A Powerful Medical Ninja Often Needs Only the Simplest Treatment Method

Endless golden dunes blurred into the night.

The countless stars never seemed to tire, twinkling endlessly against the deep-blue night sky.

Sunagakure was even quieter at night than the Hidden Leaf Village. Aside from the mournful howl of the wind outside, there was no other sound.

The howling gale carried sand that struck the windows, creating an unusual lullaby. Asuka slowly opened his eyes, put on his shoes, got out of bed, and pushed open the window. Sand immediately smacked him in the face, stinging his eyes.

Glancing down at the street below, he braced one hand on the balcony railing and flipped straight down from the third floor, slamming heavily into the ground.

Boom! Two craters instantly appeared in the ground. The enormous impact blasted away the thin layer of sand, exposing the bluestone slabs laid when the village had been built.

Asuka straightened up and looked at the person before him, who made no effort to hide his killing intent. He yawned and said, "So it was you. Not sleeping in the middle of the night, running over here and recklessly releasing killing intent."

The man glared at Asuka murderously and said bitterly, "How dare you people from that filthy, disgusting ninja village of Konoha come to our village?"

Asuka tugged at his pajamas, pulling his shirt free from his pants. Looking at the Sand Ninja walking toward him, he explained, "I agree with you. Sometimes, I think our village is pretty filthy too.

"As for why I came to your village—first, I was probably targeted. My ridiculously well-endowed captain just dumped this mission on me.

"Second, I was most likely targeted. Just because I know a little Medical Ninjutsu, the village assigned this mission to me.

"Lastly, I was definitely targeted."

Before he could finish, the Sand Ninja clenched his fists and walked up to him, his face twisted as though he was about to attack.

Thunk! With a crisp sound, the Sand Ninja did not even get a word out before stumbling several steps backward and falling to the ground.

After casually punching the man in the head, Asuka counted on his fingers and continued rambling. "Stay away from me. You're too close, and it scares me.

"Besides, I suspect the Clan Head's Wife used some special means to make me take a mission that would keep me out of the village for a long time.

"Otherwise, why would an S-Rank Mission fall on the head of a rookie like me?"

"Has anyone... ever told you that you're really noisy?"

The Sand Ninja struggled to his feet. His head was spinning, and stars danced before his eyes.

Too arrogant. This Konoha Ninja was far too arrogant.

Getting beaten outside the village was one thing, but getting beaten inside the village too? He really did not see him as a person at all.

"Aah!"

With a roar, the Sand Ninja pulled a kunai from his waist and charged at Asuka.

"So reason doesn't work, huh!"

Watching the Sand Ninja draw closer, Asuka turned toward Konoha. Remembering how his captain had repeatedly warned him not to start any conflicts before departure, he could not help but sigh.

"Captain, I tried to persuade him, but I failed.

"Sorry. I'll bring you some sand-filled steamed buns when I get back to make up for it."

Asuka sidestepped the incoming kunai, raised his knee, and drove it viciously into the man's abdomen.

"Urgh—" The intense pain in his stomach forced a flood of gastric fluid up his throat. He dropped to his knees, clutched his stomach with both hands, and curled up on the ground like a shrimp, twitching.

Asuka picked his nose, then looked down at the twitching Sand Ninja and said, "Including you, that makes five people. You're the strongest one among them."

"Konoha..."

The Sand Ninja lifted his head and glared hatefully at Asuka, only to see that Asuka was ignoring him completely. He turned and knocked on the gate of the neighboring courtyard.

"Pakura, that's the fifth time tonight."

Click! The dark room was instantly illuminated. Pakura, dressed in pajamas, pushed open the window and glanced down at the fallen Sand Ninja. Then she looked at Asuka, standing with his hands on his hips and the word invincible practically written across his face. Her eyelid twitched involuntarily.

Was defeating a Chunin really something worth being so proud of?

After Pakura calmed down the Sand Ninja and returned to the courtyard gate, she looked at Asuka, who was wearing a nightcap, and asked in confusion, "No, is your competitive spirit really that easily satisfied?"

???

Asuka tilted his head at Pakura and explained, "I just suddenly thought of Uchiha Madara. The expression he had when looking at defeated opponents was probably the same as the one I had while looking at that Chunin—invincible written all over my face."

