You Asked for It

After Jiraiya and the other high-ranking officials returned to the Konoha Camp, Taiichi's pressure was greatly reduced. At least he no longer had to be a 24-hour human radar in the middle of the Camp.

As for the front lines, a large number of ninjas were still pursuing Sunagakure. This process would take at least three days before the ninjas on the front lines were satisfied. Fortunately, the command had made arrangements for this before the battle, instructing that if the battle was won, the pursuit could only end at the border of the Land of Wind; otherwise, the pursuit might turn into an ambush.

Taiichi, who had finally found some free time, was about to do something he wanted to do when he remembered that there was a lovable character lying in a hospital bed at the Medical Camp. Judging by the time, he should have woken up by now, and it was time for Taiichi to go and see how he got himself into that state.

Taiichi leisurely arrived at the Medical Camp. His mindset was different from most of the people in the Camp. He was quite relaxed because the responsibility on his shoulders had suddenly become much lighter. Now he only needed to complete the tasks of the Medical Camp, and he didn't need to worry about anything else.

Before even entering the recuperation tent, Taiichi heard Obito's slightly weak voice coming from inside, "Rin, don't worry, I'm perfectly fine. People say that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune, maybe I'll soon be able to upgrade my Two-Tomoe Sharingan."

Taiichi pursed his lips, lifted the tent flap, and went inside. Looking at Obito, who was still restless on the bed, he couldn't help but scare him, saying, "I don't know if you can advance to the Two-Tomoe, but I do know that you'll never be a ninja again."

The tent fell silent as everyone turned to look at Taiichi as he entered. Kakashi and Rin were utterly astonished; they hadn't heard Taiichi mention during his treatment that Obito's injuries were this severe. How could it be that after only one night, Obito could no longer be a ninja?

Yohei and Saori, however, understood Taiichi better. Judging from his gloomy face, they knew that he was probably just trying to scare Obito have offended Taiichi with his words just now. If it were really as Taiichi said, he would probably just put on a forced smile and try to comfort Obito.

"No—no way, Taiichi —you're not lying to me!" Obito's face turned deathly pale instantly. He felt dizzy and his vision blurred. His body, which had been half-sitting, went limp, and he suddenly lost all his strength, as if he was really going to die.

Sensing the changes in himself, Obito even more panicked and began to believe Taiichi's words to some extent. His voice was trembling with tears as he cried out, "Taiichi, you—you must save me! I—I still want to be Hokage! I can't give up being a ninja!"

Goodness, what can I say about you? Disabled but determined? Even in this state, you still want to become Hokage? Taiichi has to admire your thought process!

Lin, standing to the side, was so anxious she was almost in tears. Her eyes filled with hope as she asked, "Taiichi, is there really no way?"

Taiichi was speechless. This silly girl, you yourself have studied Medical Ninjutsu, didn't you check on Obito's condition before?

Saori couldn't stand it anymore and pulled Taichi Taiichi, laughing as she said, "Taiichi, don't scare Obito! Look how scared he is, his face is all pale!"

Obito's eyes lit up at first, but then dimmed again. He said listlessly, "Saori- nee, don't try to comfort me. I can feel it too. I have absolutely no strength left. I'm definitely not going to make it."

As he spoke, tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks. He didn't wipe them away, just stared blankly upwards, muttering repeatedly, "I can't take it anymore—"

This really made Saori's face darken. This idiot, after losing so much blood and having just undergone surgery, it's normal for her to be weak. You just went through all that trouble, and you're already in a good state now.

However, with Saori's reminder, Rin and Kakashi also realized what was going on. They weren't like Obito, that idiot, and naturally understood everything.

Taiichi originally wanted to scare him a little more, to teach him a lesson so he would behave himself on the battlefield; otherwise, this time it was a chest piercing, next time it would be a brain piercing.

Before he could say anything more, Kakashi slapped him across the face. "Idiot! You can't even tell your own body's condition from your own. You want to Hokage? Dream on!"

Kakashi's slap was quite forceful, leaving a clear handprint on Obito's face. But it was this slap that finally opened Obito's mind.

Considering everything that had just happened, he stared at Taiichi in disbelief. "Am I really alright?"

