No Matter What, I Have the Advantage!

Before setting out, Indra casually coated his kunai, shuriken, and chakra short sword with poison.

He also mixed ten smoke bombs with a poison that could disrupt the flow of chakra.

This entire smooth sequence of actions left Tsunade utterly dumbfounded.

You little brat who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy—how could you be so underhanded?!

Though she was highly skilled in medical ninjutsu, she had never used such dirty tricks!

"Sensei, this one's yours. I poisoned all of them."

"Cough, cough~ That's good, then." Taking the ninja tool pouch Indra handed over, Tsunade smoothly strapped it around her waist.

People always changed.

Hidden Sand Village fought so dirty. After fighting them, she had gotten a little envious too!

There were only three of them on this trip, and they immediately hurried toward the Hidden Rain Village battlefield.

This journey was much easier. The traps set along the way by enemy ninja had long since been cleared out by the comrades who had passed through before them.

In just one day, Indra caught sight of Hidden Leaf's camp on the Hidden Rain Village battlefield.

The moment the three entered the camp, Jiraiya—his fluffy white hair a mess, clad in gray ninja armor and wearing a mature-looking face—immediately came forward to greet them. "Tsunade, you finally made it!"

He wore a carefree smile, clearly overjoyed. "Without you here, things have been really rough for us! We don't have nearly enough gas masks!"

"Don't try to take advantage of me, you greasy toad!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at Jiraiya and kicked without hesitation, sending him flying more than ten meters away when he tried to hug her.

Seeing Jiraiya in such a sorry state, everyone else in the camp silently turned away.

After rolling several times, Jiraiya rubbed his lower back and quickly rose with a pained expression. "Still as violent as ever, Tsunade. Women ought to be gentler."

"Shut up. Both my disciples are here, so don't make me get serious!"

Only then did Jiraiya turn to look at Indra and Mikoto, who stood beside her.

Mikoto gave an awkward smile and greeted him. "Hello, Lord Jiraiya."

She had never expected the famous Jiraiya to be so... uninhibited in private.

"Lord Jiraiya, it's a pleasure to meet you." Indra echoed her greeting, neither servile nor arrogant.

Jiraiya nodded slightly and gave the two of them a meaningful look. "Both from the Uchiha Clan... Come over first."

Unaware of the deal between Indra and Tsunade, Jiraiya assumed this had been Hiruzen Sarutobi's arrangement.

Not interested in politics, Jiraiya had no intention of getting involved.

Still, as they walked, Jiraiya quietly reminded her, "Tsunade, Uchiha Clan ninja tend to be rather extreme. You need to keep them in line."

This was not prejudice, but something he had genuinely witnessed on the battlefield.

After an Uchiha Clan member's companion or friend died, most of the other Uchiha would awaken their eyes, and their personalities would become violent and extreme.

For this very reason, Uchiha Clan members found it difficult to get along with other Hidden Leaf ninja.

When carrying out missions together, if you suddenly lost your mind and charged in to kill someone, you would not only expose your position but also disrupt the rhythm of the attack. You would be nothing but dead weight.

And most of them would not listen to reason, only acting according to their own logic.

On the battlefield, discipline was often more important than individual strength.

In response to Jiraiya's reminder, Tsunade merely replied flatly, "Whether it's Indra or Mikoto, they are both my most prized disciples."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow slightly. He could see the resolve in Tsunade's eyes.

Seeing that, he said nothing further, because he trusted Tsunade's judgment.

When they arrived at the main tent, the thirty-five jonin present were thrilled to learn that Tsunade had already deciphered the salamander poison.

Hidden Rain Village had only around ten jonin in total, while its numbers of chunin and genin were utterly outmatched by Hidden Leaf.

The main reason Hidden Leaf had failed to defeat Hidden Rain Village for so long was that it had been fighting on three fronts and its forces were spread thin, compounded by the salamander poison.

Now that Hidden Sand Village had been driven back and the salamander poison had been countered, it was time for Hidden Leaf to formally sound the horn for an offensive.

"We'll move out today and catch Hidden Rain Village off guard. What does everyone think?" Jiraiya asked, seated at the head of the table as he looked around.

"Agreed!"

"Sounds good!"

The many jonin in the main tent all voted in favor.

"Isn't this just copying the tactics we used against Hidden Sand Village?"

Tsunade grumbled, then looked at Indra and Mikoto beside her. "Are you interested in joining this battle?"

"Huh~ We're going too?" Mikoto looked surprised and instinctively turned to Indra.

She did not mind either way. Whether she served as a medical ninja or went to the front lines, as long as Indra was by her side, that was enough.

Indra hesitated for half a second at Tsunade's proposal.

Before this, he would have refused without a second thought. But now, he felt no pressure at all.

Fighting on the battlefield would also let him make use of Demon Blade Hirumaru and take the chance to learn the ninjutsu others knew. Without a doubt, it was a good opportunity.

With that in mind, Indra immediately stated, "Teacher, I'll do as you say!"

"You brat, it'd be nice if you were this obedient in my dreams..." Tsunade muttered under her breath, a trace of embarrassment rising within her.

Her cheeks flushing, she spoke again to divert her attention. "Good. As medical ninjas, you can't put all your focus on healing. Going to the front lines with me to temper yourselves will be good for you."

As Tsunade spoke, she reached out and ruffled Indra's hair.

"Hey~ Teacher, what are you doing? Why are you so obsessed with my hair?" Indra said helplessly. He swallowed this grievance for now, but he would definitely get revenge in his dreams!

Watching him fix his hairstyle, Tsunade secretly felt a thrill of revenge.

Who told you to treat me like that in my dreams? You little brat, you have no respect for your teacher at all.

However, Tsunade also keenly noticed that Indra seemed to have grown taller again.

Two months ago, he had still been half a head shorter than her. How was he almost as tall as her now?

His growth was way too good!

Tsunade looked him up and down, making Indra's scalp tingle. He had no idea what schemes his bargain-bin teacher was cooking up.

Fortunately, as Jiraiya began laying out the strategic deployment, Tsunade finally withdrew her gaze.

Tsunade handed out the prepared antidote pills, and everyone settled on the mission of [Surprise Attack on the Hidden Rain Village].

Led by Jiraiya and Tsunade, they would assemble an elite force of fifty men, attack from the battlefield's flank, punch through the Hidden Rain Village's lines, and charge straight into the heart of the Hidden Rain Village.

Once this plan succeeded, the Hidden Rain Village's supply lines would be severed, completely securing their victory!

After resting for half a day, they set off at once.

Meanwhile, within the Hidden Rain Village's camp, Hanzō of the Salamander was delivering a rousing speech to the Rain ninja.

"I don't understand why everyone keeps talking about how we will lose to the Hidden Leaf, as if this Land of Rain has already become our burial ground.

Ten years ago, I unified the Hidden Rain Village. Three years ago, I defeated the Land of Iron and claimed land, wealth, and women!

That era of vigorous vitality, when all things flourished and surged forward, still stands vividly before my eyes.

No matter how you look at it, the advantage is ours! With me, the [Demigod], here, you will not lose!!!"

As Hanzō of the Salamander's final words fell, the previously dispirited morale surged to an incredible height.

They shouted the title of "Demigod," every one of them looking as though they had been injected with adrenaline.

At this moment, Hanzō of the Salamander was their sun!