Did You Administer Anesthesia During the Surgery?

Konoha Hospital.

Shirou Emiya was here.

Right now, he looked just like a doctor.

This was what Shirou Emiya had to do in Konoha: work as a doctor who treated illnesses and saved lives at Konoha Hospital, because he was a genuine Medical Ninja.

Not many people in Konoha recognized his face, and he had no intention of concealing his identity. Still, some people at Konoha Hospital found him familiar.

That was because the Senju Clan had quite a few Medical Ninjas, and most of them had, as children, secretly crouched before Shirou Emiya's Crystal Coffin just like Hashirama Senju.

"Make sure he watches his diet."

The faint emerald Chakra at Shirou Emiya's fingertips quietly vanished. Without even looking at the patient he had healed, he merely instructed the assistant assigned to him, "Tell his family to clean up the room. He can be discharged today."

Chakra...

It truly was a miraculous power.

Because Chakra could rapidly heal wounds.

When combined with superb medical skills and sufficient experience, even if a difficult and complex operation was needed, Chakra's healing ability could reduce the risks to a minimum.

"Lord Shirou is incredible!"

"We wouldn't have dared operate on this patient!"

"That's normal."

"During surgery, you have to maintain his vital signs. It is also easy for him to die from excessive blood loss due to the large surgical wound. The duration of the operation is tied to his life, and the rapid healing ability of post-operative Medical Ninjutsu cannot close the incision..."

Shirou Emiya picked up the medical chart, wrote and drew on it for a while, then handed it to the assistant. "I've only done more operations, so I'm somewhat more skilled. Your conservative treatment plan had some effect too. At the very least, it kept him alive..."

"This is...?"

The assistant was a little curious.

"These are medicines that might be used during treatment."

Shirou Emiya casually explained his method. "I've seen many patients, so I happen to know a little more. The last patient like this ate a herb growing near his home to ease the pain. When I later used that herb on other patients, it proved very effective and did not trigger any other illnesses..."

"Oh, right."

After speaking, Shirou Emiya suddenly added, "Once you find this herb, don't use it on the patient yet. Wait until I've studied it first. The circumstances might be different..."

This was knowledge from the Ancient Era.

Over a span of at least a thousand years, the human body would evolve as well. Shirou Emiya could not be certain of the medicine's effects.

Outside the Operating Room.

Shirou Emiya had just pushed open the door.

"Lord Shirou!"

Hashirama Senju dropped to his knees before Shirou Emiya.

The First Hokage knelt outside Shirou Emiya's door and knocked his head against the floor, begging Shirou Emiya to save his subordinate, Sarutobi Sasuke.

"Please save my companion, Sasuke!"

Hashirama Senju did not care about his dignity as Hokage in the slightest. He even began to cry, unable to hold back his tears. "As long as Sasuke can be saved, I'll do anything!"

"I understand."

Shirou Emiya watched with a twitch at the corner of his eye.

This man...

Why did he look like he was here to cause trouble?

And hearing him talk about saving Sasuke was strange too!

Although Shirou Emiya had long known that Hashirama Senju meant Sarutobi Sasuke, he still occasionally found it difficult to get used to.

The assistant behind Shirou Emiya covered his face.

Many people in Konoha knew that although the First Hokage possessed immense strength, he was always easily moved to tears, weeping and kneeling whenever something happened.

"Sasuke went to track Madara..."

Hashirama Senju explained how Sarutobi Sasuke had been injured. "But Madara's Fire Release Ninjutsu left him gravely wounded. In the village, only..."

"He has a few hours left."

Shirou Emiya examined Sarutobi Sasuke's injuries.

"!!!"

A flash of terror crossed everyone's faces.

"It looks like I'll have to save him first..."

"If only he could hold on for a few more days..."

Shirou Emiya had someone carry Sarutobi Sasuke into the Operating Room and sighed. "Fortunately, the next patient needing surgery can still hold on for a few years..."

"..."

Everyone present had started to sweat.

No...

Was this really a proper Medical Ninja?

From the sound of it, if Sarutobi Sasuke could hold on for a few more days, would they have to line up here too?

Click.

The Operating Room doors closed.

A group of guard ninja hurriedly pulled their Hokage over and made him sit down.

Just as they could only wait here in anxious dread for the outcome of the surgery, a boy wearing a Konoha Ninja forehead protector hurried over, his face filled with unease and tension.

"Monkey!"

Hashirama Senju quickly called the boy to his side.

