Fortunately, Torifu did not have to make an appearance. It seemed the silent prayers of everyone outside had an effect. Tsunade emerged with a smile on her face, followed by the Inuzuka Clan Head, a woman in her forties. She had a scar near her eye and a piercing gaze, like a fierce, hungry wolf. But seeing the clan heads waiting outside, she finally smiled.
"Thank you for your concern, everyone. Thanks to Tsunade-hime, Kuroōkami is now out of danger."
A hospital bed, pushed by a nurse, was wheeled out with them. Lying on it was a massive black ninja dog, easily more than twice the size of a normal dog. At this moment, it was resting quietly on the bed. When the Inuzuka Clan Head gently stroked its head, it let out a soft whine, appearing completely at odds with the image of it fighting two Kage-level enemies—it was exceptionally docile.
Tsunade spoke up at this point. "Kuroōkami's injuries are all superficial. They only look alarming. His internal organs and bones were not significantly hurt, so the treatment was relatively simple." She then turned and cautioned the Inuzuka Clan Head. "However, training is absolutely out of the question for the next month. He must rest quietly; no running, no jumping, and no significant emotional disturbances."
The Inuzuka Clan Head committed everything Tsunade said to memory, preparing to strictly follow the medical instructions in caring for Kuroōkami.
"Oh, it's wonderful that Kuroōkami is alright. Truly a heroic ninja dog."
The Inuzuka Clan Head stroked Kuroōkami's head, her face full of relief and pride. "It is. If it weren't for him, that injury would be on my stomach." If the ninja dog sustained such severe injuries, it still had its owner when it lost combat ability. But if the owner was injured, she would certainly have been surrounded and killed by the two Kage-level ninjas.
Seeing that Kuroōkami's condition was quite stable, everyone was completely relieved. After chatting with the Inuzuka Head for a while, they all dispersed. The Inuzuka Head also wheeled Kuroōkami back into the hospital for quiet recovery. They planned to return to Konoha once Tsunade said Kuroōkami could walk.
After everyone had left, Minato started chatting with Tsunade. "Tsunade-senpai, did you come here with Big Sister?"
Tsunade nodded. "Yes, I arrived last night. I rested for one night and dove into work today. The medical system here is simply too backward. The medical standard is still ten-year-old quality. I'm completely overwhelmed right now."
"Not only do I have to treat the critically injured, but I also need to perfect the medical system here and establish a grading system for medical ninjas to ensure that this place can operate properly even after we return to Konoha."
As she explained it, Tsunade was indeed very busy. The reason she was relatively idle in Konoha was that the village's medical system had been established years ago. Subsequent medical ninjas received systematic training, and their skills were already excellent. Thus, the hospital no longer needed Tsunade—she merely held the title of director. Her authority, however, remained completely intact. It would be the same in Central City; once the correct system was established, the hospital's standards would not be poor in the future.
Seeing that Tsunade was busy beyond belief, Minato and the others decided not to bother her and prepared to head back to their room for a rest. There might be a clan gathering after six o'clock. Excluding Amado, everyone from the Kumotsuru Clan had gathered in Central City, which was beginning to show signs of becoming their second base of operations.
"Minato-senpai, should we go look for Mistress later? She's here in Central City; it wouldn't be right if we didn't go, would it?"
Minato nodded. "Of course we should go. Big Sister is probably with Big Brother. We'll go find them later, and maybe we can even mooch a meal."
Yahiko and Kon were quite happy about this, but Kushina stated that she was too tired today and wanted to rest early. Minato asked her repeatedly, but she still insisted she didn't want to attend and would just eat something simple by herself later.
"Alright then. We'll try to come back early and see if we can buy you something to eat outside."
Kushina nodded. She really was exhausted today. When Jiraiya-senpai was attacked by four Kage-level ninjas, she had been incredibly nervous! Yet, she had been completely powerless. In the end, it was only through Minato seeking help from Naori-senpai that they escaped disaster. Otherwise, even if Jiraiya-senpai hadn't died, he certainly would have been seriously injured.
Kushina worried about this all the way back. Upon returning, she then heard that the Inuzuka Clan Head's ninja dog was critically injured and undergoing emergency treatment. Kushina's heart sank again.
She had always heard that war was cruel, but she had never fully grasped it. It's just people dying, right? She had killed plenty of people while executing missions and hadn't felt anything about it. But the two events today changed her perspective on war. A single moment of carelessness could lead to the death of even a Kage-level ninja. Countless ninjas were slaughtering each other on this land. At least tens of thousands had died by now, although most were enemies.
Kushina still couldn't help but wonder what these people were fighting for. Before they died, some rogues would shout slogans of restoration, such as "Down with Konoha" or "Restore the Land of Rain." Yet, Kushina clearly felt no sense of love for their own country from them. Truly patriotic people had a certain feeling, one that couldn't be hidden, that always made them seem very confident. But these people had none of that. They seemed like manipulated puppets, simply sitting here, waiting for the ninjas to slaughter them.
Even though they were enemies, Kushina couldn't help but feel that their lives were worthless, and she was emotionally drained. For the past few days, she had been hiding her fatigue, but today it finally boiled over. This led to her lack of enthusiasm for everything.
If Torifu were to put it into words, he would say that the child simply hadn't experienced enough. Torifu himself had initially felt indifferent about war. But during the war five years ago, the corpses of Konoha ninjas piled up into a small mountain. The painful, despairing expressions of the families when the bodies were transported back to the village... All of this had caused Torifu's heart immense agony and unease. In a bid to find peace of mind, he visited the homes of every fallen soldier. He offered them his sincere apologies and compensation. It took him a full day to finally feel marginally better.