"Heh."

Pakura's mouth twitched. She waved him off, irritably opened the courtyard gate, and went back inside.

She had come out to deal with matters five times tonight. Naturally, she had not slept well either.

Smack! Seeing Asuka place his hand against the doorframe and block her way, Pakura narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Do you want to fight me and satisfy that 'invincible' heart of yours?"

"No."

Asuka shook his head, then leaned close to Pakura's ear and muttered a few words.

Hm? Pakura's expression stiffened after hearing them. Then her eyes suddenly widened, and she said coldly, "If you want to die, I can grant you that wish right now."

"Sigh!"

With a sigh, Asuka rubbed his chin. His gaze fell on the Sunagakure orphanage as he slowly said, "I like supporting other people's dreams.

"When I was only four, Tsunade said she wanted to assign Medical Ninjas to mission squads and establish a training system for Medical Ninjas. Without a second thought, I supported her dream.

"Although my plan to gain her favor failed, and she even mistook me for an evil Uchiha with ulterior motives.

"Still, ever since then, I developed the habit of supporting other people's dreams.

"I know your dream is to help Sunagakure escape its troubles as soon as possible. But as your 'temporary' ally, there's no way I can offer you advice. I can only provide whatever help lies within my ability."

Pakura froze. Looking into Uchiha Asuka's clear eyes, she began to hesitate.

The terms he had offered were simply too generous.

A space the size of a sofa could be exchanged for so much money.

This fool was practically a fat sheep.

If she let this chance slip away, she might never find another one.

Early the next morning.

Pakura, fully dressed, walked down the stairs. When she reached the first-floor living room and smelled the scent of food in the air, her hand instinctively went to her Ninja Tool pouch. Then she remembered what had happened the previous night and began scanning the living room.

The folded bedding. The covered food on the table. After looking around and finding no sign of Asuka, she walked over to the table. With one hand, she lifted the covers from the still-warm breakfast. With the other, she picked up the note on the table and unconsciously read it aloud.

"This is the first breakfast I've ever made since I was weaned.

"No matter what food you have in Sunagakure, there's sand in it.

"Even the instant noodles have sand in them."

Pfft!

Looking at the note filled with resentment, Pakura burst out laughing.

It could not be helped. Sunagakure had a sandstorm every few days.

Her gaze settled on the simple meal, and her eyes filled with amazement.

Men who could cook were rare enough. An Uchiha who could cook was something she had never heard of before.

Ten minutes later.

Pakura pushed open her front door and stretched lazily, feeling completely refreshed.

When she arrived at the Kazekage Building's conference room, most of the seats were already occupied.

At that moment, a Chunin hurried over to Pakura, pointed to a seat below Lord Kazekage, and respectfully said, "Lady Pakura, over there."

"Thanks."

Pakura nodded and quickly headed to the seat. Once seated, she began looking over the Jonin who had come for the meeting.

Everyone who could be here really was here.

Other than those stationed at their posts or on the front lines, nearly every Jonin who could attend had come.

Before long, a man dressed in a black Ninja Suit and wearing a bamboo hat pushed open the conference room door and slowly entered.

"Lord Kazekage!"

As the Jonin greeted him, Rasa walked to the main seat and pressed a hand downward. In a low voice, he said, "The meeting begins."

"Wait."

At that moment, a bearded middle-aged man wearing a white scarf suddenly looked at Pakura and said, "Before the meeting begins, I would like to ask Jonin Pakura a question."

Pakura frowned at the official who had spoken first and said flatly, "Ask."

"Jonin Pakura, I heard that Uchiha has moved into your home. How could you agree to something so absurd? This is far too reckless."

Pakura laughed when she heard that.

She had thought it was something serious. So it was last night's matter.

She had not expected word to reach his ears so quickly.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned back in her chair and said rather smugly, "My sofa sold for one million ryo."

"Is your sofa inlaid with gold?"

The official asked the question instinctively, then immediately came to his senses and rebuked her, "Jonin Pakura, don't change the subject.

"We are discussing the matter between you and Uchiha, not whether your sofa is inlaid with gold."

"Oh, Uchiha Asuka bought that sofa. He paid one million ryo for the right to use my sofa for three months. In other words, he is now renting a place in my home.

