After sealing the heart in the preservation jar, Kenji resealed the corpse back into the storage scroll. He'd need to dispose of both bodies eventually. Normally they'd be handed over to the Intelligence Division for information extraction, but with a living prisoner already captured, these corpses weren't particularly valuable anymore.
He tucked the scroll away carefully and picked up the glass jar containing the heart.
He focused his chakra and let it flow through his palm. A faint green glow appeared around his hand as yang chakra manifested. Thin threads of energy extended from his fingertips and sank into the preservation solution, wrapping around the dormant heart.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then the heart twitched.
Thump.
Thump.
The dead organ began to beat again, slowly at first, then settling into a steady rhythm. The pale green liquid rippled with each contraction, waves spreading outward from the center of the jar. He maintained the flow of chakra for another few seconds, then carefully withdrew his energy.
The heart kept beating.
Even without his chakra actively sustaining it, the organ continued to pump as if it had never stopped working... As if the person it belonged to was still alive and walking around somewhere.
"Chakra is ridiculous," he muttered.
In his previous life's medical knowledge, a heart that stopped beating for more than four minutes would suffer irreversible damage. Brain death followed shortly after. But in the shinobi world, a little yang chakra could resurrect a completely dead organ and make it function as if nothing had ever happened. The rules of biology just didn't apply the same way here.
It was a miracle by any scientific standard. And in this world, it was just another jutsu application.
He sealed the jar carefully in a specialized storage scroll and tucked it inside his vest, close to his body. This heart was crucial for his puppet modification plans. Losing it would mean finding another one, which would be annoying even during wartime when bodies were everywhere.
Unfortunately, the other corpse's heart had been destroyed when he'd stabbed it with a kunai. Otherwise he could have collected that one too. One heart wouldn't be enough for what he had in mind. He'd need to gather more eventually.
At least the war provided plenty of opportunities. Ninjas died every day. Fresh corpses weren't exactly in short supply.
---
Three days passed without incident.
The expected second wave of Iwa attackers never came. On the second day after Kenji had reported the ambush, new orders arrived from the main camp via messenger hawk.
Decommission Supply Point 73. Team 10 is to remain stationed until all supplies are cleared, then escort the final transport convoy back to camp.
Not long after, a specialized prisoner transport squad arrived to take the captured Iwa ninja away. They handled him roughly, binding his hands and feet with chakra-suppressing restraints before loading him onto a cart for the journey back.
Haruto's injuries should have taken a full week to heal properly, but with the supply point being abandoned, he couldn't stay in bed any longer. Kenji decided to handle the treatment personally rather than leaving it to Aoi.
He channeled yang chakra through his palms, using precise control to stimulate cellular regeneration in the damaged areas. He worked in focused sessions to avoid chakra exhaustion, two hours at a time, with short breaks in between to monitor Haruto's vital signs and adjust the flow. Under the effects of the Mystical Palm Technique, repeated across four sessions, Haruto's cracked rib and internal bleeding healed completely over the course of eight hours total. By the time he pulled his hands away after the final session, the kid was as good as new.
---
On the day of evacuation, Kenji looked at his three students standing there with their packs.
"Everything ready?"
"Yes, sensei!" All three responded together.
"Hand over your packs. I'll seal them in a scroll so we can travel lighter."
He pulled out a blank storage scroll and spread it on the ground. The three students placed their bags on top of it. Kenji formed a single hand seal.
"Seal!"
White smoke flashed, and the packs vanished instantly, compressed into the scroll. Four names appeared on the parchment: "Ken," "Haru," "Aoi," and "Kae," each marking the owner's belongings.
He rolled up the scroll and tucked it away. "Let's go. Time to meet up with the transport convoy."
When they arrived at the rendezvous point, another ninja squad was already waiting beside the supply wagons. A jonin stood at the front with three genin behind him, all wearing Konoha forehead protectors and standard uniforms.
According to the orders from camp, that team would serve as the primary escort force. Kenji's squad would act as auxiliary support, maintaining perimeter security during the withdrawal.
He walked forward and nodded in greeting. "Hello. I'm Yamanaka Kenji, chunin, Team 10 instructor. These are my students: Tsukishima Haruto, Hinoyama Kaede, and Hoshino Aoi."
"Nice to meet you!" The three bowed respectfully in unison.
