Shimizu shook his head.
The few Iwa-nin he had brought with him were only chunin.
It seemed that Namikaze Minato, who had rushed to support the front lines, hadn't anticipated that this side was nearly wiped out.
Hamaki Mimura, a jonin, had been caught off guard and ambushed.
Kakashi and Might Guy, both chunin, had also been stunned.
If they had coordinated their tactics properly, they wouldn't have ended up in such a dire situation.
Shimizu's explanation left everyone with a look of sudden realization.
The impression of Shimizu's calm and composed demeanor deepened in everyone's minds.
Last time at the camp, Shimizu was the first to step forward and stabilize morale. This time, he had turned the tide once again, defeating the Explosion Release user, Shibuki.
"Ahem... so that's how it was."
Hamaki Mimura's face flushed with embarrassment.
He had completely disgraced the dignity of a jonin.
"Let's take him back for interrogation."
Shimizu pulled out a sealing tag from his ninja tool pouch and used it in conjunction with a sealing technique to restrain Shibuki.
Even if he was a somewhat underwhelming elite jonin, it was still unwise to let one's guard down.
"Interrogation... huh?"
Kakashi muttered to himself.
Despite priding himself on his composure, he had still been outmaneuvered by the enemy.
Shimizu glanced at Kakashi's bewildered expression but said nothing.
He hadn't thought much of it himself.
The reason he had reacted so quickly was simply because he had read the original story.
As his body continued to develop, Shimizu noticed that his memory was improving as well.
The plotlines he had read in his previous life were now etched into his mind with perfect clarity.
This would become his most valuable asset.
In the world of shinobi, intelligence warfare was always of paramount importance.
In the early stages of ninja battles, it was all about outsmarting and outmaneuvering the enemy, making full use of the environment and circumstances.
It wasn't until the era of the Six Paths of Pain that power scaling went off the rails, with battles becoming more about brute force.
But to rely on brute force, one needed the strength to back it up. For ordinary shinobi, it was still a game of wits and strategy.
"Are you all okay?"
Three Konoha shinobi finally arrived from the front lines.
Seeing the aftermath of the ambush, they had rushed over in a panic.
Though it felt like a long time had passed, in reality, only a minute or two had gone by at their full speed.
When they arrived, they saw a young man dressed in a black robe with a white coat over it, sealing an Iwa-nin.
As they approached, they were shocked to realize it was Shibuki, whom they had been chasing for so long!
This guy was notoriously cunning, always ambushing and slipping away every time.
"We're fine. You can take him for interrogation."
Shimizu pushed Shibuki toward them. As part of the medical and logistics unit, interrogation wasn't their responsibility.
"Uh... right."
The shinobi in the middle nodded reflexively.
Afterward, Shimizu and his team proceeded with their planned retreat.
The difference was that while they had set out with thirty people in perfect formation, only twenty-seven were returning.
With too many injured and a few missing, plus several of the special stretchers damaged, the situation was far from ideal.
They took turns carrying the wounded to a certain distance, then went back to retrieve more.
Once all the injured were gathered, they repeated the process, cycling through the procedure.
By the time they finally returned to the hospital base, it was nearly 11 PM.
During the retreat, Shimizu had subtly taken on the role of leader.
He assigned retreat routes efficiently and even managed to avoid an ambush along the way.
Thanks to his repeated exemplary performance and formidable strength, many were willing to follow his lead.
The weak naturally gravitated toward the strong, willing to follow their commands.
The medical and transport teams weren't so pragmatic, but Shimizu's actions spoke for themselves, and he had become the backbone of the group.
After receiving emergency treatment for his injuries, Hamaki Mimura remained silent.
He had his biases against the Uchiha, but this time, it was Uchiha Shimizu who had calmly resolved the situation.
If not for him, they might all have died here, and he would have been held accountable.
So he said nothing, limping along with the others.
The camp was relatively quiet at this hour. Aside from the medics and guards on night duty, most were injured.
Exhausted and in pain, they quickly succumbed to sleep.
"Rin, Kakashi, you're back!"
Obito, his wrist and arm heavily bandaged, called out.
For some reason, he kept feeling a stinging pain in his arm, and recently, his other arm had started to feel the same way.
Obito had been wandering around the camp, trying to distract himself from the pain, when he saw the group returning from their mission.
His loud voice woke some of the lighter sleepers.
"Quiet down, kid!"
"What are you yelling for in the middle of the night? Can't you let people sleep?"
Curses rang out from inside and outside the tents.
Obito scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"Heh, sorry, sorry."
He quickly ran to the entrance, eagerly looking at Rin and Kakashi.
"Where did you go today? I didn't see you around."
Obito chattered away, full of curiosity.
He had been bored all day and was desperate to catch up with someone.
Unfortunately, he didn't notice the heavy weariness on everyone's faces.
The transport team carried stretchers stacked with three injured shinobi each, their faces pale as if they were on the verge of death.
As emergency wartime equipment, the stretchers weren't exactly comfortable.
The best they could do was minimize the jostling for the wounded.
"Obito, let's talk tomorrow."
They had set out at 8 AM, arrived at their destination by noon, fought a battle, spent the rest of the day treating the injured, and then made the trek back.
The series of events had left Rin exhausted.
On top of that, seeing several of her medical colleagues die in front of her today had made her despise war even more.
There were no baths in the camp to help them unwind. All she wanted now was to collapse onto her bedroll and sleep.
"Why do you all look so worn out? Rin, I heard a really funny joke today. Let me tell you to help you relax."
"Tomorrow, Obito."
Rin forced a faint smile.
Obito was like a child who never grew up, and Rin often felt like an elder around him.
Most of the time, she saw him as a younger brother.
But right now, she was just too tired to entertain him.
"Then how about you, Kakashi?"
Obito scratched his head. If Rin wasn't available, surely Kakashi would be.
"No time."
Kakashi replied curtly, glancing at Obito before walking away.
The others, who weren't particularly close to Obito, didn't linger either, gradually dispersing into the camp.
"Obito, if Rin and Kakashi said they're busy, don't push it."
Shimizu patted Obito on the back.
He hoped Obito could enjoy these last moments of peace a little longer.
Madara was probably watching Obito through some means even now.
There wasn't much time left before Obito's descent into madness.
"Shimizu, are you free then?"
Obito's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected someone he usually disliked to be willing to listen to his joke.
A flicker of gratitude stirred in his heart.
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