CH_60

"Were you just saying I ran away? Hahahaha!" It was Kokubō Kenji's voice—someone had suddenly caught up from behind.

Tōji and the others didn't stop moving, instantly on edge. Natchi quickly tried to identify the voice… it was definitely familiar.

And the person behind was already within sight.

It really wasn't an enemy in disguise—it was Kenji, carrying someone over his shoulder, the big steel plate still on his back.

Seeing Tōji and the others stop, Kenji came up to them, dropped the unconscious figure from his shoulder onto the ground, and rolled his shoulder…

"I captured this guy." Kenji had been grinning ever since he appeared.

Looks like he'd not only made a tidy profit, but also had a satisfying "fight."

"Captain—we went back to where you first fought, but we didn't find you. What happened?" Natchi asked bluntly.

"I went after those three Iwa chūnin, of course!" Kenji's hearty answer left them speechless.

"We thought you'd come looking for us!" Neru muttered quietly, voicing her displeasure.

"Ahahaha—what was that you were mumbling, Neru?" What kind of person was this Kenji anyway? He was clearly pretending not to hear.

Neru huffed through her nose and didn't say more. She wasn't really angry, but Kenji's answer definitely deserved some side-eye.

"Captain Kenji—did you end up catching those two Iwa chūnin?" Tōji still wanted to know if Kenji had scored any gains.

"Never ran into them. I followed the river for a while and didn't find you guys either. So I just brought this one back." Kenji scratched his head, but his smile gradually faded.

Seeing Kenji shift back into his usual serious, stern mode, Tōji gave him a once-over… This guy didn't even look like he'd taken any damage from the fight.

"Oh, by the way—you said there were two Iwa chūnin. Did you guys take one out?" Kenji's expression didn't change all that fast, but the cheerfulness was already gone from his voice.

"We barely managed to take one out." Tōji answered, then asked, "Should we head back, or…?"

"We still need to check out the distress signal site." Kenji was a stickler for doing things properly.

Then he pointed at the captured Iwa jōnin on the ground and said to Tōji, "Give this guy another dose of that stuff—whatever it is."

"…" Tōji almost rolled his eyes. In his head, he thought, 『Wouldn't it be easier to just kill the enemy outright…』

Still, he played along, rummaging through his tool pouch. He did have some sedative-type agents on him.

After giving the Iwa jōnin an injection, the four of them headed to the earlier distress location. Along the way, they also needed to find the "support squad" assigned to them, so they could hand over the captured Iwa-nin.

Only then was everything finally settled.

That night, it was still drizzling. But whether before or after the front lines had been pushed forward, nighttime rarely brought rescue calls.

Or rather, distress signals at night were usually of the combat-support variety. And more often than not, when others needed support, they were already locked in their own fights. By the time anyone nearby started sending out the specific signal for medical assistance, they were already in over their heads.

But most nights—like this one—were relatively "calm."

『There's no way to get any news about the big picture…』

『I wonder if Obito's already been ambushed by Iwa yet?』

『Right now, this whole battlefield is waiting for Kakashi to save it. Kakashi better deliver!』

『Some people are about to become heroes. But one hero will sink into darkness, and another will fade into obscurity…』

Tōji lay awake for a long time that night, his mind running in circles.

Maybe, on some level, he could sense that the turning point of the war was coming.