Seeing reinforcements arrive, Saitama decided to stop chasing. He wasn't in great condition himself, and facing two members of the Seven Legendary Shinobi was already a difficult battle. Continuing would only place him in unnecessary danger.
"Shua!"
Jinin Akebino landed on the ground, half-bending his body to absorb the impact from the fall. His eyes first caught sight of Jinpa Muri and his battered companion before shifting toward Saitama, who had stopped moving ahead.
"Peng!"
Mangetsu Hozuki arrived as well, his body still wrapped in bandages, seemingly not yet fully recovered from his last injury.
"Sou!"
Not long after the two stabilized themselves, a bright spot suddenly bloomed across the sky, transforming into a dazzling splash of water.
"Hmm?" Mangetsu Hozuki looked up, a puzzled expression on his face.
That was Mist's retreat signal, but he couldn't understand why they were retreating so soon—especially since he'd just arrived at the battlefield.
"Sou! Sou! Sou!"
More sharp hissing sounds cut through the air from behind Konoha, as countless ninja rushed into the fray.
Saitama glanced sideways and noticed that all arriving were Konoha ninja, though they didn't seem to belong to this particular frontline.
"Is this the reinforcement?" Saitama suppressed his confusion internally.
"Retreat. Looks like Konoha's backup has arrived," Mangetsu Hozuki said while watching Saitama, his gaze filled with deep caution.
"Mm." Jinin Akebino nodded, casually swinging the weapon in his hand a few times.
"Retreat!"
The voice of Kitada Jiro echoed across the battlefield. He hadn't participated directly in the fighting, choosing instead to stay behind and manage the overall situation.
The Mist shinobi gradually withdrew while continuing to fight defensively. Though they had initially gained an advantage, their innate discipline drove them to obey orders without hesitation, so they showed no desire for prolonged combat.
Besides, seeing Konoha's reinforcements arrive, numerical superiority was no longer on Mist's side. There was no reason to risk everything for a temporary victory that might cost them their futures or even their lives.
On Konoha's side, the sudden arrival of unknown supporting units gave them sufficient numbers to match the enemy forces, so naturally, they wouldn't easily let the Mist ninja escape.
Eventually, despite suffering certain losses, Mist successfully retreated. Saitama wasn't in good shape either, so he didn't pursue his opponents.
The battlefield was now littered with corpses and severed limbs, blood staining the entire area in a purplish red crust, leaving the ground hardened beneath.
"Hayashi?" Saitama saw a familiar face—a fellow comrade named Uchiha Hayashi, who previously stayed at the Sunagakure battlefield. Now holding a kunai, he stood on a ridge overlooking the escaping Mist shinobi.
"Saitama!" Uchiha Hayashi also spotted Saitama and waved to signal his presence.
Once the dust settled, it was time to clean up the battlefield. Konoha gathered and sealed the bodies of their fallen comrades inside scrolls, preparing to bring them back to the village later.
Meanwhile, many Mist corpses were simply abandoned in the area, with only those deemed important hastily collected. Konoha didn't bother handling any remaining cadavers afterward. Naturally, Rokkaku Kuma's corpse was preserved among Konoha's collection. As a member of the Seven Legendary Shinobi, his brain likely contained various crucial secrets that Konoha desperately sought—and coincidentally, there were people within Konoha capable of extracting such information.
After the Konoha forces leave, Mist shinobi will likely return to this battlefield to retrieve their fallen comrades' bodies.
"Good! This time we were fortunate to receive timely reinforcements; otherwise our losses would have been absolutely devastating."
Tsunade sat at the head of the table with Nara Shikaku beside her as the leader of the reinforcement force.
Next to Nara Shikaku sat Choza and Inoichi — the current generation's Ino-Shika-Cho trio, a formidable force not to be underestimated.
"It's all for the village," Nara Shikaku nodded. Though he looked quite young, his words carried great maturity.
"Mm. Next let's discuss other matters!"
Tsunade nodded and turned her head toward other parts of the long table.
"In this battle, Konoha lost 46 chunin, 79 genin, and 7 jonin." Tsunade recited the freshly compiled statistics while tapping her fingers on the table.
"The enemy's losses weren't small either. Especially since Saitama Uchiha killed one of the Seven Legendary Shinobi — Kuma Rokkaku — and seriously injured several others. Our losses are still within an acceptable range."
Tsunade cast an appreciative gaze toward Saitama, who sat beside Tianming Uchiha.
Following Tsunade's cue, everyone directed their attention toward the composed Saitama.
Saitama remained silent, maintaining his calm expression. Under the concentrated gazes of everyone present, he finally showed a slight smile and nodded toward the various department heads around him.
"Now Shikaku, you can analyze the next phase for us."
Tsunade gestured for Nara Shikaku to speak. As a member of the Nara clan, he had already become Konoha's strategic advisor.
"Understood!" Nara Shikaku nodded, stood up, and walked to a simple map setup behind Tsunade.
"Saitama, you're becoming stronger and stronger now!"
Seated together, Uchiha Mori spoke to Saitama.
"You actually took down one of the Seven Swordsmen!"
Hayashi continued speaking, keeping his eyes fixed on Saitama.
"Nothing too special," Saitama replied calmly, sitting with his sword slung at his waist.
"Oh right, Hayashi, why did you come back to the frontline again?"
Saitama asked. Normally, shinobi like Uchiha Hayashi, who had just participated in a war, should have several months of rest before returning. This was especially true for members of prestigious clans like the Uchiha.
