Ninja Ice House

The children of Konoha Village basically grew up listening to the story of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. The Hokage Rock is like a spiritual totem, standing in the hearts of every Konoha ninja.

I didn't realize it when I was playing ninja games, but as I grew up, I came to understand that behind every hero's story lies a shocking secret.

Sacrifice is almost an unavoidable occurrence in the ninja world.

Granny Chiyo chose to sacrifice herself to save Gaara's life, so that this promising young man could become the backbone of Sunagakure in times of crisis.

It's not just Konoha Village that possesses the well-preserved "Konoha Spirit." The other major ninja villages that can be compared to Konoha Village and are known as the Five Great Ninja Villages are not only strong in combat, but also possess "soft power" that allows them to stand firm.

While the atmosphere in Sunagakure was becoming heavy, things were relatively better in Konoha. The strong medical ninjas were able to largely prevent non-combat casualties. Some of the wounded looked scary, but they were not actually in mortal danger. With proper rest, they could basically return to the front line of combat ninjas.

Medical ninjas are actually a very scarce resource. This type of ninjutsu not only requires extremely high personal qualities and control, but also places high demands on the intelligence and learning ability of medical ninjas.

If you're not physically fit, you can't be a doctor; if you're not mentally sharp, you can't be a good medical ninja.

Naruto Uzumaki has basically given up on medical ninjutsu; asking him to remember those complicated technical terms would be too much of a challenge.

Karin is a natural-born medical ninja. She has a special physique and good combat aptitude, making her one of the top geniuses among the Uzumaki clan members throughout history.

After casually healing the bruises and sprains on Kurama Yakumo and Usami, Karin sighed somewhat helplessly:

"None of you used your true forms. One of you used illusion magic to create a clone, and the other used the clone to fight. How did you both get injured?"

Kurama Yakumo didn't seem to mind and replied with a smile:

"It's so chaotic, who knows where some stones might jump out and come flying at us..."

"Didn't dodge it?"

"I dodged it, but was hit head-on by the shockwave from another direction. Luckily, it was already in the final stages, so the power wasn't too great, just a bit muffled..."

"how about you?"

Usami shrugged and answered casually:

"Friendly collateral damage. The dark forces led by Teacher Mizuki are really murderous. During the battle, they strive for more efficient killing and seem to no longer consider protecting their teammates. I saw with my own eyes that they would even occasionally risk their own injury or their lives just to make sure their comrades' attacks hit."

"The Dark Division is special! Not everyone completes missions in the same way or with the same attitude..."

As they were talking, a commotion arose from the direction of Sunagakure. Gaara, who seemed to have died, opened his drowsy eyes again, as if he hadn't quite figured out what was going on and couldn't understand why so many Sunagakure and Konoha ninjas were gathered around him after he had just "taken a nap."

Grandma Chiyo, on her deathbed, could still say a few words, seemingly holding on to her last moments to give instructions to the younger generation in the village.

"Temari, Kankuro, as your older brothers, you must protect Gaara. He's a good boy, smart and wise, but sometimes he's too soft-hearted and can't handle conflicts between his siblings properly."

"Understood!"

Temari suppressed her grief and nodded solemnly, while Kankuro looked somewhat bewildered.

Since the founding of Sunagakure... no, since the end of the Warring States period, Granny Chiyo, who has been active in the ninja world, has always been the mainstay of this ninja village that built its foundation in the vast desert.

Most of the young Sand Ninja had thought about how to get through the years without the protection of their elders, since Chiyo and Ebizo had nominally retired and were no longer involved in the day-to-day village affairs.

But that's just the surface. Every Sand Villager knows that even the Third and Fourth Kazekage would naturally consult Granny Chiyo when they encountered difficulties they couldn't solve.

The only Sand Village ninja whose influence was comparable to that of the previous matriarch was Bunpuku, the former Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast. This old monk was not only one of the cornerstones of the Sand Village, but also a "living fossil" of the ninja world. He was active even a little earlier than Onoki, who is still quite powerful despite his advanced age.

Granny Chiyo is even more special. She is not only the secret leader of Sunagakure, but also the one who has promoted puppetry and developed it based on poisoning and detoxification techniques, making it suitable for training in a place like the Land of Wind. Only Granny Chiyo can be called the key figure who connects the past and the future.

If Granny Chiyo were gone, it would be fair to say that the strength of Sunagakure's poison ninjutsu, medical ninjutsu, and puppetry would decline significantly. Especially the puppetry; since the village's founding, the only one who could keep up with her pace and learn it very well, even showing a tendency to surpass her, was Sasori of the Red Sand. Unfortunately, this guy was too restless and defected twice in a short period of time.

Even Chiyo and Ebizo, who had vouched for him, were affected to some extent.

"By the way, Maki, you were sent on a mission to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Furusugi family to gather information. Did you find anything?"

"We hardly saw anyone. We should pay more attention to other people, such as his daughters and the servants who are always at his beck and call..."

"Visiting more often will eventually show sincerity. Without the proper cleanup by the Gushan family, the village's camel caravan trade will likely not recover in a short time..."

"I see!"

"There's still so much... I guess there's no time to tell you."

Through her blurred vision, a series of scenes flashed before her eyes, making Chiyo realize that time was running out.

The voices gradually faded, and a light rain began to fall, as if mourning the death of this legendary Sand Ninja.

-----------------

In Konoha Village, after receiving the battle summary quickly relayed back by the Anbu using the Summoning Jutsu, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, breathed a sigh of relief.

The current situation in the ninja world is quite unpredictable and murky, like the calm before the storm.

"All sorts of demons and monsters have appeared, but these people, who seem to have no strong connection on the surface, are suddenly acting for one thing, it seems..."

It's a coincidence once or twice, but for so many people to appear in the vicinity almost simultaneously, and in such convenient locations, is unimaginable without a "mastermind" manipulating things.

Of course, the battle on the front lines is one thing, but Tsunade is more worried about Jiraiya's mental injuries and doesn't know when he will wake up.

In today's ninja world, reputation and bluffing are useless; you need something real, a renowned master to hold your ground, in order to secure your position in the future.