Escape from Konoha.

When she graduated from the Ninja Academy, her strength was already close to that of a Jonin. Now, more than half a year has passed, and in the last two months she has been training in natural energy, and her strength has steadily improved to the Jonin level.

"Let's go."

This time, they went to the front line in a group of only three.

No specific instructions were given from above; they were simply told to go to the front line as soon as possible to meet up with their captain, Hatake Sakumo.

To be honest, Shiraishi really missed Sakumo after not seeing him for two months.

Moreover, Sakumo's decisive and resolute style of doing things was also admired by Shiraishi.

Most importantly, he is able to take good care of his companions.

In many missions, Sakumo would prioritize the safety of Shiraishi and his companions, and then choose whether to continue pursuing the enemy or abandon the pursuit, always putting the safety of his comrades first.

Sakumo's thoughts were quite clear when they fought against the Sand Ninja forces in the past.

Shiraishi felt that Sakumo was a ninja who strictly adhered to the principles of the Will of Fire and acted accordingly.

This is probably the kind of talent that the First Hokage initially hoped to have.

The village, bound together by the bonds of comrades, and the protection of every one of its inhabitants, is the ultimate expression of the Will of Fire.

Even if Sakumo doesn't necessarily have the potential to become Hokage in the future, he is a model ninja who passes on the Will of Fire.

That's what Shiraishi thinks.

Although Shiraishi was not particularly enthusiastic about the Will of Fire.

Chapter Seventy: The Book of Reconciliation

They met Sakumo at nine o'clock the next morning when Shiraishi and his two companions arrived at the Konoha camp on the front lines of the Land of Fire.

There's been little change here compared to before. The only difference is that the atmosphere is more tense than before.

However, although the mission to cut off Sunagakure's supplies failed due to interference from Root, Sakumo's team completed the mission exceptionally well.

He single-handedly destroyed a crucial supply point for Sunagakure, causing Sunagakure's offensive momentum to falter recently.

"In other words, does that mean that as long as we can get through this winter, Sunagakure will fall without a fight?"

Bai Shi asked.

It's already early October, and the weather is gradually getting colder. Especially in December, the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers will enter the harsh winter season.

The Sand Village ninjas lack sufficient supplies to survive the winter, and by early spring, the situation will become extremely unfavorable for them.

"That's roughly right, but we're not sure if Sunagakure will really withdraw its troops. We can only say that it's highly likely."

Sakumo nodded.

With insufficient supplies, launching a final, fierce attack to open a breach into the Land of Fire could also be a way out for Sunagakure.

After all, the leader this time is the Third Kazekage, so we must be fully prepared.

Especially at times like these, we must be extra vigilant and not give the Sand Ninja any opportunity to take advantage.

"So what tasks have we been assigned to our team?"

"The same as before: find and eliminate isolated Sand Ninja units to relieve pressure on the main battlefield from the side."

Shuo Mao answered in this way.

He was well aware of his limitations as a ninja. He didn't have any wide-range ninjutsu attacks; all his strength came from taijutsu and swordsmanship.

Therefore, he would have a headache dealing with enemies who possess large-area ninjutsu attacks, but on the other hand, his taijutsu, body sleight of hand, and swordsmanship are all unparalleled.

If you can't keep up with his speed and lack the means to defend against the White Fang Dagger, for him, killing an enemy is only a matter of one or several strikes.

The three members of the Shiraishi family were well aware of this.

He is a ninja with both very obvious flaws and strengths.

He is best suited for small-scale battles; in large-scale battles, his strength will be limited.

Because on the front lines, he has to consider many more things: dodging kunai and explosive tags that fly in from nowhere, and whether to save or not to save many comrades in danger.

As a result, his swordsmanship will become hesitant and sluggish, unable to unleash its full power.

Sakumo had nothing to complain about.

Ninjas were assigned jobs that suited them based on their abilities and personalities.

He is only suited to this kind of action and combat. For example, the Sannin cannot do his job, and he cannot do the Sannin's job either.

"You've just arrived, so rest here for the day. We'll begin our mission tomorrow morning."

"Yes."

Before leaving, Sakumo said to Shiraishi, "Oh, right, I forgot to mention, if you have nothing to do, you can go check out the medical camp. There's a shortage of medical ninjas at the front lines right now. Even if it's just for a day, it can help alleviate the pressure there."

"I understand."

Shiraishi nodded and headed towards the medical camp.

It's true that it relieved the pressure on the medical corps, but Shiraishi knew that it was just Sakumo's words of comfort, and he didn't know how much pressure it could actually relieve.

No matter what, treating patients is the duty of a medical ninja, and Shiraishi has no reason to refuse.

However, in Shiraishi's view, Konoha's current shortage of medical ninjas is entirely due to problems with its own understanding and execution strategies, which has led to this result.

Konoha's emphasis on medical education stems from the medical reforms proposed by Tsunade a few years ago, which led to the training of medical ninjas.

But in fact, Konoha did not pay much attention to medical reform at the beginning.

In their view, instead of allocating resources to medical ninjas with weak combat capabilities, it would be better to cultivate more powerful ninjas and strengthen the village's combat power.

