This was a great victory.
Fifteen Kirigakure Ninja had bypassed the front lines and were acting suspiciously within the Land of Fire. They had first killed three of their own, and then eleven more were finished off by the Konoha reinforcement unit.
Originally, it would have been impossible to have any survivors, but Higashino Shin pulled one back from the gates of hell.
As for who sent that Kirigakure Ninja to the gates of hell in the first place, don't ask.
Those who died had their heads destroyed; it seemed these people had long been prepared for the consequences of a failed mission.
To find out what Kirigakure's conspiracy was, this survivor was of the utmost importance.
Higashino Shin thought to himself, what other conspiracy could there be?
The restless Chakra mentioned by the adult Jonin of the Hyuga Clan was something Higashino Shin had naturally sensed long ago.
Not only that, what he sensed was more than just restlessness; there was also a sense of loathing, an instinctive rejection.
Higashino Shin knew clearly in his heart that this should be the Chakra of the Three-Tails Isobu, who had died along with Rin Nohara at the beginning of this year.
This Chakra was dispersed throughout the rivers, lakes, and sea surfaces in the southeastern region of the Land of Fire. It was very faint, and ordinary people could not detect it.
Tailed Beasts do not die; they automatically resurrect after death. But how they resurrect, where they resurrect, and when they resurrect, no one knows.
Perhaps Kirigakure knew something; after all, they had raised it for so many years, which is why they sent people to quietly collect the scattered Chakra.
Ninja sealing Tailed Beasts into Jinchuriki is also something that only started in recent decades. Every clan has a love-hate relationship with their own Jinchuriki.
Holding it in their hands, they're afraid it'll make a mess; keeping it in the Village, they're afraid it'll explode. They wouldn't easily use a Tailed Beast for experiments, let alone kill one.
Most likely, only Kirigakure, which enjoys internal slaughter behind closed doors, has extensive experience in killing Jinchuriki.
In the future, the Three-Tails will die once more along with the Fourth Mizukage.
Isobu is truly fucking miserable.
As for why Higashino Shin instinctively hated the Tailed Beast's Chakra? He hadn't forgotten the scene he saw in his consciousness state.
The White Natural Energy he absorbed was pitifully weak, squeezed and devoured by other colored energies, becoming the 'bean' that was daily beaten by its peers.
And the Tailed Beasts are parts of the Ten-Tails. The Ten-Tails is the body of the God Tree, transformed from the Natural Energy of the Ninja World absorbed by the God Tree. How could he not hate it?
Therefore, Higashino Shin knew from the beginning that he could never sign a contract with the Summoned Beasts of the three Great Holy Lands, let alone Seal a Tailed Beast into his body to act as a hand warmer.
From the moment he absorbed the White Natural Energy, he stood on the opposite side of all these things; the contradiction between the two sides was irreconcilable.
Konoha's current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is Uzumaki Kushina. This big sister has a straightforward personality, no schemes, and wanders around the Village daily.
But Higashino Shin never thought of getting to know her or calling her his 'sworn sister' to make it easier to learn Fuinjutsu; he even avoided contact with Minato Namikaze.
One reason was the fear of being invited for tea by the Anbu.
The other reason was that hatred for such things is mutual. He hated Tailed Beasts, and Tailed Beasts would instinctively loathe him. He was afraid that if he got close to Big Sister Uzumaki, Kurama would jump out to hit him.
Right now, he absolutely could not defeat that fox.
A single Tailed Beast Ball could send him, along with his parents and Konoha Village, to the heavens together.
---
At the gathering point by the lake, seeing Gekko Yun Jian carrying a prisoner over, the temporary commander of the unit, Nara Suzaku, was overjoyed.
He had originally planned to leave a few survivors, but who would have thought these Kirigakure Ninja were all madmen? Not a single intact head was left.
Fortunately, the two teams holding the perimeter had good luck and caught a fish that had slipped through the net.
"How's the situation? Is she still alive?"
Gekko Yun Jian said, "Still alive. Shin has already treated her. Don't worry, she won't die. Shin's Medical Ninjutsu ability is not below that of his mother."
Nara Suzaku immediately had the prisoner taken down for strict supervision.
Looking at the six young juniors, who were all the future of the Village, he praised, "Not bad. You are all very excellent, making up for the oversights of us Seniors."
"Especially you, child of the Higashino Clan. Your talent makes even me a bit jealous."
"You flatter me, Senior Suzaku. This is what we should do."
"Good, good, haha. I'll have to trouble you to treat the injured comrades to prevent delaying the rest of the journey."
