"It looks like that must be Karin's mother, but where is Karin?" Hyuga Gen watched the wounded coming and going, lost in thought. He hadn't seen Karin anywhere in the entire camp.
But that was probably for the best. It meant Karin hadn't been harmed yet, which made Hyuga Gen happy.
In Shippuden, after Karin's mother died, the Grass Ninja made Karin take her mother's place, turning her into a new "human-shaped medical pack."
Just after dawn, the Rain Ninja went to war with the Grass Ninja. Naturally, Hyuga Gen was delighted to see it. The fiercer the fighting, the more likely Karin and her mother were to show up on the battlefield.
The fighting had been fierce all morning. Hyuga Gen could see that the Rain Ninja were attacking ruthlessly, pushing forward as if they weren't afraid to die. The Grass Ninja, meanwhile, were steadily driven back, and their casualties kept mounting.
Watching this, Hyuga Gen couldn't help growing anxious. He still hadn't seen any reinforcements for the Grass Ninja. If the Rain Ninja wiped them all out, that wouldn't be good for him either.
"Could it be they didn't call for help this time?" Hyuga Gen furrowed his brow. From what he knew of the Grass Ninja in Shippuden and how dependent they were on Karin and her mother, those "human-shaped medical packs," there was no way they wouldn't call for help.
Just then, Hyuga Gen spotted a group of people rushing toward the Grass Ninja's rear. Seeing them, he relaxed his brow.
That's right. The Grass Ninja reinforcements had arrived.
Hyuga Gen knew that the person he was looking for should be among them, but he didn't observe them closely. Instead, he focused his attention on the battlefield.
The Rain Ninja and Grass Ninja were locked in a fierce battle, and Hyuga Gen was worried the Grass Ninja on the battlefield might suddenly break before their reinforcements arrived and be wiped out by the Land of Rain's shinobi. After all, the reinforcements from Kusagakure were still some distance away.
The Grass Ninja were surprisingly resilient and tenacious. Although they were currently at a disadvantage in overall strength, they were still fighting with all their might. With that kind of grit, they should be able to hold out until the reinforcements arrive, Hyuga Gen thought.
Watching the Grass Ninja skillfully use ninjutsu from various nations, Hyuga Gen couldn't help admiring their ability to learn. Copying other people's techniques might be shameless, but if it made them stronger, what was wrong with being a little thick-skinned and shameless?
"What a hardworking bunch!" As Hyuga Gen sighed, another Grass Ninja fell.
"Captain, our casualties are mounting. The guys can barely hold on. Shouldn't we just retreat?" one Grass Ninja said.
"No! If we retreat, they'll come after us, and we'll only suffer more casualties. Brothers! Hold on a little longer. Our reinforcements are almost here!" With that, he charged out first and unleashed a Great Fireball Technique.
It was a stylish move, but it didn't do much. The Rain Ninja blocked it with Water Release Ninjutsu, and while he was distracted, a Kunai pierced his shoulder. If you weren't strong enough, you really shouldn't charge into a group battle alone.
"Haha! I told you last night was just a fluke. They're no match for us! Brothers, follow me! Kill them all and avenge our fallen comrades!" Seeing the opposing leader wounded, a Rain Ninja shouted.
At his command, more than a dozen Rain Ninja charged forward, ready to wipe out the battered Grass Ninja.
Just then, the Grass Ninja reinforcements finally arrived, dealing a crushing blow to the Rain Ninja, who had thought victory was within reach. The Rain Ninja went from advancing to retreating, and soon routed in a disastrous defeat.
Once the Rain Ninja had fled, the Grass Ninja didn't pursue them. Instead, they carried their wounded back to camp and began to recover.
They weren't foolish; they understood the principle of not pursuing a cornered enemy. Their decision was clearly the right one, because reinforcements from the Land of Rain had also reached their camp—just a little later.
The battlefield fell quiet, and the shinobi from both nations rested. It was as if they'd agreed beforehand to stop fighting. Hyuga Gen knew this was merely the calm before the storm.
Of course, Hyuga Gen didn't care about that. He was intently watching where the Grass Ninja took their wounded. Before long, he figured it out—and that led to what had happened earlier.
When he saw a Grass Ninja bite the woman, Hyuga Gen was certain she was Karin's mother. There was no need to watch any longer.
"How should I get in there?" Hyuga Gen wondered as he watched the wounded going in and out of the tent.
Watching the two people guarding the tent, Hyuga Gen fell into thought. It would be best to become one of them; that would make things much easier.
Hyuga Gen began carefully observing the two guards, wondering if he might get a chance to take one of them out and impersonate him.
With that in mind, Hyuga Gen carefully studied the two guards.
The two sides clashed again that afternoon, but the skirmishes were small. They seemed to be testing each other, trying to figure out how strong their opponents were.
Hyuga Gen paid none of that any mind. He continued to focus on the two guards, and time quietly slipped by until night fell.
He'd made some progress that night, too. He discovered that the two guards went behind the tent to relieve themselves. That was his chance. He planned to make his move the following night.
The fighting between the two sides grew fiercer the next morning. Nearly 150 people in total took part, making it no small battle.
After all, there weren't many shinobi in this world. The Land of Water and the Land of Grass, for example, each had only six or seven hundred shinobi in the entire country, and perhaps not even that many.
Among the Five Great Nations, Konoha was the strongest, with roughly 15,000 shinobi in total. Each of the other four had around 13,000. More than 80,000 shinobi fought in the Fourth Shinobi World War. The Five Great Nations provided 67,000, while the rest were volunteers from the smaller nations.
The casualties continued to mount, and more and more people went to that tent. Some even went back several times. She really did live up to the name of human-shaped medical pack—one person was keeping an entire unit going.
Hyuga Gen started thinking about it. He planned to sneak in and take a look, mainly to observe the two guards and prepare to take one of their places later.
Looking at the woman before him, reduced to skin and bones, Hyuga Gen was speechless for a moment. What a pitiful woman. He could tell she was close to death and might die at any moment.
He deliberately stayed a little longer. After the two guards reminded him, Hyuga Gen quickly came out and apologized to them, saying that his chakra was badly depleted, so he'd taken a couple more bites than usual, or something along those lines. The two guards sternly warned him, then said no more.
Hyuga Gen had memorized their voices by then. All that remained was to wait until night.
Once outside the camp, Hyuga Gen breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been a little nervous back there. But sneaking in seemed easier than he'd imagined. Of course, that might have been because his Transformation Technique was so refined that it was hard for anyone to notice his disguise.
Hyuga Gen couldn't help marveling at how useful the Transformation Technique was. This technique really shouldn't be classified as a basic ninjutsu. It was practically an S-rank god-tier technique.
Meanwhile, after two days on the road, Might Guy and his group had already caught sight of Konoha's Kage Rock.
Before you continue