Chapter 38: They Never Learn

Author Note:

Here's the BONUS CHAPTER as promised—thanks for the support, and let's keep this energy going!

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By the time Guts returned to Konoha's frontline camp, the morning sun had already climbed high, casting long shadows across the battlefield remnants.

Just a few minutes after his arrival, two heavily injured figures staggered in behind him — the middle-aged Jōnin and the female Jōnin.

"You lost three people,"

Guts said, walking up and clapping the middle-aged ninja on the shoulder.

"Still, considering the circumstances, it could've been worse."

The Jōnin didn't respond. His breath was shallow, his eyes hollow.

Whatever strength he had left was spent, and he dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Before anyone could speak, the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence.

The camp gates swung open. Orochimaru and Tsunade entered, returning from the frontlines, flanked by a group of weary Konoha shinobi.

Their faces told the story — not a decisive victory, but a bloody stalemate.

Orochimaru, clothes soaked in enemy blood, paused when he saw Guts and the injured at the gate. His snake-like eyes narrowed slightly, unreadable.

Tsunade stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the scene.

"Only three came back?" she asked, her voice low.

"No one else made it,"

Guts replied casually, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We got ambushed by Rasa. Honestly, I'm surprised even these two made it back alive."

"You were ambushed by Rasa?"

Orochimaru echoed, his brow tightening.

"Seems I underestimated both Sand's audacity and the Kazekage's tactician."

While he mulled over the implications, Tsunade's frown deepened. She studied the dead-tired survivors, then turned her glare to Guts.

"You've got some nerve,"

She snapped, grabbing a fistful of his collar.

"Three of your comrades died, and you're standing here grinning like a fool?!"

Before Guts could defend himself, Tsunade slapped a hand over his mouth, yanked him off the ground, and stormed toward her tent — dragging him behind her like a sack of grain.

Thud!

In Tsunade's private quarters, Guts hit the floor hard, groaning.

As he rubbed his sore back, sleep crept over him like a wave. But just as his eyelids began to fall, Tsunade's voice thundered through the tent like a war drum.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea what kind of chaos it would cause if your mouth kept running like that in public?"

"Didn't you learn anything from what happened to White Fang!?"

Guts waved lazily from the floor.

"Doesn't matter to me. If it gets that bad, I'll just leave the village."

His voice was calm — too calm. He meant it.

If the whispers turned into knives, he'd simply walk away. If the day came when Konoha's politics tried to strangle him, he'd cut the cord himself.

No... he might just Galaxy Impact the entire village if he gets his template progress full.

Tsunade was quiet for a moment. Her anger didn't fade, but neither did she press the issue.

She wasn't Sarutobi Hiruzen, selling "Will of Fire" like some cheap ideology.

As long as Guts didn't betray the village her grandfather had founded, she had no reason to interfere.

"Snore—"

Barely ten seconds later, Guts was asleep, sprawled shamelessly on her bed, snoring like he hadn't just returned from a deathtrap.

Tsunade stared at him, stunned, then growled in frustration.

"This little…! That's my bed!"

Just then, a voice came from outside the tent.

"Lady Tsunade, we've extracted a sample of Chiyo's new poison. Please take a look."

Tsunade let out a sigh, shot Guts a final glare, and walked out.

"Lucky bastard…"

Three months passed in a blink.

During that time, Tsunade and Chiyo had locked into a silent, deadly duel — a back-and-forth battle of poisons and antidotes.

No matter how cunning Chiyo's new toxins were, Tsunade always countered them in record time.

In the end, Konoha's greatest medic stood victorious in their war of chemicals.

As for the battlefield — Sand Village had always struggled with logistics.

And though the Third Kazekage was feared as the strongest Wind Shadow in history, Orochimaru was no easy opponent.

Konoha's forces, better trained and better supplied, began to push forward.

In the Country of Rain, Jiraiya had already secured most of the region, bringing stability to the war-torn land.

Sensing the tide had turned, the Third Hokage finally lifted Hatake Sakumo's ban — though he didn't restore his rank. White Fang returned to the frontlines as an ordinary Jōnin.

Still, with him on the field, it didn't matter what his title was.

And so, for the first time in this war, four Kage-level combatants now stood with Konoha.

Sand had no chance.

Guts knew his time hadn't come yet. He wasn't the hero of this war. His moment would come during the Third Great Ninja War.

Still, a month ago, he was finally sent to the battlefield.

And in that month, his progress shot forward — the Garp Template now at 18.5%.

Somewhere near the Konoha camp, in a dense forest…

Clashing steel echoed through the trees.

Guts landed hard, skidding backward through the dirt before halting. His opponent — fast as lightning — rushed forward again.

He raised his arms in a cross-block just in time.

Tekkai!

The electrified blade slammed into his forearms, sending sparks and pain shooting up to his shoulders.

But Guts didn't move an inch.

A sharp twist of his fingers, a burst of blue lightning crackling at his fingertips—

"Raijin: Finger Gun!"

A concentrated bolt of thunder chakra erupted from his hand, drilling straight into his opponent's abdomen.

But the enemy burst into light and vanished.

A Shadow Clone.

"Well done," came a voice behind him.

White Fang stepped out from the trees, smiling.

"You took down my Lightning Clone so fast… I'm starting to wonder what kind of monster you'll become one day."

Then, his smile softened.

"More importantly — thank you. If it weren't for what you said back then, if you hadn't reminded me what I was about to leave behind… Kakashi might've grown up without a father."

Guts shrugged. "Would've been a shame to let Konoha's White Fang die for something so pathetic."

White Fang chuckled, not entirely surprised by Guts's bluntness. He could see now why his son had such complicated feelings about this boy.

Just then, a Chūnin burst from the brush, panting.

"Lord White Fang! Sand's forces — they're attacking from all sides!"

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