"Shut up!!!"
Ōtomo could no longer stand it. He snapped under his breath, stopping Yamada from spouting any more nonsense.
If he had not been on duty, he would have really wanted to give him a beating.
Reprimanded by his companion, Yamada could only shut his mouth in embarrassment.
"Nothing happened?"
At that moment, however, Ōtomo suddenly spoke.
He repeated those words in a very low voice. "Go back and look at the new names on the Memorial Stone before you say that."
Yamada opened his mouth but could not get a word out.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
Of the hundred thousand Allied Shinobi Forces, fewer than half had survived!
What a staggering number of casualties. Just thinking about it sent a chill through him.
Honestly, the only reason he could stand here was good luck.
If he had not been assigned to the logistics and supply unit, he might well have died on the battlefield long ago.
Ōtomo said nothing more, simply turning his gaze back to the road outside the gate.
The road before him stretched out through a dense stretch of woods, leading into the indistinct distance.
During the war, the wheels of carriages transporting supplies had practically torn this road apart, leaving deep ruts all over its surface.
By the look of things, the road would need rebuilding before long.
There was no helping it.
During the war, supplies had been moved far too frequently. Back then, an endless stream of vehicles had passed through Konoha East Gate, with vast quantities of supplies constantly dispatched to various battlefields under orders from the Allied Shinobi Forces Headquarters.
Fortunately, Konoha had several other gates that could be requisitioned temporarily. Otherwise, the East Gate alone could never have handled that volume of transport.
Thankfully, now that the