Nearly two hours passed in a flash.
The Mist Ninja from Flying Fish Town finally reached the perimeter of the Black Stone base.
After that, neither side wasted any time with words and immediately launched into battle.
However, unlike the previous large-scale clash, this battlefield spanned only a few kilometers, mainly located to the east of the Black Stone base.
This time, the battlefield stretched over ten kilometers, encompassing the entire Black Stone base from all directions.
Starting from noon and lasting into the night, the sounds of explosions from explosive tags and jutsu could be heard constantly.
Inside the Black Stone base, Konoha teams moved in and out—either going out to provide support or returning for a brief rest, keeping everyone constantly busy.
The advantage of defending their home territory was apparent.
Compared to them, the Mist Ninja were in a far tougher position.
Although they tried to push the battle further out, they still couldn't match Konoha's logistics and supplies.
After all, Konoha could choose when and where to engage, and if the distance was too far, they could simply avoid the fight.
Thus, Mist was forced to battle against Konoha's continuous stream of supplies and reinforcements.
The battle consisted of skirmishes between small teams.
Each ninja could fully exercise their combat initiative, using experience and strategy to narrow the gap.
Otherwise, Mist Ninja casualties would have been far greater.
To be fair, in terms of individual strength, the Mist Ninja from the "Village of Bloody Mist" were indeed stronger than their Konoha counterparts.
Even under unfavorable conditions, they managed to achieve a nearly 1:1 casualty ratio.
---
**Nightfall.**
Inside the meeting room at the Black Stone base, Seimei reviewed the battle reports with an expressionless face.
The others also showed little reaction.
This wasn't due to indifference, but after over two years of war, they had grown used to life and death.
Frankly, most of the casualties were lower-ranked ninja. Once the war ended, they could be replaced in a few years, so there was no need to dwell on it.
Indeed, most of the day's sacrifices were lower-ranked ninja.
This was the difference between small-scale skirmishes and massive battles.
In large battles, even upper-ranked ninja couldn't leave the battlefield without high-level orders.
In smaller battles, they had greater autonomy and could retreat if things looked bad.
As a result, only a few upper-ranked ninja died during the day, and those who did were generally weaker.
Unless Mist launched a decisive assault, the losses among upper-ranked ninja wouldn't rise dramatically.
The room was silent, save for the occasional sound of papers being flipped.
Finally, after a long pause, Sanou Nobuhisa cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention.
Seeing all eyes on him, he spoke, "You've seen today's reports. While the results are decent, the casualties in each team are significant."
Everyone waited silently for him to continue.
"Do you think we should shrink the battlefield a bit tomorrow?" Sanou suggested.
The others pondered the idea.
Without a doubt, this could reduce casualties.
Shrinking the battlefield would bring it closer to the base.
This would speed up supply deliveries and allow quicker rescues.
In battle, life and death often hang in a split second; faster rescues would improve safety for everyone, especially reducing casualties among lower-ranked ninja.
However, for upper-ranked ninja, this wasn't exactly good news.
Shrinking the battlefield also meant a higher density of enemies.
Their chances of encountering enemy upper-ranked ninja would increase.
If they had to retreat, the risk would be higher.
Still, the risk was manageable.
After some discussion, everyone agreed to the proposal.
Seeing the nods, Sanou breathed a small sigh of relief.
As a civilian-born strategist, Sanou didn't hold much influence at the Black Stone base.
This was why he always convened meetings before making decisions—to balance everyone's interests.
Thankfully, none of the upper-ranked ninja opposed him this time.
'This way, those lower-ranked ninja can survive a bit longer,' he thought.
Satisfied, Sanou began to arrange the night's patrols and the next day's defensive zones.
An hour later, the meeting finally adjourned.
As Seimei prepared to leave the room, Sanou suddenly called him back, "Wait a moment, Seimei."
Seimei paused, glancing back in confusion. "Is there something else, Captain Sanou?"
"It's like this…"
Without wasting words, Sanou explained his request.
After today's battle, there were too many wounded at the base, and the medical ninja were stretched thin. He hoped Seimei could help treat some of the injured.
Hearing this, Seimei frowned slightly.
With the enemy Mist Ninja supplying him with extra chakra, he wasn't running low, but every bit of chakra was valuable to him.
Moreover, he had allocated it carefully, and using it now to treat injuries would disrupt his plans.
However, after some thought, Seimei agreed.
It wasn't out of kindness but because he planned to perform surgery on himself later to implant a Byakugan.
Having this chance to practice beforehand would improve his success rate for the surgery.
Of course, he didn't intend to use the wounded as experimental subjects; he wasn't that heartless.
As the saying goes, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Since he disapproved of Kimura Yahiko's behavior, he wouldn't follow the same path. Otherwise, he'd be a hypocrite.
All he wanted was to observe the wounded's physical responses during treatment to expand his knowledge.
At the same time, treating these injuries would sharpen his medical jutsu.
Even if it didn't advance them another level, every bit of growth brought him new insights.
When it came to operating on himself, the more skilled, the better.
So, after considering it, Seimei accepted Sanou's request.
Seeing Seimei agree, Sanou smiled.
Seimei then bid him farewell and headed toward the medical area.
In the following days, Seimei's routine became packed with training, battles by day, and healing the wounded at night.
He even created a shadow clone to study the scrolls and books left by Kimura Yahiko day and night.
Finally, after deep research, he developed a body modification technique combined with his medical knowledge.
It didn't involve much but was designed to add an extra visual system to the human body.
And this would be the foundation for his Byakugan transplant.
(End of chapter)