Hiruzen, You'll Regret This!

Evening.

The doors to the Operating Room slowly opened.

Shirou Emiya walked out with a somewhat ashamed expression, followed by his terrified assistant, who was too scared to say a word.

Judging by their expressions, it seemed they had no good news to bring, making Hashirama Senju and the others rise to their feet with heavy movements.

"Sir!"

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen forced himself to stand, looked at this unfamiliar Medical Ninja, and stepped forward to introduce himself. "I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, son of Sarutobi Sasuke. Sir, how is my father?"

"..."

Shirou Emiya's brow twitched.

"Sir?"

As the young Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Shirou Emiya, a flicker of fear suddenly rose in his heart. He was terrified the other man would utter some terrible news.

"He's fine."

"There were some complications during the operation."

Shirou Emiya waved a hand at him, looking unconcerned. "But in the end, he survived."

"Com... complications?"

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart sank.

What kind of complications?

Ninjas always ran into unexpected situations during missions. Many would be left permanently disabled, or even spend the rest of their lives bedridden...

Could it be that his father would, from now on...

"Wait a moment."

Shirou Emiya gestured for him to wait there and casually added, "He's getting dressed inside. You'll be able to see him in a little while."

"Thank you, sir..."

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen could only thank Shirou Emiya first. Confusion appeared on his face again, as he did not quite understand what that meant.

"Getting... dressed?"

No...

What did that mean?

What did it mean that he was getting dressed inside by himself?

Wasn't his father critically injured and on the verge of death?

Did his father still have the strength to get dressed by himself at a time like this?

Crash.

The Operating Room doors were pushed open.

"Huh?"

Sarutobi Sasuke was startled when he walked out. He had not noticed a group of youngsters gathered before the Operating Room, and even his own son was there.

Compared to Sarutobi Sasuke, who had been startled by the youngsters, the people truly shocked were the Konoha Ninjas who had carried Sarutobi Sasuke here for help!

Everyone present stared at Sarutobi Sasuke in disbelief!

"Y-You're joking, right?"

"In that condition... he could still be saved?"

"No..."

"Even if he could be saved, he shouldn't have recovered to this extent, right?"

This medical skill...

Wasn't it a little too outrageous?

Even the Konoha Ninjas who had brought him here for help could not imagine that a patient who had been grievously wounded by Fire Release Ninjutsu and left on the brink of death could recover his ability to move just like that...

How was that possible...

There was absolutely no sign that he had ever been injured!

Sarutobi Sasuke did not even have a single bandage wrapped around him. There was not the slightest trace of burns, and his skin was as tender as that of a newborn. It was as though the incident that morning, when everyone had brought him here for help, had only been an illusion.

Could it be...

that everyone had really fallen under a genjutsu?

Even Hashirama Senju, who had great faith in Shirou Emiya's medical skills, was shocked at this moment. He even began to doubt his own eyes.

"..."

Hashirama Senju rubbed his eyes hard.

Although Hashirama Senju had great confidence in Shirou Emiya's medical techniques, he still found it hard to believe that Sarutobi Sasuke's grave injuries had truly been healed so easily.

During the Warring States Period, whenever the Senju Clan clashed with the Uchiha Clan, Hashirama Senju often saw his clansmen die miserably beneath Fire Release Ninjutsu.

"This kind of injury isn't difficult to treat..."

Shirou Emiya showed no trace of pride on his face.

The operation itself had not been complicated.

The most complicated part had been the surgical procedure. Konoha's current Medical Ninjas lacked both the courage and experience to perform such an operation, and they also did not possess enough Chakra.

If any other Medical Ninja had been brought in, the Chakra expenditure inside their body would have been impossible to sustain. Only Shirou Emiya, with his Impure World Reincarnation Body and infinite Chakra, could keep going. As it happened, he had also performed internal organ surgeries far more troublesome than this one.

"We must thank you for saving my life, Lord Shirou..."

Sarutobi Sasuke sincerely thanked Shirou Emiya.

"Thank you, sir!"

The young Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly followed his father in thanking him again.

"You can't call him 'sir'..."

Sarutobi Sasuke quickly corrected his son, even seriously trying to teach him the proper form of address. "Simply calling him 'sir' is far too disrespectful. Nor should you rudely call him 'my lord.' You must call him 'Lord Shirou'..."