In this unexpected encounter for the reinforcement unit, because the Konoha side discovered the target early and had the advantage in numbers, no Ninja were lost, and there weren't even any serious injuries.
There were only a few with light injuries.
As it happened, there was no professional Medical Ninja in their team, so Higashino Shin became the only field doctor.
Taking a small scroll from his Ninja tool pouch and spreading it on the ground, Higashino Shin formed Seals to perform the Unsealing Technique. With a 'poof', a backpack-sized medical kit appeared on the scroll.
He naturally knew simple sealing of non-living objects without a blood contract; this could be considered a type of Summoning.
His space-time talent wasn't great, but he had some at least; he just couldn't turn himself into a mobile warehouse like Tenten would in the future.
Sealing inanimate objects requires occupying an alternate dimension. The size of this space is another manifestation of space-time talent. Without this limit, he or others in the Ninja World could completely use quantity to make up for quality.
After all, scrolls can be very long and can contain many sealing symbols.
Handing the medical kit to Yūgao Uzuki, Higashino Shin transformed into a Medical Ninja, Yūgao automatically changed jobs to a nurse, and Hayate consciously took up the job of a bodyguard.
As for Hyuga Tokuma's team, they were already hopelessly immersed in the envious and jealous looks of the other Genin teams.
Muta Aburame didn't care about these things? Impossible. You don't understand what 'closet pervert' means.
Most of the injuries were blunt force from Ninjutsu or cuts from Ninja swords, none of which were serious.
Higashino Shin took the disinfectant from Yūgao's hand, carefully wiped the wounds clean, and after cleaning, performed Ninjutsu to heal the wounds.
If conditions are poor, one would just start treatment directly; that's the usual way to save time on the battlefield. If conditions allow, it's better to wipe the wound clean and disinfect it. Otherwise, if invisible foreign bodies are left behind, the original wound will have an itchy sensation for two or three days after healing.
This kind of itchiness doesn't affect strength; it just makes one a bit uncomfortable.
Benefiting from the progress in his own Chakra Yin and Yang ratio cultivation, Higashino Shin's medical Chakra had amazing vitality, so the treatment speed was very fast.
Many people quickly returned to their original state, and the wounds had no abnormal sensations. They all expressed their thanks to Higashino Shin.
To make it as a Ninja, you have to talk about strength. If you are capable, others won't look down on you because of your young age; on the contrary, they will think you are trustworthy, and there will be more people willing to stand in front of you to block a blade than for others.
The last injured person was an old Ninja whose hair was starting to turn gray. He was about the same age as the Third Hokage and was known along with Danzo Shimura as one of Konoha's two great 'scapegoat kings'.
The difference was that Danzo carried conceptual 'pots' (blame), while this one truly carried an iron pot on his back.
With this outfit, it was definitely the Eternal Genin, Maruboshi Kosuke.
However, his title of Eternal Genin was just a name. As for his strength, veteran Jonin all understood it; otherwise, Nara Suzaku wouldn't have let him charge in the first squad.
During the battle, Higashino Shin had sensed it very clearly from the perimeter. This old man's Water Release was fast and fierce, leaving even the Kirigakure, who were professional water users, dazed.
"Old man, you must be very powerful. How did you get injured?"
Maruboshi Kosuke squinted and laughed heartily, "Not powerful, not powerful. I'm just a Genin. It's just that I'm old, and when I see reckless juniors, I always feel I can help block a bit for them."
"You're too modest. Genin is just a rank; it doesn't represent strength. Otherwise, Senior Suzaku wouldn't have allowed you to participate in the first wave of combat."
"Oh? Your observation is very keen, and your Medical Ninjutsu is also very exquisite. I heard you were also the first to discover the enemy. Truly not bad; you are all the future of Konoha!"
"Not at all. I still need to learn more from Seniors like you."
"I can't teach you, but seeing as both of your companions seem to use swords, I have some insights in that area and can teach some useful methods. Young juniors, I hope you can survive every mission."
Higashino Shin gave a look to Gekkō Hayate and Yūgao Uzuki.
This was an opportunity they had to grasp. The person in front of them was a master-level figure who combined Genjutsu and Kenjutsu, which perfectly fit the combat styles of his two friends' families and could greatly enrich their skill sets.
As for himself, he could completely ask for advice on Water Release cultivation.
With Higashino Shin's current cultivation in Water Release nature transformation, he could actually develop many Ninjutsu himself. However, by communicating with others, one can always discover knowledge they've missed.
In a party of three, there is always one who can be my teacher.