Chapter 206 — A Lead, and Awakening
While Yōhei and Kakashi's team struggled for survival under relentless pursuit, Taichi was fighting on a very different battlefield.
The medical camp.
As more poisoned shinobi were brought in, an increasing number of samples flooded into Taichi's laboratory.
A full day passed.
Of the original eight types of toxins, Taichi had managed to develop antidotes for only four.
And just as he began to catch up—
Two entirely new toxins appeared among the latest patients.
Even Taichi, who hadn't slept for over twenty-four hours, felt a headache coming on.
From the characteristics of these new poisons, he could clearly tell—
This was Chiyo adapting.
Every time he developed an antidote—
She evolved the poison.
He was always one step behind.
And the ones paying the price were Konoha's shinobi.
No matter how high morale was—
It couldn't withstand this constant attrition.
Another day passed.
Taichi finally cracked all eight original toxins.
But instead of relief—
He stared at the table beside him.
Seven new poison samples sat there, waiting.
"Taichi, how's the progress?"
Fujita's voice came from behind him, carrying both concern and urgency.
Taichi turned, rubbing his temples.
"Director… making antidotes isn't the hard part."
He handed over a stack of notes.
"These are the formulas for the first eight. But look—just two days, and we already have seven new variants."
"If we keep chasing them like this… when does it end?"
Fujita was initially delighted.
This speed—even Tsunade at her peak might not have done better.
But hearing the rest, her expression turned troubled.
She specialized in trauma care.
Toxicology?
She only knew the basics.
Still, she was experienced enough to recognize one thing:
If you can't solve it—
Find someone who can.
"Taichi… Tsunade-sama is your teacher, right? Can you contact her?"
"Chiyo is her old rival. They clashed over poisons back in the Second War. In the end… Tsunade came out on top."
Taichi froze.
Then—
His eyes lit up.
Smack!
He slapped his own face so hard it startled Fujita.
"I'm an idiot!"
He grabbed her hands, shaking them excitedly.
"I've got someone like her, and I've been trying to solve this alone?!"
"Thank you, Director! That's exactly what I needed!"
Before she could respond—
He had already pushed her out of the lab.
Bang!
The door slammed shut and locked from the inside.
Fujita stood there, stunned.
"…This brat."
But then she thought of his bloodshot eyes, the mountain of notes in her hands—
And sighed.
"Fine. I'll let it slide."
Inside the lab, Taichi was already reorganizing everything at lightning speed.
Not just the original eight toxins—
But all fifteen, including the new ones.
Only with enough data could patterns emerge.
But Fujita's reminder had done more than that.
It made Taichi realize something else.
He hadn't contacted Tsunade in a long time.
That realization alone was enough to make him feel guilty.
She had taught him, supported him, even given him a home—
And he hadn't even checked in.
Still…
This was also an opportunity.
A chance to bring her back into Konoha's orbit.
Once everything was organized, Taichi wrote a long, heartfelt letter.
He described his current situation.
Admitted he had neglected her.
And finally—
Asked for help.
After sealing the letter, he formed hand seals.
A summoning appeared.
A small slug materialized.
"Taichi-sama… it's been a while."
Her gentle voice only made him more embarrassed.
"Yeah… it really has."
He scratched his head awkwardly before handing over the letter.
"I'll need your help again. Please deliver this to Tsunade-sensei as soon as possible."
"Of course."
The slug absorbed the letter into her body and disappeared, returning to Shikkotsu Forest.
Watching her go, Taichi exhaled.
Slugs really were the best—
Not like the arrogant snakes of Ryūchi Cave,
Nor the eccentric toads of Mount Myōboku.
Finally, with everything momentarily settled, Taichi collapsed onto the sofa in the lab.
Within minutes—
He was asleep.
The ticking of the clock filled the room.
One hour.
Two hours.
By the time the hands pointed to five in the evening—
A flood of memories surged into his mind.
Taichi's eyes snapped open.
A cold, terrifying light flashed within them.
He grabbed his short blade—
And vanished instantly.
One hour earlier—
In a forest on the Wind Country side of the Land of Rivers—
Yōhei's team was still running.
They had completely lost their bearings.
All they knew—
Was that they were heading north.
Five people.
Still alive.
But barely.
Wounds covered their bodies.
Chakra reserves were nearly gone.
Supplies?
Gone.
Whoosh—!
A volley of kunai shot from the forest.
Another Sand squad.
Kakashi deflected them with his blade.
At this point, they barely dared to use ninjutsu anymore.
They relied almost entirely on taijutsu.
Thankfully, aside from Rin—
Everyone was competent in close combat.
Four Sand shinobi rushed out.
