After the debrief i was taken to the medical tent, I had pushed my body beyond its limits in the fight. Then kept pushing to get to camp. Once I got here I knocked out. I woke up, the light hitting me like it hated me.
I shifted slightly. Big mistake.
Pain shot through my side and forced the air from my lungs.
"Hey."
I turned my head. Raido sat beside the cot on a small wooden stool. His injured leg was stretched out in front of him, wrapped in thick bandages from thigh to ankle.
He was leaning forward with his arms crossed over his knee.
Watching me.
"Took you long enough," he said.
My throat felt dry.
"…How long?"
"Three days."
That was longer than I expected.
Raido smirked slightly.
"You were out cold. The medics weren't sure if you'd wake up right away."
I glanced down at the bandages wrapped across my chest and shoulder.
"…Guess I pushed it."
Raido snorted.
"You think?"
He leaned back on the stool.
"You look like you got run over by a caravan."
The tent flap opened and Genma stepped inside.
He spotted me immediately. "Well look who's finally awake."
He walked over casually, senbon tucked between his teeth like always. Behind him Toboki and Goro followed.
Toboki crossed his arms when he saw me sitting up. "About time."
Goro leaned against one of the tent poles nearby.
"Medics said you were stubborn enough to survive."
I managed a small smile.
"Encouraging."
Genma pulled the senbon from his mouth. "How bad?"
"Everything hurts." I answered
"Good.".
"That means you're alive." He said with a grin.
Raido tapped his bandaged leg.
"At least he didn't end up like me."
Toboki glanced down at Raido's leg.
"You'll live."
Raido scowled.
"That's not the point."
He jabbed a finger toward me. "The point is I missed the whole damn fight."
Genma raised an eyebrow. "You were bleeding out."
"Still."
Raido leaned back with a frustrated sigh.
"I hate sitting out."
Toboki smirked slightly. "You hate losing."
"That too."
Goro looked between the two of them before glancing back at me.
"Six shinobi though."
He shook his head slightly. "That's insane."
Raido nodded in agreement.
"Yeah."
Then he pointed at me again.
"But next time we run together like normal people."
I chuckled.
That hurt more than I expected.
Genma noticed. "Don't laugh."
He gestured toward the bandages across my torso.
"You nearly tore yourself apart."
Toboki stepped closer to the bed and looked me over. "You look worse than Raido."
"Thanks."
"Just being honest." He shrugged
He tilted his head slightly. "I'm surprised you're even conscious."
Goro scratched the side of his jaw. "Medics said he lost a lot of blood."
Raido nodded.
"Yeah, they were worried about that shoulder wound."
I looked down at the thick bandages around it. The memory of the blade punching through my shoulder flashed briefly in my mind.
I pushed the thought aside.
Genma leaned against the foot of the cot.
"You did good."
It was simple.
But coming from Genma it meant something.
Raido gave a small grunt. "Understatement."
Toboki nodded. "Yeah."
Goro added quietly. "Most shinobi wouldn't survive that." For a moment the tent was quiet.
Then Raido sighed.
"Still wish I'd been there." Genma rolled his eyes.
"You would have died." Raido shrugged. "Maybe."
"But at least I'd go down swinging."
Toboki smirked. "You almost went down crying."
Raido glared at him. "Shut up."
Goro chuckled softly.
Genma shook his head. "You idiots never change."
A medic walked past and stopped briefly beside the cot.
She looked me over quickly. "Don't keep him talking too much."
Genma held up his hands. "We're just checking on him."
She didn't look convinced but continued down the row of beds.
Raido watched her go before leaning closer to me.
"So."
"What?"
"You remember anything?"
"About what?"
"The fight."
Fragments of it flashed through my mind. The sand shinobi surrounding me. Steel flashing. Blood on the sand. The feeling of my vision sharpening.The world slowing.
I nodded slightly. "Most of it."
Raido studied my face. "Crazy."
Toboki looked toward the tent entrance. "Word's spreading around camp."
Genma raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Yeah."
Toboki shrugged.
"Everyone's talking about the patrol mission."
Goro nodded. "Five patrols wiped out."
Raido smirked. "Then the pursuit squad disappearing."
Genma scratched the back of his neck.
"War camps love stories."
Raido looked back at me. "You're becoming one."
