With all of Chiyo's poisons countered, Sunagakure could not match the Hidden Leaf in a contest of strength.
For days, the Hidden Leaf won battle after battle on the front lines, driving Sunagakure steadily back.
With victories at the front, the rescue work behind the lines had eased up too.
"Whew. There are a lot fewer wounded today. I can finally take a break." Uchiha Mikoto wiped her brow and sat down, panting.
She had just helped Indra perform emergency surgery on a wounded ninja, and she was exhausted.
"I think we'll have plenty of wounded tomorrow. Even Tsunade has gone to fight on the front lines."
Indra warned Mikoto not to be too optimistic, though he could not hide his smile.
After days of "human experimentation," he had grown increasingly proficient with Qi Transformation and Reconstruction.
As long as the injury did not involve internal organs or bones, Indra could heal it with his bare hands.
He had hit a bottleneck, though. He lacked the knowledge to go further.
He still knew far too little about biology, cells, organs, and other medical subjects.
Fortunately, he had the Sheep Talisman.
Every night for the past few days, once Tsunade fell asleep, Indra had used the Sheep Talisman's power to enter her dreams.
There, he asked her to teach him medicine, hoping to fill the gaps in his knowledge as quickly as possible.
But each lesson tended to end up turning into a "student and teacher" game.
"Tsunade keeps far too much bottled up. She lets it all loose in her dreams."
Indra rubbed his forehead in exasperation, though his smile showed how much he enjoyed it.
The sensations in dreams might have felt unreal, but getting to teach his teacher Tsunade a lesson now and then felt wonderful!
"Besides that, I've gained earth, water, and yang Chakra natures from Tsunade."
As he circulated Chakra through his meridian system, excitement flashed in Indra's eyes.
Each new Chakra nature improved his aptitude for ninjutsu.
Indra had also sensed that something might change within him if he acquired all seven Chakra natures.
"All I'm missing is wind. Mikoto has a wind nature, so I'll enter her dream tonight." Having made up his mind, Indra stood.
Whenever he used the Sheep Talisman for Astral Projection, he took the opportunity to scout the surrounding area.
Two days earlier, Indra had visited the Hidden Sand Camp and discovered that they were planning an assassination operation against the Hidden Leaf.
Sunagakure had allied with Amegakure, allowing a group of elite Hidden Sand ninja to take a detour and attack the Hidden Leaf camp.
Though Indra had learned of the plan in advance, he had told no one.
He could hardly tell anyone that he knew because he possessed a forbidden Astral Projection technique like Dan Katō's.
Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Technique had strict limits on both distance and duration. It could never scout from so far away.
If people learned that Indra inexplicably possessed an even stronger version of the Spirit Transformation Technique, he knew what would happen.
"I can't look after everyone. I'll have to protect myself first."
Indra took the Invisibility Haori and Phantom Sword from his Storage Scroll and handed them both to Mikoto.
"Are these ninja tools?"
Mikoto immediately noticed how unusual the haori and sword were. Puzzled, she asked, "Aren't these what Grandpa left us...?"
"They've been passed down through my family."
Indra's answer filled Mikoto with sudden delight.
They were family heirlooms, and now he was giving them to her. Did that mean he was about to... confess his feelings?
While Mikoto's imagination ran wild, Indra drew the ominous Demon Blade Hirumaru and a short Chakra sword from his Storage Scroll.
"I've detected enemy ninja approaching the camp. We should prepare... Mikoto, why are you staring at me like that?"
Indra noticed her fixed gaze, and his voice gradually trailed off.
"It's nothing. I was just wondering how to use these two ninja tools." Mikoto gave a little huff and looked down at the haori and Phantom Sword in her hands.
Indra explained that she only needed to put on the Invisibility Haori. The Phantom Sword, whose blade was forged from liquid metal, took a little more skill to wield.
For Mikoto, with her Two-Tomoe Sharingan, that was hardly a challenge.
She was soon taken with how nimble and versatile the Phantom Sword was.
Meanwhile, Indra pressed his foot to the ground and channeled Chakra into it.
"Ruyi Force!"
Fine strands of Chakra spread rapidly in every direction like a spiderweb.
In an instant, Indra had a clear picture of the terrain throughout the Hidden Leaf camp.
Every ninja moving within it created vibrations that traveled back to him through his Chakra.
The Hidden Sand squad sneaking toward the camp from five hundred meters away stood fully exposed to his senses.
I wonder if Demon Blade Hirumaru can steal the Hidden Sand's secret techniques. Indra could hardly wait to find out.
The Hidden Sand squad concealed in the rain had no idea Indra had found them.
The fifteen-person squad included two elite Jonin and three Special Jonin. The rest were all elite Chunin.
Looking toward the Hidden Leaf camp several hundred meters away, the man and woman leading the Hidden Sand squad directed its advance with practiced calm.
"You have ten minutes to carry out the assassinations. After that, everyone returns here, regardless of the outcome."
The two elite Hidden Sand ninja gave the order, then charged toward the Hidden Leaf camp.
They were Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law, and among Sunagakure's strongest puppeteers. Their main task was to pin down the remaining key fighters in the Hidden Leaf camp, buying the others time to kill.
"They're here!"
Indra opened his eyes and cut off the Chakra flowing through the soles of his feet.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kunai suddenly tore through the air, flying straight at the ninja in the medical station.
"Phantom Sword: Whip Slash!"
Mikoto's Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, tracking the flight path of every Kunai.
As she swung the Phantom Sword, its fluid blade lashed out like a whip. The slender metal threaded through the holes in the Kunai handles.
The Kunai stopped in midair, held between two opposing forces.
The Hidden Sand ninja controlling them had never imagined his attack could be blocked this way.
He severed his Chakra Threads and was about to use another technique when an invisible blade flashed past.
Slash!
A thin line of blood appeared across the Hidden Sand ninja's neck.
Before the elite Chunin could make another move, his head rolled from his body.
The air behind him rippled, and Indra emerged silently.
With the Snake Talisman, his invisibility was far more effective than the Invisibility Haori!
He drove Demon Blade Hirumaru down into the Hidden Sand ninja's corpse.
The blade greedily drank the corpse's blood and devoured every last trace of Chakra within it.
"There it is!"
Images flashed before Indra's eyes, assembling into a complete diagram of Chakra flow.
"Using exceptionally precise Chakra control to turn Chakra into fine threads released from the fingertips..."
The next moment, an almost invisible Chakra Thread extended from Indra's index finger, swaying and shifting at his command.
He had done it. He had learned to create Chakra Threads!
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