High in the sky, Akio flew at full speed in his true form, the fat cat in his arms utterly disheveled from the rushing wind.
He didn't enter his personal space again, this wasn't the time to test whether he was lucky or cursed. Ever since learning the tragic news from Katsuyu, his heart had already flown ahead to the battlefield in the Land of Rain.
"Over fifty years old, and he still insisted on going to war instead of staying home to enjoy his old age…"
Akio sighed inwardly.
The man who had fallen in battle was Senju Kenji, the eldest son of Hashirama, father of Tsunade and Nawaki, former clan head of the Senju, and Akio's own great-grandson.
Driven by anxiety, Akio traversed the distance from Kirigakure to the Land of Rain in less than half an hour.
Before he could even confirm Kenji's condition, his pupils contracted sharply.
He saw Orochimaru rushing toward the Konoha camp, carrying the unconscious Sakumo Hatake on his back. Sakumo's right arm was severed at the elbow, bloodied and limp.
"What happened? Even Sakumo was hurt this badly?"
Akio was shocked and dove downward at full speed.
"Elder," Orochimaru greeted him cautiously before speaking.
Akio waved his hand, signaling for him to put Sakumo down first.
He handed the unconscious fat cat to Orochimaru, quickly examined Sakumo's wound, and frowned.
"The cut on his arm was sealed using Lightning Release chakra. It's not fatal. As for the unconsciousness, poison from Sunagakure. We'll detoxify him back at camp."
"Let's move. Back to camp first."
"Elder, the Uchiha clan head is still covering the rear…"
Akio nodded. "He'll be fine. He's close, I can sense Kagami's chakra not far away."
He didn't ask for details yet, just hoisted Sakumo onto his back and moved alongside Orochimaru toward the camp.
A group of Konoha shinobi immediately came forward, but Akio waved them off and went straight into the medical tent.
"Elder."
Akio froze, the voice belonged to Jiraiya, who was wrapped in bandages from head to toe. He, too, had been badly injured.
Across the tent, Tsunade knelt silently on the ground before a corpse draped with a white cloth.
Even as Akio entered, Tsunade didn't react.
Akio sighed deeply. He felt a pang of worry, but Sakumo's condition took priority. As for Kenji… Akio could no longer feel even a trace of his chakra.
He quickly directed several medics to bring herbs and began preparing an antidote.
Though his medical ninjutsu wasn't quite at Tsunade's level, when it came to antidotes, a pharmacist of his caliber had no difficulty.
Ten minutes later, he fed Sakumo the finished medicine and exhaled in relief.
"Stay with him. Watch over Sakumo."
After giving that order, Akio rose and walked toward Tsunade.
"Great-grandfather…"
At his approach, Tsunade finally reacted.
Akio nodded softly, then pulled back the white cloth without hesitation.
The fatal wound was a deep indentation in the chest as though he'd been struck by a massive blunt force.
Seeing Kenji's body, Akio could no longer deny it: another person had joined the list of those he would someday have to resurrect. If he revived Mito one day, and she learned of this… Akio wasn't sure he could endure that gentle smile.
"Father!"
Nawaki's voice echoed through the camp as he rushed in from the battlefield, having just heard the news.
Akio sighed, stepped back from Kenji's side, and patted Nawaki on the shoulder.
"Go comfort your sister."
He turned to Jiraiya and Orochimaru, intending to ask what exactly had happened then suddenly remembered something and looked toward a nearby medic.
"Where's Nara Shikaku?"
"Lord Shikaku is organizing the retreat of our forces on the battlefield."
Akio nodded and fell silent for a moment.
"So Konoha's at a disadvantage… and it all happened so suddenly. Jiraiya injured, Sakumo injured, Kenji dead…"
"Elder Akio, Lord Sakumo has regained consciousness," a medic reported.
Akio blinked in surprise, he hadn't expected Sakumo to wake up so soon.
He hurried to his side.
"Elder Akio," Sakumo greeted weakly, forcing a faint smile.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru gathered around. Akio ignored them for the moment.
"Who were you fighting? The wound on your arm is too clean, was it Onoki?"
On the Rain battlefield, only Onoki and Hanzo surpassed Sakumo's power. But Akio doubted Hanzo had that kind of nerve.
Then his gaze darkened.
"Wait.... that poison…"
Sakumo smiled bitterly.
"I cut it off myself. I got careless. The dying strike of Suna's elder, Ebizo, grazed my arm. I had to sever it before the toxin spread."
Akio's brows furrowed.
"Ebizo… Is he dead?"
Sakumo nodded. "Chiyo was there too."
Akio sighed. He'd already suspected as much. Chiyo's son, daughter-in-law, and brother had all died by Sakumo's hand. It wasn't surprising she'd gone mad with vengeance; he was lucky to have escaped alive.
Jiraiya then recounted the full story: how his and Kenji's team had been ambushed by Chiyo and Ebizo; how Sakumo rushed in to reinforce them; how Orochimaru later found Jiraiya carrying Kenji's lifeless body back to camp while Kagami stayed behind to help Sakumo.
Moments later, Kagami himself entered.
"We couldn't stop Chiyo. The Sand main force has arrived," he reported.
Akio waved a hand. "I know."
His attention, however, was on something else Jiraiya had described, a giant transforming puppet.
"An Optimus Prime…?!" Akio muttered, glancing upward, only to find the tent roof blocking his view.
"Damn it, why does it always end up being my problem again?"
More and more ninja were returning to the camp. The retreat from the battlefield was nearly complete, and several of Konoha's elite jōnin now stood behind Akio.
He turned around and tossed a small box toward Hyūga Hiashi.
"Your father's Byakugan."
After steadying his emotions, Akio rolled up his sleeves and looked at Sakumo.
"Sakumo, bite me. It'll heal your injuries."
At a time like this, he couldn't care about embarrassment.
Without hesitation, Sakumo obeyed. The moment he did, the wounds across his body began to close rapidly though his severed arm, unfortunately, didn't regenerate.
Akio frowned.
"Sakumo, where's your arm?"
"It was destroyed by Chiyo," Sakumo admitted bitterly.
"I see…" Akio sighed. Even with his abilities, he couldn't recreate lost limbs from nothing.
"Don't worry, Elder Akio," Sakumo said with a faint smile.
"Maybe there's still a way. We'll talk later," Akio replied, glancing at Orochimaru and then, thoughtfully, thinking of Danzo back in Konoha.
Around them, the gathered shinobi were awestruck by Akio's healing powers. Orochimaru's eyes glimmered with fascination, and Jiraiya looked positively eager.
"Heal yourself, idiot," Akio scolded, glaring at him.
He shook his head and stood.
Across the tent, another crowd surrounded a body, Tsunade, Nawaki, and several remaining Senju clansmen stood before it.
"Kenji… another one gone," Akio murmured quietly.
---
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