchiha Kin left the tent and walked among the wounded. When he encountered some missing arms or legs, he would offer a few words of comfort: "Don't be sad. We're too busy right now. When the war is over, I'll help you repair your limbs... Of course, you'll need to provide the materials yourselves, and you'll have to pay the medical fees yourselves."

"Lord Kin, thank you so much." "Lord Kin." These cost-free promises moved a group of ninjas to tears.