Different forms of address represented different statuses.

Some called Shirou Emiya "my lord," believing that was respectful enough; others called him "Lord Shirou," believing that was the proper degree of respect.

In theory...

In this era, "Lord" was generally an honorific reserved for a Daimyo.

Yet in the Ancient Era where Shirou Emiya had lived, there probably had not even been any Daimyos. Even then, his prestige had already surpassed that of the Daimyos' ancestors!

"There's no need to fuss over that."

Shirou Emiya shook his head, unconcerned with something as trivial as forms of address. "To me, what I'm called is only secondary..."

"Hehe... Then do you have any nicknames, sir?"

Seeing that his father was unharmed, young Sarutobi Hiruzen finally relaxed completely.

The fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy was rather lively and restless by nature. As he spoke with Shirou Emiya, he reverted to his old habits, deliberately sticking out his tongue and making a face at his now-healthy father.

He felt that this unfamiliar senior was quite easy to get along with.

"Hiruzen!"

Sarutobi Sasuke hurriedly held his son down.

"Probably... I do."

Shirou Emiya did not mind the boy's impudence and actually answered his question. "There should be quite a few people in the world who secretly think I'm foolish and naïve. They've probably given me some kind of nickname, but there's no way I'd know..."

"How could that be!"

Sarutobi Sasuke hurriedly comforted Shirou Emiya. He patted his son on the head and declared, "Whoever dares disrespect Lord Shirou, we certainly won't let them off!"

It was not merely a debt of gratitude for saving his life...

It was also gratitude for passing down medical knowledge to this era.

While lying on the operating table, Sarutobi Sasuke had heard Shirou Emiya teaching Konoha's Medical Ninjas, generously sharing his experience without reservation.

He was someone truly worthy of respect.

"That's right!"

Hashirama Senju's face was also filled with determination.

However, the First Hokage was quite mischievous by nature as well. He immediately rubbed his chin and began to ponder. "But we should give Lord Shirou a catchy nickname that reflects Lord Shirou's defining traits..."

"Hey, hey, Lord Hokage!"

The two Anbu hurriedly stopped Hashirama Senju.

"All right."

Shirou Emiya seemed unconcerned about such matters and specifically reminded Sarutobi Sasuke, "While treating you, I accelerated the division and regeneration of some of your cellular tissue during the operation. That may also cause your body to age somewhat faster..."

"Being able to survive is already a great blessing..."

A trace of sincere gratitude appeared on Sarutobi Sasuke's face. He even chuckled lightly. "It's fine. Our clan already tends to look old to begin with..."

Being able to survive...

That was truly an exceptionally fortunate thing.

Whether it was surviving Madara Uchiha's hands, or being beaten to the brink of death by Madara Uchiha only to be saved by someone as important as Shirou Emiya.

Such an experience...

Made his life feel somewhat grand and dramatic.

"We will remember this kindness in our hearts."

After speaking, Sarutobi Sasuke seriously thanked the First Hokage and the others again, while also taking the chance to rap young Sarutobi Hiruzen on the head.

"Don't be disrespectful to Lord Shirou."

"I still don't even know his name... His surname seemed to be Emiya? Could he be a descendant of the legendary saint, Shirou Emiya...?"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen did not care about this little pain. He merely watched that strange, unfamiliar Medical Ninja with curiosity.

This person...

He had never seen him in the village before.

It happened to be sunset.

As a young figure, accompanied by the evening glow, fell through the window onto the hospital corridor, he rushed in. His face was faintly anxious, because he had received the news too late.

"Hey, Hiruzen!"

Upon seeing his friend Sarutobi Hiruzen, the youth cried out, "I only just heard that your father was seriously... injured?"

Before he could finish, however, he saw Sarutobi Sasuke walking behind Hiruzen and the other youths, his face full of doting affection and entirely free of any abnormality.

He looked...

Nothing like someone gravely injured and on the verge of death!

This condition was far too different from the news the youth had just received!

The youth's expression suddenly changed. He felt as though he had been tricked again!

"Hiruzen!"

"So it was another one of your pranks after all?"

"Hey, Danzo, listen to me..."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen hurried forward, wanting to stop his companion and hoping he would not misunderstand.

"You're still trying to fool me!"

With fury written across his face, the youth ran off again. His voice, suppressing his rage, echoed through the corridor.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"