Although furious, Ma Jia did not lose his composure.
Strictly speaking, this was Konoha's internal matter, and it was inappropriate for him to interfere directly.
"So, let Hui handle it," Ma Jia muttered.
He glanced toward the battlefield, then shifted his gaze toward the Land of Fire, his eyes gleaming with cold intensity.
Employing the technique of annihilation and recovery along with memory sharing, Ma Jia forcibly suppressed the rage surging within him. He activated the techniques of Respiration and Earth Movement, rushing all the way to Konoha's front lines. The battle raged fiercely, but thanks to Ma Jia's concealment techniques, he moved unnoticed. Guided by his spiritual perception, he swiftly located the injured members of the Seventh Squad.
With precise control, Ma Jia conducted a detailed examination of their conditions.
"Although the treatment method was rough, the results aren't bad. At least the three of them received timely emergency care. Phew, the foundation isn't destroyed, but healing will take a long time," Ma Jia assessed silently.
Even without knowing the full sequence of events, Ma Jia could reasonably deduce what had transpired.
White Fang likely wished to conceal the fact that he was alive, which meant attracting minimal attention. Hence, he probably prioritized returning the severely injured trio to Konoha for treatment.
"Still, even though they're stable for now, the injuries remain serious. The emergency treatment only halted further deterioration. If left untreated for too long, complications could arise."
Healing the injuries completely would require Tsunade's expertise. This highlighted just how grave the injuries were. Although Konoha had advanced medical ninjutsu, the number of top-tier medical ninjas was limited.
And with the war ongoing, Ma Jia couldn't predict how soon Tsunade would be available to treat them.
"You really want me to handle it, huh?" Ma Jia sighed.
The Seventh Squad had been assigned a separate tent for recovery due to their critical condition. No other patients shared the space; it was reserved for the most serious cases.
After confirming the absence of others nearby, Ma Jia emerged from the ground, set up a barrier around the tent, and sealed the space inside.
"Yang Release: Life Recovery," Ma Jia whispered, forming hand seals.
Vitality surged from him into the three unconscious figures.
Originally a resurrection technique, this method had been refined by Uchiha Kiyo to replenish others' vitality instead.
Ma Jia didn't know if others could recover vitality as easily, but for him and his clones, recovery was a certainty.
Natural energy from the surroundings rushed into Ma Jia's body. As vitality drained from him, the purified natural energy swiftly replenished it. Under Ma Jia's meticulous control, the energy circulated through his system, continually nurturing his form.
After completing his Foundation Establishment, Uchiha Kiyo had spent two years on the Island of Qing refining this technique, enhancing the absorption and conversion of natural energy to vital energy. The improvements greatly accelerated vitality recovery.
Increasing the upper limit of vitality still required time and polishing, but recovery rates had been dramatically boosted.
Although Ma Jia didn't possess the main body's heightened affinity for natural energy, the significant difference between his soul's capacity and his current vitality promoted even faster absorption.
Moreover, Ma Jia was only supplementing vitality, not performing full resurrection. The consumption wasn't overwhelming — perhaps several decades of life force in total. Divided among the three, each received over a decade of additional vitality.
This helped compensate for their previous overexertion and fortified their bodies for gradual recovery until Tsunade or another expert could treat them properly.
Decades of vitality was no small amount, but for Ma Jia, merely a clone, it wasn't an issue. As long as the body retained activity, the loss of vitality meant little.
Gradual recovery would take months, but it was better than risking permanent damage.
Meanwhile, outside the tent, the battle raged on.
"ROAR!"
As the fight dragged out, Shukaku's bestial nature increasingly surfaced, with its host Fenfu's will weakening.
Despite the siege by three colossal summoned beasts and the coordinated assault of the Sannin, even a complete-tailed beast struggled.
Fenfu's will, recognizing this, despaired.
At full strength, even a complete-tailed beast couldn't easily defeat the Sannin's cooperation. Realizing the futility, Fenfu made a desperate decision.
Sealing off his own consciousness, he relinquished complete control to Shukaku.
"ROAR!"
With Fenfu's consciousness sealed, Shukaku roared in delight, fully controlling the body at last.
The beast raised its tail high, giddy with regaining freedom.
BOOM!
The Sannin remained calm even as Shukaku's full presence surged. Jiraiya coordinated with the Toad Sages to perform "Sage Art: Five Right Gate Guard," erecting a layered defense.
Orochimaru swiftly launched an advanced ninjutsu barrage at Shukaku's head.
Shukaku, enraged by their resistance, retaliated without hesitation.
"Tailed Beast Bomb!"
The Sannin's expressions shifted. A purple-black sphere of condensed chakra began forming in Shukaku's maw, growing ominously large.
Realizing they couldn't dodge — not with the Konoha forces behind them — the Sannin braced to intercept the attack.
"Triple Rashomon!"
Orochimaru summoned three enormous demonic gates in succession. The first absorbed most of the impact, the second weakened it further, and the third dispersed the remaining force. Although not as mighty as Hashirama's five-fold Rashomon, Orochimaru's technique ranked among the strongest defensive ninjutsu below super shadow level.
"Sage Art: Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Jiraiya manipulated his hair, saturated with Sage Chakra, into a defensive cocoon around the trio.
The tailed beast bomb detonated upon impact, and for a moment, the entire battlefield was illuminated as if day had turned to night.
A vast crater was blasted into existence, and shockwaves tore across the land.
Despite the Rashomon gates and Jiraiya's defenses, the explosion's residual force spread outward, catching many peripheral ninjas in its wake.
"What... what is this?!"
Terrified voices echoed across the battlefield. Many shinobi, visibly trembling, turned toward the center of the blast with horror-struck eyes.
The sheer power of the tailed beast bomb devastated their morale.
Before, the appearance of the tailed beast had only been shocking. Now, after witnessing this overwhelming destruction, the army was paralyzed with fear.
The very earth still quaked beneath their feet.
At that moment, fighting ceased instinctively. All gazes locked onto the massive form of Shukaku.
Fear gripped every heart.
"Damn it!" roared Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage.
The tailed beast bomb had been fired directly toward the battlefield. Had the Sannin failed to intercept it, both Konoha and Sunagakure forces would have suffered catastrophic losses.
For the first time, Rasa deeply regretted unleashing the tailed beast without tighter control.
Tailed beasts, once freed, were uncontrollable — more danger to allies than enemies.
If only Sunagakure had a jinchūriki like Yunyin's Killer Bee, who could master the beast's power...
As Rasa's mind churned with regret and longing, Namikaze Minato sprang into action.
Having intimate knowledge of tailed beasts due to Kushina, he reacted the fastest.
"Big Ball Rasengan!"
After marking Kunai with his Flying Thunder God seal, Minato teleported in an instant, appearing behind Rasa. In his hand spun an enormous Rasengan nearly as large as his body.
Rasa barely had time to summon a layer of gold dust armor before the Rasengan struck, blasting him into the earth and leaving a massive crater.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming chakra signature erupted elsewhere on the battlefield.
"Hanzo!"
The legendary Salamander of Amegakure had arrived.
To avoid entangling his village politically, Hanzo had agreed to support Konoha without official declaration.
And now the battlefield was about to shift again.
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