Duanmu Ci's reputation and contributions were like a stone cast into a lake, its ripples spreading endlessly. He earned respect both inside and outside the Medical Station. Tsunade valued him more and more, though she remained stern with her words, and had even begun letting him handle some complicated trauma surgeries on his own. But he knew very well that such glory would inevitably draw the eyes lurking in the shadows.
That day, the Medical Station received a new batch of wounded, most of them lightly injured. Duanmu Ci was busy in the debridement area with several genin from the Medical Team.
A wounded man wearing an ordinary Konoha Ninja vest was helped inside by his companion. His face was pale, one hand clutched his bleeding shoulder, and he appeared to be in his thirties. His features were unremarkable, his eyes slightly unfocused, and he kept groaning, "It hurts... it hurts so much... Doctor... save me..."
"Over here." A genin guided him to a stool in front of Duanmu Ci.
As Duanmu Ci prepared the disinfecting tools, he habitually activated the Rinnegan's passive perception, its range tiny and focused solely on the target before him. The moment his "vision" settled on the wounded man, his heart tightened!
Something was wrong!
This man's Chakra... was extremely strange! On the surface, it was weak and chaotic, just like someone seriously injured and suffering from severe blood loss. But through the Rinnegan's perception, Duanmu Ci "saw" a highly condensed, icy energy carrying a sinister aura hidden deep within the core of his Chakra! Like a lurking venomous snake, it was wrapped in a cleverly disguised shell of Chakra that mimicked an injured person's aura! And the wound on his shoulder... looked savage and bloody, but under Duanmu Ci's microscopic vision, the tissue activity