Southwest Battlefield, Land of Fire.
"Lord Honwa, the Sand Ninja have currently ceased their offensive."
Inside the tent, Commander Nara Honwa heard his subordinate's report, and the solemn expression on his face eased, his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxing.
"What were the casualties last night?"
"Reporting to Lord Honwa, there were a total of eighty-three casualties last night. Among them, twenty-seven were fatalities and fifty-six were severely injured."
Upon hearing this, Nara Honwa's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed tightly again, and he said in a deep voice, "Why are the casualties so severe?"
The war had only just begun for one night, and the casualty rate had already reached this level, which was undoubtedly a very dangerous situation.
It should be known that those participating in the war were the Village's mid-to-high-end combat forces.
Such a number of casualties would definitely put significant pressure on the Village.
It wasn't apparent now, but after some time, as the war continued, more and more Ninja would die.
By then, there would be no one left for the front lines.
He had to figure out the specific situation to find a solution.
"Lord Honwa, the poison developed by the Sand Ninja is very strong, and we haven't found a way to counteract it yet."
"Aren't there Medical Ninja on the front lines?" Nara Honwa frowned. "Can't they neutralize the toxins?"
Medical Ninja were considered high-end talents in all countries.
In war, besides Jonin, the most valuable were Medical Ninja.
In fact, the role of Medical Ninja was even greater than that of ordinary Jonin...
On the battlefield, injuries were unavoidable.
If not treated in time, even a powerful Jonin would only face death.
Therefore, Medical Ninja played a very significant role on the battlefield.
Konoha Village placed great importance on the cultivation of Medical Ninja, and those sent to the front lines were the most elite.
Nara Honwa felt that with their medical skill, developing an antidote should be no problem.
It wasn't as if they hadn't fought against the Sand Ninja before; although the Sand Ninja were skilled in using poison, it had never been so strong as to be uncrackable...
But his subordinate's next words stunned him.
"Lord Honwa, the antidote developed by the Medical Department can only slow the spread of the toxins, not completely cure them."
"If an antidote cannot be developed soon, those injured comrades will..."
He did not continue, but Nara Honwa understood the implied meaning of his words.
"Why has the Sand Ninja's poison suddenly become so strong?" Nara Honwa's face was ashen.
"Notify the Medical Department, they must develop an antidote no matter what!"
Without an antidote, those injured comrades would be in mortal danger.
And more comrades would be injured later.
If not resolved in time, the Southwest Battlefield he was in charge of would eventually fall.
Nara Honwa called three Ninja from the reconnaissance squad and ordered, "Investigate the origin of this Sand Ninja poison, and who developed it."
"Understood!" The three received their mission and left.
He did not stay idle; he left his tent and headed to the Medical Department.
The Medical Department had dozens of tents used for injured soldiers to rest.
Inside one of the tents, a sour stench of herbs mixed with rotting flesh permeated the air.
Dozens of Ninja lay on beds, groaning incessantly, their festering wounds turning bluish-black.
Medical Ninja moved busily among them.
"Senior Haigu, has the antidote not been developed yet?"
Haigu Mianyin shook her head, "Not yet. This poison is somewhat special; it still requires time."
Upon hearing this, the Medical Ninja could only use Medical Ninjutsu to maintain the condition of the injured.
The Sand Ninja Village's poison was very special; ordinary antidotes simply had no effect.
They could only hope that Senior Haigu would develop an antidote...
Just then, the Battlefield Commander, Nara Honwa, lifted the tent flap and entered.
He looked at the groaning injured, subconsciously clenching his fists.
The situation here was even worse than he had imagined.
If a solution couldn't be found, they could only watch these injured comrades die in agony.
And more Ninja would be injured and die later...
As Commander, he absolutely would not allow such a thing to happen!
The Medical Ninja noticed Nara Honwa, but no one greeted him; they were all fully focused on using Medical Ninjutsu to alleviate the pain of the injured.
This method was a temporary fix, not a permanent cure; it could only suppress the toxins for a short time before they would recur.
Nara Honwa came to Haigu Mianyin's side and whispered, "Has the antidote not been developed yet?"
"No, it needs time." Haigu Mianyin did not look up. "This time, the Sand Ninja's poison is very special; it will be difficult to crack in a short period."
Nara Honwa's face was ashen, and he turned and left the tent.
He was not a Medical Ninja; staying there would serve no purpose and might even interfere with the treatment of the injured.
As soon as he exited the tent, a Ninja rushed over.
"Lord Honwa, the Sand Ninja have launched another attack!"
Nara Honwa's face sank. They hadn't yet developed an antidote for the Sand Ninja's poison, and now the enemy had launched another attack.
If the antidote wasn't developed in time, more comrades would be poisoned.
He immediately ordered, "Notify everyone, prepare for the enemy!"
........
Sand Ninja camp fifty li from the Southwest Battlefield.
"Hahaha, as expected of the Village's genius poison master!"
The Sand Ninja Commander looked at the silver-haired girl in front of him with an admiring expression.
The girl had silver hair like a waterfall, clear amber eyes, fair skin, and delicate features.
Facing the Commander's praise, the girl merely nodded indifferently, showing no joy at being complimented.
"The poison I developed cannot be cracked by Konoha Village in a short period. Launching an attack on Konoha now is undoubtedly the best choice."
"Well said, I've already sent people to initiate the attack." The Commander agreed wholeheartedly.
"I believe it won't be long before we can completely take over the Southwest Battlefield!"
"At that time, you will be the Sand Ninja Village's greatest contributor!"
"Serving the Village, that is what I should do."
----------
"Renye-kun, can you really read maps now?" Utatane Koharu's face was filled with worry.
After they left last night, Renye claimed he had learned how to read maps, so he snatched the map from Danzo's hand and led the way.
"Renye, why don't you give me back the map?" Danzo Shimura advised, "The front lines need our support right now; it wouldn't be good to delay."
For one night, both of them followed behind Renye, constantly on edge.
Fearing that Renye would take the wrong path again, like before...
"Don't worry, I really have learned to read maps." Renye said, looking at the map in his hand:
"There are still twenty kilometers to the destination. You'll know very soon if I've taken the wrong path."
Facing their doubts, Renye didn't want to explain too much; successfully arriving would be the best explanation.
Danzo and Koharu exchanged glances, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes.
As it stood, they could only pray that Renye hadn't taken the wrong path.
Danzo made a firm resolution in his heart: from now on, no matter what, he would never let Renye lead the way again, regardless of whether he could read maps or not!
This feeling of being on edge, fearing getting lost, was not pleasant at all.
Just then, a dense sound of footsteps suddenly came from a distance.
The three of them did not hesitate and immediately hid.