This boy was Sarutobi Sasuke's son, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Only fourteen or fifteen this year, he was deeply worried about his father's severe injuries.

Since the Sarutobi Clan's Summoning Beast was the monkey, and his surname was Sarutobi, his occasional energetic and restless antics resembled those of a little monkey. The elders of Konoha who had watched him grow up had given him the nickname Monkey.

"Lord Hokage, my father..."

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen nervously wanted to ask something.

"Monkey, don't be afraid."

Hashirama Senju reassuringly rubbed his head and gently soothed him. "The person treating your father now is the greatest Medical Ninja in the history of the Shinobi World..."

"Hiruzen!"

"Hiruzen!"

A group of boys and girls came running from the end of the corridor. When they saw Hashirama Senju, they hurriedly bowed, then anxiously turned to their friend.

"Hiruzen, we heard that your father..."

"..."

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded. Seeing how nervous and worried his friends were, his expression gradually calmed. "Thank you. I'm sorry to have made you worry. Lord Hokage just told me that Father will recover soon..."

"That's right!"

A broad smile bloomed on Hashirama Senju's face as he raised a hand. "I swear in the name of the Hokage that he will recover soon!"

"Lord Hokage!"

The guard ninja were so frightened that they hurriedly tried to cover his mouth!

No...

He couldn't just say something like that!

At the very least, Sarutobi Sasuke had already been gravely injured and on the verge of death when he was brought in. No one had expected the head of the Sarutobi Clan, a clan skilled in Fire Release Ninjutsu, to be so severely wounded by Fire Release Ninjutsu!

Of course...

Considering his opponent...

The fact that he had even survived long enough to be brought to the hospital was no easy feat.

"Hm? Where's Danzo?"

A girl suddenly realized that one of them was missing.

"Danzo seems to still be training hard at the Training Ground..."

A bespectacled boy noticed it as well and hurriedly explained, "When we all heard the news, we rushed over right away. We haven't had the chance to tell him that Hiruzen's father was injured..."

"Don't tell Danzo today."

Before these panicked and worried companions, the young Sarutobi Hiruzen seemed like a little adult, explaining with a steady expression, "Once my father's condition has stabilized, I'll find a chance to tell Danzo. That way, Danzo won't have to worry today as well."

"..."

The group of youths hurriedly nodded along.

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen held great prestige among his companions. He would occasionally tease everyone to make them laugh, but whenever the atmosphere grew tense, he always seemed exceptionally dependable.

Of course.

These children had not considered one thing.

Emergency treatment in such a critical situation often took quite a while. They could only remain here patiently and wait for the surgery to save Sarutobi Sasuke to end.

Inside the Operating Room.

Shirou Emiya calmly performed the surgery.

To him, this burn operation requiring skin treatment was nothing in particular, because he had just gone through a far more difficult internal surgery.

For his assistants...

The scene was rather terrifying.

A Chakra Scalpel hovered over Shirou Emiya's left hand. Using minimally invasive techniques, he slowly cut away the burned skin and muscle from Sarutobi Sasuke's body, and blood immediately welled out from the wounds!

Shirou Emiya's right hand glowed with emerald Yang Release Chakra as he rapidly stopped the bleeding, causing the muscle, skin, cells, and tissues around the wound to regenerate.

"Don't be afraid."

"The patient is in very good health."

As Shirou Emiya channeled chakra to treat Sarutobi Sasuke's wounds, he still had the presence of mind to reassure the assistant beside him. "Compared to complicated surgeries on the internal organs, this kind of operation is already very simple..."

"Fortunately..."

"He was instantly burned by a Fire Release technique..."

"The patient was very smart. He didn't suffer any inhalation burns..."

"If a patient suffered inhalation burns on top of ordinary burns, the danger would be on an entirely different level. I once saved someone who survived a fire. When I found him, his windpipe and lungs had suffered terrifying burns..."

"Wh-what happened?"

The assistant beside him looked on in fear as Shirou Emiya chatted while operating.

"?"

Shirou Emiya glanced at his assistant in confusion before replying as though it were only natural, "I was stronger back then than I am now. I easily cut open that patient's windpipe and lungs, then saved him..."

"..."

The assistant was already feeling dizzy just listening to him.

"As expected of... Lord Shirou..."

Sarutobi Sasuke regained consciousness through the pain. His entire body ached terribly, yet he still struggled to offer a word of praise.

"You're awake?"

Shirou Emiya thought for a second, then suddenly asked a question that terrified the assistant. "By the way, do you remember whether I gave him anesthetic before I started resuscitating him?"