However, after the devastating war in the Land of Rain, it was discovered that resources were being allocated to powerful ninjas, resulting in a high mortality rate. Only then did they begin to enforce medical ninjutsu courses at the ninja academy.

Shiroishi was a member of the first batch of medical ninja experimental class members in the medical reform, and he was well aware of how negligent Konoha was in training medical ninjas.

If Tsunade hadn't proposed this reform... Konoha might not have valued the profession of medical ninja even now.

(PS: I seem to recall that in the original work, when Tsunade proposed medical reform, all the high-ranking officials and Jonin, including the Third Hokage, were not interested in her proposal. Only Dan Kato supported Tsunade, probably because he was lusting after her body...)

Upon arriving at the medical unit's camp, one could hear the agonizing cries of the wounded, and the smell of disinfectant mixed with blood filled Shiraishi's nostrils.

In addition, due to the limited area of ​​the camp, some wounded people could only lie outside and receive hasty treatment.

Prioritizing the treatment of seriously injured ninjas before treating those with minor or moderate injuries is a rule of the Konoha Medical Corps.

Here, Shiraishi also saw Tsunade, but he didn't go over to catch up. Tsunade was there using medical ninjutsu to treat the wounded.

Shiroshi explained his purpose to the deputy commander here, who was very pleased. At this time, having an extra medical ninja meant that more wounded people could be rescued.

Especially considering that the other party is the medical ninja who was specially assigned to Sakumo's team, and was one of the first medical experimental students at the Ninja Academy, his medical ninjutsu couldn't be too bad, right?

So he immediately assigned Bai Shi more than ten people with minor to moderate injuries, along with some medical supplies, and told him to get to work as soon as possible.

Shiroishi walked to an open space where many wounded Konoha ninjas lay on makeshift beds, numbering around several dozen.

Accompanying Shiroishi were three medical ninjas, the oldest being in his thirties and the youngest a few years older than Shiroishi.

Even though they were both medical ninjas, they didn't communicate at all, or rather, they simply didn't have the time.

Shiraishi focused intently on using his healing magic, skillfully and precisely treating the wounds of these injured people.

During the treatment process, Shiraishi also communicates with the injured to reduce their stress and help them heal better.

"It's all better now. You just need to rest for a couple of days."

"I know you. You're a member of Sakumo Jonin Team, right? That's amazing medical ninjutsu."

The Konoha ninja, now healed, praised Shiraishi in a kind tone.

"No, compared to my predecessors, I still have many shortcomings."

Shiraishi simply smiled modestly at the praise.

After all, compared to a medical ninja of Tsunade's caliber, there are still many areas where he needs to improve.

Shiraishi finished his medical work in the morning and didn't finish until it got dark in the evening.

Because most of the tents had been requisitioned by the medical unit, some wounded soldiers were not assigned tents. So when Shiraishi returned and met up with Ruri and Ayane, he was only assigned an open space to rest.

At five o'clock the next morning, when it was still dark, Shiraishi and the other two had already woken up.

Some Konoha ninjas were still asleep, while many others patrolled the outer perimeter of the camp, mainly sensory ninjas and Hyuga clan members.

When Sakumo came to find them, Shiraishi and the other two were fully prepared, equipped with everything they needed, including soldier rations, antidotes, kunai, explosive tags, sealing scrolls, medical kits, and more.

As the only support medical personnel in the team, Shiraishi's task was to equip the team with as much supplies as possible, so he also packed emergency food and water in his backpack.

The next mission for the Sakumo Squad can be described as having no mission content whatsoever.

They would annihilate any enemies they encountered, provide support to any comrades they met, and sabotage any Sand Ninja transport convoys they were lucky enough to run into.

Just like how Sunagakure previously sent elite troops to cause trouble inside the Land of Fire, it was used to distract Konoha and even prevent the Konoha ninja on the front lines from making any rash moves.

The same applies to the Shuo Mao squad's mission this time.

They were to penetrate deep into the Land of Rivers and even the Land of Wind to carry out sabotage operations behind enemy lines, with the Sakumo Squad left to adapt to the situation on the ground.

The higher-ups granted the Sakumo squad considerable freedom, which also meant that this mission was highly dangerous.

Not to mention Shiraishi and Ayane, Ruri was already eager to try.

Having experienced the last battle, her ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu have all improved significantly, and her Sharingan has even been upgraded to the three-tomoe form.

This growth was obvious, and Sakumo was very satisfied with it, believing that he could no longer take Ruri lightly if he wanted to deal with her now.

◎

November, mid-month.

The Land of Rivers, Sunagakure Camp.

The Third Kazekage looked grimly at the intelligence report brought to him by his subordinates. Over the past month, there had been frequent reports of Sand Ninja squads on patrol missions in the Land of Rivers being wiped out by the enemy.

"Konoha's White Fang!"

The Third Kazekage slammed his fist on the table, his eyes burning with rage.

Even without looking at intelligence reports, one knows who did this.

Apart from Konoha's White Fang, none of the Jonin Konoha can currently deploy possess such a terrifying annihilation speed.