Night.
In a land that should have been ravaged by snow and wind, the tents of Konohagakure remained brightly lit. Even though the victory feast had long since ended, the Konoha shinobi could not suppress their excitement. They gathered in small groups around campfires, talking and laughing animatedly.
Sakura Haruno had only made a brief appearance at the celebration before rushing straight to the medical unit without pause.
Among a force of thousands, the number of medical-nin barely reached thirty. Ever since returning to the frontlines, Sakura hadn't had a moment of rest.
"Th-Thank you… You're Lady Sakura, aren't you?"
"The Hokage's student?"
The man lying on the hospital bed struggled to sit up in gratitude, but Sakura gently pushed him back down.
"Your wounds haven't healed. No baths for the next seven days, and try to keep the injury dry," she instructed while packing her tools, already moving on to treat the next patient.
There were simply too many wounded. This had been a decisive battle, a life-and-death struggle. By the end of it, nearly a thousand shinobi were severely injured, and over two thousand suffered lighter wounds.
And without timely medical attention, many of those in critical condition would surely die.
Each major operation took roughly an hour per patient—by that calculation, their small team of medics was woefully inadequate.
So, no matter how heartfelt the gratitude from the wounded, Sakura had no time to engage in small talk.
Because, for the others, time quite literally meant life.
Several had already died because treatment had been delayed for too long.
Wiping the sweat from her brow would have to wait—Sakura rushed toward her next battlefield as a medic-nin.
Though their numbers were small, fortunately, some of the uninjured shinobi were volunteering to assist, which helped ease the pressure on the medical unit a little.
For example, a young Uchiha orphan nearby was clumsily helping a female medic-nin tend to the wounded.
However, he kept glancing toward the busy figure with pink hair, causing him to repeatedly mess up.
"Are you even trying?!"
"If you don't want to help, then leave! I've had it with you!"
The medic-nin snapped at Sasuke with clear irritation.
"I—I'm sorry," Sasuke mumbled awkwardly.
The medic followed his gaze toward Sakura and frowned, hands on her hips.
"Just because Lady Sakura defeated the Raikage doesn't mean you get to slack off and make a mess of things!"
"Get out if you're not going to help properly!"
Faced with her justified anger, the black-haired boy could only bow his head and apologize earnestly, promising not to lose focus again. Only then did the medic reluctantly calm down.
There was no need for an official announcement—Sakura's feat of slaying the Raikage had already spread like wildfire through the Konoha ranks.
Even her earlier capture of the Two-Tails' jinchuriki had been "casually" revealed by Jiraiya during the celebration.
Another pillar of Konoha, on par with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze!
What a staggering level of talent—to defeat the Fourth Raikage, a battlefield commander, head-on, at not even thirteen years of age. It was an achievement most shinobi could never dream of attaining.
What inspired the ordinary shinobi the most, however...
Sakura Haruno was a civilian-born kunoichi. She had no kekkei genkai, no inherited clan techniques!
Her background alone unknowingly rallied countless civilian-born shinobi around her. That pink-haired girl had become their silent beacon of hope.
But let's set that aside for now.
While Sakura was racing around the medical unit without rest, another department within the Konoha forces was also running at full capacity.
The Raikage's corpse.
This was the body of a Kage—one of the five most powerful figures in the shinobi world!
The moment the Raikage's corpse arrived, it was immediately sent to the Intelligence Division. Though the camp setup was basic, they lacked nothing essential.
The moment the intelligence operatives laid eyes on the Raikage's body, they looked like starving wolves spotting a fat sheep grazing on the roadside. Their eyes gleamed with such intensity it could practically blind you.
Though the Raikage's brain was protected by high-level secret techniques, that was only a minor inconvenience to the Yamanaka clan specialists in the Intelligence Division.
Jiraiya sat nearby, leisurely sipping tea while flipping through the intelligence extracted from the Raikage's mind.
Every detail was meticulously transcribed by designated personnel.
They were professionals—no clue, no matter how small, would be missed.
They were practically one step away from discovering what brand of diapers the Raikage had worn as a child.
"Lord Jiraiya, here's the compilation of training methods for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Lightning Armor, and other secret techniques."
As a member of the Intelligence Division placed a thick stack of documents before him, Jiraiya's hand holding the teacup froze mid-air.
It was finally here.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode!
The secret, unpassed technique of successive Raikage from Kumogakure.
Unrivaled defense. Blinding speed. Piercing offense that could tear through anything!
Jiraiya quickly flipped through the dazzlingly complex index annotated by the Intelligence Division.
Lightning Armor, Heavy Stream Explosion, Thunder Fang Bomb, Lightning-Strike Water Dragon Dance, Raging Thunder Axe, Lightning Plow-Hot Knife, Supreme Lightning Plow-Hot Knife…
He finally reached the technique he'd been looking for.
Hell Stab.
The fearsome Lightning Release jutsu made famous by the Third Raikage, a technique that had shaken the entire shinobi world.
But as Jiraiya read through the Hell Stab section, his brow furrowed.
"This… isn't complete?"
He looked up at the intelligence officer with confusion.
The other techniques were well documented, but the Hell Stab was vague and difficult to understand.
The operative shook his head. "It's not that it's incomplete—it's that this Raikage never mastered it. At best, he had a superficial understanding."
Jiraiya thought back to the Fourth Raikage's performance during the battle and realized that, indeed, he had never used the Third's signature technique.
"Sigh… I see."
Jiraiya sighed with disappointment.
After all, the Third Raikage had famously held off ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi with just this one technique.
Without its unparalleled penetrating power, it was impossible to break through the united Earth Release defenses of Iwagakure.
"More importantly," the intelligence operative continued, "I believe you should look at the final section, Lord Jiraiya."
Hmm?
There's more?
Jiraiya was puzzled. What piece of intelligence could possibly rival the secret techniques of the Raikage?
He flipped to the last page and began to read. As time passed, his breathing grew heavier.
It was just one page of text, yet Jiraiya spent a long time studying it.
Snap.
He closed the file with a sharp clap and looked up at the operative, his expression turning solemn.
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