Unlike the chaotic three-way melee in the north, the fighting situation along the southeastern front was not intense. It was only because a portion of the forces—primarily from the Hyūga—had been redeployed to support the north that personnel reinforcements were needed.
The unit led by Nara Suzaku was precisely the reinforcement force that Konoha had managed to scrape together.
More than half of its members were rookies who had graduated only a few years earlier. From this, it was clear that after the Third Shinobi World War had dragged on to this point, the number of ninjas Konoha could deploy had indeed reached a severely strained state.
The other large and small ninja villages were much the same. Once war began, no one could hope to avoid it. Did small-nation ninja villages like Grass, Taki, or Hot Springs really expect the great powers to bleed each other dry while they stood aside and reaped the benefits? Keep dreaming.
During wartime, what is the most important thing for a ninja on the march?
It is maintaining sufficient stamina to deal with unexpected situations, with stability and safety taking absolute priority. As long as they reached their destination within the specified time, that was enough.
After Higashino Makoto followed the main force to eliminate a Kirigakure ninja squad they had encountered by chance, and after the battlefield cleanup was completed, night had already fallen. The jōnin leading the unit decided to rest on the spot before continuing onward. They arrived at the Eastern Front Battlefield Command Headquarters at around seven in the morning the next day.
This was the difference between ninjas and ordinary people. Crossing more than half of the Land of Fire took them less than a full day; if they had traveled at maximum speed without restraint, it would not even have taken half a day.
As they approached the outer perimeter of the command headquarters' security cordon, the scattered reinforcement units began to converge. At that moment, Higashino Makoto saw a squad of ninjas ahead wearing standard-issue Konoha flak jackets. After confirming identity information with Jōnin Nara Suzaku, they used the Body Flicker and departed, continuing their patrol.
After entering the command headquarters camp, everyone was assigned temporary lodgings according to their squads.
The accommodations were extremely simple—only a single room, with everyone sleeping together so they could respond immediately if an incident occurred. That was simply how ninjas were. When on missions or during war, there was no distinction between men and women and no room for such niceties; when sleeping, no one even took off their clothes.
"Stay here and rest. If anything comes up, we'll talk after I get back!" Gekkō Kumomi instructed, then left.
As a jōnin, he could not be as leisurely as his disciples. He had to go assemble for a meeting and get a general understanding of the current situation on the front lines.
As soon as their sensei left, Uzuki Yūgao asked excitedly, "Hey, hey—Orochimaru-sama must be here too, right? Sensei should be able to meet him, right?"
How would Hayate know something like that? Higashino Makoto replied, "Hard to say!"
Uzuki Yūgao did not quite understand. As the overall commander of the Eastern Front battlefield, if Orochimaru was not at the command headquarters, where else could he be?
Before he defected, Orochimaru was still highly respected in the hearts of Konoha's ninjas. After all, he was one of the Sannin, the Hokage's disciple, the chief contributor to the first victory of this war, and a strong contender for Fourth Hokage—an object of admiration for many Konoha ninjas.
It was just that his image and temperament were not very approachable. He could not be like Namikaze Minato—sunny and warm, impeccable in image, winning over both young and old.
Sure enough, just as Higashino Makoto had expected, near noon, when they saw their sensei return, Uzuki Yūgao asked curiously, "Sensei, I heard people say Orochimaru-sama looks really scary. Is that what he's like?"
Gekkō Kumomi's expression was a little strange. "Sorry, Yūgao. I didn't see that lord. And also—don't spread those rumors you hear in the future."
"Huh? You didn't see him? Isn't Orochimaru-sama the overall commander of the Eastern Front?"
Since the relationship between Higashino Makoto's three-person squad and him was not as simple as that of mere sensei and disciples, Gekkō Kumomi said in a low voice, "The one presiding over the meeting was Fugaku-sama, the head of the Uchiha clan. As for Orochimaru-sama… I've heard he often disappears. No one knows what he went off to do."
Uzuki Yūgao was a little disappointed. "How could it be like this?"
How could it be like this? Higashino Makoto thought to himself: it was probably because the Uncle Snake no longer had much interest in things like war. The reason he agreed to take a post in the east was likely that the Kirigakure battlefield could provide him with sufficiently interesting experimental materials.
