After the Third Raikage gave the order to let Danzo and his party leave, he finally ran out of strength and slipped into a deep coma.
The brutes around him immediately panicked.
"Boss!"
"Damn it! Big Brother Tomoi, what do we do now?"
The Cloud Shinobi, most of whom had somewhat dark skin, immediately grew anxious. Apart from the scar he had given himself on his chest, the Raikage had never been injured.
Let alone suffered injuries like these, which would have been fatal to an ordinary person.
"What are you panicking for?!"
Tomoi suppressed his panic and put on a calm front. In truth, he felt more helpless than anyone, but after following the Raikage for years, he had picked up a few things and knew he had to steady the troops now.
"Move aside! Go stand guard!"
He roughly dispersed the brutes crowding around the Third Raikage, then asked the Medical Ninja who had remained beside him in a slightly trembling voice.
"How is he?"
"He's in terrible shape. I'm doing everything I can to stabilize him, but I need more equipment, blood, and a clean environment!"
A trace of trembling slipped into the Medical Ninja's calm voice.
"All right, all right, you'll have everything you need! Just make sure you save the boss!"
"We'll head back to the village as soon as his condition improves."
Tomoi did his best to keep his teeth from chattering.
He slapped his cheeks, forced himself to calm down, and pulled over a sensory Cloud Shinobi, speaking quietly into his ear.
"Notify the village. Tell them to recall all our spies from the Land of Earth and strengthen the defenses along our southern coastline... and tell them about the boss's condition!"
After speaking, Tomoi released his grip on him, then turned and shouted:
"Sealing Squad! Where the hell is the Sealing Squad?"
Several Cloud Shinobi carrying large scrolls on their backs quickly ran over to Tomoi.
"The Eight-Tails?"
The Sealing Squad ninja exchanged looks. An older Cloud Shinobi stepped forward and spoke into Tomoi's ear:
"Sir, the Eight-Tails seems to be... dead. It's been dissipating. We sealed its upper body, but it all turned into unconscious tailed beast chakra..."
Tomoi clamped a hand over the sealing ninja's mouth.
His wide eyes were bloodshot, and he snarled with a savage expression.
"Keep your mouths shut! This is classified! If word gets out, you'll be the first to die!!"
The Sealing Squad ninja all nodded. They understood the importance of this, too. If the outside world learned that the Eight-Tails was dead, the spies infiltrating the Land of Lightning would be enough to form a small village.
Not only would they want to fight over the Eight-Tails when it revived years later, but certain great nations would also start entertaining dangerous ideas. Attacking battle maniacs might seem irrational, but without the Raikage and the Eight-Tails, the prospect was undeniably tempting!
"Lord Tomoi! Lord Raikage's blood type is O! Get the men with type O blood over here!"
The Medical Ninja called out from behind him, and Tomoi lowered the hand covering the sealing Cloud Shinobi's mouth.
"Did you hear that? Everyone with type O blood, get over here!"
"Lord Danzo, please talk to Lord Takahashi Yū! He's nearly eaten through all our supplies!"
Yamanaka Arashi spoke bitterly to Danzo inside the tent.
"Not letting a warrior eat his fill? What kind of nonsense is that? If we're out of supplies, hunt wild animals or buy more from the nearest town. Do I have to teach you even that, Arashi?"
Danzo kept his eyes on the documents on the table and answered Yamanaka Arashi's question without looking up.
Yamanaka Arashi was one of Danzo's trusted commanders, proficient in secret mental techniques. Though a member of the Yamanaka Clan, he had orange hair rather than the blond hair common among his clansmen. He was rigid, held missions to strict standards, and was highly valued by Danzo.
Now, hearing Danzo's answer, even the corners of his stern mouth could not help twitching.
"I've already counted all of that among our supplies. If Lord Takahashi Yū keeps eating, our camp won't have anything to cook tomorrow."
At that, Danzo finally raised his lowered head and looked at Yamanaka Arashi, asking with some puzzlement:
"Then how did Mitokado Homura deal with this on the Land of Wind battlefield?"
"Uh... I haven't seen any records about that in the reports," Yamanaka Arashi answered, equally surprised.
Danzo's expression darkened completely.
"That bastard! Homura gets worse with age. No wonder Takahashi Yū refused to follow his orders on the Land of Wind battlefield and punched him, leaving him bedridden for two months."
"Making people fight on empty stomachs? What kind of person does that?"
"And he had the nerve to write me a letter whining about it! I'll file a complaint against him as soon as I get back!"
Danzo slammed the documents in his hand onto the table, his mind filled with the sight of Takahashi Yū lying on the ground, severely wounded, and "angrily rebuking" the Cloud Shinobi.
"It seems Sarutobi was deceived by that fellow Mitokado Homura! Senile old fool!"
Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes and spoke quietly. His nature made him trust only what he saw for himself, and the documents in his hand were mission reports about Takahashi Yū.
Reading the records of those perilous missions, even Danzo could not help marveling that Takahashi Yū truly was an "inheritor of the will of fire!"
Danzo turned to Yamanaka Arashi and gave him an order.
"Arashi! Assemble an elite squad and take a few ninja with an affinity for Sealing Jutsu to the towns and villages farther away. Make absolutely sure the camp has enough food!"
"Yes, sir!"
Yamanaka Arashi promptly accepted his orders, lifted the tent flap, and walked out.
At the camp entrance.
Takahashi Yū swallowed a large mouthful of plain rice. The white steam rising from his body finally dissipated, and his body finally stopped sending signals of hunger.
His wounds had all closed and scabbed over as well. Takahashi Yū estimated that the minor injuries would heal in a few days.
As for the wound piercing his right chest and the marks left by Black Lightning, with a steady supply of nourishment, perhaps two weeks? Half a month?
Takahashi Yū reached up to touch the hideous scars, still feeling a surge of lingering fear.
It was not that either of them had been unwilling to attack vital areas such as the head and heart. Rather, both had made slight adjustments to their bodies, ensuring their own attacks landed while meeting the other's blows with comparatively unimportant body parts.
Thud.
An enormous wild boar was thrown down at the camp entrance, a clean blade wound across its neck.
"Yo, thanks for the hard work, my Lord White Fang!"
Takahashi Yū spoke to Hatake Sakumo, who was panting slightly.
"Hardly as much work as yours, Lord Takahashi Yū. I merely ran a little farther."
Hatake Sakumo, who came from a samurai family, had actually let Takahashi Yū rub off on his tone for a moment, even beginning to tease him.
"Ahem..."
Takahashi Yū had not expected Sakumo, a serious man with thick brows and large eyes, to start joking around too.
"Thanks for the effort, Sakumo. I'm full now."
"Ahh~~"
Before Sakumo could react.
Several Konoha Ninja helping with the cooking nearby immediately collapsed, letting out groans. Even if they only had to cook the food through and sprinkle on a little salt, keeping up with the speed at which Takahashi Yū wolfed it down was a test even for ninja.
Takahashi Yū scratched his head and gave Sakumo an embarrassed smile.
"Thanks for all your hard work, too."
Before you continue