The rain has stopped but the mud has become deep.
It took 3 days for the backup to arrive at the land of rain.
With them came the order to push onward.
Onto the land of desert.
Why?
The infamous trio of lieutenantss beat one of the strongest Shinobi ever known, the Salamande,r, along with his army of shinobi.
"They say he had 4 more summons on his toes, and the trio fought them all, on top of injuring the summoner mortally, all the while coming out of it alive", Itchi san hums.
I fought only one of them.
The sage Sanin is the name they got.
Why would you compare a person to gods?
I have no idea.
It's wartime; people just grab on to the faintest chance at a miracle and idolise it to the point of starting a new religion.
But I don't say it.
Such heavy and sage comments don't go well with the vibe of being a severed head.
Not to mention, it could get my head rolling.
I thought it was already rolling.
Ichi drops my head for the 5th time as she fails to stitch it to my neck.
The poison and acid have made my bones brittle and my skin flaky.
No matter how hard she tries, my head won't stay.
Itchi folds her hand while sticking out her lips.
"Maa.... don't be so worked up over it!", I flap my hand in dismissal.
Ichi san observes my face.
"Do you feel sleepy anymore?", she asks.
"Nope, I am as awake as a horse. Although it's getting harder to move", I point out.
"Rigor mortis", a different voice answers.
Itchi san turns my head on the table to greet the new arrival in the medic tent.
A tall bondwoman in a jounin vest.
My eyes widen at her mud and blood-stained figure as if beauty seems to persistently cling to her.
She takes out a small torch and shines it into my eyes.
She takes out her tongue depressor.
"Say aaaaa", she asks.
So, "Aaaaa" is what I say as she presses my tongue down.
"Hmm...fascinating", she rubs her chin.
She sits on a chair and folds her arms.
"So you are the corpse guy?", she asks.
I guess that's what they are calling me?
"One and only", my body shrugs as I smile.
She nonchalantly scribbles away at the notes.
The nights haven't been kind to her.
"Not a chance; I've seen a lot more freaks than you", she says.
Wow, now that's demotivating.
"So, ....what rank are you?".
"Genin".
"Hmm so, when did you start feeling like a corpse?".
"Emm.....quite a while ago....but now I feel more "corpsy" than ever", I answer.
"And how long do you think you can last?", she asks.
Oh....a trick question.
"Prabalbly 3 hours, then I will start to rot", I calculated since everything is wet.
"You didn't ask him his name!", suddenly Ichi says.
The blond woman notices the girl at last.
"A doctor should always ask a patient's name first; what kind of medic are you?" she asks.
I suddenly feel the room temperature suddenly drop.
"Come on, Ichi can...." I try to mitigate.
"The kind that appears once in a hundred years", the blond states with a harsh tone.
"Who are you again?", Ichi matches hers.
"I am Senju Tsunade", she states simply.
I can feel itchi tense up behind me.
Ooohhh boy, she sounds like someone super important.
Isn't our Hokage a Senju?
Tobirama Senju?
Tsunade?
The greatest medic, kunoichi,, cracked the Sandvillagee poisons.
Her antidote is the main reason we are advancing our line.
Wow...
She is super important.
I hope Ichi san doesn't get court-martialed.
After a few seconds of silence, Tsunade sighs.
"It's been a long day and I am tired as fuck. It was my bad", she says so while looking at me.
"It's fine. My name is Fardin by the way", I smile.
She looks at Ichi with raised eyebrows, I don't hear further complaints.
"So, Fardin. The higher-ups know about you and what you did... Nice job taking on that summons", she taps her pen on the table.
"Oh...Gamabunta sama did all the heavy lifting, though "my body shrugs.
"So, that is why you are being field promoted to chunin, and it is my job to make you battle-ready until further notice, along with researching your condition. Do you have any questions?" she asks as she scribbles on her notes.
Oh...a promotion. Wonder if I will get a pay raise.
"Yeah.....just one ", my body lifts up a hand.
Tsunade perks up.
"Ma'am....what is your bust size?".