Yōhei met the jōnin head-on.
Steel clashed against steel—
They were evenly matched.
But Yōhei was holding back.
He could only maintain his three-tomoe Sharingan.
Even activating Mangekyō now would drain him dry.
Kakashi glanced back briefly.
Behind him—
Saori, Obito, and Rin were locked in a 3v3 fight.
But in reality—
It was a 2v3.
Rin could barely defend herself.
The Sand shinobi saw it too.
They began targeting her deliberately.
And it worked.
Especially on Obito.
"Cowards! Fight me head-on!" Obito roared.
But it changed nothing.
Saori remained the real threat.
If not for her exhaustion—
These chūnin wouldn't dare face her directly.
But now, they adapted.
One of them began dragging Obito away—
Separating him from Rin.
The trap was closing.
And Yōhei's team…
Was running out of options.
The other two Sand shinobi subtly maneuvered, deliberately drawing Rin and Saori closer together. The shift didn't go unnoticed by the Konoha trio—but knowing and being able to stop it were two very different things.
Then, in a single, coordinated moment, the Sand nin struck.
Both attackers lunged at Rin.
A roar tore from Obito's throat—raw, desperate, filled with fury. In his eyes, a kunai was already about to pierce Rin's chest… and he was too far away to stop it.
Pain exploded in his eyes.
A tomoe appeared in each pupil.
They spun violently, as if on the verge of splitting again.
A surge of unfamiliar power flooded his body.
Obito's heart leapt—he threw himself forward with everything he had, ignoring the enemy's kunai already thrusting toward him.
But it wasn't enough.
He was still too far.
By the time he reached her… it would already be over.
And the Sand shinobi knew it.
At that critical instant, Saori flashed forward.
She appeared directly in front of Rin, her kunai snapping up just in time to deflect the killing blow.
But—
That was exactly what the second attacker had been waiting for.
A silent thrust.
Straight for Saori's heart.
"Saori—watch out!" Rin cried, having just been kicked aside. She looked up just in time to see the ambush unfold.
The blade pierced through Saori's clothing.
Pressed against her skin.
Victory already curled onto the attacker's lips—
And then froze.
His hand stopped.
Completely.
At his feet, a massive sealing array spread outward.
Taichi's lifesaving Sealing Formation—had activated.
Saori didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
With one enemy trapped and the other still stunned, her counterattack was swift and merciless.
One slash—downed the distracted attacker.
Another—cleanly cut the throat of the immobilized one.
In the blink of an eye, the situation flipped.
Even the Sand shinobi were stunned.
So were Obito and Rin.
But Saori didn't pause.
She turned and surged toward the enemy behind Obito. With his instinctive cooperation, the two of them brought the last opponent down in just a few exchanges.
On the other side, Yōhei and Kakashi had already gained the upper hand against the Sand jōnin. Obito's earlier shout had drawn their attention—and now they witnessed Saori dismantle three enemies almost effortlessly.
Now it was the jōnin's turn to panic.
What just happened?
The tide had shifted far too suddenly.
Seizing the moment when Yōhei and Kakashi were briefly distracted, he disengaged and fled without hesitation.
He knew better.
Against five such opponents—he had no chance.
The Konoha team regrouped quickly. Yōhei's gaze immediately fell on Obito's eyes, and a wide grin broke across his face.
"Not bad… you finally awakened it."
Only then did the others notice.
Obito's Sharingan had stabilized—one tomoe in each eye, slowly rotating.
Realization hit him.
That moment… when he thought Rin would die—
That was when it happened.
But before he could even feel joy—
Reality crushed down again.
"Move. This place isn't safe," Yōhei said sharply.
They turned to leave.
"Leave? Do you really think you can?"
A cold, domineering voice echoed from ahead.
Everyone froze.
They turned—
And saw five figures approaching from the winding path.
Among them was the jōnin who had just fled, now walking with his head lowered, silent, following behind the speaker.
That alone sent a chill through them.
What kind of person could make a Sand jōnin act like that?
Then—
They saw his face.
And in that instant, even Obito—who usually understood little—recognized him.
Fear tightened around their throats.
It was the Fourth Kazekage—Rasa.
To be fair, Rasa hadn't come here specifically for them. As the Kazekage, he often joined frontline operations to relieve pressure on Sunagakure. This time, he had simply been returning with his escort after completing a mission—and happened to encounter the fleeing jōnin.
Curiosity had turned into intent.
After hearing the report, killing intent surged within him.
A Konoha squad that could survive two days of pursuit and still annihilate a Sand interception unit—
Such enemies could not be allowed to live.
And now—
Yōhei and the others stood before him.
With no way out.