Deep in the night. Inside the medical tent.
The camp was silent. Taiichi pulled the IV needle from the back of a patient's hand. This was Kawada, the ninja who had suffered severe internal bleeding and burns. Just by looking at him now, you couldn't tell he had been at death's door a few hours ago.
"Taiichi, thank you so much. If it weren't for you, I would have died here," Kawada whispered gratefully.
"Don't worry about it. Just focus on resting. The outpost needs you back in fighting shape as soon as possible," Taiichi said, comforting him.
"Right. Will do." Kawada nodded and laid back down obediently.
After an afternoon of intense treatment, Taiichi had stabilized all the wounded in the outpost. Most had been moved to recovery areas, leaving only the three critical patients here under his direct supervision. He wasn't a god, after all; he couldn't heal everyone instantly.
Having finished the night rounds, Taiichi sat on a stool nearby. He closed his eyes and silently refined his chakra, recovering from the massive expenditure during the day.
Tonight was likely going to be a sleepless one.
---
2:00 AM.
It was the time when people were most exhausted, when sleep was heaviest.
Taiichi, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open. His gaze seemed to pierce through the tent canvas, locking onto the center of the camp.
A moment later, the belated sounds of explosions and shouting reached his ears.
Taiichi didn't leave the tent. According to the plan, his job was to guard the wounded.
The deafening noise woke the three critical patients. Despite their severe injuries, their instincts as frontline fighters kicked in. They struggled out of bed, grabbing their weapons to form a protective circle around Taiichi.
Taiichi felt a warmth in his chest seeing their actions. He drew his own tanto and reassured them, "Don't be nervous. Just focus on protecting yourselves. I can handle a fight."
The three smiled weakly, assuming Taiichi was just being brave to comfort them. But internally, they resolved to protect this genius medical ninja with their lives.
Just then, three kunai tore through the tent fabric, flying straight at Taiichi in the center.
Takayama, the closest one, swung his tanto with his remaining arm, knocking the projectiles away.
Following the kunai, three enemy ninja slashed open the tent and rushed in. Seeing only three crippled men and a child, their faces twisted into cruel grins.
Facing the intruders, the three wounded ninja braced themselves for a desperate fight. They knew their condition; they were running on fumes. They each picked an opponent and charged, shouting, "Taiichi, run! We'll hold them off!"
Taiichi was moved by their selflessness, but his hands were faster than his emotions.
Using Takayama's body as cover, he slipped silently behind the enemy engaging him. The moment their weapons clashed, Taiichi struck.
His tanto thrust out soundlessly from under Takayama's armpit, piercing straight into the enemy's heart. One hit, one kill.
Before Takayama could even process what happened, Taiichi flickered away from behind him, dashing toward the next pair.
Only then did the enemies realize: the harmless-looking kid in the back wasn't prey. He was the tiger. A man-eating tiger.
"Matsui! Watch out!"
The warning came too late. Taiichi, using agile footwork, drifted behind Matsui like a ghost. Kawada, seeing this, fought recklessly, trading blows to keep Matsui pinned and unable to turn.
Taiichi loved an enemy with their back turned. He raised his tanto and slashed across the ninja's neck.
By the time Matsui tried to ignore Kawada and block behind him, it was over. Taiichi's blade had already opened his throat.
The last intruder watched in horror as Taiichi, having dispatched Matsui, turned his cold gaze toward him.
Terror seized him. He didn't care about the mission anymore. He took a hit from his opponent's kunai just to create space, then turned and fled the tent in a panic.
---
A few moments earlier.
Just before the three assassins entered the medical tent...
Several kunai tagged with explosive tags flew over the outpost's perimeter defenses.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rocked the camp. Under the cover of smoke and fire, twenty-odd ninja leaped the fence and charged in.
However, instead of chaos and panic, they were met by a calm, organized formation of Konoha ninja. Even though the defenders were outnumbered two to one, their morale was unshaken.
"Damn it! How did they know we were coming?" the leader of the attackers, a blue-haired ninja, cursed.
"Don't look at me! I told you not to light fires during the mission! And if you do, hide the traces! Their patrol must have found your campfire yesterday!" the other leader, a green-haired ninja, shouted back.
"Whatever! We outnumber them! Just kill them all! The day before yesterday, it was just my squad. Now we have yours too. This is easy money," the blue-haired ninja sneered, dismissing the Konoha ninja entirely.
The green-haired leader scanned the battlefield and nodded. He turned to a subordinate. "Little Brother, take two men to the medical tent. They had a lot of wounded from the last attack. Finish them off."
"You got it, Big Brother!" The younger ninja signaled two others and peeled off toward the medical tent.
"Everyone else, kill!" The green-haired ninja led the charge.
The numerical advantage gave the attackers a huge morale boost, and for a moment, they pushed the defenders back.
But just as they thought they were winning, dozens of kunai rained down from the barracks on the side.
The ambush caught the attackers completely off guard. Several were hit while engaging the defenders and were promptly finished off by the Konoha ninja.
The tide turned instantly.
"What the hell? How did their reinforcements get here so fast?" The two enemy leaders regrouped back-to-back.
"How should I know? Intel said reinforcements were three days out! It's barely the second morning! Did they fly?"
"Look over there! Those two kids... that must be a Genin supply squad."
"Doesn't matter! We still have the numbers! Keep killing!"
The attackers were optimistic, but they severely underestimated the gap between bounty hunters and ninja from a Great Village. In terms of skill, discipline, and will, they were leagues apart.
Within five minutes, the numerically superior attackers were starting to rout. It was absurd.
Even worse, the supply squad included a Jonin. Now the Jonin count was two vs. two. Their only advantage was gone. The leaders started thinking about an exit strategy.
Suddenly, the green-haired ninja heard something. He exerted a burst of strength to force back Yamaguchi, who he was dueling, and looked toward the sound.
He saw a ninja slash open the medical tent and stumble out, face twisted in terror, screaming for help.
It was his Little Brother.
But before he could rush to help, a sharp blade tip pierced through his brother's chest from behind.
With a brutal horizontal rip, the blade tore his brother's chest open.
"AHHHH!!"
A roar of pure grief and rage erupted from the green-haired ninja's throat, echoing across the battlefield.