Medical Ninja Are More Worth Hunting

No one liked dealing with Aburame Ryoma, and Kazematsuri Takuya was no exception.

Aburame Ryoma was both the current second-in-command of the Medical Corps and the second-in-command of Root.

"I know your health has always been poor, but the village is short on manpower. The new generation trained by the Ninja Academy still can't handle too many missions. And you know it—Lord Ryoma never pays attention to suggestions from a Chunin like me. He only demands that people carry out his orders."

Kazematsuri Takuya was deeply worried about Kaedeji's condition. He always felt Kaedeji would die the next second—indeed, during Kaedeji's few missions, everyone had worried about exactly that.

Yet Kaedeji had stubbornly pulled through.

"There's no helping it. Aburame Ryoma is Lord Danzo's right-hand man. He never gives Ordinary Konoha Ninja a pleasant look, let alone a ninja like me who came from among the War Orphans."

Kaedeji revealed an expression that sent chills down one's spine, like the savage grin of a skull.

War Orphans were a widespread group. No matter which village it was, if they had the resources, they would gather up a batch of young children and train them.

Over in Konoha, Yakushi Nonō had now taken over that work. In the Third Great Ninja War a few years later, she would become the head of Konoha's Medical Corps.

And the MVP among the War Orphans was naturally Yakushi Kabuto, whom Yakushi Nonō adopted during the Third Great Ninja War.

After Kaedeji was brought back by Konoha, he was destined never to receive absolute trust.

The village would only train War Orphans like Kaedeji in specific directions—turning them into functional ninja who specialized in a single field, then expending them when appropriate. In truth, this approach was entirely reasonable.

Aburame Ryoma had been the first to come select suitable candidates. Whether any of those children were spies from other villages did not matter; once they entered Root, nothing was a problem.

He first selected children with special bloodlines. Kaedeji had jack shit, was barely clinging to life, and looked like he might croak at any moment, so naturally he was not chosen.

Then came on-the-spot tests to screen for clever children suited to becoming expendable spies. Kaedeji ran a high fever, played dumb, and once again was not chosen.

By the time the ninja truly responsible for receiving War Orphans finally arrived, Kaedeji and the other talentless children were taken away. If abandoning Kaedeji had not violated Konoha's founding principles—and if it would not have planted seeds of distrust in the other children's hearts—he would probably have been tossed into the wilderness to die long ago.

"One country, one village. But as a massive military district, even counting the civilians within it, the village's total population is still too small. It needs to continually draw usable manpower from other towns across the country... Since I survived until now by chance, I should contribute to the village within my means. That is what I ought to do."

Kaedeji spoke slowly, and there was some sincerity in his words. "I learned a new ninjutsu recently. I've been working hard to practice it, hoping there won't be a time when I need to use it."

In this fucked-up world, because extraordinary power like Chakra existed, any ninja just a few years old could easily slaughter ordinary people, provided their mentality was not taken into account. Naturally, they also had to go to war when the fighting became intense.

To be fair, Konoha was the only village in this world that gave Kaedeji enough time to grow, because among all the ninja villages involved in the war, Konoha was the last to send children onto the battlefield.

At least, that was the case during the Second Great Ninja War.

Konoha's founding principle had been to protect children. Senju Hashirama believed so, Uchiha Madara acted on it, and Senju Tobirama wanted to carry it through to the end.

But by the end of the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha could no longer hold out. Sarutobi Hiruzen sent children into battle to perform simple peripheral tasks.

Kaedeji had stepped onto the battlefield at that time. With his utterly pathetic so-called Medical Ninjutsu, he worked hard to treat the wounded, was disliked no matter what he did, and was eventually assigned simple jobs that were important, but not all that important—joining a corpse transport squad to escort bodies.

He was a War Orphan who had received Konoha's training for many years and had been confirmed not to be a spy. With such a terrible physical condition, he clearly had no talent for combat and could be discarded or sacrificed at any time. So he was sent to handle corpse transport missions, carrying fallen ninja from both sides to designated locations and handing them over to designated people.

Of course, valuable corpses with bloodlines would never be entrusted to Kaedeji. He could only accompany the team escorting the most ordinary, worthless bodies.

"I'm certain I've made it past the critical point. My condition is stabilizing. For all these years, I've carefully refined my pitiful amount of Chakra and repeatedly nursed my body back to health. At last, it has paid off."

Kaedeji followed Kazematsuri Takuya through the dense forest. He could already leap continuously from one giant tree to another like a normal Konoha Genin.

No one knew how much immense—even brutal—effort he had put in!

The instant he stepped on a branch, a layer of Chakra formed beneath his feet to adhere to it. Then he pushed off and leaped. He was already very familiar with this sequence of movements.

Everything had been worth it. In the future, everything would gradually become different.

