After an unknown amount of time, a pained groan dragged Neji back from his chaotic thoughts to reality.
He steadied himself, suppressing the surging distractions in his heart, and turned his gaze to the Sunagakure Jonin curled up on the ground.
With a flick of his fingertips, a stream of glowing green medical chakra precisely entered the man's mangled arm, instantly sealing the damaged nerves and stopping the blood that had been steadily leaking out.
The Jonin's taut body suddenly relaxed. Although the twisted bones in his arm remained a horrifying sight, he still struggled to raise his head, and a trace of gratitude showed through his clouded eyes.
"Madara Uchiha is the Hokage... Fine, I accept it."
Neji's voice was low and restrained, as though he were forcing himself to accept this absurd reality.
But then his pace of speech abruptly quickened, like a volcano suppressed for too long finally finding a crack. "But what exactly are you people from Sunagakure doing? The entire Land of Wind is under heavy guard. Where is the Dragon Vein? And that mine pit—what are you digging for?"
"Us?" The Jonin blinked his bloodshot eyes as if he had heard an unbelievable question. "Transporting supplies... The front lines desperately need reinforcements..."
"The front lines?!"
Neji's pupils suddenly contracted, and a crack appeared in his formerly composed voice.
He clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white, only to force himself to loosen it the next second. The instincts forged through years of training allowed him to swiftly rein in his lapse of composure, though the turbulent waves in his eyes still betrayed the shock in his heart.
"...War? There's still a war going on?"
"It's been going on for four or five years already..."
The Jonin answered hoarsely, his gaze mixed