Chapter 71: Detoxification Mission
"I'm back, Lord Orochimaru, Jonin Nara.
Regarding the supplies needed for the front-line camp, I have already discussed it with Konoha's logistics personnel.
The next batch of military supplies will be directly transported to the Land of Rivers Camp after procurement."
Hyuga Mirai immediately reported the progress of his mission upon his return.
Although it was only a C-rank mission, that was because there wasn't much danger during the process; however, the mission's process and outcome were still very important for the front-line camp.
"You've worked hard, Mirai-kun.
Next, there might be a more important mission for you."
Lord Orochimaru nodded and said, then Nara Shikaku began to tell Hyuga Mirai about the recent events on the front line.
In the seven days that Hyuga Mirai was away, the Sand Ninja had launched a large-scale attack, with the Fourth Kazekage personally leading nearly a thousand Sand Ninja to retaliate against Lord Orochimaru.
Although they were repelled by the well-prepared Lord Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze, Konoha's losses were not small.
It should be known that the Sand Ninja Envoy did not gain the benefits they wanted in negotiations with Konoha, and were further ridiculed by Danzo, who was nearby.
They returned furious to report to the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
This attack came with hatred, and the forces deployed were all elites, outnumbering Konoha's side significantly.
In Konoha's Land of Rivers Camp, the two powerhouses who could tip the scales of war were held back by the Fourth Kazekage and Chiyo.
Although Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Technique was skillfully used and posed a fatal danger to ninja with slower reaction speeds than him.
But for Rasa, after a few rounds of combat, Minato Namikaze's fighting style was figured out by Rasa.
The Flying Thunder God Kunai would be drawn by the Fourth Kazekage's Gold Dust Ninjutsu, which would prevent Minato Namikaze from performing flexible space-time transfers.
Against Rasa, he could only summon the toads from Mount Myōboku to help him fight.
The battle between Lord Orochimaru and Chiyo was also very intense on the battlefield.
The current Lord Orochimaru was not like he would be later, using forbidden Ninjutsu without restraint; now, the Ninjutsu he used most were Earth Release and snake-related Ninjutsu.
While these Ninjutsu were powerful and difficult to deal with, they lacked the power for a decisive strike; with Chiyo's experience, carefully responding with puppets could completely tie down Lord Orochimaru, preventing him from escaping to deal with other Sand Ninja.
As for Manda, without Lord Orochimaru's restraint, its ferocity might even harm Konoha Ninja, so under normal circumstances, Lord Orochimaru would not summon Manda, even though it was indeed very powerful.
Currently, the most damaging weapon the Sand Ninja had against Konoha Ninja was poison.
With Chiyo in Baosha Town, many Konoha Ninja were injured by the poisons of the Sand Ninja puppet masters.
Without specially formulated antidotes, they could only rely on Medical Ninja to use the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to extract most of the toxins from the body, and then treat them with general antidotes.
This method could completely cure the poison injuries from the Sand Ninja puppet masters, but the number of Medical Ninja was simply not enough.
Although the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique was only a B-rank Medical Ninjutsu, there were fewer Medical Ninja who knew it than those who knew the Mystical Palm Technique.
If this method was used for treatment, many ninja would probably have to be abandoned.
"That's the situation, Mirai-kun.
We desperately need someone who can decipher the Sand Ninja's poisons.
Aoki and the others all recommended you, believing your abilities are superior to theirs, so now..."
After Nara Shikaku finished explaining the mission requirements, he waited for Hyuga Mirai's answer.
The last time they defeated the Sand Ninja, it was because Tsunade constantly deciphered the poisons Chiyo developed.
Without Tsunade this time, Konoha's weakness against the Sand Ninja immediately became apparent.
Although they had many Medical Ninja, they couldn't use the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique twenty-four hours a day; that would literally exhaust people to death.
"I have indeed studied poisons for a while, but I cannot compare to Tsunade.
However, regarding the Sand Ninja's poisons, I will do my best to decipher them and develop an antidote to save our comrades as soon as possible."
Hyuga Mirai spoke with conviction, as if every day he delayed in deciphering it, the suffering of his Konoha comrades would fall upon him.
"Very good, Mirai-kun."
Lord Orochimaru chuckled with his hoarse voice.
He was praising Hyuga Mirai's acting.
If he hadn't seen his true self, he might even have believed that this boy, not yet twelve years old, was the perfect inheritor of the will of fire.
"In Kikyō Castle, there is a house Tsunade left for antidote research.
Gather whatever else you need as soon as possible, and I will have the village send it over quickly."
"Thank you so much, Lord Orochimaru!"
Hyuga Mirai thought happily to himself.
What could be more wonderful than research and experimentation?
To research antidotes, one or two Shadow Clones would be enough, leaving him with plenty of free time to do his own things.
He had just acquired a new scientist template, and now he had a legitimate reason to bring research equipment to the front lines.
Hyuga Mirai suddenly had a lot of anticipation for the days to come, wishing he could immediately go back and write down the research equipment he needed so Konoha could send it over right away.
"Oh, and Mirai-kun, your two teammates are also injured, they're in the Medical Camp."
Just as Hyuga Mirai was about to leave with a smile on his face, Lord Orochimaru thoughtfully added.
At the Medical Camp, the line of people waiting for treatment had grown longer.
Hyuga Mirai glanced around; most of them had been poisoned by the Sand Ninja, but they were enduring it after drinking antidotes, waiting for the injured inside to finish their treatment before it was their turn.
"Mirai-kun!?"
Kurenai Yuhi, in the crowd, turned her head and saw Hyuga Mirai, then joyfully called out.
Upon hearing Kurenai Yuhi's voice, Hyuga Mirai waved to her and then walked towards where Kurenai Yuhi was sitting.
"Mirai-san, it's you!
I finally waited for you!"
"Mirai-kun?
Is that the young Medical Ninja?
That's great, another powerful Medical Ninja, finally we won't have to suffer."
"Mirai-san."
"Mirai-san."
After Kurenai Yuhi called his name, people in this injured camp kept looking at him.
The feeling of an injured person seeing a doctor is hard to control, and since Hyuga Mirai was a Medical Ninja with quite remarkable medical skills, many injured people greeted Hyuga Mirai with excitement upon seeing him.
Hyuga Mirai could only politely return their greetings while walking towards Kurenai Yuhi and Hyuga Kiyomi's location.
When Hyuga Mirai got closer, he found that their condition wasn't very good either.
"Kurenai, Kiyomi... how did you get such serious injuries?"
"Hehe, Mirai-kun, Kiyomi and I made quite a contribution this time."
Hyuga Mirai reached out and tapped Kurenai Yuhi's forehead, sighing.
"You're still grinning even though you're injured.
I remember saying that staying alive is the priority on the battlefield."
Then, Hyuga Mirai directly used the Shadow Clone Technique, splitting into three clones.
One went to write down the types of research equipment that needed to be transported from Konoha to the front-line camp, the other two went to treat other injured people, while the main body performed detoxification and healing for Kurenai Yuhi and Hyuga Kiyomi.