When Akaseki woke up, he was already back at the recovery station—this time, lying there as a wounded patient.
Feeling the pain in his shoulder, Akaseki's head was still a little groggy, but he knew what had happened before was no illusion.
"Hmm? You're awake?" Ranwu had just come in when she saw that Akaseki was awake.
"I'm... hiss..." Akaseki clutched his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You were only unconscious for twelve hours," Ranwu said.
After a moment of silence, Akaseki asked, "Zhenpan...?"
From Ranwu, Akaseki also learned the outcome of the previous battle—1:3.
Sunagakure's carefully planned ambush, devised after obtaining intelligence from an inside source and concealing a deeper plot, had ended in failure. Not only had it failed to achieve its intended results, it had even...
In the end, Konoha had lost one Chunin.
The Sand Ninja had lost two Chunin and one Jonin—Hudaici truly had been a Jonin, and Minato had indeed kept him there.
Even Ebizo, famed for his sensory abilities, had lost an eye, greatly diminishing his strength.
Nothing better fit the saying, "trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it."
Yet despite winning a great victory, Akaseki could not bring himself to feel happy...
March 30, Konoha Year 37.
After Akaseki had mostly recovered from the poison, he received his official transfer orders. Today, he had just returned to Konoha—as previously expected, all six members of the Akaseki Squad had returned to Konoha.
Although the six had been stationed at the medical station, Konoha had heavily publicized their achievements over the past month—after all, they were meant to serve as role models for "young Chunin."
Especially the battle in which they foiled Sunagakure's plot, which had been extensively praised.
However, after returning this time, Akaseki did not first wander