The Land of Fire was the most prosperous of the Five Great Nations, and the first two Hokage had left Hiruzen Sarutobi a foundation so substantial it couldn't be deeper.
Combined with the fact that Hiruzen had been maintaining the political momentum established by his predecessors before Uzumaki Mito passed away, Konoha's reserves were incredibly vast.
Add to that a medical team that, while not yet fully formed, had already shown significant results; when it comes to a battle of attrition, what other village could possibly compete?
"Hard to say," Sarutobi Biwako said, shaking her head again.
"We know these things, and the other hidden villages must know them too."
"How could they not react to this? The greatest charm of war lies in its unpredictability."
A long time passed, and late night arrived.
Uchiha Gen dragged his exhausted body back to his residence.
Sarutobi Enjun and Uzuki Ruri had been out with combat teams on missions for the past few days, so he was alone in the room.
After a quick shower, Gen changed into clean clothes and leaned comfortably on his bed, his eyes staring blankly at the air.
[Character Name: Uchiha Gen]
[Character Level: 28]
[Currently Loaded Character Card: Uchiha Madara (Boy)]
[Current Available Item Cards: 0]
[Available Card Draws: 1]
[Current Attributes: Nin: 7; Tai: 6; Gen: 5; Str: 5; Spd: 7; Sta: 5; Seals: 7; Int: 7; Total: 49]
During this recent period, he had ground through over a dozen B-rank missions under Tsunade, and his leveling speed hadn't slowed down.
Besides the one draw he received from leveling up today after a mission settlement, he also had six item cards that had already been used.
[Explosive Tag ×3 (White)], [Soldier Pill ×5 (White)], [Cultivation Acceleration Card (White)], [Skill Proficiency Card (White)]
[Weapon Enhancement Card (Green)], [Cultivation Acceleration Card (Green)]
All six item cards had been expended.
For the current Uchiha Gen, the most valuable white cards were the Cultivation Acceleration Cards, which provided a double speed bonus to training for half a month.
Although it couldn't be stacked with the green version, two months of real-time was equivalent to four and a half months of training for Gen.
Because most of this time was spent on Medical Ninjutsu, his proficiency in high-level healing arts had improved significantly.
In addition to the Chakra Scalpel that came with the Young Tsunade character card, he had mastered another high-level technique.
The Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
Although its difficulty was only B-rank, it had the prerequisites of mastering the Chakra Scalpel and Sensing Ninjutsu.
While the requirements for sensing were quite high, its utility was immense.
It allowed for a direct advancement in the Shape Transformation of the Chakra Scalpel, forcibly clearing toxins from a patient's body with the coordination of sensory abilities.
Hanzo of the Salamander was a master of poison, and Chiyo of the Sand was a grandmaster of the art.
From top to bottom in the Hidden Sand, especially among the puppet masters, everyone was skilled in using toxins.
A large number of Konoha ninjas sent to the medical zone were suffering from various poisons.
Some of these poisons could be neutralized with standard medicine, and some could not.
Every time Chiyo developed a new poison, Tsunade would follow by developing an antidote.
In the entire Ninja World, only Tsunade had the pharmacological expertise to neutralize Chiyo's creations.
The two women, one a poisoner and one a doctor, clashed from afar, exchanging moves in a silent medicinal war.
Before those specific antidotes were finalized, the only solution was the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
Over the course of two months, Gen was forced to practice the technique to a very high level of proficiency.
He only needed to place his hand on a patient to extend his perception and force the toxins out within seconds.
As for the Weapon Enhancement Card, it was once again used on the Sengoku Ninja Sword.
"One draw left, I wonder if I'll get something good."
Uchiha Gen placed his hands behind his head and began the draw.
[System drawing...]
[Successfully recruited Character Card: Kakashi Hatake (Young) Quality: (Green)]
[Character Card (Green) Description: When equipped, all abilities of this character can be obtained]
Holy shit?
The new-generation genius of the Uchiha Clan, inheritor of the Will of Fire, and beloved disciple of Orochimaru suddenly sat bolt upright.
I actually got something? And it's a character card?
This time my luck is explosive!
This was the first time he had drawn a character card from the general pool without hitting the pity count.
The familiar cutscene animation played again.
The door to a Ninja Academy classroom opened, and a white-haired child wearing a Konoha headband walked out.
"Kakashi! Congratulations!"
"Hmph, who wants to congratulate you? I'll be graduating early soon too!"
A short-haired girl smiled brightly, while a brooding Uchiha boy turned his head away.
The scene shifted: thunder roared, and a white-haired middle-aged man curled up on the ground, having committed seppuku.
The White Light Chakra Sabre, which had once drunk the blood of enemies, was stained with its master's blood and lay on the floor.
Kakashi, wearing a mask, pushed open the door, his eyes wide with shock at the sight of this nightmare.
Next came the formation of Team Minato, the bell test, and silhouettes of the Chunin Exams.
Until the final scene, during the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, Kakashi Hatake's hands lit up with lightning.
Accompanied by the chirping sound of a thousand birds, he charged forward like a bolt of lightning.
The scene ended there.
"Only up to the Battle of Kannabi Bridge?"
Uchiha Gen felt a slight sense of regret, but on second thought, it was understandable.
If it were the Kakashi who had already obtained Obito's Sharingan, it would have been a blue card at the very least.
The Battle of Kannabi Bridge was Kakashi's first mission after being promoted to Jonin at the age of twelve.
It was also the second S-rank mission of his life.
This was already the top of the green tier because at this point, Kakashi was already a Jonin.
The vast majority of character cards whose strength reached the Jonin level started at the blue rank.
Kakashi Hatake was likely categorized as green because he had just been promoted and his overall strength was at the lower end of the rank, but his quality was close to blue.
[Uchiha Madara (Boy) unequipped.]
[Kakashi Hatake (Young) equipped!]
Uchiha Gen closed and opened his eyes, activating his Sharingan.
His ocular power had decreased slightly, but he had already digested over ninety percent of Young Madara's abilities, so removing it didn't have a huge impact on his strength.
On the contrary, Young Kakashi's abilities provided a massive boost to his current kit.
"Let's rest first. I'll check the card's abilities tomorrow morning."
Feeling the fatigue in his bones, Uchiha Gen didn't get up immediately to test it.
He suppressed his excitement and fell asleep quickly.
He had been using high-intensity Medical Ninjutsu all day, and the frequent use of Chakra had taken a toll on his mind; he needed rest.