At the northern camp in the Land of Rain, inside the central command tent.
Konoha's elite jōnin sat around the table, each offering their opinions on the next stage of the strategy for the Amegakure front. For a time, the atmosphere was lively.
Uchiha Tarken passionately called for reinforcements, arguing that they should turn the tide quickly with a show of force;
Orochimaru, meanwhile, calmly weighed the pros and cons. The camp currently had no top-tier fighter who could face Salamander Hanzo head-on, he reasoned, and recommended a roundabout strategy to gradually wear down the enemy's forces.
They traded arguments back and forth, voices rising and falling as they racked their brains for a way to secure Konoha's victory in Amegakure.
Suddenly, the tent flap was thrown open, and Danzo strode inside. His gloomy expression and sharp gaze seemed to bring an invisible pressure with them, freezing the air in an instant.
The people who had been discussing the matter so animatedly fell silent as if someone had hit pause. All eyes turned to Danzo, and for a moment the tent was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The clan heads of the various shinobi clans, led by Uchiha Tarken, frowned slightly, displeased by Danzo's sudden intrusion;
Orochimaru and Jiraiya exchanged wary glances, wondering what had brought him here.
Danzo stood still, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone white. His gloomy gaze, cold as lightning on a winter night, fixed on the Konoha shinobi who had made their own battle plans without consulting him. His eyes brimmed with resentment and fury. His breathing grew heavy and quick, his nostrils flaring with every breath as he struggled to suppress his rising anger.
"What are you doing?! I'm the commander-in-chief of the Amegakure battlefield!"
"Does Lord Danzo not know? Lord Hokage sent new orders. The Sannin Orochimaru has temporarily taken over as commander-in-chief of the Amegakure battlefield, with the Sannin Jiraiya and me, Uchiha Tarken, assisting him. Assistant Danzo, all you need to do is take the wounded and the bodies of our fallen comrades back to Konoha."
Uchiha Tarken's tone was calm, though there was a hint of confusion beneath it. He couldn't tell whether Shimura Danzo really hadn't received the order or was just looking for trouble.
The other jōnin around them were equally unruffled. They saw nothing wrong with Uchiha Tarken's words; it was simply an ordinary fact.
Perhaps to anyone else, Uchiha Tarken's answer and the others' reaction seemed perfectly normal and reasonable. But when they reached Danzo's ears, they meant something else entirely...
Sure enough, when Danzo heard this, he froze for a moment, then burned with rage!
*Monkey using his title as Hokage to keep me in check is one thing, but now even the naturally evil Uchiha are joining in?! Those others are just clan heads from minor clans and commoners! How dare they?!
And Monkey even dares to put Uchiha in important positions? Has he forgotten Teacher Tobirama's earnest teachings? The Uchiha are a naturally evil clan!*
Watching the Konoha shinobi make their own decisions without consulting him—and seeing Uchiha Tarken address him with such contempt—made Danzo feel as if his authority had been trampled underfoot.
He had spent years carefully building his influence in Konoha and valued power as much as life itself. How could he tolerate being ignored like this?
The corner of his mouth twitched, veins bulging on his forehead. He looked like a cornered beast pushed to the brink.
A bunch of fools who don't know their place!
Shimura Danzo narrowed his left eye and cursed them bitterly in his heart.
His mind was a storm-tossed sea, waves crashing without end. In the past, for Sarutobi Hiruzen's so-called "Will of Fire," and to realize his own "ideals," he had been willing to become Sarutobi Hiruzen's fixer. Yet now these people dared to disregard him. How could he swallow such an insult?
He began plotting how to make those who had ignored him pay. A cruel glint flashed in his eyes. When the time came, he would show no mercy—he would leave them no chance to regret it! At the thought, a cold smile slowly spread across his gloomy face...
"Hmph. Once this business on the Amegakure battlefield is over, I'll make you understand who truly has everything under control." Danzo snorted, muttering in a voice as cold as if it had been forced through clenched teeth.
Meanwhile.
A petite, red-haired figure stepped out of a tent at Konoha's makeshift field hospital. It was Uzumaki Qi Luna, who had come along as a medical ninja with Uchiha Tarken, Uchiha Fugaku, and the others!