As for the specific matters, just leave them to Uchiha Fugaku and Hyūga Hiashi. Now that Hyūga Hiashi had been transferred away, the remaining Fugaku would be very willing to command a frontline sector—that was precisely what their clan desired. Once he accumulated enough merit, he could even apply to become a Hokage candidate.
Gekkō Hayate felt indifferent to all this. "Sensei, then what are we going to do next?"
"Well, there's nothing for now. We'll just wait for orders from above."
…
Waiting time could not possibly be wasted. If rest time was not used for training, wouldn't that be a pity?
In the afternoon, Higashino Makoto teamed up with his two squadmates and went to look for the old senior Maruboshi Kosuke to farm gold coins again.
Regarding this special individual, Gekkō Kumomi did have some understanding. He also knew that the man took good care of the village's juniors, so he did not stop them.
After dinner, a ninja came to deliver a notice, asking Higashino Makoto to make a trip to the medical station.
Upon arriving at the temporary hospital, Higashino Makoto saw the person who had sent for him.
"Mishima-san, you were looking for me?"
Inside an unused ward of the temporary hospital sat a middle-aged man with glasses who was reading a book. He was not tall, had a friendly-looking face, and appeared to be in his thirties.
His name was Mishima Toshio. He was a colleague of Higashino Megumi at the Konoha Hospital, and the two were on good terms. Higashino Makoto often ran into him back when he used to go to the hospital to grind medical experience.
"Makoto, you're here. So, how about it—do you want to come help out here? With your level of medical ninjutsu, I think it would be very easy for you."
"Is this my mother's idea?"
Mishima Toshio did not hide it. "It's Megumi's idea. But she said in her letter that everything depends on your choice. We won't force you."
"Thank you for your concern, Mishima-san, but I still prefer fighting a bit more."
"Hahaha, just as Megumi guessed. Well, no problem—but if I need help on my side, you still have to come over."
"Alright. As long as I'm in the camp, I'll come whenever you call."
At that moment, a loud female voice came from outside. "Mishima-senpai! Mishima-senpai! Hurry up and treat me!"
As the voice drew closer, the door to the room was shoved open forcefully, and a girl with an explosive ponytail burst in.
The girl had dark hair with a faint purplish tint, and her eye color was similar. She was a little shorter than Higashino Makoto.
Mishima Toshio covered his forehead, speechless. "Anko, where did you run off to with your sensei again?"
"Of course we went to do high-level missions. Don't worry about that for now—hurry up and treat me. I still have to train tonight."
So this was Orochimaru's current and only disciple, Mitarashi Anko.
How should it be put—rash, hyperactive, not very mindful of manners; the type of single-track, hot-blooded idiot. Basically, a female version of Naruto.
It was hard to imagine someone with Orochimaru's personality taking in a disciple like this.
Mishima Toshio refused, saying, "I've been busy all day. I need to rest."
"Huh? Then what about my wound?"
"Idiot. Haven't you noticed there's another person here?"
Mitarashi Anko exaggeratedly shook her head and looked around, then deliberately put on an expression as if she had finally spotted her target. She and Higashino Makoto stared at each other wide-eyed, both feeling that the other was highly unreliable.
Pointing at Higashino Makoto, she questioned him, "This little brat is a medical ninja too?"
Higashino Makoto raised his left hand, green chakra emerging from it. "Anko-senpai, you seem to have quite a deep prejudice against younger teammates."
"Eh? Senpai? Do we know each other?"
"No, but I've seen you at the academy. You're two years older than me. By the time I reached my second year, you had already graduated."
"Ahahaha! Is that so? So you're a junior. You look pretty reliable—then I'll leave it to you."
"It's no trouble."
Higashino Makoto stepped forward and removed the bandage from Anko's arm. Taking a look, he saw that it was a deep wound cut by a sharp blade, though it had only received simple cleaning and bandaging.
This kind of injury was naturally very easy for Higashino Makoto. As he treated it, he asked, "Anko-senpai, do you not like eating meat?"
"How could meat be as good as sweet dango… Huh? How did you know?"
"You're two years older than me, yet you're not even as tall as I am. And you still have the nerve to call me a brat?"
Anko: "…"
As long as you don't mention height, we can still be good friends.
...
Late at night.
The squad had already fallen asleep when Higashino Makoto suddenly opened his eyes. He sensed a small snake wandering around outside—this was not behavior a wild snake should have.
This was the Eastern Front command headquarters camp of Konoha. For a snake to appear here could only indicate one thing.
Someone was trying to lure him.
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