The Cost Was Too High

Pashira set down his pen and looked at the boy before him with a complicated expression.

No matter how much he hated the boy, he couldn't deny that he was right. Kumogakure had to save these ninjas, whatever it took.

They were the village's present and future.

Even if the odds were slim, he had to save as many of them as he could.

He had considered breaking through the encirclement, but how many of them could manage it?

He looked up at the surviving Cloud Ninja, panting as they stood back-to-back, Kunai in hand, warily watching the Sunagakure Shinobi eyeing them like prey. But no matter how fierce their gazes, they couldn't hide their weakness.

Even if they broke through the encirclement in this state, how far could they get through enemy territory?

But if they surrendered, would the other side turn on them?

Even if they didn't, could this boy handle the Sunagakure Elder Council?

After all, Sunagakure's conservatism was as notorious as that of the Blood Mist Village.

But his instincts told him the boy before him could handle anything, just as he had handled Pashira's elite unit.

It was ridiculous for a ninja to entrust everything to instinct.

A defeated commander had plenty to think about, but few options. All he could do was choose to trust.

"I'll go tell them to lay down their weapons."

The words seemed to take every last bit of strength from the powerful ninja. Even his proud head bowed slightly.

"Go ahead."

Hoshino Maki clasped his hands behind his back and gestured for him to proceed, watching as Pashira calmly walked over to the Cloud Ninja who were still resisting.

"Lord Hoshino, should we tighten the perimeter?"

The people beside him were wary of the enemy's possible last-ditch counterattack.

"No. Bring over the Medical Corps and get ready to treat the wounded."

"Yes!"

The Jonin around him nodded respectfully. That hadn't been the case before.

Their earlier respect had mostly come from Hoshino Maki's status as a Medical Ninja—the ninjas' lifeline. His position as commander had also kept the Reinforcement Unit from acting out in front of him, but they had still thought of him as a support ninja.

In other words, he wasn't Rasa or Pakura. He couldn't decide the course of a battle.

But no one would underestimate this Medical Ninja now—or, rather, this puppeteer skilled in medicine.

That combination carried special significance in Sunagakure.

And since he had come from Sunagakure Hospital, everyone had already associated him with Chiyo, whether Hoshino Maki said anything or not.

Pashira's efforts to persuade his men to surrender didn't go smoothly, but in the end, they accepted the irreversible reality. With bleak expressions, they despairingly dropped their Kunai and let the Sunagakure Shinobi seal their Chakra.

Hoshino Maki wasn't satisfied and went around reinforcing the seals himself. They were to be sent back to the village, after all. If anything went wrong along the way and they caused trouble inside the Land of Wind, it would be a major headache.

"What's... your name?"

Hoshino Maki looked at the golden-haired girl before him, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

The girl simply turned her head away, clearly not interested in speaking to him.

"Hey! Can't you hear Lord Hoshino asking you a question?!"

The Jonin protecting Hoshino Maki saw this and was about to teach the insolent little girl a lesson, to make sure she understood her current situation.

Hoshino Maki raised a hand to stop him.

"Samui."

The girl's head whipped around. Her eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.

"How do you know my name?"

Hearing Hoshino Maki speak her thoughts aloud, the girl was so startled that she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to empty her mind, thinking of nothing at all.

Hoshino Maki said, "Don't worry. I can't use Mind Reading."

When she still acted as if she wasn't listening, Hoshino Maki smiled without a word and waved for someone to take her away.

Young Samui didn't have the cool beauty she'd grow into. She was rather cute instead.

After Hoshino Maki finished reinforcing the seals, Kojima came over to him.

"How many casualties?"

Hoshino Maki spoke first.

"Eighty-five dead and 231 wounded. The Medical Ninjas have already saved the wounded."

Hoshino Maki fell silent for a moment.

He hadn't expected the casualties to be so high, even after a barrage of Explosive Tags.

Without the Medical Ninjas, how many of those 231 would have survived?

Even telling himself that the enemy's Jonin were exceptionally capable didn't make it any easier to accept.

Just moments ago, he'd seen a corpse. It belonged to a Genin who'd sat by the campfire and listened to his story. Hoshino Maki remembered that he was only twelve.

Now his life had been frozen at twelve forever.

"Any good news?"

Hoshino Maki felt inexplicably irritated that things had gone beyond his expectations, and his tone came out sharp.

Kojima didn't take offense. He knew what it felt like to see the corpses of so many comrades on a battlefield. Hoshino Maki hadn't been on the border for long, and the area had been peaceful during that time. He'd never seen a scene of carnage like this. The fact that he could still keep his composure after seeing it for the first time was impressive enough.

"We made a huge haul. We captured 71 people: 43 Jonin and 28 Chunin. We killed 189: 21 Jonin and 168 Chunin."

Kojima's voice rose with excitement.

He could swear this was Sunagakure's greatest victory in a head-on battle against one of the Four Great Ninja Villages in the past decade.

Especially considering that the enemy was an elite unit made up entirely of Jonin and Chunin, while their own force was just an ordinary unit with only 30 Jonin. The huge disparity made this battle all the more impressive.

According to Sunagakure's intelligence, Kumogakure had around 300 Jonin.

After accounting for those protecting important figures like the daimyo, maintaining order in various regions, guarding the village, and serving in the Anbu, only about 120 to 150 could be deployed at any given time.

That was under ideal circumstances. In reality, the Jonin also had to take missions and train students, and many belonged to their own clans rather than serving the Raikage. So unless the village's survival was at stake, they wouldn't all be sent out.

Even though Sunagakure's intelligence network had been paralyzed for a while after the Kazekage went missing, the estimate couldn't be too far off. It took years to train a Jonin, after all.

If Hoshino Maki had really steeled himself to kill these people, Kumogakure would have been set back ten years at the very least!

In fact, Kojima was already wondering whether they should erect a monument in front of this forest to commemorate Sunagakure's great victory.

What?

You say this is the Land of Rain's territory? Who cares? (A bear shrugs.)

Go ask that old Hanzo if he even dares leave Amegakure now.

Hoshino Maki nodded. "Treat Kumogakure's wounded."

"Lord Hoshino?!"

Kojima had trouble understanding. This was wartime—why would anyone help the enemy? But before he could say so, Hoshino Maki continued:

"Remember to charge them for the medicine. Hmm, one million ryo for each Chunin and five million for each Jonin. We'll take a bit of a loss, but what can you do? Our two villages are friendly, mutually supportive partners."

Hoshino Maki waved his hand grandly, looking as if he'd suffered a tremendous loss.

"Would Kumogakure agree to that?!"

Kojima regretted not understanding earlier. Lord Hoshino was just crazy about money.