"Not too bad."
Namikawa Yū spoke softly. "Getting injured at a time like this might actually be a good thing."
"Yeah. At least I don't have to go back to the battlefield."
Kakashi gazed into the distance, his eyes unfocused. There was no telling what he was thinking.
"The war should be ending soon, right?"
Namikawa Yū thought for a moment before saying, "I heard Kumogakure is already preparing to withdraw its troops."
Quite a few major events had taken place recently.
On the front against the Land of Lightning, Namikaze Minato had displayed his tremendous prowess, fighting the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Third Raikage's son alone and ultimately forcing them back.
After this battle, Namikaze Minato rose to fame. The name Yellow Flash resounded far and wide, firmly laying the foundation for his eventual candidacy for Fourth Hokage.
Seeing that it could gain no advantage, Kumogakure changed course and ultimately chose to reach a temporary agreement with Konoha, joining the war against Iwagakure.
Of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the Sand Village had withdrawn and Kumogakure had switched sides. The pressure Konoha faced had now diminished greatly.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that this Shinobi World War had entered its final stages. Barring any surprises, it would soon end.
Unfortunately, even if the war ended, those who had passed away would never return.
At that thought, Kakashi fell silent.
While they were silent, footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
Namikawa Yū and Kakashi turned at the same time, looking toward the footsteps.
A girl was walking toward them, holding a bunch of flowers.
It was Kurenai Yuhi, making her way toward Namikawa Yū's room.
"Yū, you can already move around on your own?"
Looking at Namikawa Yū before her, Kurenai Yuhi could not help looking delighted.
"Yeah. It still hurts a lot, but I can just about move around freely."
Namikawa Yū smiled. "What brings you here, Miss Kurenai?"
"You don't get to come back often. Aren't you going to take this chance to get some proper rest?"
"My mission is over."
Kurenai Yuhi smiled. "I'm free to do what I want for a while."
Without a mission tying her down, she looked much more relaxed.
"How is Fu doing?"
Namikawa Yū asked.
Of the three who had gone on the mission together, Hyuga Fu had actually been the most seriously injured.
After all, he really had come close to having his heart pierced.
Fortunately, Namikawa Yū had treated him in time and saved his life.
"Fu has woken up."
Kurenai Yuhi said, "Before I came here, he even wanted to come over and thank you."
"If you hadn't been there this time, Yū, he really would have been in danger."
"It's nothing like that."
Namikawa Yū smiled. "We're teammates. Helping each other is what we should do."
"I believe that if I were the one injured someday, you'd risk your lives to save me too."
At his words, Kurenai Yuhi paused, then nodded. "Of course."
"We're comrades, after all."
"Comrades, huh?"
Listening to the two of them, Kakashi let out a soft sigh beside them.
He, too, had once had comrades he could entrust his life to.
Unfortunately, with the outbreak of war, those people had all ended up buried on the battlefield.
"Obito, Rin..."
As he recalled what his comrades had once looked like, his eyes grew distant, as though he were remembering everything from back then.
I'm... still alive.
Inside the Iwagakure camp, Shanming Changjin sat upright in his room, his eyes somewhat vacant.
After parting with Namikawa Yū that day, he had slipped all the way back to the Iwagakure camp.
As for how to avoid his comrades' suspicions, he had chosen an approach similar to Namikawa Yū's.
Self-inflicted injuries.
As a Jonin, he had ample experience in this area and easily fooled his comrades.
The others had not been particularly suspicious of him either.
After all, he was a shinobi raised within Iwagakure, and a Jonin at that. His standing was high.
The methods used against spies would not readily be applied to him.
Even so, Shanming Changjin remained afraid, fearing that someone would discover some trace.
But the means Namikawa Yū had used on him were clearly different from ordinary methods.
He had already spent quite some time in the camp, yet even now, no one had noticed anything unusual.
This allowed Shanming Changjin to breathe a sigh of relief.
Still, there had been changes.
Changes to his body, for instance.
"My chakra has increased, and my body's ability to heal has grown stronger too..."
At the head of the bed, he raised his head and looked at his arm, his eyes thoughtful. "Just what is this power...?"
To him, the power of Karma was far beyond the norm. Even the slight changes to his body left him marveling.
After all, things capable of increasing chakra were normally rare and presumably extremely precious, yet one had now been used on him.
Shanming Changjin knew that the other man must have made arrangements within it. If he dared to betray him, he would immediately suffer retaliation.
But he no longer cared about any of that.
"Whether I'm an Iwagakure shinobi or a spy, I have to keep living..."
He drew a deep breath as all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.
Just then, a noise came from outside.
Someone had brought the latest orders, instructing them to head to another battlefield to fight Kumogakure.
Shanming Changjin took a deep breath, then rose and left.
Meanwhile, after some time had passed, Namikawa Yū's body gradually recovered.
His injuries were too severe. Even with the aid of Medical Ninjutsu, healing completely would take a great deal of time.
But simply regaining his mobility was not nearly as troublesome.
After resting for a few days, Namikawa Yū soon threw himself back into work.
Murakami Se and the others all urged him to rest a while longer, but Namikawa Yū paid them no heed and insisted on returning to work.
Faced with this, Murakami Se and the others could only sigh, moved by his dedication.
In reality, however, Namikawa Yū merely wanted to collect more chakra.
At this stage, there were not many places where he could reasonably obtain chakra reserves. Since he had an opportunity now, he naturally could not let it pass.
Besides healing the wounded, he did not neglect Kakashi or Kurenai Yuhi either. He visited them often, deepening their friendship while earning another round of points.
Since there was nothing particularly stimulating, the number of points he gained was not large, but it was still quite good compared to normal times.
That day, he entered Kakashi's quarters as usual, intending to bring him medicine.
A new figure appeared before him.
"You must be Yū?"
As Namikawa Yū entered the room, the person before him raised his head.
He was a young man with blond hair and a smile on his face. He gave off a warm, sunny impression and had a powerful air of approachability.