"Ha~ha~ha~" A series of bursts of laughter came from the other beds. There was more than a dozen patients here, Obito.

Life at the Camp was already quite dull, but I never expected to encounter something so interesting here. It was definitely worth the trip!

Hearing the laughter, Obito finally realized he had been tricked. His pale face immediately turned red, whether from embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell.

Taiichi ignored all of that, took a few steps forward, pulled Obito the blanket, disregarded Obito's weak resistance, lifted his clothes, checked the condition of the wound on his chest, then gathered Chakra Perception his whole body. After confirming that everything was normal, he sat down by the bedside.

With hands Hand Seals, he slapped his hand towards the edge of the bed, and a simple Soundproof Barrier was created.

"Tell me, what happened? How did Obito get injured like this? He almost didn't make it back!"

The group fell silent immediately. Taiichi didn't urge them, but simply sat quietly, waiting for their answers. It wasn't that Taiichi was deliberately exposing their shortcomings, but rather that it was necessary. Only by fully recognizing their mistakes could they avoid repeating them in the same way next time.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with saying it. It's also our fault for not being strong enough and not following your instructions, which is why Obito was seriously injured." Yohei sighed, but finally said it.

"You split up?" This was the only question Taiichi could think of. He had indeed instructed them before the battle to maintain formation and never act alone, but he hadn't expected them to fail to follow through.

He didn't even consider who broke the rules first, and how long the battle had lasted before he abandoned his team and went off to fight the Tailed Beast alone.

"It can't be called a split operation!" Yohei then recounted what happened after Taiichi left the team.

They did indeed follow Taiichi's instructions, forming a formation to fight in the chaotic battle. Although the pressure was immense at the beginning, they only suffered minor injuries.

In such a large and chaotic battlefield, minor injuries are inevitable; these are normal occurrences. This is how Yohei, Saori, Kakashi, and Rin sustained their injuries.

However, once the main battlefield was won, the Sunagakure retreated, and the Konoha Ninja pursued them, this formation became inconvenient, as it severely hampered their pursuit efficiency.

Seeing that one ninja was chasing after two or three Sunagakure Ninja, Obito was the first to feel envious and the first to suggest disbanding the formation.

At first, Yohei did not agree, but he couldn't resist the fact that all the Konoha Ninja around him were saying the same thing, and later even Kakashi started to persuade him. Yohei himself was itching to do it, so he went along with it and agreed.

You have to admit, formations are indeed useful. They allow team members to complement each other's abilities while also enabling each member to defend against the weaknesses of others.

In the previous intense frontal battles, countless attacks from concealed positions were blocked by other members of the formation, allowing each person to focus on dealing with attacks from only one side.

Unexpectedly, just after they separated and before the battle had even begun, Obito was Chunin two Chunin. Each of them might not be stronger than him individually, but they were a team of two, one restraining and the other attacking. In just a few moves, Obito was pierced through.

If it weren't for the arrival of Yohei and the others, Obito could have been directly placed on the Memorial Stone with just one more blow.

After hearing all this, what could Taiichi say? He could only say, "No zuo no die."

The Konoha ninja, who should have formed a solid formation, scattered in order to improve the efficiency of their pursuit. The Sunagakure Ninja, who should have fled in all directions, formed two-person teams instead. As a result, the Konoha Ninja who were pursuing them were counter-killed by the slightly weaker Sunagakure Ninja.

This is undeniably ironic, and it's no wonder that Yohei and the others looked ashamed to talk about it when they returned; it was indeed quite embarrassing.

"War is different from our usual squad missions. Moreover, even in regular missions, teamwork among squad members is crucial, and this is even more true on the battlefield." Taiichi spoke earnestly, hoping that everyone could learn enough lessons from this incident.

"There are too many unexpected events on the battlefield: unknown enemies, bizarre Ninjutsu, attacks flying everywhere—these are all things we cannot predict. And one person's attention is limited, which is why we need to form formations and seek help from our comrades. Only in this way can we have a greater chance of surviving on the dangerous battlefield!"

Taiichi's heart is definitely for the good of his companions, and anyone can feel that. But there are some reckless guys who just can't keep their mouths shut. They can't stand not to say something sarcastic.

"You make it sound so nice, but you rushed out all by yourself."

