Princess Katsuyu

On the third day of mass-producing the antidote, half the straw mats were cleared from the field hospital.

By the fifth day, no one was lying outside the tents anymore.

On the seventh day, the first batch of recovered Chunin removed their bandages, picked up their kunai again, and joined the frontline combat ranks.

Tsunade finished dividing the last batch of antidote serum into vials, labeled them, and handed them to the Medical Corps waiting at the door.

"Distribute it by dosage. We have enough in stock."

The medical Chunin took the box and ran off.

Tsunade leaned against the medicine cabinet and let out a long breath.

After ten straight days of work, she could finally catch her breath.

A commotion came from outside.

It wasn't the sort that came with an enemy attack—it was cheering.

Tsunade lifted the tent flap and stepped out.

In the open space in the camp, a group of recently discharged shinobi had surrounded a Chunin back from the front, slapping his shoulder over and over.

"Have you heard? The Sunagakure Puppet Corps retreated twenty kilometers!"

"Kitahara Kaede led a counterattack at the front. They took three strongholds in one night!"

"Chiyo's poison doesn't work anymore—we can finally fight without holding back!"

Tsunade listened for a couple of moments, then turned and went back into the tent.

Her steps were much lighter than when she'd come out.

The front line.

The tide turned faster than expected.

As soon as the antidote arrived, Konoha Ninja morale flared like someone had doused it in a bucket of hot oil.

The frontline troops, who had been constrained by Chiyo's poison, now pushed forward like mad.

Kitahara Kaede stood on a newly captured high ground, watching the dust rise in the distance as Sunagakure retreated.

Sakumo circled back from the flank, his white short blade still stained with blood.

"Southwest Outpost Three is clear."

Kitahara Kaede nodded.

"What about Chiyo?"

"She's pulled back." Sakumo wiped his blade. "Now that the poison's been countered, she can't send poison-laden puppets to the front as recklessly as before. Sunagakure's pulled back across the line to wait for reinforcements."

Kitahara Kaede glanced at the map.

"Don't chase too far. Stop at the River Valley Line. We can't keep up with the supplies."

Sakumo looked at him.

"Your right arm hasn't fully healed."

"It won't affect me."

Sakumo said nothing more and went to relay the order.

Kitahara Kaede flexed his right hand.

Tsunade's antidote treatment was indeed impressive. It had saved his life and his arm.

But the chakra pathways damaged by the poison hadn't fully healed, and his right arm had recovered only seventy percent of its strength.

Three days later.

Sunagakure officially withdrew from the River Valley defenses along the entire front.

The month-long back-and-forth on the western front ended in a total victory for Konoha.

The final major clash took place at the entrance to the valley.

The remaining Sunagakure troops tried to organize an orderly retreat, covering the evacuation of the wounded and supplies.

Kitahara Kaede led his unit to cut off their flank's escape route, while Sakumo and his men pressed forward head-on.

The battle lasted less than two hours.

But what everyone at the front remembered most happened after the fighting ended.

As the last group of Sunagakure wounded was being carried to the valley exit, Chiyo's Puppet Corps suddenly launched a suicidal charge.

They weren't trying to counterattack. They were buying time for the troops behind them to retreat.

Thirty heavily armored puppets, all loaded with poisoned weapons.

They formed three rows, advancing like a wall of poison.

The Konoha Ninja instinctively retreated.

The shadow of the poison had yet to fade.

Just then, the ground shook.

White smoke billowed up behind them.

Katsuyu appeared.

Then she began to divide.

One became two, two became four, and four became sixteen.

Hundreds of fist-sized slugs detached from her main body, a white tide surging toward every Konoha ninja at the front.

They clung to shoulders, crawled onto backs, and pressed against arms.

Almost everyone felt a gentle flow of chakra enter their body at the same time.

"Don't be afraid of the poison."

Tsunade's voice came from behind them. It wasn't loud, but every one of them heard her clearly.

"If you're poisoned, Katsuyu will neutralize it at once. Just keep charging."

There was a moment of silence.

Then the front line erupted.

The Konoha Ninja roared and charged forward.

The thirty armored puppets were smashed into splinters within minutes.

When someone was struck by a poisoned needle, the slug on their body immediately glowed green, suppressing the poison before it could spread.

Chiyo stood on a distant hill, watching the scene.

Hundreds of slugs worked at once, each independently carrying out detoxification and treatment.

The young Konoha kunoichi stood on a raised platform behind the lines, hands clasped as chakra poured endlessly from her.

She controlled hundreds of clones while providing real-time medical support to over a hundred shinobi.

Chiyo's lips moved.

"Princess Katsuyu..."

She turned and disappeared among the retreating Sunagakure troops.

The title spread throughout the entire front within days.

The Konoha side called her "Princess Katsuyu."

So did the Sunagakure side.

Only their voices carried three parts more wariness.

Winding down the operation took another four days.

They cleared the battlefield, counted the casualties, repaired the defenses, and tended to the wounded.

Kitahara Kaede handed over command, made one last patrol of the frontline positions, and headed back.

He passed a valley that had been burned to the ground. The trees were gone, the ground was charred black, and the distant ridgeline was bare.

Tsunade emerged from behind him with a medical pack on her back and came to stand beside him.

They stood shoulder to shoulder.

The wind blew up from the valley floor, carrying the smell of scorched earth.

Tsunade gazed into the distance, silent for a while.

Kitahara Kaede asked casually,

"What do you want to do most once you're done here?"

Tsunade turned her head.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

Tsunade looked back into the distance.

"See the ocean."

Kitahara Kaede said nothing.

"Ever since I was little, whenever I went out, it was either for war or a mission." Her voice was soft. "I don't even know what the ocean looks like."

The wind blew her hair across her face, and she brushed it aside.

"When all this is over, I want to go sit by the sea for a day. Do nothing at all. Just sit."

"Then I'll take you there."

Tsunade looked over at him.

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

The wind made Tsunade squint. She turned her face aside.

She didn't say anything, but she couldn't hide her expression.

The two of them started walking back.

Tsunade walked ahead. Then she suddenly spoke.

"How much has your right arm actually recovered?"

"More or less."

"What percentage?"

Kitahara Kaede didn't answer.

Tsunade didn't press him, stop, or turn around.

As they walked, she casually tossed a remark over her shoulder.

"Once we're back, come to the medical room every afternoon. I'll give you acupuncture. Don't be late."

It wasn't a question.

When she said things like this before, she would turn around and glare at him.

This time, she didn't even look back.

Kitahara Kaede watched her retreating figure.

"All right."

Back at the rear camp, the flap of Kitahara Kaede's tent was lifted.

A messenger ninja stood at the entrance, looking hurried.

"Lord Hagoromo, an urgent order from the Hokage Tower—they're recalling you."

"The Third Hokage requires you and Lady Tsunade to return to Konoha immediately."

The messenger paused, then lowered his voice.

"Something's happened on the eastern front. Amegakure has joined the war, and Hanzo is personally leading the attack."