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The Hokage Tower glowed with light in the early morning hours.
Taiichi stood off to the side, quietly watching the three village leaders. He felt a deep wave of relief that he'd acted fast and without hesitation against Danzo.
From the look on Hiruzen's face earlier, the old man had clearly been ready to protect Danzo. If Danzo had made it back to Konoha safely, the punishment would've been a lot lighter than he deserved.
Homura's suggestion about pulling border troops and cutting village missions to scrape together five or six hundred reinforcements left Hiruzen with a headache. The village was already stretched thin fighting on three fronts.
"Taiichi, did any of you go looking for Danzo after the fight?" Homura asked.
"No. By the time I got there, Danzo had already run. After the battle everyone was busy treating the wounded and organizing the retreat. There was no time to go after him."
"You're his subordinates. Your commander goes missing and you don't even search for him? You just retreat on your own? That's a serious crime!"
Homura's voice was sharp, clearly trying to shift blame away from Danzo.
Taiichi had been content to stay quiet until now. His chakra flared and his eyes locked onto Homura.
"What do you mean 'commander goes missing'? He ran. Even the Iwa ninja could see it. You're the one trying to pretty it up.
And you wanted us to go looking for him? After a battle like that? The camp was half-destroyed. Over half our people were dead or critically wounded. You wanted the survivors to stay and hold that camp? If they all died, would you and your clan pay with your lives?
Also, I'm not Danzo's subordinate. And I sure as hell don't answer to you. So stop talking to me like you have any authority here."
Taiichi's words came fast and hard. Homura stood there stunned, chest heaving, unable to form a full sentence.
Taiichi crossed his arms and stared him down, chakra still sharp and focused. The tension in the room spiked.
"Alright, that's enough," Koharu said quickly, stepping between them. "Taiichi, calm down. Homura didn't mean it that way. And Homura, watch your tone. Taiichi didn't do anything wrong here. The western front might not even exist right now if it wasn't for him. That's a major contribution."
Koharu was smooth—praising Taiichi while carefully avoiding any direct criticism of Danzo. It was the careful dance of someone who didn't want to punish Danzo too harshly.
Hiruzen finally spoke, voice firm. "That's enough, Homura."
He turned to Taiichi.
"Taiichi, take my authorization and head to the border. Mobilize the garrison troops and send them to support the Land of Grass. Also, let Orochimaru know you're now a free agent. You can move between fronts as needed. You don't have to stay tied to the northern front."
Hiruzen wrote the orders quickly and handed the scroll over.
Taiichi took it seriously and nodded. "I'll get it done, Hokage-sama."
"Good. Go. The front can't afford any delays."
Taiichi bowed to Hiruzen and Koharu, then left without acknowledging Homura.
Once he was gone, Homura exploded. "Did you see that, Hiruzen? That kid has no respect anymore. Last time was bad enough, but this? If you keep letting him act like this, he'll stop listening to you too."
Hiruzen ignored the complaint. "We'll deal with Danzo when he gets back. Right now the only thing that matters is getting reinforcements to the western front."
Homura tried to argue again, but Koharu pulled him back. She could see where this was heading. Taiichi wasn't the type to back down, and if Homura kept pushing, things could get physical fast.
Taiichi didn't care what happened after he left. He used Flying Thunder God to reach the border, then flew straight to the garrison camp with the Hokage's orders.
He explained the situation quickly to the camp commander, left a shadow clone to guide the troops, and jumped back to the retreating western forces.
Mimura had stayed close to Nonou. The moment Taiichi reappeared, he walked over.
"Taiichi, how did it go? What did the village say?"
"Border troops are already moving to support us. The village is also sending more shinobi. We should be able to hold Iwa off for now. I'm staying here with you for the time being."
Mimura let out a long breath of relief. Village reinforcements were good, but having Taiichi stay was even better.
He'd heard the rumors about how strong Taiichi was, but seeing it firsthand last night had been something else. The entire camp had basically been saved by one person.
Now that Taiichi was officially staying on the western front, Mimura felt a surge of confidence he hadn't had since Danzo took over.
Time passed in tense silence as they kept moving. By midday, Iwa forces had reached the old Leaf camp.
A scouting team returned to report.
"Commander, the Leaf forces left around two in the morning."
Higashi Shinin—the Iwa commander—looked at the ruined camp and felt a flicker of regret. If they'd sent more forces with Han last night, they might have wiped the Leaf group out completely.
"Han, you said you ran into Matsushita Taiichi last night. Was he really that strong?"
Han's voice came out muffled through his mask. "I didn't actually fight him. Muou told me to retreat immediately."