I frowned slightly. "That's not good."
Genma nodded.
"Agreed."
He pushed off the cot and stretched slightly.
"Attention gets people killed."
Footsteps approached outside the tent.
The flap opened again. Jiraiya stepped inside.
The room seemed to quiet slightly.
He wasn't wearing armor like most of the other shinobi in camp. His long white hair hung down his back and his red haori draped loosely over his shoulders.
But even relaxed he carried an unmistakable presence.
Genma straightened slightly. "Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya waved a hand casually.
"At ease."
His eyes moved around the tent slowly. Taking in the injured shinobi. Then they landed on our group.
"Ah."
He walked over. "So this is where everyone's hiding."
Raido chuckled. "Recovering."
Jiraiya glanced down at his leg.
He looked over at me next. For a moment he didn't say anything..
"Good to see you awake."
"Thank you sir."
Toboki stepped aside slightly to give him room.
"Medics say he'll recover."
Jiraiya hummed thoughtfully. "Good."
Before he could say anything else the tent flap burst open.
A jonin stepped inside quickly.
His breathing was heavy. "Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya glanced over. "What is it?"
"Command tent."
The jonin straightened slightly. "All jonin are being called immediately."
The tension in his voice was obvious.
Genma frowned. "Something happen?"
The jonin nodded. "Scouts just returned."
That was all he needed to say. Jiraiya sighed. "Well." He looked back at us. "Guess that answers that."
Raido frowned. "Answers what?"
Jiraiya gave a crooked grin. "That the sand didn't like what you boys did."
The jonin shifted impatiently. "They're waiting."
Jiraiya nodded. "Alright."
He turned toward the entrance of the tent. Then paused. His eyes moved back to me. For a moment he seemed to be weighing something.
Then he pointed toward the exit. "Shinji."
"Yes sir?"
"Can you walk?"
"…Probably."
Raido frowned. "He just woke up."
Jiraiya waved him off. "I'm not dragging him into battle."
Then he looked back at me again. "I just want to talk.".
I slowly swung my legs off the cot. Pain flared through my ribs but I forced myself to stand.
Jiraiya waited by the tent flap.
Once I reached him he nodded toward the camp outside. "Come on."
Then he stepped out into the night. The camp stretched out before us.
Fires burned between rows of tents. Shinobi moved quickly through the darkness preparing equipment, gathering scrolls, checking weapons.
Jiraiya started walking toward the command tent. After a moment he glanced back slightly..
Jiraiya pushed inside without slowing. I followed. The air inside was thick with the smell of oil lamps and dust-covered maps.
A large table of packed earth stood in the center of the tent. Spread across it were several maps of the Land of Wind. Wooden markers had been placed across the desert, forming lines and clusters.
Several jonin were already gathered around the table. Some I recognized from around camp. Others I had only seen in passing.
Their voices died down when Jiraiya entered. One of them spoke first.
"Took you long enough."
Jiraiya waved a hand lazily.
"I was visiting the wounded." He walked over to the table and leaned down slightly to look at the map.
"What's the situation?" The jonin who had summoned him stepped forward.
"Scouts confirmed it an hour ago."
He pointed to the southern border of the Land of Wind.
"Suna forces are mobilizing here… and here."
Two clusters of wooden markers sat just across the border. Even without being a strategist it was obvious.
That wasn't a patrol force. That was an army. Another jonin spoke. "They've been moving since yesterday."
"Supply caravans too."
Jiraiya hummed quietly. "So they're committing."
The jonin nodded.
"They believe Konoha has a large strike force operating inside their territory."
One of the others gave a dry chuckle.
"Well… we did wipe out half a dozen patrol teams."
Another pointed at the map. "And that pursuit squad that disappeared."
"They definitely noticed."
Jiraiya scratched the side of his cheek thoughtfully.
"Yeah."
He looked down at the wooden markers again.
"Your patrol mission worked better than expected."
Genma wasn't in the room, but his earlier report echoed clearly in the discussion.
Five patrols. One large squad. Then the pursuit team.
A pattern like that would make anyone nervous.
Another jonin crossed his arms. "So what's the play?" He gestured at the border.
"If they cross we'll be outnumbered."
Someone else spoke. "They're not trying to invade yet." "They're massing forces to flush us out."
