Heading to the Battlefield

But at the time, he had no idea how much pressure the male lead was under.

Seeing this, Grandma Mito even called Eiji over and told him that there were some things he could only do after he became an adult.

Eiji certainly understood, but the problem was that Kushina didn't, or perhaps she understood too much.

He had no choice but to endure it.

When he comes of age, he will take back everything he has lost.

◇

This morning was another day of treating the Koi. Eiji appeared in the kitchen early, skillfully gutting the Koi, cutting out its intestines, and then treating it.

"Are you still torturing the Koi, Eiji?"

Kushina's voice came from behind.

Kushina walked into the living room, rubbing her sleepy eyes, looking like she hadn't woken up properly.

"Uh, this isn't torture, it's treatment." Eiji pinched his temples. "Actually, I'm almost there. This time, the Koi survived for thirty seconds longer than last time."

"Hmm... So we're having Koi soup this morning?"

"No, I plan to send Minato. After all, drinking this kind of stuff often in the morning could cause gout."

As for whether Minato will get gout, Eiji thinks that Eiji won't get sick.

Just then, a cloud of smoke exploded at Eiji's feet, and a small white snake wearing glasses appeared in the spot, biting a scroll.

"Wow, Cobra's back!"

After obtaining the snake from Orochimaru, Eiji became Kushina's pet. That very night, Kushina dressed him up in various ways, and in the end, she thought wearing small sunglasses was the most interesting thing.

Kushina meant that she tried her best to dress the snake up like Eiji.

Ignoring Kushina's lame joke, Eiji took down the scroll and began to read.

Then his brows furrowed tightly.

The message in the scroll was simple: Nawaki might be a little dead.

Anyway, according to Orochimaru, if he could get there within six hours, he might still be able to see it fresh.

What else could Eiji say? He set off yesterday and received the devastating news of his impending death today.

It seems best to make him give up the idea of becoming Ninja!

Now look what's happened; my amateurish Projection of Reverse Cursed Technique.

What can I use to heal this broken you?

Eiji became increasingly confused. Something was wrong; there should be a solution.

I feel like I'm about to strike inspiration.

"What's wrong, Eiji?"

Seeing Eiji's furrowed brow, Kushina asked him a question.

"Uh, it's nothing, I might have to leave the Village for a while."

Eiji was afraid that Kushina would be worried because of Nawaki's news, so he had no choice but to make up an excuse.

"Are we going to the battlefield? Weren't we supposed to stay in the Village for a month?"

"No, I have something urgent to attend to, so I have to leave now."

Eiji nodded apologetically to Kushina.

"Time is tight, I'm sorry Kushina."

Then Eiji immediately went to the entrance, put on his shoes, and used the Azure Dragon to take off into the air.

"Eiji, please be careful! If you do what you did last time again, I will never forgive you!"

Kushina's voice came from below. Eiji looked down and saw Kushina making a megaphone shape with her hands and shouting at him.

"Okay, if all goes well I might be back tomorrow!"

He called out to Kushina, and then Eiji vanished from the sky above Konoha in a flash.

Kushina watched Eiji leave, still feeling somewhat down.

"Has Eiji already left?"

Mito Uzumaki appeared beside Kushina at some point.

"Yes, Eiji said it's something very important."

"That must be extremely urgent news. The previous summoning snake was left behind by Orochimaru, wasn't it?"

Mito knew perfectly well what the snake represented, and she had a bad feeling about it.

However, she trusted Eiji; if there was no way to turn things around, then there was no need for Eiji to rush to leave after receiving the notification.

◇

Tsunade stared blankly ahead, the urgent calls of the Medical Ninja ringing in her ears every now and then.

She didn't leave the Medical Tent, but chose to stay by Nawaki's side, though she didn't know what she was thinking.

Anyway, I just felt that I should stay and accompany Nawaki on this last leg of his journey.

Honestly, she wanted to send Nawaki away right now, because this state was just too painful. Tsunade felt her heart breaking just imagining it.

However, Orochimaru's sinister expression suggested that she shouldn't regret it, so Tsunade gave up.

In reality, Tsunade wouldn't dare to do that, since it would make her the one who killed Nawaki.

But what's the point of saying all this now? Nawaki is already close to death, and I, who am proficient in Medical Ninjutsu, am unable to save my younger brother.

Then why did I work so hard to learn Medical Ninjutsu?

Tsunade felt a chill run through her body, and Jiraiya's incessant chatter beside her was incredibly annoying.

Is there no one who can save Nawaki? If she could, she would do anything for it.

"Just because your younger brother was seriously injured, you've lost your fighting spirit? As a Ninja, you should have been aware of this long ago."

"Orochimaru, can you please be quiet? I finally managed to persuade Tsunade —uh!"

Tsunade shoved Jiraiya, stood up, and glared at Orochimaru.

"What do you know about me! Nawaki is my younger brother, how could I possibly be indifferent!?"

"So, your actions are just to try treatment, and then, finding that you can't do anything about it, you just sit here and do nothing?"

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, staring at Tsunade's furious face. Had she completely lost control?

It's awful how this happens when a loved one dies.

Orochimaru believed he would never become like that, so he had reason to mock Tsunade's weakness.

Since you've chosen to become Ninja, you must be prepared to die. Otherwise, what was Tsunade's mindset in allowing Nawaki the battlefield?

"Then tell me, what's your plan to save Nawaki!"

Tsunade felt extremely angry, with a burning desire in her chest that she had nowhere to vent.

"Cheer up, huh?" Orochimaru and Tsunade locked eyes, then Orochimaru's lips curled into a smile. "Don't just stand there spacing out, Eiji- kun is coming."

"Eiji?" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise. "Shouldn't he be in the Village? You just summoned him with your Summoning Beast, right? But I asked him before, and that Medical Ninjutsu called the Reverse Cursed Technique can only affect him, right?"

"At least it's better than you wallowing in self-pity here."

Orochimaru turned his back and left the tent, with Tsunade following after him.

When Tsunade pushed open the tent, she felt the sunlight was a bit too bright.

Although the Land of Rain is often gloomy and rainy, the sky is clear and blue at this moment.

For some reason, when I heard that Eiji was coming, the feeling that I had been carrying a Giant Rock weight on my chest suddenly disappeared.

Eiji, if it were you, would you have a solution?