Although it was a quiet murmur, everyone here was incredibly sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, so naturally they all heard it.

Yohei and Kakashi twitched their lips, but still gave Taiichi face and swallowed back the laughter that was about to come out.

Rin held Taiichi in high esteem; she had even learned her Medical Ninjutsu from Taiichi. She simply looked at Obito with a worried expression.

Saori was different. She was a girl and one of Taiichi's earliest teammates, so she didn't have as many reservations. Although she restrained herself a bit, she was still covering her mouth and laughing.

"Heh~heh~heh~" The suppressed laughter was particularly noticeable at this moment, but Saori didn't seem to be holding back at all.

Taiichi's forehead veins throbbed as he looked at Obito lying on the bed, seemingly lifeless. He forced a smile, patted Obito's arm, and a flash of green light appeared in his hand.

"Yohei, it seems Obito hasn't trained enough. Two Chunin took him down. We'll have to increase the intensity of his training once he recovers."

Yohei glanced at Obito with some sympathy. This idiot, of all people to mess with, he had to provoke Taiichi. This guy can be quite petty at times. Just now, that fleeting green light on his hand was clearly not a good thing.

"Taiichi, they say it takes a hundred days to Obito from a broken bone. Obito has so many broken bones. Even with Medical Ninjutsu, it will take a long time for him to fully recover, right?"

Yohei was still pleading for Obito, but Obito clearly didn't understand his good intentions and continued down his path of self-destruction. "Cousin Yohei, don't worry, I'll get better soon."

"Don't worry, Obito will recover quickly. I just stimulated his bone cells, which will double his recovery speed." Taiichi calmly said to everyone, "It's just... it might be a little itchy."

He then turned to look at Obito on the bed, a smile spreading across his face. "Obito, I believe you can overcome this little difficulty, right?"

"No-no problem!" Looking at Taiichi's smiling face, Obito a chill run from his tailbone to the top of his head for some reason, but he still forced himself to nod and agree.

Taiichi stood up, straightened his wrinkled clothes, and said calmly to everyone, "I'll go take care of my work now. Don't stay here too long, it will affect the other wounded soldiers' recovery."

He casually dispelled the Barrier and slowly walked out of the tent.

After watching Taiichi leave the tent, everyone turned their attention back to Obito, who was still lying on the bed, with expressions of sympathy. This guy still hadn't realized the seriousness of the problem; what a pitiful child.

Obito, he was just a little slow to react, not really stupid. He noticed that everyone's eyes were strange and had a bad feeling, but before he could speak, he felt a faint itching sensation at the broken bone in his chest.

The sensation came from deep within my bones; it wasn't intense, but it was impossible to ignore. I reached out and scratched it, but it didn't relieve the itch at all.

"Rin, Taiichi is right, I really am starting to itch. Is there any way to stop the itch? It's so uncomfortable!" Obito twisted his body and looked at Rin for help.

"This is a necessary part of the body's nerve reconstruction process. It's just that because the recovery speed is faster, the itching will also increase exponentially. You—" Rin looked at Obito with some pity, "You can only bear it for a while. It won't be itchy for long!"

Obito hearing this, Obito immediately understood. He cursed himself for his sharp tongue while staring blankly at the top of the tent, silently enduring the increasingly intense itching sensation.

As time went by, the battles on the front lines gradually subsided. Within the Land of Land of Rivers, all the Sunagakure Ninja who could be found were eliminated.

From the battlefield to this area in the Land of Wind, Konoha ninjas can still be frequently seen moving about. They were all ninjas who were specially assigned to clean up the battlefield later on.

On the Sunagakure side, they also wisely withdrew their forces and held their ground at the border of the Land of Wind, without sending any more people into the Land of Rivers. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but Sunagakure simply couldn't spare any more troops at the moment.

The border with Iwagakure needs ninjas to be stationed there. Although there was a truce on the surface, no one can guarantee that Iwagakure will not take advantage of Sunagakure's weakness to kick them while they are down.

The eastern coastal area also needs ninjas stationed there, as it is frequently harassed by Mist Ninja. The conflict between Sunagakure and Mist Village has a long history, so another "heroic ninja" from Sunagakure Pakura, Scorch Release, is also stationed there year-round.