Naruto: I Have Cursed Spirits!

[Gratitude detected: Shiyu +3000 points]

[Energy transferred to Smallpox Deity]

[Development progress: 52.3%]

[Gratitude detected: Mizukusa +2000 points]

[Energy transferred to Smallpox Deity]

[Development progress: 52.5%]

Why did the gratitude value go down?

Shiratori withdrew his hand and looked at the two ninjas in front of him, a little disappointed.

If only every rescued ninja could contribute 5,000 gratitude points!

"I never thought… I'd actually be alive…"

Shiyu looked at his hands in a daze, as if he still hadn't come back from the brink of death.

Mizukusa leaned against a rock, a look of confusion in her eyes.

The feeling of death had been too real. Even now, they couldn't believe they were still alive.

Tetsuma looked at the two dazed figures in front of him and reached out to slap their cheeks lightly with a crisp sound, his face expressionless. "This is no time for sentiment. The war is still going on. Our comrades are still fighting. You two need to pull yourselves together!"

The slaps weren't too hard or too soft, just enough to jolt them.

Shiyu and Mizukusa were stunned by the slaps but quickly snapped out of it.

Right!

What were they doing?

This was a battlefield!

How could they be spacing out?

They were extremely lucky to be brought back to life by Shiratori, was this how they were going to repay him?

"Sorry."

Shiyu and Mizukusa apologized with guilt.

Tetsuma shook his head, stood up, and looked toward the battlefield in the distance. "We can't afford even a moment's rest."

As soon as he finished speaking, he continued heading to the battlefield to rescue more people.

Shiratori looked at Tetsuma, Shiyu, and Mizukusa in front of him and said anxiously, "It's still too slow."

Tetsuma immediately looked at him.

Shiratori stared at them and said clearly, word by word, "Seriously injured ninjas can't move easily to begin with. Carrying them while also defending against enemy attacks is far too dangerous. And the efficiency is way too low."

Tetsuma instantly understood what he was thinking. Shiratori wanted to go into the core of the battlefield himself to save people.

"No way!"

He rejected the idea firmly, without hesitation.

Shiyu explained, "It's way too dangerous over there, you'll be attacked by the enemy."

Mizukusa echoed Shiyu's concern and urged, "Only if you're safe can we be saved. So you must stay here."

Shiratori's gaze swept across them, the stubbornness in his eyes making Tetsuma frown.

"But this place has already been exposed. Just now, a Suna ninja ambushed us."

Tetsuma had no rebuttal for that.

Shiratori continued, "Besides, there's no such thing as a safe place on the battlefield."

Shiyu and Mizukusa were left speechless.

Just as Shiratori said, there was no safe place on the battlefield.

"Then stay by my side and protect me."

He looked at them, eyes filled with trust.

"I believe you can protect me."

Tetsuma clenched his fists. His pupils darkened as hesitation flickered in his eyes.

"If I could move freely, more ninjas would survive!"

Shiratori's voice dropped slightly, his shoulders tensing. "I don't want to be protected all the time. I want to be a shield for everyone too!"

His words echoed in Tetsuma and the others' minds.

Tetsuma opened his mouth but found himself looking down at Shiratori's resolute expression. It felt like a lump was stuck in his throat, he couldn't say a word.

Shiyu and Mizukusa felt their eyes sting with emotion.

"You already are our shield!" Shiyu stared at Shiratori and said seriously.

"But I still want more people to know that I can protect their lives, that I won't let them die on the battlefield."

Shiratori's voice wavered slightly, his hands trembling at his sides.

"I want to protect everyone, just like everyone wants to protect Ame. If someone dies because they didn't get help in time, I'll never forgive myself."

He looked up at Tetsuma and the others, his eyes bright with unshed tears.

Tetsuma took a deep breath, his nose starting to burn with emotion.

[Affection detected: Tetsuma +1000 points]

[Affection detected: Shiyu +1000 points]

[Affection detected: Mizukusa +1000 points]

[Energy transferred to Rika]

[Development progress: 50.3%]

Perfect. His emotional manipulation was working flawlessly.

"Alright."

Tetsuma's face remained hard and cold, but the redness at his nose and the corners of his eyes betrayed his emotions.

He looked at Shiratori, not as a child, but as an equal, a comrade, and said, "We won't stop you from saving people. But don't stop us from protecting you, either. No matter what we sacrifice, it's our choice. Willingly, without regret."

Shiyu and Mizukusa nodded simultaneously.

The three of them looked at Shiratori, their gazes carried real weight.

Shiratori nodded. "Alright!"

Tetsuma positioned himself in front of him, shielding him with his body near a rock, while Shiyu and Mizukusa flanked him on the left and right.

The three of them formed a triangle, protecting Shiratori at the center.

"Move."

Tetsuma crouched low and advanced forward.

Without the rock's cover, the searing heat and shockwaves of battle rushed at them.

Tetsuma's tall frame blocked most of it from reaching Shiratori.

Shards of stone struck Tetsuma and the others, but they didn't make a sound.

"That's one of our ninjas!"

Shiratori suddenly saw something and rushed toward it.

Tetsuma and the others quickly closed ranks around him.

A ninja lay face-down on the ground, blood pouring from his waist and abdomen like a red lake. Shiratori knelt in the blood-soaked mud. A vibrant green light lit up in his hands.

The ninja's upper body was nearly severed.

He sensed something, opened his eyes weakly, and looked at him with dim eyes. He struggled to speak, "Don't… waste… chakra… I… can't be saved…"

He knew his body. Even if Tsunade came, he wouldn't make it.

"I will save you!"

"I promise I will!"

The green light in Shiratori's hands began slowly mending his wounds.

The negative energy lingering in the ninja's wounds was being steadily neutralized by his cursed power.

Tears shimmered at the corners of the ninja's eyes.

He thought, Please don't risk yourself… for someone who's already dying…

[Gratitude detected: Kirite +5000 points]

[Energy transferred to Smallpox Deity]

[Development progress: 53%]

War truly was an incredible place!

In just two days, Shiratori had made more progress than he had in a whole month at the wooden hut.

How could he ever bear to leave the battlefield now?

The horrifying wound that had nearly cleaved Kirite in two began slowly healing under the watchful eyes of Tetsuma and the others.

Their gazes fell on Shiratori.

They didn't believe this was just ordinary medical ninjutsu, this… was a miracle created by Shiratori.