The War Never Stopped

Life, plain and routine, flowed by like a gentle stream.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye.

Akashi and Anko had grown increasingly in sync, their coordination in both experiments and combat improving by leaps and bounds.

Outside of work, the two would occasionally visit a shop for dango and red bean soup.

"Eating sweets really is a happy thing."

Anko sighed with satisfaction, her mouth stuffed with four dumplings, cheeks bulging. Since Akashi was paying today, she certainly wasn't going to miss the opportunity.

A clear, sunny day paired with good food—it couldn't be more comfortable.

Akashi weighed his wallet in his hand repeatedly, his heart aching: "Could you show a little mercy for my savings? How many bowls is this now?"

"I know you have plenty of funds!"

"That's public money, meant for investing in materials and tools. You should really take on a few missions; that would be enough for your daily expenses."

Anko slurped up the last drop and smiled contentedly: "Isn't it better to eat for free by following a senior?"

Akashi feigned anger and tapped her forehead: "Mooching off me and still acting so righteous."

"Stingy," Anko muttered, looking toward the street, "By the way, what has Orochimaru-sensei been busy with lately?"

"It seems there's trouble at the border again."

Akashi had heard a bit of wind of it.

The Third Hokage had been holding frequent meetings recently and had revealed a portion of the situation. He heard that while the fighting at the front had slowed, casualties at the border were heavy, and the Land of Wind, which had already ceased hostilities, was stirring again, pulling strings in the shadows.

It hadn't been many years since the battle between Sunagakure and Konoha at Mount Kikyo, so large-scale conflict shouldn't be imminent.

The dark clouds of the Third Shinobi World War had yet to dissipate, and localized friction was becoming the norm.

In this day and age, while there were no chaotic clan wars like in the Warring States period, the major battles led by nations were far more lethal.

Fortunately, no one was using Tailed Beast weapons.

For one, the controllability of Tailed Beasts was not high; even with a perfect jinchuriki, they could not be trusted one hundred percent. For another, using Tailed Beasts would push conventional combat into an irreversible stage, at which point it would likely become a fight to the death.

After careful consideration, the Five Great Nations had tacitly restrained the use of Tailed Beasts.

Several wars had failed to fundamentally alleviate the contradictions of resources, land, and population; instead, they had made the tilt in national power more obvious, widening the gap.

When productivity is insufficient to resolve the contradictions of population and resources, either plague or war is bound to follow.

The Third Shinobi World War had thus continued to this day.

Akashi already knew the outcome, but he wasn't sure if his arrival would influence the situation. If he changed certain things, the butterfly effect that might follow remained unknown.

The street suddenly became lively.

Noisy voices gathered together, and many people began running toward the roadside.

Anko stood up abruptly, whispering in surprise: "Hey, are those... wounded? There are so many!"

"Hm?"

Akashi, who had been drinking his sweet soup with his back to the street, couldn't help but turn around at Anko's exclamation.

A large group of wounded soldiers was walking down the street.

Some were missing arms or legs, while others lay motionless, looking as if they might breathe their last at any moment. Under the escort of the troops, they were successfully returning to Konoha.

A few ninjas were whispering on the side of the road.

"Is that the jonin Fukada Erika?"

"It is. She's incredible. Her taijutsu and Water Release are top-tier. I've sparred with her and was defeated in less than a minute."

One of them said mysteriously: "Her experience is also very seasoned. She has served in the Konoha Hospital, the Torture and Interrogation Force, and the Academy. She's even been a private tutor and has never failed an infiltration mission."

"I also know that..." The voice gradually faded.

Looking over, there was indeed a curvaceous female ninja limping at the front.

The main force moved slowly toward the Konoha Hospital.

Thanks to Tsunade expanding and reforming the medical department before she left, Konoha's medical capabilities stood at the forefront of the five great ninja villages, with even greater potential for the future.

The famous theoretical system for medical ninjas was also perfected by Tsunade.

It could be said that based on this alone, her contributions were already monumental.

After Tsunade left, it was difficult for Konoha to find a medical ninja as powerful as her. The jonin currently in charge of the medical department had a significant gap in both theory and practice compared to Tsunade.

Medical ninjutsu was indeed very useful.

Many of Orochimaru's current research projects had reached a bottleneck, and the loss of experimental materials was staggering. If the utilization rate of living subjects could not be increased, it would become a very troublesome matter.

That was why he took the risk of kidnapping ninjas from within the village.

The reason Kabuto was valued by Orochimaru, besides his excellent intelligence-gathering ability, was his mastery of outstanding medical ninjutsu.

Akashi, however, could not learn it.

The reason was simple: he lacked Yang-style chakra.

As a member of the Uchiha clan, his current chakra affinities were [Yin], [Fire], [Lightning], [Wind], and [Earth]. Among them, his Fire Release was the most developed, followed by Wind Release, while he had yet to touch upon Lightning or Earth Release.

Medical ninjutsu placed extremely high demands on chakra volume and control techniques, and it also required the Yang affinity to function.

This high threshold restricted a portion of ninjas, and coupled with the inherent difficulty of medical ninjutsu itself, it required professional training and a vast amount of practice to master decent skills; thus, medical ninjas were a rare resource in every nation.

They were an undeniable force during wartime, and in many instances, there were orders strictly forbidding the killing of medical ninjas.

Since he could not learn it himself, perhaps he could...

A name flooded into his mind: Hyuga Shingetsu. With the Byakugan, wasn't she a natural-born talent for becoming a medical ninja?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but reveal a smile.

Passersby stepped aside for the wounded, some spontaneously clapping to welcome the heroes' return.

The group of figures gradually walked into the distance.

"As expected of a Jonin," Akashi suddenly remarked with emotion.

"What is it?"

"Didn't you notice? There isn't an ounce of excess fat on her legs."

Anko was choked with anger: "Where are you looking!"

Akashi straightened his expression: "Science, of course. Do you know which major muscles make up the human thigh and calf? Or how many ligaments are in the knee joint?"

"I don't know! And I don't want to know!"

Anko spat, cursing him as a pervert in her heart.

At this moment, Akashi picked up his porcelain bowl and smiled with some excitement. Perhaps it was due to following Orochimaru, but now, whenever he saw such a tight and beautifully curved body, he wanted to conduct some research.

Seeing Akashi staring into the distance, Anko muttered to herself, wondering if that kind of figure was really what attracted him. But... wasn't it also too big?

She gestured at her own chest and pouted.

She felt a bit of jealousy and resentment.

"Hmph, I need to eat more!" Anko raised her hand, "Boss, four more servings!"

"You're still eating? Aren't you afraid of getting fat?" Akashi was slightly surprised.

"Eating more is how you grow!" Anko bared her fangs, looking as if it were none of his business.

"But you're spending my money..."

Akashi felt a pang of heartache for his wallet and sighed in a low voice, "I'll have to embezzle public funds to cover the deficit again. Using Konoha's money to treat others—how am I supposed to live with my conscience?"

Regardless, he couldn't afford to lose out.