"I simply thought the deal was worthwhile, so I agreed.

"As for my personal safety and any information concerning the village, I know what I'm doing."

"O-One million ryo??"

The official braced both hands against the table and shot to his feet, staring at Pakura in disbelief.

Pakura nodded with certainty. Then she took out a certificate from her Ninja Tool pouch and tossed it before the official. Without the slightest hint of boasting, she slowly said, "That's right. One million.

"And I donated nine hundred thousand of it to the orphanage.

"I donated it before coming here."

After glancing at the donation certificate, the official who had risen to his feet picked up the document on the table and said without changing expression, "According to intelligence sent back by our spies in Iwagakure, we believe Iwagakure may be preparing to strike against us again.

"The village is strong on the outside but weak within. Furthermore, the daimyo cutting our funding is already a foregone conclusion. Our forces are simply not enough to support fighting on multiple fronts. Our primary task now should be restoring the postwar economy.

"We have already reached a reconciliation with Konoha and can redeploy some ninja from the Land of Fire border, but that is far from enough.

"I propose that we next reconcile with Kirigakure and obtain their assistance.

"Lord Kazekage, that concludes my statement."

Mm. Rasa nodded.

Sunagakure's finances were already nearing a crisis. Avoiding war on multiple fronts was an inevitable course of action.

But negotiating with Kirigakure would likely not be easy.

After all, that village was not as reasonable as Konoha.

Meanwhile.

Asuka had no idea that the gears of Pakura's fate had already begun to turn. He was currently teaching Medical Ninjutsu to a group of Sunagakure children.

It had to be said, Sunagakure's Medical Ninjutsu was remarkably similar to Konoha's.

After roughly skimming through the knowledge in the books, Asuka looked up at the children before him. Their eyes were filled with hatred. His own face took on the Uchiha Clan's usual deadpan expression as he said, "My name is Uchiha Asuka. Uchiha as in Konoha's Uchiha, Asuka as in Konoha's Uchiha Asuka.

"In short, I'm from Konoha."

Swish! Asuka caught the incoming kunai between two fingers. Crossing his arms, he unleashed the Chakra within him, along with the killing intent accumulated on the battlefield.

Boom! The wooden floor beneath his feet could not withstand the impact of his Chakra. Spiderweb-like cracks spread through it before it shattered into fragments.

His powerful Chakra stirred the surrounding air, accelerating it into a gale that blew against the children's faces.

The atmosphere in the room instantly changed.

The hatred in the eyes of those children, who had not seen much of the world, was gradually replaced by terror.

The weak-willed rolled their eyes back and fainted on the spot.

Those with average resolve trembled as they hid behind others.

The slightly stronger ones could barely clench their fists, but their legs shook so badly that they could not stand.

Just as the children thought they were about to die, the Konoha Ninja slowly withdrew his aura and once again became completely harmless.

"H-He's so terrifying..."

"So this is Konoha? No, is this the Uchiha Clan?"

"B-But I heard he was a Medical Ninja."

Listening to the faintly tearful voices below, Asuka yawned, raised a finger, and said, "You can view others through tinted glasses, but you cannot view their strength through tinted glasses.

"When facing someone stronger than you, provided they do not mean you harm, the best thing you can do is learn whatever can benefit you from them.

"Lady Chiyo was willing to wager her self-created ninjutsu against me for your futures."

Then Asuka walked past the children, who had yet to recover, and headed straight for the door. After lifting the curtain, he looked back at the children still standing there in a daze and continued, "What are you standing around for? If you don't study hard, Chiyo will cry herself to death."

With that, he lifted the curtain and turned toward the ward where the patients were staying.

That old woman Chiyo really was something. Instead of putting up her Puppet Technique as the wager, she wagered Medical Ninjutsu. Even if she put up the Forbidden Technique: Reanimation Jutsu... Oh, using Reanimation Jutsu as the wager would not be a loss.

It could sell for quite a bit of money.

Thinking of the forbidden Medical Ninjutsu that old woman had mastered, Uchiha Asuka's mouth twitched.

To be honest, that jutsu was indeed powerful, practically the strongest one-for-one Medical Ninjutsu.

But its flaw was far too obvious—it gave one's life to another exactly as it was.

