Physical Anesthesia Technique

The night breeze was somewhat chilly, as if it had blown straight into someone's heart.

"I must have been caught in Genjutsu, I must have..." By the river, Kurenai Yuhi formed hand seals with a ferocious expression. "Ha! Release!"

"Huh? With your mental will, Senior Shinku, did you really need to go to such lengths to break my Genjutsu?" Soseki asked curiously, tilting his head.

"The Genjutsu I meant wasn't... forget it." Kurenai Yuhi's mouth twitched slightly. Then she stared at Soseki with blazing eyes. "Your talent in Genjutsu is the best I've ever seen. Stop studying that Medical Ninjutsu and train in Genjutsu with me!"

Soseki's expression turned strange. Was this the so-called scumbag template?

Just yesterday, he had been saying that Kurenai had the greatest Genjutsu talent he had ever seen, yet today he had changed his target.

If my "talent" in Medical Ninjutsu came from self-harm, hard work, and study methods, then my "talent" in Genjutsu was more of a gift from my past-life experiences and the fusion of my soul. Comparatively speaking, my talent in Genjutsu truly qualified me as a top-tier genius. Unfortunately, Senior Shinku has far too little to offer me...

Soseki felt regretful, but he still replied with a resolute expression, "Senior Shinku, I'm sorry, but my dream is to become a Medical Ninja like Lord Tsunade!"

Though it was somewhat disrespectful, Soseki truly did not think much of Kurenai Yuhi's level of Genjutsu. Freely learning from her was fine, but formally becoming her disciple was better left alone.

This was also Genjutsu's limitation. Nearly all of the strongest Genjutsu users in this world came from the Uchiha Clan. Kurenai Yuhi's Genjutsu was already the pinnacle that ordinary Genjutsu ninja could reach.

Fortunately, Soseki had already planned out his future path in Genjutsu. It was just that the prerequisites for that plan had yet to be met.

"Ah, what a pity." Although Kurenai Yuhi knew that the more talented someone was, the less likely they were to change their convictions, she still felt a pang of regret upon hearing Soseki's words.

Medical Ninja at least had a powerhouse like Lord Tsunade to uphold their reputation, but Genjutsu practitioners truly amounted to only a scattered few.

"Forget it, this is good too. If he devoted himself entirely to studying Genjutsu with me, he might drain me dry in less than two years." Kurenai Yuhi consoled herself and forced a smile. "Come on, let's begin the next stage of training."

Time quietly slipped away like sand through one's fingers. In the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

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

"Don't worry, my blade is very fast!"

"No, don't! I don't want treatment anymore, let me leave!"

"Heh, you think you can leave after entering the hospital? Hurry, hold him down for me."

"Wait, what are those things in your hands?"

"This? It's something good that will make you forget your pain. Ha! Physical Anesthesia Technique! Huh? Why didn't it work? One more time, Physical Anesthesia Technique!"

"Pfft~!"

"That won't do. You didn't get the force right. Let me handle it."

"Don't, don't hit me anymore. Please just cut me open directly~"

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

"Ah~ oh~!"

"Where's the barrier team? Hurry and set up a Soundproof Barrier!"

Outside Konoha Hospital, Nonō listened to the waves of agonized screams coming from the ward and apologetically said to the person beside her, "Lord Tsunade, sorry you had to see that."

Tsunade calmly shook her head. "I've seen far worse scenes than this when I used to perform surgeries."

"But what was that Physical Anesthesia Technique?"

"You didn't know? This procedure should have been approved after discussion a month ago."

"A month ago? Heh, I really am an incompetent director of Konoha Hospital." Tsunade laughed at herself.

"Lord Tsunade, we all know it's because you're afra..." Nonō hurriedly began, only to be interrupted before she could finish.

"Incompetent means incompetent. There's no need to make excuses for me." Tsunade waved her hand in irritation. "If the old man weren't unwilling to let me resign, you would actually be more suitable than me to be the director."

"Lord Tsunade..." Nonō did not know how to respond for a moment, so she took the initiative to change the subject. "Speaking of this Physical Anesthesia Technique, it faced opposition from many conservatives at first."

At the mention of conservatives, Tsunade finally showed some interest. "What happened?"

"Because the essence of this 'procedure' is to make the injured temporarily forget their pain, allowing treatment to be completed in peace."

"Forget pain?" Recalling the screams that had just been ringing in her ears, Tsunade's expression became somewhat strange.

Still, she could understand why those conservatives had opposed it.

Under the ninja code, enduring pain was a virtue and a form of willpower training. While they would not advocate that everyone actively seek out pain, anyone who needed anesthesia even for illness and injury would absolutely be considered a disgrace to ninja by those conservatives.

"By the way, how exactly does the Physical Anesthesia Technique you mentioned make patients forget their pain?" Thinking of this, Tsunade asked curiously.

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

At that moment, the door to the ward from which the screams had come was pushed open.

Two petite, adorable nurses emerged, each carrying a thick wooden club half as tall as themselves. The clubs formed a stark contrast to their small frames, creating an intensely incongruous sight.

"Whew, we finally 'anesthetized' him!"

"Having such a good physique is troublesome too."

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

"L-Lord Tsunade!"

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

"Lord Tsunade, this is..." Nonō said awkwardly.

"You don't need to explain. I think I already understand everything." Looking at the half-exposed ends of the clubs behind the two nurses, Tsunade said with a twitch of her mouth.

"Ahem, actually... we were careful with the force we used, and ninja have very sturdy bodies anyway. Look, that ninja only passed out after being 'anesthetized' for so long." Nonō explained without much confidence.

"I have no intention of blaming you." Tsunade shook her head, a trace of reminiscence in her eyes. "If it had been the old me, I might have been even more... imaginative than you."

Nonō adjusted her glasses and remained silent. She had heard that Lord Tsunade used to be called a Demon King, but now...

"By the way, who proposed this 'procedure'? If I didn't know that Jiraiya wasn't in Leaf Village right now, I would have thought it was his work."

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

"Shimizu Soseki?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise.

"Lord Tsunade, you know Soseki too?" Nonō was initially stunned, then quickly realized. "Oh, was it because of that battle between Soseki and the Hokage's son?"

"Hehe, that's not all." Tsunade smiled meaningfully. "That girl Shizune has mentioned more than once how steady and dependable her Class Leader was, but now it seems..."

"Shizune? Soseki's classmate?" Nonō did not think much of it and defended Soseki again. "Soseki-kun is certainly dependable. It's just that he becomes somewhat radical when patients are involved. Besides, this was also a compromise proposed by little Soseki."

"A compromise?"

"Yes. At first, Soseki proposed establishing an Illusion Department, allowing surgeries to be completed while patients were immersed in Genjutsu. He even suggested expanding the Illusion Department beyond surgery—for instance, soothing the mind, dispelling worries, and healing pain. Unfortunately, ordinary Genjutsu ninja simply could not accomplish that."

"Healing pain?" Tsunade pursed her lips and sighed. "That idea is indeed wonderful, but it demands rather high immersion in the illusion."

Nonō nodded helplessly. If the Genjutsu immersion was insufficient, the immense pain from a single cut would immediately pull the patient out of the illusion.

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

By comparison, the "Physical Anesthesia Technique" was more feasible to implement.

Just then, a burst of commotion came from the depths of the corridor.