Physical Anesthesia Technique

The night wind was biting cold, as if it had blown straight into someone's heart.

"I must be under a genjutsu, I must be..." By the riverside, Kurenai Yuhi's face twisted as she clasped her hands together to form a seal. "Ha! Release!"

"Huh? With your mental fortitude, Senior Shinku, do you really need to go through all that trouble to break my genjutsu?" Shisui tilted his head and asked, puzzled.

"The genjutsu I'm talking about isn't... forget it." The corner of Kurenai Yuhi's mouth twitched slightly, then her eyes burned with intensity as she stared at Shisui. "Your talent in genjutsu is the best I've ever seen. Forget about learning Medical Ninjutsu—train under me in genjutsu instead!"

Shisui's expression turned odd. So this was the so-called scumbag template, huh?

Just yesterday, she was saying Kurenai had the best genjutsu talent she'd ever seen, and today she'd already switched targets.

"If I said my 'talent' in Medical Ninjutsu came from self-harm, hard work, and learning methods, then my 'talent' in genjutsu is more a gift from my past life experiences and soul fusion. Relatively speaking, my genjutsu talent is truly top-tier. It's just a pity that you, Senior Shinku, can offer me so little..."

Shisui lamented inwardly, but on the surface, he replied firmly, "Senior Shinku, I'm sorry, but my dream is to become a Medical Ninja like Lord Tsunade!"

Though a bit rude, Shisui genuinely didn't think much of Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu skill. Freeloading was fine, but formal apprenticeship was out of the question.

This was also the limitation of genjutsu—the world's top genjutsu masters almost all came from the Uchiha Clan. Kurenai Yuhi's genjutsu was already the peak an ordinary genjutsu ninja could reach.

Fortunately, Shisui had already planned out his future path for genjutsu, but the prerequisites for that plan hadn't been met yet.

"Ah, what a shame." Though Kurenai Yuhi knew that the more talented someone was, the less likely they were to change their convictions, hearing Shisui say that still filled her with regret.

At least Medical Ninjas had a powerhouse like Lord Tsunade to uphold their reputation, but genjutsu training only had a handful of scattered practitioners.

"Whatever, it's for the best. If I let him devote himself entirely to learning genjutsu from me, he'd probably drain me dry in two years." Kurenai Yuhi comforted herself, forcing a smile. "Come on, let's start the next phase of training."

Time slipped away like sand through fingers, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

"Wait, don't come any closer!!!"

"Don't worry, my knife is fast!"

"No, no, I don't want treatment anymore. Let me leave."

"Heh, you think you can leave once you're in the hospital? Quick, hold him down!"

"Wait, what's that thing you're holding?"

"This? It's a wonderful thing that can make you forget your pain. Ha! Physical Anesthesia Technique! Huh? Why isn't it working? One more time, Physical Anesthesia Technique!"

"Pfft~!"

"That's not going to work—you didn't get the force right. Let me handle it."

"Stop, stop hitting me. Just cut it out directly~"

"Since you're asking for it, then..."

"Ah~ oh~!"

"Barrier Squad, hurry up and set up a Soundproof Barrier!"

Outside Konoha Hospital, listening to the screams echoing from the ward, Nonō awkwardly apologized to the person beside her. "Lord Tsunade, please forgive the spectacle."

Tsunade shook her head calmly. "When I performed surgeries, I've seen worse scenes than this."

"But that Physical Anesthesia Technique—what is it?"

"You don't know? That procedure should have been approved through discussion a month ago."

"A month ago? Hah, I really am an irresponsible director of Konoha Hospital." Tsunade laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Lord Tsunade, we all know it's because of your phobia..." Nonō hurriedly began, but Tsunade cut her off before she could finish.

"Irresponsible is irresponsible. No need to make excuses for me." Tsunade waved her hand in annoyance. "If the old man weren't refusing to let me go, you'd be more suited to be the director than I am."

"Lord Tsunade..." Nonō didn't know how to respond and changed the subject. "Speaking of the Physical Anesthesia Technique, it faced a lot of opposition from the conservatives at first."

Mentioning the conservatives finally piqued Tsunade's interest. "What happened?"

"The essence of this 'procedure' is to make the patient temporarily forget their pain and complete the treatment in peace."

"Forget their pain??" Recalling the screams still echoing in her ears, Tsunade's expression turned strange.

Still, she could understand why the conservatives opposed it.

In a ninja's code, enduring pain was a virtue and a training of willpower. While they wouldn't go so far as to advocate that everyone actively seek out pain, those who needed anesthesia for illness and injury were, in the conservatives' eyes, a disgrace to ninjas.

"By the way, how exactly does that Physical Anesthesia Technique make patients forget their pain?" Curious, Tsunade asked.

"Well..." Nonō lightly scratched her cheek with her right index finger, her gaze drifting.

Just then, the door to the ward where the screams had come from swung open.

Two petite, cute nurses walked out, each cradling a thick wooden club as tall as half a person. The contrast with their small frames was stark, creating a jarring sense of dissonance.

"Phew, we finally 'anesthetized' him!"

"Having too good a constitution is such a hassle."

"Yeah, if only... Ah! Captain Nonō! Lord Tsunade!"

"Lord... Lord Tsunade!"

As they spoke, the two quickly hid the clubs behind their backs.

"Lord Tsunade, this is..." Nonō's expression turned awkward.

"You don't need to say anything. I think I've already understood everything." Looking at the wooden stick protruding slightly from behind the two of them, Tsunade said with a twitching corner of her mouth.

"Ahem, actually... we were all careful with our force, and besides, our ninja constitutions are quite good, you see, that ninja was 'anesthetized' for quite a while before passing out." Nonō explained with a lack of confidence.

"I'm not blaming you." Tsunade shook her head, a hint of recollection in her eyes. "If it were the old me, I might have done something even more... well, imaginative than you."

Nonō adjusted her glasses and remained silent. She had heard that Lord Tsunade once had the title of Demon Queen, but now...

"By the way, who came up with this 'surgery'? If I didn't know Jiraiya was out of Konoha right now, I'd have thought it was his doing."

"It was Soseki-kun's proposal. He's the most popular little genius at Konoha Hospital."

"Shimizu Soseki?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, asking with some surprise.

"Lord Tsunade, you know Soseki too?" Nonō was taken aback at first, then quickly realized, "Oh, is it because of that fight between Soseki and the Hokage's son?"

"Heh, it's more than that." Tsunade smiled meaningfully. "Shizune has mentioned to me more than once how steady and reliable their Class Leader is, but now it seems..."

"Shizune? Soseki's classmate?" Nonō didn't think much of it and defended Soseki, "Soseki-kun is certainly reliable, it's just that he gets a bit aggressive when it comes to matters involving patients. And besides, this was a compromise he proposed to us."

"A compromise?"

"Yes. At first, Soseki suggested adding an Illusion Department, letting patients be immersed in illusions during surgery. He even proposed expanding the Illusion Department's scope beyond surgery—like soothing minds, dispelling worries, healing pain. Unfortunately, ordinary illusion ninja can't achieve that level."

"Healing pain?" Tsunade pursed her lips and sighed. "That idea is indeed beautiful, but it demands too high a level of illusion immersion."

Nonō nodded helplessly. If the illusion immersion wasn't deep enough, one cut would yank the patient right out of the illusion from the sheer pain.

Moreover, few illusions could last as long as an entire surgery.

Relatively speaking, the "Physical Anesthesia Technique" was far more feasible to implement.

Just then, a commotion came from deep within the corridor.