"You ran from a kid without even fighting?"
"Muou doesn't lie. And it wasn't like there was no fighting at all." Han walked forward and waved for the others to follow. "Come see for yourselves."
They stopped at the spot where Taiichi had landed the night before.
Han pointed at a deep slash mark in the ground. "He came down from the sky. One strike. Cut through three of Muou's tails and killed two jonin instantly."
Several Iwa jonin who specialized in kenjutsu stepped forward and ran their hands along the cut. They looked at each other, then shook their heads at Higashi Shinin. They couldn't have done that.
The rest of the jonin stared at the mark, trying to picture the kind of attack that could cause that much damage in one hit.
They couldn't. And that made them even more wary.
"So what now, Commander? Do we keep chasing?" asked one of the jonin.
"We chase. The Leaf forces are at their weakest right now. We can't let this chance slip. Last night we were careful because we didn't have the numbers. Now we do. What's there to be afraid of?"
Higashi Shinin's voice was decisive. Even if Matsushita Taiichi was there, they were still going to fight.
They had the numbers. One man couldn't possibly replace hundreds of Leaf shinobi.
The Iwa jonin grinned, cruel and excited. Crushing this broken Leaf force, taking the Land of Grass, then pushing into the Land of Fire to loot it—that was exactly why they'd gone to war with Konoha in the first place.
The goal was right in front of them. They just had to finish off this last group.
The Iwa forces moved out fast, chasing after the retreating Leaf shinobi. They were fresh and fast. The wounded Leaf group had no chance of outrunning them.
Far away, hidden underground, Taiichi's shadow clone opened its eyes.
It couldn't see everything, but it had seen enough. Iwa was coming after them.
The clone dispersed in a puff of smoke.
In the middle of the retreating Leaf column, Taiichi's eyes snapped open. He stood up and looked toward the Land of Earth.
Mimura noticed immediately. "Iwa's coming, isn't they?"
Taiichi nodded, then smiled easily. "Nothing to worry about. Keep moving. I'll go keep them busy for a while."
His tone was light, but everyone knew what he really meant. He was going to buy them time with his life if he had to.
"Be careful," Nonou said quietly. She reached up and straightened his collar, her hands lingering for a second.
"Don't worry. If things get bad I can run. They won't catch me."
He gave her a bright smile, then stepped away from the group.
The people who understood what he was doing watched him go in silence, sending silent prayers with him.
Taiichi didn't go far. He sat down under a large tree and closed his eyes, meditating to sharpen his spirit.
Last night's mass healing had drained almost everything in his Yin Seal. He was going to need every edge he could get for what was coming.
Time passed. By evening, the Leaf forces had been walking for ten hours. Iwa's pursuit covered the same distance in five.
At the edge of Taiichi's chakra sensing range, Iwa's scouting party appeared.
Attribute Panel
Name: Matsushita Taiichi
Occupation: Jonin Lv4 (24/600)
Talents: Hard Work Compensates, Top Student, Potency: Ninjutsu power increased by 100%
Age: 11
Constitution: 30 (Long-term training +1)
Strength: 29 (Long-term training +1)
Agility: 29 (Long-term training +1)
Spirit: 32
Chakra: 81,000 (86,000)
Attribute Points: 30
Skill Points: 11
Fire Nature Transformation: Lv13 (2943/5000)
Wind Nature Transformation: Lv12 (3832/4000)
Water Nature Transformation: Lv12 (3523/4000)
Earth Nature Transformation: Lv11 (623/3000)
Lightning Nature Transformation: Lv11 (368/3000)
Yang Nature Transformation: Lv12 (1502/4000)
Yin Nature Transformation: Lv11 (1533/3000)
Chakra Shape Transformation: Lv12 (1316/4000)
Chakra Control: Lv13 (344/5000)
Ice Nature Transformation: Lv11 (208/3000)
Abilities:
- Advanced Taijutsu Lv7 (6213/8000)
- Advanced Meditation Lv7 (6606/8000)
- Advanced Kenjutsu Lv7 (6825/8000)
- Sealing Technique Lv12 (3011/4000)
- Flying Thunder God Lv9 (121/1600)
- Spirit Transformation Technique Lv6 (211/1000)
- Adamantine Sealing Chains Lv4 (245/600)
The panel reflects Taiichi's current stats after the intense events on the western front (killing Danzo, mass healing with Katsuyu, and preparing to hold off Iwa alone). His Yin Seal is nearly drained, but his overall power has grown significantly. He's now operating as a free agent across fronts per Hiruzen's orders.