Jiraiya nodded slightly. "That's the idea."
He picked up one of the markers and moved it slightly along the map.
"They think we have a strike group operating deep in their territory."
He tapped the desert south of Kazahara.
"So they're gathering enough shinobi to sweep the area clean."
One of the jonin frowned. "And if they find our camp?"
Jiraiya smiled slightly. "That's the funny part."
He set the marker down. "They won't."
The room was quiet for a moment. Then another jonin leaned forward. "You're thinking of hitting them first."
Jiraiya's grin widened slightly. "Now you're catching on."
Several of the jonin exchanged glances. One of them shook his head slowly.
"You want to attack their army before it crosses the border."
"Exactly."
He tapped the border line drawn across the map.
"If they're coming anyway…"
His finger moved slightly into the Land of Wind.
"…we meet them head on."
The tent fell quiet again. The weight of what he just said hung in the air. Another jonin spoke slowly.
"That'll be a full battlefield engagement."
"Hundreds of shinobi."
Jiraiya nodded. "Yep."
He stretched slightly. "Been a while since we had a proper fight." A few of the older jonin gave faint smiles.
The jonin who had summoned Jiraiya earlier pointed at another section of the map. "Recon estimates their force at around three hundred shinobi."
Another added. "Maybe more if reinforcements arrive."
Jiraiya leaned forward slightly. "And ours?"
"Two hundred and forty combat ready."
Not great odds. But not terrible either.
Jiraiya scratched his chin.
"Alright."
He straightened and looked around the room. "We take the fight tomorrow." Several of the jonin nodded immediately. They had expected that answer.
Another asked. "Where?"
Jiraiya pointed to a stretch of desert just inside the border. "Here."
The map showed a wide expanse of open sand broken by scattered rock formations.
Perfect for a battlefield. "They'll move through this corridor when they begin their sweep."
He tapped the area again. "We intercept them there."
One of the jonin looked thoughtful. "Open terrain favors their wind users."
"True."
Jiraiya nodded. "But it also favors our fire techniques."
Another added. "And our sensory units."
Jiraiya listened to the discussion quietly for a moment before speaking again. "Spread the word."
He pointed toward the tent entrance. "Every combat-ready shinobi prepares for battle." "It'll take them a week to reach there so we march then"
The jonin began moving immediately. Orders were repeated.
Messengers were already being sent out to the different sections of camp. War had a way of accelerating quickly.
Jiraiya turned away from the map. That's when he looked back at me. Like he had almost forgotten I was there.
His eyes studied me again. Then he nodded toward the side of the tent. "Come here a second."
I stepped closer. The remaining jonin didn't seem surprised. Jiraiya leaned slightly against the table. His voice was quieter now. "You've been in one real fight." "Correct?"
"Yes sir."
"And you nearly died."
Also correct.
He watched my reaction carefully.
"You also chose to stay behind and fight six shinobi so your squad could escape."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You know most shinobi your age wouldn't do that.".
"The Uchiha clan has a… reputation."
There it was. He wasn't asking about the fight. He was asking about me.
"Proud."
"Intense."
"Sometimes reckless."
His gaze stayed steady.
"Sometimes dangerous."
The tent was quiet now.
Only the soft sound of voices outside carried through the canvas. Jiraiya tilted his head slightly.
"When you stayed behind"
"were you trying to be a hero?"
I thought about the moment again. Raido barely able to move. The sand shinobi closing the distance. The team slowing down.
I shook my head.
"No."
Jiraiya's eyebrow lifted slightly.
"No?"
"No sir."
He waited.
"So why stay behind?"
I answered honestly. "If I ran… they would have died."
Jiraiya studied my face for a long moment. Then he let out a quiet breath. "Huh."
He scratched the back of his neck. "You know…"
"I've met a lot of Uchiha."
His eyes moved toward the tent entrance. "Some of them were incredible shinobi." "Some of them were complete headaches."
Then he looked back at me. "But most of them fought for pride."
His expression softened slightly. "You fought for your squad." "That's good."
Outside the command tent the camp was already coming alive. Orders shouted. Equipment being gathered. Shinobi preparing for battle.
Jiraiya pushed himself away from the table. "Get some rest."
He gestured toward the camp outside.
He paused for a moment. Then added with a faint grin. "And try not to steal all the fun again.".