"Lady Tsunade… eh?!"
Shizune came forward and first looked at Tsunade. But when her gaze landed on the figure lying on the stretcher, her face instantly turned pale. "Is that…"
Tsunade ignored Shizune and, accompanied by two medical personnel, went straight into her own tent. Only after setting Kaede down did she finally look at Shizune and say, "He used a forbidden technique and is suffering severe aftereffects. Shizune, step aside and just watch for now."
Shizune's face turned a bit pale. It was the first time she had ever seen Tsunade this serious. Even when treating critically wounded patients brought into the camp, Tsunade had never worn such an expression.
In truth, it wasn't that Kaede's injuries were more severe than all the others. Rather, with those other wounded, Tsunade had acted purely as a medical ninja. But Kaede wasn't just a patient, he was the son of Hatake Sakumo, who had once looked after her, and the very person who had treated her hemophobia. On the battlefield, he fought Chiyo alone, partly because she had been unable to perform at full strength.
In Tsunade's eyes, this was her responsibility.
"Cough… cough… Don't talk like I'm on my deathbed, you're scaring Shizune."
Kaede coughed a couple of times and then chuckled, as though he weren't the one lying there gravely wounded. He turned to Shizune. "Don't worry. I'm not in any danger of dying. The damage to my chakra pathways is troublesome, but Lady Tsunade is more than capable of fixing it."
Seeing Kaede still able to smile and talk eased Shizune's anxiety quite a bit.
"Shut it!"
Tsunade shot Kaede with an irritated glare.
This brat was way too thick-skinned!
He made it sound like he just had a small cut. If her medical skills were even slightly inferior, if this had been ten years ago, she wouldn't be confident in handling such injuries at all.
With a swipe of her fingers, Tsunade sliced open Kaede's upper garments. Her eyes took on a serious light, and chakra threads began dancing at her fingertips. After confirming her condition, she lowered both hands to his chest and began treatment.
To avoid distracting the focused Tsunade, Kaede stopped talking to Shizune, closed his eyes, and let her work.
…
Outside the Tent
Not all the stationed ninja recognized Kaede, but a few who specialized in intelligence identification quickly confirmed his identity. The news spread rapidly through the camp.
Among those remaining in the camp were a few Jōnin, Chūnin, and ninjas from interrogation and intelligence units. The rest were all young Genin under the age of fifteen.
"Kaede was seriously injured?!"
Yūhi Kurenai, upon hearing the news, was so shocked she abandoned the boiling water she was heating and immediately ran toward Tsunade's tent.
When she arrived, she was stopped outside by Shizune, standing guard.
"Lady Tsunade is treating him right now. You can't go in."
"Lady Tsunade's inside?"
Kurenai froze, her expression tense. "How did Kaede get injured? Is it serious? Since Lady Tsunade is treating him personally, it should be okay, right?"
She fired off a series of questions.
Before Shizune could answer, Rin came rushing out of the tent. As a member of the medical squad, she had just brought in some necessary supplies.
Kurenai immediately looked at her with an inquiring expression.
"…"
Rin shook her head.
She had only gone in to deliver medical supplies. Since Tsunade was focused on treatment, she hadn't dared disturb her, nor did she know the details.
"Is Kaede okay?"
At that moment, someone else came running up, Uchiha Obito, another who had stayed behind at the camp.
When he first heard Kaede had been seriously injured, his initial reaction was disbelief. He hadn't expected someone as strong as Kaede to suffer defeat and injury.
His second reaction was more complicated, Kaede was both his target and rival. If something really happened to him, it wouldn't be a cause for joy.
"No need to worry too much."
Seeing more people gathering, Shizune said, "Kaede's life isn't in danger. With Lady Tsunade treating him personally, there shouldn't be any problems."
Hearing this, Kurenai, Rin, and the others visibly relaxed. The tension and paleness in their faces eased somewhat.
Obito also let out a breath. He didn't want to lose such a rival so easily. Still, after being so cocky all this time, Kaede finally got a taste of defeat, he must have run into a really troublesome opponent on the battlefield.
"Alright then… the enemy who defeated Kaede will be my opponent in the future!"
Obito clenched a fist in front of him, his face full of confidence and determination.
Just then—
"You're finally showing a bit of self-awareness, not claiming you could beat them now."
Kakashi's voice came from behind him.
Though he was worried about Kaede, he still couldn't resist snarking at Obito the moment he heard that boast.
"Kakashi? You're back already?"
Obito turned to him, a bit surprised. "It's over?"
Kakashi walked closer and glanced toward the tent. He nodded. "It's over. The Sand ninja were defeated. We won. The others should be returning soon as well… How is my brother?"
Though clearly concerned, Kakashi remained calm. He didn't try to go in but instead asked Shizune, who was still blocking the entrance.
Shizune, recognizing him, repeated Kaede's condition.
"I see…"
Kakashi relaxed visibly. He turned to Obito and said, "oh, right. You said you were going to defeat the enemy who beat Kaede someday? That's impossible for you."
Obito was just about to walk away, but upon hearing that, he snapped back, annoyed. "Hey, don't underestimate me, Kakashi! Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll show you how strong I can be!"
Kakashi folded his arms. "Whether your Sharingan's any good, I don't know, but you definitely won't beat that enemy, because she's already dead."
"…Huh?"
Obito was stunned.
Kakashi gave him a sidelong glance. "You didn't think Kaede was defeated and barely escaped with his life, did you? He's no loser, he won the battle and killed that enemy on the battlefield."
"Honestly, even if he hadn't, you still wouldn't have stood a chance. That opponent was Chiyo."
His voice calm, Kakashi delivered a blow straight to Obito's ego.
The casually revealed name exploded in the ears of Obito, Kurenai, and the others like a thunderclap, even causing Shizune and the surrounding ninja to widen their eyes in shock.
"Kakashi… did you just say Chiyo? That Chiyo?!"
Kurenai asked in disbelief.
Kakashi nodded steadily. "The elder from Sunagakure, the strongest puppet master in the shinobi world. That Chiyo."
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