The antidote Megumai produced originated, fundamentally, from Tsunade, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin.
Back then, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru fought fiercely with Hanzo the Salamander, eventually achieving a tentative draw, earning them the title of the 'Sannin'.
Later, Tsunade developed an antidote based on the collected Salamander Poison and distributed it to Konoha shinobi participating in the Amegakure battlefield.
Megumai, as an elite of the village, fought in various places and inevitably ventured into Amegakure, thus obtaining the antidote.
The tiny initial supply would certainly not have been enough to last until now.
The reason she currently had an ample supply was that Megumai had studied the antidote distributed by Tsunade, analyzed the formula and proportions, and prepared the antidote herself.
The homemade antidote was equally effective.
Moments after Konan took the medicine, her pale, jade-like face regained some color, but unfortunately, she remained in a coma.
The female employee stood guard, diligently providing treatment.
With her boss in such a state, it would be difficult for Megumai to resign without seeming heartless, so she could only wait quietly for Konan to recover from her serious injuries.
Fortunately, leaving the Tetsu no Kuni was not an immediate urgency, and Megumai could afford to wait.
"Mama, Konan-neesan... when will she... wake up?"
Seiya nestled in Megumai's arms, frowning his little brows, his eyes filled with concern.
Megumai gave a faint smile and gently stroked her son's head, "She'll wake up in one or two days."
"Oh!"
Seiya happily responded.
In his mind, sleeping for a day or two was no big deal, and clearly, Konan-neesan would not die.
Since that was the case, there was no need to worry about her; let Konan-neesan rest peacefully!
With his worries settled, Seiya quickly told his mother to turn on the TV.
The afternoon cartoon was about to start; he absolutely couldn't miss it!
...
Since Konan was unconscious, no one knew the details of how she was injured.
However, based on the presence of the Salamander Poison in her body, it must have been the work of Amegakure shinobi.
In the past two years, Amegakure, led by Hanzo the Salamander, and the Akatsuki organization were sworn enemies.
The friction between the two sides was constant, resulting in countless casualties.
But this was the first time Konan had been so severely injured and fallen into a coma!
The situation was urgent.
The 'Peace' Supermarket closed its doors, and the employees scattered throughout the city to maintain a secret vigil, guarding against a surprise attack from Amegakure shinobi.
Megumai did not rush to report the situation here to Akatsuki headquarters via carrier pigeon.
After all, messages were not delivered instantly; a round trip would take nearly half a month.
Any changes in the situation during that time could not be relayed in time.
If she were to rashly inform the headquarters without considering all factors, it could very likely lead to a wasted journey, a depletion of manpower, and potentially even the needless sacrifice of personnel due to insufficient intelligence.
Compared to the large Amegakure, the small Akatsuki organization did not have abundant manpower.
Everything had to be done cautiously; recklessness was not an option.
Therefore, Megumai decided to wait for Konan to wake up and let her determine the specific course of action.
All the employees agreed.
After all, according to the medical staff's estimate, Konan would regain consciousness within a day or two.
There was no need to rush at this moment.
Today was Monday.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, was Megumai's day off.
Usually, Megumai would take Seiya back to the cave outside the city overnight to spend a pleasant day off.
But this time, the situation was special.
The mother and son stayed in the office as before.
Megumai also took Seiya to the infirmary to visit Konan once.
The little guy learned that Konan-neesan was injured and immediately lowered his head, wanting to kiss her forehead.
A two-year-old child could be ignorant, but an adult could not be.
Megumai quickly stopped him.
If Konan had been awake and given her permission, it would have been fine for Seiya to give her a kiss.
But with Konan unconscious, kissing her directly without permission was inappropriate.
However, Seiya was persistent.
"Mama, I want to kiss... Konan-neesan!"
"No, you can't." Megumai shook her head, "Konan-neesan hasn't agreed. What you're doing is not right, baby."
"But, if I kiss... Konan-neesan, she will... get better!"
Megumai was stunned by his words, "Baby, why do you think that?"
"Because... before, Mama... that's how she... made the baby better."
Megumai suddenly understood.
When her son had a cold or a cough before, she would kiss his forehead and pat his chest. And then her son would recover.
This was the effect of [Purification] and had no connection to her comforting gestures.
However, Seiya, being young and innocent, mistakenly believed that a kiss and a pat could cure sickness.
Megumai gave a gentle smile and explained, "Baby, kissing and patting only work when Mama does it to you; it won't work if you do it to Konan-neesan."
"Okay..."
Seiya was very disappointed and hung his head sadly.
...
Wednesday evening.
Under the female employee's meticulous care, Konan woke up.
After a brief conversation, Megumai learned the full story.
According to custom, Konan should have come to inspect the 'Peace' Supermarket at the end of the quarter.
The reason she rushed here early this time was because she had received intelligence that 'Amegakure shinobi intended to destroy the 'Peace' Supermarket'.
After dispatching this intelligence via carrier pigeon to Kouun City, Konan was still worried about everyone's safety.
After all, the 'Peace' Supermarket had limited fighting strength, which might not be enough to cope with an attack from Amegakure shinobi.
Therefore, Konan traveled day and night, personally leading a small squad to rush to Kouun City.
En route, near the border of Amegakure, they inadvertently ran into an ambush.
Dozens of Amegakure shinobi had set up an inescapable trap and released Salamander Poison gas.
All the shinobi in the squad traveling with Konan were sacrificed.
Konan's life also hung by a thread.
She fought with all her might, killing twenty or so Amegakure shinobi, and then, relying on the Shikigami Dance, transformed herself into paper and barely managed to escape with her life.
...
"We did not receive any carrier pigeon message about an Amegakure attack." Megumai stated truthfully.
"None?!"
Konan's eyebrows rose slightly, and she seemed to realize something.
"It must have been intercepted by Amegakure shinobi, otherwise, their ambush couldn't have been so meticulously planned."
Then, she sighed softly and said, "Fortunately, I brought the intelligence myself, so you were not left in the dark."
Megumai nodded slightly, "Thanks to you; you went through a lot of trouble."
Konan sighed lightly again and regretfully said, "Since things have come to this, we cannot keep this base."
"That's right." Megumai nodded in agreement, "Since you fell unconscious, the supermarket has been closed, and everyone is outside on alert."
"Mhm."
Konan frowned in deep thought for a while and then said, "Perhaps we can still use this location to our advantage."
Megumai raised an eyebrow, quietly waiting for her to continue.
"The carrier pigeon was intercepted by Amegakure shinobi. And since I was poisoned by the Salamander Toxin, it was essentially a death sentence. The Amegakure shinobi won't expect me to be fully recovered and fine. Therefore, from the Amegakure shinobi's perspective, the 'Peace' Supermarket has no way of knowing about the intended attack!"
As she spoke, Konan's eyes glinted.
"We can use this point, exploit their ignorance with our knowledge, and set an ambush!"
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