At the Temporary Hospital, a wave of cheers echoed throughout the hall.
"Great news! Lady Nonou doesn't have to leave after all!"
"I always knew Lord Seiki was the most reliable!"
"I will forever adore Lord Seiki!"
When they first learned that Nonou had stepped down as hospital director and passed the position to Seiki, many newly transferred nurses felt slight resentment, believing the rumors that Seiki had been appointed from above and replaced Nonou.
But now, there was only one thought in their minds:
Lord Seiki is just too reliable!
The man who dared to confront Elder Danzo—and even won—just to protect a former Medical Director brought an immense sense of security!
"Seiki, I don't even know how I should thank you..."
Nonou sighed emotionally. Never did she imagine that Seiki, someone she'd watched grow up, would be the one to help her escape a nightmare.
"If anyone should be thanking, it should be me," Seiki said sincerely. "Without your allowing a kid like me to stay at the hospital back then, I wouldn't have been able to carry out many of my plans."
If not for his experience at Konoha Hospital, many of his previous schemes wouldn't have unfolded so smoothly.
"Just because of that?" Nonou chuckled awkwardly while inwardly musing about the strangeness of fate—how a simple act of kindness could change someone's life entirely.
"Leaving the past aside…" Seiki glanced at Nonou with a subtle expression. "That person who recently spread rumors to help me avoid risks... was you, wasn't it, Big Sister?"
Nonou looked slightly embarrassed. "I wouldn't have gone through all that trouble if I'd known you were already on top of things."
After all, those carefully crafted rumors did come with some unintended downsides.
"On the contrary, Big Sister, you really helped me out!"
Seiki silently admired her instincts. No wonder she used to be an elite of Root and a wandering shrine maiden—if anyone could sniff out rumors before they spread, it was her.
At that time, the jonins' ambiguous attitudes toward him may have stemmed partly from those twisted versions of the rumors circulating. Had most jonins sided with Danzo back then, the effect of using external pressure to suppress him would've been greatly reduced.
"In that case, good. I was worried it might cause you trouble."
"Not at all. I'm not easily affected anyway."
As the two were speaking, sounds of admiration and astonishment rose from outside.
"Huh? Is this the legendary ninja blade from Mist?"
"Does this sword explode when you hit someone? So cool! Can I borrow it for a moment?"
"Can you tell us what it feels like to finally escape the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist?"
Hearing the voices, Seiki smiled. "Looks like Mizuki and Asuma have arrived. I'll go welcome them."
Outside, surrounded by a crowd of people, Asuma waved his hand with a grin.
"Nothing much to see here—it's just a blade that explodes. For me, wrapping more explosive tags around a big sword would do the same job."
"Getting kicked out of the Seven Swords? Honestly, it was kind of a badge of honor. They died way too fast for me to feel any real tension."
"Eh, where are you guys going? I haven't finished flexing yet—or talking, technically speaking!"
However, no one bothered to acknowledge him as they all turned toward another direction.
"Senior Seiki!"
"Commander!"
Sighing, Asuma muttered, "Seiki really is my greatest rival..." He suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "Wait, Commander?!"
A nearby ninja who had just witnessed the scene teased, "Your so-called greatest rival sure isn't doing a great job, huh? Even you don't know that Senior Seiki has become the Western Front Commander... No, actually, the Commander of the Konoha-Sunagakure Allied Forces!"
Asuma looked stunned. "Only a few days have passed, and already it feels like the entire world has changed!"
Another ninja chimed in, "By the way, may I ask what position you, the greatest rival of Senior Seiki, currently hold?"
"Deputy Leader of the Special Ops Team, 7th Division of the Eastern Front..." Asuma's voice weakened as he answered, his last words almost inaudible, like the buzzing of a mosquito.
Kai finally caught on after a short delay and shouted excitedly, "Unbelievable! That's why he's always been our Senior Seiki!"
Mizuki side-eyed him, "What's there to get so excited about?!"
In his eyes, a diehard fan, it wouldn't even be surprising if Seiki became the Commander-in-Chief of the entire shinobi alliance tomorrow.
This time, Choza Akimichi, standing off to the side, looked confused, "You're not even going to check if this information is accurate first?"
Kai asked naively, "Check what exactly? The fact that Asuma is supposedly Senior's greatest rival?"
Choza scoffed, "Don't you think it's suspicious for someone so young to become a battlefield commander? And they say Seiki only arrived at the Western Front a few days ago!"
Kai laughed heartily, "This is Senior Seiki we're talking about!"
Mizuki added coldly, "That's just mediocrity showing bias!"
Even Asuma, who had been wallowing in his own inferiority complex, admitted, "It was unreasonable to judge Seiki by normal standards... or rather, those of an average prodigy."
Not just these three, but the entire squad reacted the same way.
Seeing their absolute faith in Seiki, Choza wore an expression of genuine shock on his usually kind face, muttering, "Such unwavering trust! I can't even begin to imagine what they must've experienced over these past two years!"
Even great power and an admirable character alone are not sufficient to gain true loyalty.
The most important quality for a leader is the ability to lead people toward victory. Only those who continuously bring others success can gain complete faith and support.
Many people who noticed this scene couldn't help but feel astonished, "Could it be that Seiki hasn't suffered even a single defeat while serving with the Eastern Front army?"
At this thought, they gained additional confidence for the upcoming war, "Maybe Seiki really can lead Konoha to victory!"
Just then, as Seiki was walking toward them, his expression suddenly turned serious as he gazed toward one side, "Who's there? Show yourself!"
The next moment, three figures dressed in black coats jumped out from underground.
"So they could hide their presence right under all our noses! These three must definitely be formidable!" Everyone present felt shocked, quickly pulling out kunai and preparing for battle.
Seiki was somewhat surprised as well, "Is that them three?"
[Immortal Descending from the Heavens!] Nagato, his eyes hidden behind a blindfold, sighed, "I told you this wouldn't work!"
Yahiko chuckled, then burst out laughing, "Haha, what can we do? We've got such a sensitive background! Being from Rain Country, marching right into Konoha's camp wouldn't be very appropriate."
Konan sighed. "But don't you think—being from Rain Country and all—sneaking in would actually be even worse?"
"Really?" Yahiko asked absentmindedly.
Nagato and Konan both sighed again, then pointed at their surroundings.
Yahiko turned his head and saw over a hundred Konoha ninja had already surrounded them, expressions wary.
Seeing this, Yahiko threw up his hands right away. "Well, if I said this was just a misunderstanding... would you believe me?"
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