Can't Save, Hopeless, Just Wait to Die!

Ingetsu's expression shifted slightly. It was his first time seeing a doctor describe kidney deficiency in such a fresh and refined way.

Everyone in the wooden house felt that this guy was unreliable. He was probably a fake doctor.

But the lecherous doctor's next actions made them all shut up.

The middle-aged doctor examined Tamao's wounds. His lecherous expression vanished instantly, replaced by a solemn look as he methodically began unwrapping Tamao's bandages.

At that moment, he gave off the same impression as those rigid Medical Ninjas.

Suddenly—

The doctor froze, then looked at everyone in the room and asked, "Who tied the bow on the bandages?"

Everyone was stunned.

Izumi smiled foolishly, revealing her little canine teeth as she raised her right hand. "Me!"

"This bandaging method isn't scientific. Never mind, never mind. Once I save him, I'll teach you some proper scientific bandaging techniques!"

The doctor sighed and continued removing the bandages.

Izumi frowned and lowered her head. She had thought she was about to be praised, but what was this supposed to mean?

Izumi said haughtily, "I'm not learning!"

"Why not? It's free!" the doctor retorted, though his hands never stopped working.

"You're improper!"

"But my technique is proper!"

"Not learning means not learning!" Izumi said petulantly, only to regret it immediately afterward.

Their team really did lack someone who understood medical techniques.

After thinking for a moment—

For the sake of the team—

Izumi immediately reconciled with herself and said weakly, "Fine, fine. I'll learn."

The doctor nodded and focused on unwrapping the bandages.

Mikoto wanted to laugh and forcibly held it in, but she could not quite hold it back. So she could only think of her dead man, and her mood immediately sank.

Mikoto suddenly felt that after less than two days on the run, things had already started to feel strange.

Where had Ingetsu found all these weirdos?

"Hiss... Be gentler, that hurts!"

Even Tamao could not endure the pain of the bandages separating from his wounds.

"Heh, weren't you acting tough just now? I've only heard words like that from the girls I've treated."

The middle-aged doctor did not stop moving his hands.

Tamao gritted his teeth and endured the pain. Then he suddenly burst into laughter. "Is it possible that they were probably just lying to you?"

That hit home. The doctor's expression stiffened, his hands stopped, and his face fell as the bandages were completely removed.

Ignoring Tamao's wisecrack, he seriously examined the young man's wounds. His brows gradually furrowed, his expression turned grave, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

The wounds were not limited to one or two places.

The flesh across the front of his body was a bloody blur, like a steak that had been charred, bloodied, and sliced to pieces.

And this person was still alive.

This is practically a medical miracle!

With a grave expression, the doctor gathered a faint green chakra in both hands and swept them over every one of Tamao's wounds.

Seeing the chakra of Medical Ninjutsu, the Uchihas sighed in relief and no longer doubted the doctor.

Ingetsu also began to look forward somewhat to the Side Quest reward.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea—

The doctor stopped performing his rudimentary Medical Ninjutsu, shook his head, and clicked his tongue.

"Can't save him. No hope. Just wait to die!"

The hope that had just risen in everyone's hearts was instantly shattered by those words.

This time, the doctor's expression was calm. He looked directly at Ingetsu and explained seriously.

"He was hit by a large-scale Wind Release ninjutsu. From the looks of it, you should be ninjas too.

"You must know how terrifying Wind Release Chakra is.

"After Wind Release Chakra cuts into the human body, it can even seep into the cells and cause extensive damage to the cells around the wounds.

"The penetrating destructive power of powerful Wind Release Chakra on the human body is comparable to poison.

"Ten years ago, at the peak of my career, when my control over Medical Ninjutsu chakra was at its strongest, perhaps I could have treated injuries caused by Wind Release Chakra.

"Unfortunately..."

At my current level, I can only treat injuries caused by Fire Release Chakra and Water Release Chakra."

Uchiha Nanpu asked urgently, "Is there no other way?"

The doctor looked at the people who had dragged him here and replied, "There is. Find a Medical Ninja more skilled in medical ninjutsu than I am, and they might be able to try.

"But I can't do anything!

"Fortunately, his vitality is strong and his physique is robust.

"You also used crude wartime methods in time to keep him alive—mainly Ration Pills—to activate his chakra and resist the continued damage from Wind Release Chakra.

"Otherwise, he should have died yesterday."