Sigh, the drawback was just too great.

When Uchiha Asuka led the group of children who had just recovered their composure to a hospital room, he glanced at the Sand Ninja lying on the bed, then turned to the children behind him and said evenly,

"A true Medical Ninja needs to master a great deal of knowledge, and that requires a huge investment of effort.

But I don't have that much energy.

So I can only let you take a shortcut and quickly become qualified battlefield Medical Ninjas."

Then, Uchiha Asuka walked to the window, pulled back the Sand Ninja's blanket, pointed at his festering foot, and continued,

"A battlefield Medical Ninja only needs to learn three things to become qualified.

Stopping bleeding, amputation, and detoxification.

His injury is obvious. His festering foot is affecting his mobility, but on the battlefield, there's only one option in this situation: amputation."

"Wait, wait, wait—"

At that moment, a weak voice suddenly came from the hospital bed. The Sand Ninja opened his eyes and looked at the people in the room before fixing his gaze on Uchiha Asuka and asking feebly,

"What if it's not on the battlefield?"

"Amputation too. You waited too long. Your foot's ruined."

As he spoke, he pulled a rope from his bag and, ignoring the ninja's resistance, tied him to the bed in just a few movements.

Smack! Uchiha Asuka tugged at the taut rope, then clapped his hands in satisfaction and looked at the Sand Ninja children, who possessed some medical knowledge but lacked proficiency.

Chiyo had done well in this regard. She had prepared a group of children who had finished their theoretical studies and learned rudimentary Medical Ninjutsu, but had not had much chance for practical experience. That saved him from having to teach them the basics.

"You've all learned the Hemostasis Technique, right?"

"Mm! Mm!"

The children nodded. Before they could ask any questions, they saw the Uchiha ninja draw the greatsword from his waist. A cold flash swept past the Sand Ninja's thigh.

Thud!

As they watched that festering foot drop onto the floor just like that, the taboo sight was deeply seared into the children's eyes.

Gagging and retching rose one after another. Uchiha Asuka opened the window to clear the smell, then turned to the group that had only just mastered the Hemostasis Technique and smiled.

"I hope you can stop his bleeding before he loses too much blood. Otherwise, he may not even be able to remain a ninja in the future due to excessive blood loss."

"Aah—"

At that moment, a Medical Ninja who had "happened" to pass by the door heard the various piercing cries from inside the room, and his face darkened.

Did they really think Konoha had no spies among them?

When they taught Medical Ninjas, didn't they always start with fish?

They had chopped off a foot right in front of those children, damn it!! Still, he had no intention of going inside to stop them. Leaving aside Chiyo's orders, that ninja's foot truly could not be saved.

But... they always gave people anesthetics before amputating.

Damn Konoha!

An hour later.

Uchiha Asuka sat squatting on the windowsill. He glanced at the ninja unconscious on the bed, then looked at the few people still barely standing in the room and applauded.

"Not bad. You managed to endure the screams and stop his bleeding. You did very well."

"D-d-demon..."

Everyone in the room looked at Uchiha Asuka differently now. This guy had cut off someone's foot without even blinking.

The key was that he had not even given him anesthetics.

And judging by those practiced movements, how many people had he chopped up before?

"The first lesson I'm teaching you now is decisiveness.

On the battlefield, if you are the Medical Ninja in a squad and cannot locate the source of the injury for the moment, but can save someone's life through amputation, do not hesitate.

Cut it off, then stop the bleeding.

And remember, amputation can treat the vast majority of battlefield injuries.

As for anesthetics? Where on the battlefield would you get the chance to administer anesthetics while saving someone?"

After saying that, Uchiha Asuka gave the children in the room a deep look, then jumped directly out the window.

The purpose of doing this today was simply to weed out the candidates.

Teaching dozens of Medical Ninjas all at once would exhaust him to death.

Time to cook! Thinking about how he had eaten sand all day yesterday, Uchiha Asuka's gaze fell on the elderly men and women selling vegetables, and he began considering what to make today.

Pineapple fried rice, then.

Appetizing and good with a meal.

Besides, throwing money at Pakura really did feel great, but he was running out of money fast.

Tomorrow, he would have to take on a few missions and earn some living expenses.