Situation

On the way back, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki took turns carrying Sarutobi Saku back to Konoha.

After registering their information, Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others headed straight for Konoha Hospital.

After settling Sarutobi Saku in, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki underwent some examinations as well.

Although they did not feel any discomfort on the surface, they obediently went through a full examination to avoid affecting their future training.

Uchiha Kiyoshi could not handle this aspect yet either. His grasp of it was still incomplete, and if he missed something, it could delay his future training.

While Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others underwent examinations and received treatment at the hospital, Orochimaru prepared the report for this mission and submitted it. He also began discussing the mission with the Third Hokage.

Hokage Building.

The Third Hokage smoked his pipe, smoke curling around his head.

Orochimaru stood across from him, recounting the events of the mission.

"The unexpected development during this bandit suppression operation was that the enemy had mastered the method of extracting Chakra and possessed supplies such as Explosive Tags.

"Afterward, I investigated it. The Matsuoka Brothers' source of supplies was likely Amegakure."

"Amegakure? Are you certain?"

Upon hearing the answer Amegakure, the Third Hokage frowned deeply. This was not a good answer.

Hanzo of the Salamander of Amegakure had risen rapidly over the past few years. Known as the Demi-God of the Ninja World, he was immensely powerful. Even the Third Hokage could not guarantee that he could defeat him.

Even more terrifying was that his summoned beast, Ibuse, was exceptionally suited for the battlefield. Its poison was highly potent. If war truly broke out, it would be difficult to fight.

Orochimaru understood his teacher's concerns. He nodded and reaffirmed his conclusion.

The Third Hokage had only asked casually, though he had still held out a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, it seemed the facts were indeed as stated. His disciple was reliable, especially Orochimaru, his most prized student, who excelled in every respect. Since Orochimaru had confirmed it, this matter was most likely true.

"Amegakure has already begun dispatching ninja into the Land of Fire. They even nurtured a group of bandits like this. Were they gathering intelligence?

"It seems the Rain Country could no longer hold back."

The two of them regarded the Matsuoka Brothers as a hidden pawn of Amegakure and did not know the exact circumstances. Still, their conclusion was not far off. The Amegakure ninja who had been killed had indeed come to the Land of Fire carrying that mission.

"Alas!"

The Third Hokage sighed, his brows tightly furrowed as he considered the consequences of this intelligence. But whenever he thought of war, he was overwhelmed with worry. As a ninja who had experienced the First Shinobi World War, he knew how brutal war was. And the more he knew, the more troubled he became.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had worked himself to the bone ever since becoming Hokage, laboring over every matter. Just as everything had begun to get on track, he now faced the threat of war. In the prime of his life, Sarutobi Hiruzen had spent years tirelessly working, leaving many wrinkles on his face and making him appear far older. At thirty-seven or thirty-eight, he looked like a man in his fifties.

"I understand. You may leave for now."

The Third Hokage did not deliberate for long. Seeing Orochimaru still standing before him, he waved a hand and dismissed him.

After Orochimaru left, the Third Hokage once again sank into thought with a bitter expression.

"This war is likely unavoidable. The Rain Country has too few resources, and Amegakure's development has reached a bottleneck. With resources distributed unevenly, they will surely start a war. But we cannot allow them to seize our land either. Alas! What a headache!"

As an outstanding politician, Sarutobi Hiruzen was exceptionally perceptive and had an accurate grasp of the situation.

The Ninja World had enjoyed peaceful development for many years, and every nation had reached its peak. Their desire for invasion was at its greatest, especially Amegakure's. Its resources were unevenly distributed, and more importantly, its overall strength truly was not inferior to that of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They were surely dissatisfied. The five great nations would never agree to cede territory to them, so in the end, war would be the only way to resolve it.

Orochimaru left the Hokage Building and, without stopping, hurried toward the hospital.

At this time, Sarutobi Saku's hospital room in Konoha Hospital was quite lively.

Of course, lively did not mean noisy. It simply meant there were quite a few people.

Sarutobi Saku was undergoing surgery by four or five Konoha medical ninja. After finishing their examinations, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki hurried over to take a look. Uchiha Kiyoshi had come to observe the Medical Ninjutsu surgery, but why had Nawaki come? That was truly hard to explain. Seeing how curious the boy was, Uchiha Kiyoshi wanted to kick him out.

Throughout the process, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki barely dared to breathe, afraid of disturbing the doctors' treatment. They had only been allowed to stay and observe because Uchiha Kiyoshi was a medical ninja, and they were giving him an opportunity to learn.

Uchiha Kiyoshi even tightly covered Nawaki's mouth, preventing him from shouting over every little thing.

Nawaki rolled his eyes repeatedly, deeply dissatisfied with Uchiha Kiyoshi's behavior. What did he mean? Did he not trust me? Did he think I could not even control myself? I'm just curious about the hospital's treatment equipment and methods. I've had Tsunade, a medical ninja, as my older sister since childhood, yet I've never even been to Konoha Hospital!

Ignoring Nawaki's reaction, Uchiha Kiyoshi kept one hand over his mouth while using the other to watch the doctors perform surgery on Sarutobi Saku together.

*As expected of Konoha Hospital's medical ninja. Their Medical Ninjutsu is truly advanced.

*Is that the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique? Incredible—a Ninjutsu that directly extracts toxins.

*And how had I not thought of it? Being caught in an explosion at such close range and suffering burns to both arms could leave behind fire toxins.

And this is the Mystical Palm Technique? Its effect is far better than the Healing Technique. The wound-healing speed is at least several times faster.

As he watched the surgery with amazement, Uchiha Kiyoshi did not make a sound, constantly evaluating everything in his mind.

At that moment, Orochimaru arrived at the door. He could barely make out the scene inside through the window, but he did not enter. Instead, he simply waited there.

The entire surgery lasted half an hour.

Sarutobi Saku had indeed been seriously injured this time. With little Chakra left, he had been directly caught in the Explosive Tag blast. If Uchiha Kiyoshi had not warned him and given him that extra second to prepare, he likely would have died. The blast's power had been equivalent to at least five Explosive Tags detonating at once. Even a Chunin struck head-on would have suffered at least severe injuries.

Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki were rather special. One had avoided it with the Substitution Technique, while the other had too much Chakra and directly released it to wrap around his entire body, negating most of the damage. Coupled with Uchiha Kiyoshi's treatment along the way, they were now mostly unharmed.

Over those thirty minutes, Uchiha Kiyoshi continuously studied the doctors' methods and felt that his medical skills had improved somewhat. He had also gained some insight into the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique, which should save him half a month of study.

"All right, the patient's condition has basically been resolved. He only needs to rest and recuperate for half a month. Do not take any missions during this period. Stay in the hospital."

After the surgery, the doctors gave them some advice before leaving.

They were not particularly interested in how much Uchiha Kiyoshi had learned. After all, how much could a kid who had just graduated possibly learn?

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