The jonin across from them smiled and returned the nod. He gestured to the three genin standing beside him. "I'm Sarutobi Soshi, jonin instructor for this squad. These are my students: Hyūga Seiko, Inuzuka Retsuga, and Aburame Kawakai."
Kenji immediately understood the squad composition. The Byakugan from the Hyūga clan, the ninken partners from the Inuzuka clan, and the kikaichū from the Aburame clan. All three specializations focused on reconnaissance and tracking. Combined with a Sarutobi clan jonin as the leader, this team's detection capabilities were top-tier.
He felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. With a squad like this providing security, running into danger would be difficult. They'd spot threats from kilometers away.
"Move out!" Soshi called.
The transport convoy began rolling forward, wheels creaking as they turned. The supply wagons were heavily loaded, packed with equipment and provisions that would be valuable back at the main camp.
Rain continued to fall as they traveled through the Land of Rain. The sky remained overcast, and the roads turned to mud beneath their feet. But the convoy maintained a steady pace.
Seiko's Byakugan swept the terrain ahead constantly, veins bulging around her eyes as she scanned for threats. The Inuzuka kid's dog ranged out to the sides, nose low to the ground. And the Aburame genin had sent kikaichū spreading through the surrounding area in a wide surveillance net.
With that level of coverage, an ambush would be nearly impossible to pull off successfully.
After several hours of travel, they crossed the border into the Land of Fire. The rain stopped, clouds parted, sunlight broke through and illuminated the landscape in warm golden light. The muddy roads gave way to packed earth that was actually solid underfoot. Trees grew taller and fuller here.
Kenji glanced back toward the border. The dark clouds still hung over the horizon, marking where the Land of Rain began. It looked like two completely different worlds existed right next to each other, separated by nothing more than an invisible line on a map.
"The climate here really is something else," he muttered.
The Land of Rain was drenched year-round. The Land of Wind was buried in sandstorms and desert heat. The Land of Earth was rocky wasteland with minimal vegetation. But the Land of Fire? Lush forests, abundant water, fertile soil, and a temperate climate that made agriculture easy.
No wonder the surrounding nations constantly wanted to invade. When your own country was a hellscape and your neighbor was living in paradise, resentment built up quickly.
About an hour after crossing the border, Seiko called out from the front of the convoy. "Five kilometers ahead, the Konoha encampment. No signs of unusual activity."
"Pick up the pace!" Soshi ordered. "We're almost home!"
The convoy increased speed slightly. Everyone seemed to relax as the camp came into view in the distance. Even the supply wagon drivers looked less tense.
Kenji felt relieved. The mission was complete. They'd made it back without incident.
By the time they arrived at the camp perimeter, the sun was starting to set. They went through the standard security checkpoints, got cleared by the guards, and delivered the supply wagons to the logistics division.
Mission accomplished.
---
A few days after reporting to the command tent and submitting his written account of the ambush, Kenji led his students away from the main camp. He was ready to begin the next phase of their training while they still had some daylight left.
They walked to a small river near the camp's edge. The water flowed gently past, reflecting the orange sky. A light breeze carried the scent of grass and trees across the surface.
He stopped at the riverbank and turned to face his three students.
"You've already completed tree climbing training successfully. Starting today, we're moving on to the next stage."
All three of them perked up immediately.
"The next stage?" Haruto asked.
"What kind of training is it, sensei?" Aoi tilted her head curiously.
"Is it harder than climbing trees?" Kaede added, eyes bright with anticipation.
Kenji waited for them to finish before explaining.
"The key to tree climbing was focusing a precise amount of chakra on specific points on your feet and maintaining that output consistently. Since a tree is solid and doesn't move, as long as you could keep stable adhesion, you'd succeed. Essentially, it was an exercise in maintaining fixed chakra output."
He turned his gaze toward the gently flowing river beside them.
"This next training is different. This time, you'll learn to continuously release a precise amount of chakra from your feet while adjusting the output in real-time."
"Continuously release it?" all three repeated, looking confused.
"That's right," Kenji nodded. "The method is simple. You'll walk on water. Use chakra to support your body weight and stand on the surface."
"Wait, stand on water?" Haruto's eyes went wide. "Is that even possible?"
Kaede and Aoi both looked equally surprised.
Kenji didn't bother explaining further. He simply said, "Like this."
He stepped forward. His foot touched the surface of the river without breaking through. He stood there as steadily as if he were on solid ground.