"He chuckled nervously," Uchiha Hayashi replied, clearly uneasy.
Both Uchiha Mori and Saitama sensed something was off, quickly pressing him for more details as they assumed some problem had occurred.
"It's not a big deal really — I'm just being pressured into marriage!"
With much reluctance, Uchiha Hayashi revealed the truth.
Although Uchiha Mori had only recently married during the New Year festivities, his wife had already been confirmed pregnant when he left for the frontlines. She was expected to give birth in several months.
As someone about the same age as Uchiha Mori, only approximately a year apart, Uchiha Hayashi naturally faced family pressure to marry.
With no choice, he could only rejoin the military ranks and return to the frontline.
After learning the truth, Uchiha Mori rubbed his head, feeling somewhat amused yet helpless. He even felt a strange sense of guilt toward his brothers—his exemplary behavior had only fueled their family's eagerness to push Hayashi into marriage quickly so he could produce an heir.
Not wanting to dwell on the topic, the group shifted the conversation and chatted casually.
From Uchiha Hayashi, Saitama and the others learned that this reinforcement from Konoha still had its main force en route. The few hundred present were just the vanguard.
"Alright, enough catching up. I've got stuff to do," Mori said, brushing off his clothes before standing up and striding outside.
Hayashi followed closely behind as he rose too.
"Fine, go handle your business."
Although Saitama was now among the top figures in the Uchiha Clan, he personally didn't have many responsibilities—only getting involved when actual combat was required.
Waving goodbye at the tent entrance, the two soon disappeared.
Once confirming their departure, Saitama prepared for a proper rest. That last fight had really taken a lot out of him. He'd mostly recovered his Chakra after half a day, but the mental exhaustion still lingered.
"Phew!" Flopping onto his bed, Saitama closed his eyes.
The frontline had now stabilized. The conflict between Konoha and Mist had settled into a war of attrition—no need to worry about anything else for now.
Wars came down to national strength. While villages relied on state support, Konoha couldn't hope to eliminate Mist anytime soon, nor could Mist break through Konoha's defenses.
Currently, hostilities with Iwagakure in the northwest had already intensified. Meanwhile, Kumogakure to the north showed no interest in peace either—it looked like they were preparing to push south.
"Man, this is rough. Any other shinobi village would've crumbled by now. Only Konoha has what it takes to keep holding strong!"
His eyelids grew heavier. Drifting slowly into sleep, Saitama knew he needed a good rest.
...
"Captain!" Uchiha Huo waved energetically at Saitama, signaling him over.
"Ready?" Saitama approached, eyeing the two brothers fully dressed in standard shinobi gear.
"No problem. We're set to start the mission," Uchiha Huo confidently thumped his chest.
"Then let's get ready to meet them." Nodding, Saitama started walking toward the central courtyard of the main camp.
This was the third day since that major battle. In the meantime, several smaller clashes had broken out—neither side gaining clear advantage. By now, Mist's remaining Seven Legendary Shinobi had all arrived.
They had retrieved Kuma Rokkaku's body back then, along with the ninja sword "Needle," which had recently been summoned back despite Konoha having placed seals on it.
"Hey, you're here!" Hyuga Dun greeted Saitama as he walked closer. Despite long-standing family tensions, he respected Saitama's abilities and didn't care about his previous affiliations.
"Mm." Saitama gave a slight nod—not because he looked down on Hyuga Dun, but simply due to his usual reserved nature around outsiders.
Saitama wasn't someone who easily connected with others, and his heart only opened to those who truly managed to step inside.
That's why many people often found Saitama cold or aloof. But in reality, it was simply because he believed certain things were entirely unnecessary.
"Since we're all taking part in this operation, you don't need to act so cold toward me, right?" Hyuga Dun joked, having long since gotten used to Saitama's personality.
"Let's hear about the mission then. I wasn't able to get any details beforehand since I had other matters to attend to—just knew we'd be infiltrating Bear Country."
Saitama gave a faint smile as he asked Hyuga Dun.
This operation involved the Aburame clan, the Hyuga clan, and the Uchiha clan.
Each family had dispatched a squad: The Aburame were led by Shibi Aburame, the Hyuga were led by Hyuga Dun, and naturally, the Uchiha side was represented by Saitama himself.
"Alright, let's discuss everything once Shibi arrives. Back when Lady Tsunade assigned the mission, everything was indeed too rushed," Hyuga Dun nodded, returning to his usual seriousness, his pale eyes calm and steady.
Saitama also nodded, briefly glancing at the two ninjas behind Hyuga Dun—both Chunin as well.
Once he'd grasped the general idea, he turned away and gently closed his eyes, waiting for Shibi Aburame's arrival.
Among the three squad leaders, Shibi Aburame was the eldest, and in some aspects, his strength wasn't even inferior to Saitama's.
As the overall commander of this operation, he arrived precisely on time, bringing two Chunin from the Aburame clan behind him.
It wasn't until Shibi arrived that Saitama learned the actual nature of this mission.
Their task was to gather enemy intelligence—such as deployment arrangements, reinforcement routes, and supply transportation lines.
Beyond the three squads led by Saitama, Dun, and Shibi, numerous other teams were also involved with similar configurations.
"Let's move out when you're ready!" Shibi adjusted his sunglasses, saying to Saitama and Hyuga Dun.
One other important detail was that yesterday, Orochimaru—one of the Sannin—had already arrived at this battlefield and completely taken over Tsunade-sama's command position, which had actually been Tsunade's own initiative.
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