Tamao said disdainfully, "You've got to be kidding. I train every day at the hospital—how could my physique not be strong?"

The corner of Uchiha Nanpu's mouth twitched. He sighed inwardly. So this was why you'd used your body to withstand Danzo's Wind Release?

Ingetsu fell into deep thought.

The doctor ignored Tamao completely. He crouched beside him again and released medical ninjutsu once more, seemingly doing useless work as he continued treating the wounds. Then he looked up at Ingetsu. "All I can do is reduce his pain as much as possible, so he won't suffer quite as much when he dies."

Tamao muttered, "You're pretty dedicated for a doctor."

"Are you sure you haven't done everything you can to treat him?" an Uchiha asked.

The other Uchiha echoed him, questioning the doctor one after another.

The wooden cabin immediately grew noisy.

Tap—tap—

As Ingetsu lightly tapped the table with his fingers, the wooden cabin instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at him with worried expressions.

"Roughly how long will it take?" Ingetsu asked the doctor.

The doctor answered crisply, "Ten minutes!"

Ingetsu nodded, then looked at the others and said in a deep voice, "Pack up. We leave in ten minutes!"

At his words, sorrow appeared on the Uchiha's faces. If they continued northwest, they would leave the Land of Fire Border. Finding another Medical Ninja after that would be practically impossible.

That meant Tamao would truly become the first clansman they lost on their road of escape.

There were so few Uchiha left now.

Even losing one was more than Nanpu could bear.

Tamao's two teammates suddenly had tears welling in their eyes. They lowered their heads and clenched their fists, despair and helplessness rising in their hearts.

"Oh, right. If you want him to die more comfortably, don't carry him on your back!"

"Little girl, come here. I'll show you how to properly bandage a wound!"

"Watch carefully. I'll only demonstrate it once!"

Amid the doctor's repeated instructions, the wooden cabin fell into dead silence.

The Uchiha wore sorrowful expressions. Even Mikoto did not wish to see such a thing happen again to the few remaining members of her clan.

Mikoto felt that she was the one who should die.

The harmonious atmosphere vanished without a trace.

Yager, who had also remained silent for a long time, could clearly feel these people's helplessness, despair, and powerlessness.

He had felt the same way when his family had been destroyed and his loved ones lost, so he understood that feeling.

Fortunately, Yager had met Ingetsu, who had pointed out a clear path for him.

He had told him to bring his people to Mount Kikyo.

At the beginning of last year, when Yager had gone out to chop firewood as a hunter, he had met the woman who was now his wife beneath a tree.

In a sense, he owed his happy and complete family to Ingetsu.

Therefore, Yager felt that he should do something. Even if it meant going against his own "reputation," some things were indeed worth doing.

Some things always stood above everything else.

"Doctor Nak, do you still remember me? Some time ago, my wife and I brought our child to see you."

Yager stepped out of the crowd.

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

The doctor also turned to glance at Yager, then looked away and shook his head. "Sorry, I don't remember. Too many people in Kikyo City come to me for treatment. Every night, I still have to go save those poor women. My memory isn't that great!"

Looking embarrassed, Yager made up his mind and said, "Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome!"

The balding middle-aged doctor, Nak, turned back to Yager again. Seemingly recalling something, he asked, "Your son... that newborn... has he already died?"

Take a gastroenterologist, for example. As a doctor, he might not recognize people's faces. But if you stuck out your butt and let him see the hemorrhoid wound he had operated on, he would immediately clap excitedly. "I performed this hemorrhoid excision last year! So, young man, are you satisfied with my technique? Remember to do your Kegels every day!"

Yager smiled. "He didn't die. He's completely recovered now!"

Nak's pupils suddenly contracted, and the skin on his face twitched slightly.

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome was one of the diseases most likely to cause death in newborns.

It could easily cause hypoxemia and alveolar collapse in infants, leading to a series of complications.

He could not treat the disease, but he remembered very clearly that an infant had come down with it some time ago.

Tamao chose that moment to add, "You really are miserable!"

Yager was left speechless. He walked over to Ingetsu and explained, "Captain Ingetsu, the evening before last, a woman came to stay in our stronghold. She had blonde hair, round-framed glasses, and black-and-white mage robes. She looked like she was dressed as a shrine maiden. She was the one who cured my son. But... she warned us not to tell anyone about it."