"Even though I've studied Medical Ninjutsu under Big Sister Tsunade and have the same constitution as Karin will in the future, I still can't heal other people's serious injuries as quickly as Big Sister Tsunade can~"
Qi Luna lamented how "weak" she was. Then, thinking back over the past few days—fighting Rain Ninja in the morning, treating the wounded in the afternoon, and working on new techniques in the evening—he felt a pang of sorrow over a life that wasn't hard so much as simply cursed...
"Killua, you worked hard again today. It's a good thing you were here. So many of our comrades wouldn't have held on until the next shipment of medicine reached the front. You saved their lives. If I get hurt, I'll be counting on you, too."
Qi Luna was about to head to the makeshift training ground to practice a new ninjutsu when he ran into Uchiha Fugaku, who had just returned from patrol.
Since they had come to the Amegakure battlefield together, and Qi Luna had treated members of his clan many times—and even saved plenty of Konoha shinobi, including Uchiha, on the battlefield—Fugaku had a very good impression of him.
After all, under Danzo's arrangements, Uchiha casualties always received treatment last. Qi Luna was different: he always treated the most severely wounded first, without regard to which clan they belonged to...
That had earned Qi Luna an excellent reputation around the camp, and an even better one among the Uchiha. So whenever they met, Fugaku couldn't help exchanging a few words with him or making a harmless little joke.
As for why Fugaku and the others called him Killua, that had to do with Konoha's current military strength being sufficient—and its decision not to send children to the battlefield!
To get around Konoha's policy against sending children into battle, Qi Luna had not only demonstrated all of his abilities to Uzumaki Mito and presented an entire set of ideas for a new Nintaijutsu suited to the Uzumaki Clan, but had even thrown himself into her arms, calling her "Grandma Mito" over and over as he wailed, fussed, and begged adorably. Only then had Uzumaki Mito agreed to ask Sarutobi Hiruzen to help him forge an identity, allowing him to join the Amegakure battlefield!
Maybe Kushina and Minato thought it was humiliating, but Qi Luna wanted to say:
"This isn't my embarrassing past. It's just the road that brought me here..."
Then Kushina beat him up...
Because among the three of them, Qi Luna was actually the youngest, nearly five months younger than Kushina!
As expected, the oppressive power of an older sister's bloodline was terrifying! Even now, Qi Luna still felt shaken by it.
Back to the matter at hand...
"You're too kind, Big Brother Fugaku. But if you need treatment, just leave it to me! Though with how strong you are, I doubt you'll get many chances to trouble me!"
Qi Luna smiled as he responded to Fugaku's praise and teasing.
Looking at the sky and the direction Qi Luna was headed, Fugaku seemed to realize what he was up to.
"You're going to practice ninjutsu, right? We've patrolled that area you usually go to, but still, be careful, Killua. Remember to come back early."
"Mm, it's not far from camp. I'll be careful. Thanks, Big Brother Fugaku."
With that, Qi Luna waved to Fugaku and hurried toward the makeshift training ground.
"What enviable talent..."
After several Uchiha waved goodbye to Qi Luna as well, Fugaku couldn't help murmuring a sigh.
"Tell me about it. At his age, I was probably still pulling weeds and catching cats in the village..."
"There's just one thing I don't understand, Captain. Why was Qi Lu—Killua so determined to come to the battlefield?"
"Watch what you say! Besides, geniuses have strange ideas. It's normal that you can't understand them. If you could, wouldn't you have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan by now?"
As they went on, several Uchiha shinobi argued among themselves, but none could convince the others. Fugaku finally had enough and spoke up to stop them.
"All right, everyone, keep your wits about you. Whatever his reasons, he's contributing to Konoha and to the home we all share. As long as he doesn't mean any harm, that's what matters. Besides, he's helped us a lot. So let's not talk about him so much."
Anyone with a little status or strength knew Qi Luna's true identity. They simply kept it to themselves and never said it aloud. As for why Qi Luna chose to do this...
All that could be said was that geniuses always had their own ideas, and, conveniently, they were always entitled to special treatment!
Before you continue