"Still, compared to my body, even Gekko Hayate is an absolute beast." Kaedeji paused on a tree for two seconds, coughing and gasping for breath while giving his body as much time as possible to recover.

"Hang on a little longer. We're almost at the target location."

Kazematsuri Takuya's expression shifted slightly. He suddenly made a hand signal, and Kaedeji and the other Medical Ninja immediately stopped, concealing themselves as best they could.

"I found three comrades. The lightly injured one is taking two seriously wounded men toward the village. No trace of the enemy has been found for now."

Kazematsuri Takuya observed them for a while, suspicion rising in his heart. Only after signaling Kaedeji did he reveal himself, and after verifying their code phrase, he began directing the treatment.

"Captain Takuya, I'm so sorry. We were on a normal patrol when Mist Ninja who infiltrated the area ambushed us! Please save my companions. I think they're about to die."

The young Genin was filthy and disheveled, clearly having just gone through a vicious battle. His nerves were tensed tight, and only after recognizing Kazematsuri Takuya did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Kazematsuri Takuya had some reputation. He had treated quite a few people, after all. Not just anyone was qualified to follow Lord Jiraiya.

Kaedeji examined the various traces on the ground and assessed them alongside the three men's injuries. "You're a standard four-man squad, right? Where is your team's Medical Ninja?"

"Dead. Kirigakure hasn't fought a large-scale war with us, but they know our village has implemented a system of one Medical Ninja per squad. All their attacks prioritize Medical Ninja." The Genin was deeply sorrowful.

During the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade, Dan Katō, and others had pushed this system with all their might. Overcoming problems such as manpower shortages and a lack of instructors, they gradually raised the status and numbers of Medical Ninja—though many squads were assigned so-called Medical Ninja who were utter frauds, with quite a few merely being Genin who knew basic healing techniques.

Konoha's higher-ups did not know exactly how to build a more cost-effective training system with the fewest resources. They had been constantly experimenting and making mistakes throughout this period.

For example, War Orphans like Kaedeji, who possessed pathetically little Chakra, could still be given the title of Medical Ninja.

Only now, after every village had suffered severe losses and large-scale army operations had become increasingly rare, were small-team infiltration tactics beginning to spread. Only then did mission squads have more opportunities to be equipped with a Medical Ninja.

Kaedeji knew even more clearly that in a few years, when the Third Great Ninja War broke out, most standard four-man squads led by Jonin would be assigned a properly trained, orthodox Medical Ninja—like the team of Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Nohara Rin.

"Kirigakure... They're a formidable enemy as well." Kazematsuri Takuya urgently treated the unconscious, critically wounded man and motioned for Kaedeji and the other Medical Ninja to treat the other one.

Even from the most utilitarian perspective, ninja who returned from the brink of death underwent enormous changes in temperament. They could deal with sudden situations more calmly and possessed greater motivation to improve their strength. Every veteran held enormous value.

Everyone present was worried. If battered Konoha and nearly full-strength Kirigakure erupted into another all-out war, no one knew how many more people would die.

"The Third Hokage will probably seek peace, surrendering some benefits in exchange for Kirigakure's peace... In his eyes, that would be the most advantageous choice for Konoha, which has deep reserves and recovers the fastest."

Kaedeji recalled things that would happen in the future, such as Uzumaki Kushina nearly being kidnapped and Hiashi and Hizashi being sacrificed.

Then he lowered his head to inspect the wounded man. "There's a penetrating wound in the left abdomen, with irregular wound edges. It was likely caused by a kunai. There's a laceration roughly three centimeters deep on the outer right thigh, and swelling in the tissue around the left shoulder... The patient's breathing is rapid, his pulse is weak, and his consciousness is starting to blur."

The other Medical Ninja said quickly, "Then I'll use the Chakra Scalpel on his leg—"

"No. Save more Chakra and use the Mystical Palm Technique to heal the abdomen first. If I'm right, the liver or intestines were damaged here. It's the most dangerous injury. The Mystical Palm Technique already consumes a great deal of Chakra."

As for the vein in the right thigh, Kaedeji directly reached in, peeled apart the flesh, completely ignored the bloody sensation, skillfully pulled out the blood vessel alone, and tied a neat dead knot. "This way, he can hold on a while longer."

The Medical Ninja stared in astonishment while healing the abdominal wound.

In this era, medicine was not as advanced, systematic, institutionalized, or formulaic as in Naruto and Sasuke's time. Moreover, people were set in their ways, prioritizing Chakra and various medicines to solve problems.

"As for his fading consciousness... Captain Takuya, I remember you can only carry one dose of the extremely precious adrenaline, right? I suggest injecting it into the patient on your side first," Kaedeji said.

"What? Then what about him? Both of them are my comrades. Are we supposed to abandon one? Damn it..." The young Genin broke down completely, clutching his head as tears streamed down his face.

