The smoke of battle briefly cleared over the river valley, and the scene shifted to a makeshift Sunagakure camp on the border of the Land of Rain.
Inside a dim, shabby tent, Shamon lay flat on a wooden bed covered with coarse linen. His strength was utterly spent, and his face had taken on an unnatural, ashen-blue tinge.
The wound slashed across his back by the scythe had been roughly bandaged, but Ibuse's poison continued to spread through his body. His breathing was faint, and he hovered on the brink of death, barely able to lift a hand.
Several Sunagakure medical ninja surrounded his bed, pale green chakra flowing from their hands as they did everything they could to save him. They poured chakra into Shamon's body again and again, but it only briefly suppressed the poison's spread, accomplishing little.
One medical ninja withdrew his hands, his brow furrowed, and spoke quietly to the jonin beside him. "The poison has penetrated too deeply. With our abilities, we can't hold it back much longer."
"We must bring Elder Chiyo here immediately. She is Sunagakure's finest medic. Perhaps she can do something. Send word at once and summon Elder Chiyo!"
The jonin beside him looked troubled and answered quietly, "But Elder Chiyo is still on the eastern border of the Land of Wind, facing Hiruzen Sarutobi's Konoha army. We can't afford to take the situation there lightly, either."
"There's no time to worry about that!" Niuji, a Sunagakure jonin, gritted his teeth, his voice tight with urgency. "Lord Kazekage's life is hanging by a thread. Saving him comes first. Send someone on horseback with the message immediately!"
Just then, Shamon slowly lifted his heavy eyelids. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and his faltering voice was so weak they could barely hear