Uchiha Yoichi and Tsunade walked one after the other to the entrance of the camp, but Uchiha Yoichi suddenly stopped.
Turning around, Uchiha Yoichi asked, "Tsunade-sama, you haven't slept all night?"
"Hmph, with an important task at hand, how could I possibly relax and rest? Kid, you've participated in too few Ninja World Wars!"
Tsunade crossed her arms and turned her head slightly. She was a little worried, which was why she let Shizune rest first as she waited for news. Besides, for powerful ninjas, missing a night's sleep wasn't a big deal.
"I'm afraid it's not just one night without rest, but also constantly moving around... your heels are a bit worn out..."
Following the guide's reminder, Uchiha Yoichi finished speaking and glanced over, noticing a slight red mark. It was very faint, almost invisible if not closely examined.
This Strategy Guide is too detailed.
Tsunade looked a bit surprised: "How did you even know... never mind, this has nothing to do with you!"
"Don't wake Shizune. I'll help you ease the tension."
Uchiha Yoichi gestured to Tsunade to lower her voice, then reached out and took her fair hand, leading her towards his camp.
Tsunade was stunned for a moment and then suddenly thought angrily, 'This shy little ghost is really audacious!'
"That's enough, know your limits, shy little ghost. I am one of the Sannin, mind your manners!"
Inside Uchiha Yoichi's camp, Tsunade's face immediately showed anger, which was a bit intimidating.
Uchiha Yoichi was also taken aback but, upon seeing the prompts from the Strategy Guide, couldn't help but twitch at the mouth. If something went wrong, he'd probably end up seriously injured from her punch, right?
However, the Strategy Guide should not be wrong, so despite some fear in his heart, Uchiha Yoichi decided to follow its guidance.
He then pressed Tsunade's shoulders, guiding her to sit on the bed, before lifting Tsunade's foot and removing her sandal from it.
"W-what are you doing?"
For a moment, Tsunade was taken aback. She had already expressed her ample rage, didn't this kid understand her meaning at all...or was he forcing her hand!?
Thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but clench her fist. Even on the battlefield, she didn't care; she just hoped this kid would learn when to advance and retreat....
"I plan to use a special technique to help relieve your fatigue. Thank you for your concern, but until I complete that bet and become Hokage, nothing will happen to me. So rest assured, Tsunade-sama."
Upon hearing Uchiha Yoichi mention that promise, almost all of Tsunade's inner anger dissipated.
Undertaking such dangerous tasks and noticing her back-and-forth movements were all for that promise....
Now, Tsunade seemed to see beside Uchiha Yoichi, two other figures, one of which was her former lover, and the other her brother Nawaki.
"I wasn't worried...."
Tsunade turned her head, her voice much softer than before, and her clenched fists loosened; her hands rested on the bed, and even her fair bare feet were not retracted.
Feeling Tsunade's fist loosening, Uchiha Yoichi mentally let out a breath of relief. He was almost breaking into a cold sweat a moment ago.
Fortunately, that sentence was truly a fire extinguisher, not only completely quelling Tsunade's anger but also causing her favorability to fluctuate slightly, with an upward trend.
Then, according to the guide's instructions, Uchiha Yoichi increased the temperature in his hands and began massaging Tsunade's foot.
But he didn't really know how to massage. After all, he hadn't learned medical ninjutsu in a day. He was merely relying on the warmth of his hands, playing with Tsunade's fair bare feet earnestly.
Moreover, he occasionally furrowed his brows, putting on the guise of a serious masseur.
But Tsunade's foot was truly beautiful. Uchiha Yoichi was curious as to how a woman in her thirties had such fair and tender feet, skin as smooth as jade, with her toenails painted red.
As Uchiha Yoichi massaged, her five toes adorably curled together.
Then, noticing Tsunade tilting her head and staying quiet, Uchiha Yoichi took off the sandal from her other foot as well, placing it on his lap, and under the guise of massage, continued to play!
Uchiha Yoichi suddenly thought if Jiraiya saw this, he'd probably be drooling with envy!
Suddenly, the Strategy Guide provided a prompt, and Uchiha Yoichi immediately followed it, setting Tsunade's fair bare foot down, putting her sandals back on and saying
"I haven't massaged many people before. If there was any discomfort, I hope Tsunade-sama can forgive me."
"It's fine, it feels much better now...."
Tsunade turned her head and said, feeling a bit relieved inside. Had Uchiha Yoichi continued the massage, she wouldn't have known how to respond.
This shy little ghost seemed to understand her heart, constantly attending to her.
"I'll head back first, you get some rest..."
After speaking, Tsunade got up and left Uchiha Yoichi's tent. Upon returning to hers, she could still feel the lingering warmth on her feet.
If she couldn't see through Uchiha Yoichi's intentions now, she'd truly be a fool.
But precisely because she could see, Tsunade was unsure of what to do; if rejecting, Uchiha Yoichi hadn't revealed his intentions, how should she speak?
The two of them also had a bet she had agreed to, even wanting to escape, she didn't know how to put it.
Tsunade lay on the bed inside the tent, momentarily plunged into extreme conflict; moreover, Uchiha Yoichi was considerate of her feelings in every aspect, various small things accumulating to make it hard for Tsunade to speak.
'I previously had a lover, and with such a big age gap with that Shy Little Ghost, it's completely impossible... I'll hold off rejecting him now, and later gradually talk to that Shy Little Ghost...'
Tsunade decided not to dwell on these matters, but her decision was already anticipated in the [Strategy Guide], and as soon as she made it, Uchiha Yoichi received new prompts.
However, the prompts didn't need to be completed immediately, so he lay on the bed to rest.
————————————
After collecting the bodies of the Hidden Rock Ninja, Kitsuchi didn't speak to A at all, and directly left the Hidden Cloud camp.