"Calm down. We Medical Ninja will never abandon any comrade. Your name is Tobitake Tonbo, right?"

Under the shocked and numb gazes of everyone present, Kaedeji viciously kicked the wounded man several times in the groin.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He successfully crushed the patient's pubic bone. The nearly unconscious man indeed let out a pig-slaughtering scream, far more effective than an adrenaline shot.

As for what to do about the shattered pubic bone, or whether kicking that spot so hard could cause other problems...

Kaedeji did not care about any of that. He was only responsible for saving lives, and due to his physical condition, he often used treatment methods that conserved the most Chakra.

Kaedeji strictly fulfilled the sacred duty of a Medical Ninja. After the treatment was complete, he watched as his companion, even in a daze, instinctively reached down to cover his crotch. A faint sense of satisfaction arose in his heart.

"How wonderful. So full of life. I saved another companion." Kaedeji was moved by himself.

Kazematsuri Takuya wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled as well. As one of the few people who had partnered with Kaedeji, he had naturally developed a certain degree of tolerance for Kaedeji's methods.

"Now both companions have a chance to survive. But we still need to remain vigilant. Though this is quite far from the border, there's no guarantee the enemy hasn't infiltrated this far. Such Matters have happened many times before, even..."

Even to the point that the enemy deliberately let injured comrades go, luring out Konoha's Medical Ninja so they could kill them by taking the opportunity.

Killing one Medical Ninja meant consuming more of Konoha's resources. It offered the best return.

Tobitake Tonbo looked at his companions, who had escaped the danger zone, then glanced at Kaedeji with reverence before saying to Kazematsuri Takuya, "Captain Kazematsuri, I don't have absolute confidence that I can safely escort two critically wounded men back to the village alone. Could I receive your assistance?"

"No. We also have to carry out Lord Ryoma's orders. Unless Lady Tsunade, the overall commander, personally orders the mission canceled." Kazematsuri Takuya shook his head.

The Medical Corps' systems were still incredibly crude at this time—one could even call them chaotic.

Kazematsuri Takuya, along with Kaedeji, who had left the village on missions twice before, had mainly followed Jiraiya and taken part in the fighting around Amegakure.

Last year, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru had joined forces, only to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Amegakure's leader, Hanzō of the Salamander. Hanzō had bestowed upon them the title of the Sannin, but they had indeed forced him to back down, effectively ending the war between Konoha and Amegakure.

Tsunade and Orochimaru returned safely to the village and joined the fighting on other fronts, but Jiraiya did not return, and no one knew where he had gone.

Many people were puzzled, even dissatisfied. Unless he had died in battle, why had he not hurried back to the village to fight? What could possibly be more important than the war? So many comrades were dying every day!

By today, more than a year had passed, yet Jiraiya was still nowhere to be found. During wartime, one of their great commanders had pulled off something this baffling. To ordinary people, it was indeed absurd.

Kaedeji calculated the timeline in his mind and confirmed that at this time, Jiraiya must have stayed in the Land of Rain, carefully teaching ten-year-old Uzumaki Nagato.

From Jiraiya's perspective, teaching the Child of Prophecy was indeed far more important than participating in the Great Ninja War. No matter how many ordinary people died, none of it was as important as raising the Child of Prophecy.

"Uchiha Madara awakened the Rinnegan during the Second Great Ninja War. He should still be hiding in the Mountain Graveyard of the Land of Iron, searching for a suitable successor."

Too many hidden dangers had been planted during the Second Great Ninja War. Nagato was one such case, and Obito, who would fall into darkness during the Third Great Ninja War, was another. The roots of both could be found in this period.

Suddenly, Kaedeji spoke. "We do have orders, and we cannot disobey them. But if we encounter an emergency, that is another matter."

"What emergency?"

"This is an emergency right now... You're a Genin. After being ambushed, you still managed to slowly bring two companions this far. That in itself is an emergency."

Kaedeji shifted sideways, positioning himself to shield the others from every direction.

An expression of just as I thought appeared on Kazematsuri Takuya's face as he warily scanned the surroundings.

Rustle!

"So we were discovered after all. But our objective has already been achieved. You Medical Ninja have used up quite a bit of Chakra, haven't you? Medical Ninja are far more valuable targets than Ordinary Ninja."

Three Mist Ninja spread out around them, encircling Kaedeji's group.

Venturing deep into the Land of Fire was undoubtedly a massive risk. Losing men was inevitable. But if they could kill a few more Medical Ninja, then kill the people they had deliberately let escape earlier, this gamble would be immensely profitable.

"Three Medical Ninja... Though we didn't encounter anyone from the Hyūga Clan as I hoped, this trip wasn't wasted."

The leading Mist Ninja drew a kunai. "Konoha Ninja, remember this. The one who kills you is Ao, a Jonin of Kirigakure. Do not forget it even when you reach the Pure Land."