The diametrically opposed reactions of the two villages toward Tatsuma only served to further inflame the tensions between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. However, none of that truly concerned Tatsuma.
The only thing that mattered to him was that, after an indefinite period of unconsciousness, he had finally managed to wake up rather than sleeping into eternity.
"You're awake? I'll go get Tsunade-sama!"
Inside the dim medical tent, a weary Minato saw Tatsuma's eyes flutter open. He was instantly alert, leaping from his small stool and preparing to bolt out the door.
"Wait... cough... wait."
At Tatsuma's rasping voice, Minato skidded to a halt. He immediately doubled back to the bedside. "What is it, Tatsuma? Are you in pain? Do you feel unwell?"
"Water..."
Tatsuma felt as though his lips would crack the moment he moved them. Speaking felt like dragging sandpaper across his throat, and the inside of his cheeks felt as if the skin had been peeled away. He didn't feel hungry, but he was consumed by a desperate, bone-deep thirst. His parched body and foggy brain both screamed for hydration.
Minato didn't dare dally. He poured a cup of water, but after a moment's thought, he didn't hand it over. Instead, he grabbed two or three medical cotton swabs.
He soaked the swabs until they were dripping and gently dabbed them against Tatsuma's lips. Although it had been a while since he'd sat through one of Tsunade's medical lectures, Minato remembered that patients waking up from long-term comas or major surgeries couldn't immediately gulp down fluids.
As Tsunade's apprentice, Tatsuma naturally understood this. He parted his lips slightly, letting the droplets slide into his mouth to slowly moisten his parched tongue. As the external water provided relief, his body began to reboot, and he started secreting saliva of his own.
After a few careful, experimental swallows to ensure his throat was functioning, Tatsuma tilted his head slightly, signaling Minato to stop.
"What's the... status of the war?"
Minato pursed his lips. "The situation... is a bit grim. You've been out for four days; a lot has happened."
Minato set the cup and swabs aside before continuing. "We won the battle that day. Aside from Chiyo and a few other high-ranking Jonin, almost no one broke through our perimeter. After Suna's reinforcements arrived, Orochimaru-sama declared a temporary ceasefire. We agreed to their request to return the remains of their fallen, but..."
He paused, checking Tatsuma's condition. Seeing that his friend was looking increasingly alert, he pushed on. "There was a problem after the exchange. Sajin's cause of death was... well, it was a mess. Now, Sunagakure is officially condemning us for 'torturing' their ninja. They're demanding we hand over the murderer."
"Haha... I'm not about to be gift-wrapped and sent over, am I?" Tatsuma joked.
He wasn't actually worried. The fact that Minato was telling him this meant the idea had already been laughed out of the room by Konoha leadership. If the village were actually planning to sell him out, a Genin like Minato wouldn't even have heard the rumors.
Minato shook his head with a smile. "How could the village ever do something like that?"
Tatsuma's smile turned a bit cryptic at that sentiment, but he didn't interrupt. He let Minato continue.
"Orochimaru-sama and Tsunade-sama both flatly refused. However, the public resentment in Suna is boiling over. They're calling for blood. They've even given you a couple of new nicknames. One is 'Konoha's Ryoma,' and the other is... cough... 'The Jewel-Crushing Hand.'"
"...My hands are filthy. Just chop them off for me, will you?" Tatsuma groaned. "And great, I've finally 'made a name' for myself, haven't I?"
Tatsuma knew exactly where that second title came from. He had a habit of targeting the "ancestral shrine"—the groin—including Sajin, whose "jewels" had been pulverized during the final struggle.
Frowning, Tatsuma asked, "So, when you said the situation was 'grim,' were you referring to the public outrage over Sajin's body?"
Minato nodded. "Exactly. The Second Kazekage still holds immense prestige in Suna. Now his descendant—the only one left to carry on the bloodline—was killed by you. And the way he was killed has infuriated their shinobi. The Suna high command is using this to rally their forces again. They're marching into the Land of Rivers as we speak. A massive clash is unavoidable. Orochimaru-sama is currently trying to figure out a way to suppress Suna's propaganda machine."
"Suppress it? Why would he want to do that?"
Tatsuma propped himself up against the headboard and sat up. "Konoha should be doing the exact opposite. We should be helping the Sand high command spread their message!"
"Huh?!"
Minato looked baffled. Tatsuma smirked.