This action immediately made A feel uneasy; he initially wanted to send someone to pursue Kitsuchi, but was stopped by Dodai.
If A really did that, then his reputation among the Hidden Cloud Ninja would be ruined.
The Hidden Rock Ninja coming to the aid of the Hidden Cloud wasn't a secret, and the reason they were able to break the Konoha Ninja's battle lines on the battlefield was due to the help from the Hidden Rock Ninja.
Now, with dozens of Hidden Rock Ninja having been attacked and killed, wanting to leave the battlefield and return to their village, yet you detained them... if the news spread, many Hidden Cloud would curse A as a despicable villain, and his previously built reputation would be demolished.
In addition, Dodai now recommended A to stabilize the lines, although the Konoha Lightning Fang's strength is formidable, they can change the way they fight in the war, leveraging their numerical advantage to win the conflict.
As for Kitsuchi.
Leading a dozen of fortunate surviving Hidden Rock Ninja back to the Land of Earth, he immediately went to see Onoki.
It was then that Onoki found out Roshi and Han were dead, angrily smashing several tables; although Onoki wasn't a Taijutsu Ninja, in extreme rage, smashing a few tables was still easy.
But then upon seeing Kitsuchi and hearing the news from him, Onoki's already angry face turned exceedingly grim.
Konoha Lightning Fang, a single individual nearly wiped out their Hidden Rock Ninja elite on the Land of Hot Water battlefield, leaving them without a Jinchuriki capable of controlling the Tailed Beast Power for at least ten years; such hatred, Onoki would certainly not forget.
And then there's the Hidden Cloud, according to Kitsuchi's report, Onoki was certain there was something wrong with the Hidden Cloud!
The two Great Ninja Villages have long been at odds, and in light of Konoha's threat, Onoki tolerated numerous factors to ally with the Hidden Cloud.
Now the Hidden Cloud won the war, penetrated the Land of Fire's borders, but suffered the greatest losses, which were endured by their Hidden Rock Ninja.
"Rest assured, Kitsuchi, I will not let Roshi and Han's sacrifices be in vain, and we have some knowledge about the Four-tailed and Five-tailed revival locations; when the First Generation Hokage captured the Tailed Beasts, we were also paying attention to his actions."
Onoki said while holding his waist, he also planned to head to the battlefield, lest the Third Generation Raikage seized the chance to retreat.
Konoha and Hidden Cloud both deserve to die, the best fate for the Third Generation Raikage is to perish along with Konoha!
——————————————
Wars on both battlefields had intensified, with the Hidden Rock Ninja's offensive making significant strides compared to before, and the Hidden Cloud not relaxing their efforts.
They mobilized another fifteen hundred ninjas from the rear, combined with the previous two thousand plus, the Hidden Cloud ninja numbers nearly reached four thousand again.
Such a large number allowed the Hidden Cloud to recklessly send sabotage squads deep into the Land of Fire, some even targeted small civilian towns, choosing to destroy buildings but quickly withdrawing without massacring civilians.
The Hidden Cloud was inducing panic!
Hatake Sakumo, Mitokado Homura, and others discerned the Hidden Cloud's intentions, sending task squads to intercept the Hidden Cloud's sabotage squads.
But the number of Konoha Ninja was no match for the Hidden Cloud, totaling only a bit over nine hundred, a difference in numbers of four times.
Additionally, the Hidden Cloud squads possessed considerable strength, with Mitokado Homura's Ninja Corps mainly composed of Genin; in contrast, not counting Uchiha Yoichi and other strong ninjas, Konoha's ninja quality paled compared to the Hidden Cloud.
Unable to stop the Hidden Cloud's actions, bad news already came from the rear, though Uchiha Yoichi remained calm, routinely setting out on missions, then ambushing Cloud squads.
Yet he didn't fight with desperation, his efficiency in eliminating threats depended on his squad members; if they could track the Cloud squads, Uchiha Yoichi would attack the enemies.
If tracking failed, Uchiha Yoichi refrained from extra actions.
He had already earned enough merit, and his plan to gain fame in this war was well achieved, so he could afford to slow down slightly.
Hatake Sakumo also faced pressure, but it was nowhere near as intense as Mitokado Homura's; his task was to prevent larger Hidden Cloud forces from further invasion, but the small troop infiltrations and sabotage couldn't be tackled by Hatake Sakumo.
The entire camp had only over nine hundred troops, primarily Genin; surely Hatake Sakumo, an injured non-command officer, couldn't lead squads to ambush the enemy?
Yet the Land of Fire Daimyo ignored this, directly sending letters to Konoha Village to question them over the numerous Hidden Cloud squad sabotage incidents occurring within the Land of Fire borders.
But at this moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen was absent from the village, his whereabouts concealed as he quietly headed to the Land of Grass frontlines, leaving Utatane Koharu to manage affairs.
Receiving the Land of Fire Daimyo's questioning letter, Utatane Koharu relayed the message to Mitokado Homura, urging him to resolve the rampant Hidden Cloud squad disruption soon.
Yet Mitokado Homura lacked this capability, personnel were limited, and Uchiha Yoichi wasn't exerting himself.
Upon receiving the village's urging, Mitokado Homura even considered initiating a decisive battle with the Hidden Cloud, having Uchiha Yoichi replicate his feat of killing Hidden Rock Jinchuriki to deliver another devastating blow to the Hidden Cloud and force restraint.
But Uchiha Yoichi outright refused, with valid reasoning; he could only transform into Godzilla once more in a short period, and if futile now, containing the Eight-tails on the battlefield would be difficult, risking losing even the front lines.
Therefore, Uchiha Yoichi wouldn't act, especially not to ease Mitokado Homura's pressure; who was he to intervene?