"The Land of Wind and Fire have been at war for years. Countless ninja die every single year, and both sides have grown numb to it. But suddenly, when Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law die, a war breaks out. Now that the Second Kazekage's descendant is dead, they want to escalate to a total war? Doesn't that send a clear message to the Sand's rank-and-file? It says that unless you're a high-ranking official or the relative of one, your life doesn't mean a damn thing to them."
Minato's eyes lit up. "You mean... we spread the narrative that the Suna leadership only cares about the elite bloodlines, while treating the common ninja as expendable?"
He began to ruminate on the idea. "We ignore the past grievances and focus purely on this campaign. Sajin is just one of the thousands of dead. Countless others have fallen on both sides, yet the Suna leadership didn't blink until their own 'precious' scion was killed. They're willing to throw away the lives of every regular ninja just to settle a personal family vendetta..."
"Spoken like a true leader, Minato. You catch on fast. We'll call this psychological operation: Grassroots Ninja Lives Matter."
Tatsuma chuckled. "Do me a favor and run that idea by Orochimaru-sama. My mobility is... a little limited at the moment."
Tatsuma could feel that his actual injuries were gone. Most of the battle damage had been knit back together by the Nine-Tails' chakra, and the rest had likely been handled by Tsunade over the last four days. But medical ninjutsu wasn't a miracle. It could close a wound, but it couldn't replace lost blood or help newly healed muscles and bones skip the recalibration phase.
Minato nodded, but he didn't get up to leave. Tatsuma gave him a questioning look, and Minato pointed toward the tent flap.
"It's midnight... it would be a bit rude to go wake Orochimaru-sama right now, don't you think?"
Tatsuma finally took a proper look at his surroundings. It was dark, save for the faint glow of some medical monitors. He had assumed the dimness was just due to the tent's insulation, but looking through the gaps in the canvas, he saw the black sky peppered with distant campfires.
Seeing that Tatsuma had finally oriented himself, Minato moved on to the question that had been eating at him. "Tatsuma, I'm truly curious. What finally changed? What made you decide to... well, kill?"
Tatsuma let out a long, weary sigh, a look of genuine conflict crossing his face. "Why does everyone assume I didn't kill because I was 'afraid'? I've said it before: I simply didn't want to do something that I felt was wrong."
"And now? Do you no longer think it's wrong?"
"No... that hasn't changed. I've just stopped scrutinizing my own life so intensely. I used to live by the saying that 'an unexamined life is not worth living.' I believed it, too. I scrutinized every choice, every consequence. I knew killing was a moral failure, and that over-analysis drove me to find every possible way to avoid it. But living an 'over-examined' life is exhausting, Minato. I've realized that sometimes, you don't need a profound reason. Sometimes you just have to be a 'bolt in the machine' to save yourself a world of grief."
Tatsuma leaned back against the pillow, his voice growing quiet and rhythmic. "Killing each other is wrong. It's not a real solution to our problems. It's a primitive, visceral act that's existed since the dawn of life. Eons have passed since life began, and I truly believe we should have found a more 'advanced' way to resolve our conflicts by now.
"But my abilities are limited. When someone puts a blade to my throat—or to the throat of someone I care about—I can't think of any 'advanced' way to stop them. So, I chose the primitive way. Until I find a better way to solve the world's problems, refusing to kill is just a form of self-indulgence that ends up hurting me and the people I love.
"I chose to use an atrocity to stop an atrocity. Not because I agree with it, or think it's right... but because I ran out of options. If I ever find a better way, or if someone shows me one, I'll change again."
A heavy silence followed. After a long while, Minato spoke. "Tatsuma, I envy you. You think so deeply about these things. I've always just done what I was told was right."
"That's already impressive, Minato. Most people go through their entire lives without even managing to follow a decent script, let alone writing their own. To be as capable as you are is enough. Real change... that's for the very few. I had the heart for it, but not the strength. My problem is what they call 'the overthinking of a mediocre man.'"
Tatsuma closed his eyes, signaling the end of the conversation. Minato, ever perceptive, didn't push. He leaned back into his chair and drifted off to sleep.
Once he was sure Minato was under, Tatsuma opened his eyes again. He looked at his friend, knowing full well that even if Minato hadn't said it, the rescue that day had arrived so perfectly only because of him.
"We're both going to have long, spectacular lives, Minato. Thank you."
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