4. Emergency

"Squeak! Squeak-squeak!"

The mouse tied down on the operating table let out a piercing shriek.

Under the influence of Accio, tiny gallstones slowly pierced the fragile wall of its gallbladder. The excruciating pain made the test subject thrash about.

But Yamada Soji didn't stop what he was doing.

As a researcher, he felt no empathy for rodent test subjects. No matter how much the mouse struggled, the boy continued steadily supplying the chakra needed to keep Accio active.

Only after the tiny gallstones tore through the main body of the gallbladder and were finally stopped by the abdominal muscles did Soji's experiment come to an end.

He put the mouse out of its misery with a neck-breaking technique. Then he carefully dissected it to examine the extent of the damage Accio had caused, and compiled a detailed experimental report and research notes.

These experiments had become another of Soji's main projects in recent months, alongside Medical Ninjutsu.

It was worth noting that the boy wasn't researching a million ways to kill a mouse with Accio. Instead, he combined the spell with the medical knowledge he'd gained over the past six months, exploring ways to make the technique more broadly applicable.

As time went on, Soji's mastery of Accio grew ever more profound.

Combined with other Medical Ninjutsu, he could even break up the gallstones inside a mouse and move them directly from the common bile duct into the intestines, completing what was, in the truest sense, a "minimally invasive surgery"!

Using the technique he'd developed himself, Dirt Lick, he compiled his research into an article and asked a doctor he knew to publish it in the hospital's journal. It soon caught the attention of his colleagues, earning him the chance to observe and assist in surgeries.

"Have you heard? Yamada-kun, who's only been interning at the hospital for half a year, actually published an article on his own!"

"Seriously? ...Hasn't he still not graduated from the Ninja Academy?"

The young resident sucked his teeth. He was struggling with a professional paper of his own, and his expression was especially complicated.

"How could it be fake? The latest issue has the experimental procedure down in black and white. It's an article about removing gallstones and polyps from the gallbladder. The new technique avoids the risks of opening the abdomen and removing organs, and the recovery period is unbelievably short!"

The resident gestured at his upper-right abdomen, drawing a chorus of astonished clicks from his companion.

"That's unbelievable..."

"Tell me about it. I hear the director's already given in. From now on, all the case files from the Digestive Department will be open to him..."

"What? Director Chosokabe, of all people..."

The rumors spread quickly.

Everyone was astonished to discover that the boy who was always getting on the director's nerves had, without anyone noticing, taken a solid step toward becoming a medical professional.

Thanks to his unique Kekkei Genkai, Yamada Soji's expertise in digestive surgery was already on par with that of experienced specialists.

At this point, even Chosokabe Masayuki, hidebound as he was, could no longer use professional competence as an excuse to block the boy's progress.

In fact, after personally reviewing Soji's published paper, the old director's hostility toward him began to gradually fade.

—To his embarrassment, this sudden kindness left Yamada Soji at a loss...

Ever since he'd begun training at Konoha Hospital, the struggle between the younger generation and the Establishment Faction had been an unavoidable, dominant theme.

As the hospital's chief administrator and leader of the Establishment Faction, Chosokabe Masayuki had consistently suppressed young people in matters such as staffing and the development of medical ideas.

Backed by his unshakable authority in the medical field, he wasn't just putting pressure on Soji. Many young doctors were also being targeted by the administration.

In a brutal struggle where rival factions were vying to crush each other, right and wrong had never been the deciding factors that determined the direction of events.

To say the old director had easily changed his position because of Soji's talent would be sheer fantasy...

But facts spoke louder than theories. Knowing better than to twist reality to fit an idea, Yamada Soji could only adapt to the changing circumstances while reexamining how things had come to this.

This also meant that Yamada Soji had to maintain a state of outward ease and inner vigilance for the long term, leaving him even more on edge than before.

Especially after he'd been allowed to operate directly on patients, he even began to suspect that the old director was planning to use a medical malpractice case as an excuse to expel him from Konoha Hospital!

As graduation drew closer, all his doubts and confusion finally found an outlet in a sudden incident.

In July of Konoha Year 30, a young member of the Uchiha Clan was injured during a mission outside the village.

During treatment, the squad's instructor and two Genin members were each brought out of danger. But the Uchiha clan member's condition suddenly changed, and he was on the brink of death!

As the most prominent clan in Konoha, the life or death of a Sharingan wielder drew the attention of most of the hospital's doctors. The delicate political climate of the era also added an extra burden to this race against time.

Yamada Soji had been sitting in the department looking up case files when the unusual atmosphere in the corridor caught his attention. Before he could discreetly ask what was going on, Director Inoue Hisahide—who usually stood firmly alongside Director Chosokabe—came straight to see him.

"Director..."

"Director Inoue!"

The doctors stopped and greeted their superior.

Though Konoha Hospital, still in its fledgling stage, had yet to become a rigid, hierarchical white tower, the distinctions between superiors and subordinates still bound everyone's actions like invisible shackles.

"Thanks for all your hard work. Director Chosokabe needs to discuss something with the Digestive Surgery doctors."

Inoue Hisahide, a liver spot on his left cheek, scanned the room before fixing his gaze on the boy.

"Is Doctor Yamada here?"

Everyone turned to look at Soji.

The boy himself furrowed his brow.

It wasn't that he disliked the other's asking a question when he already knew the answer. Following unspoken rules might be difficult for an eleven-year-old kid, but the adult soul inside him understood the tremendous value such "etiquette" had in maintaining a system's stability.

On an ordinary day, Soji would have immediately responded respectfully after the other man spoke. But today's circumstances were clearly different.

He sensed trouble in the panicked atmosphere. Given his earlier suspicions, Director Inoue's sudden appearance was practically the first sign that a sinister net was closing around him.

Yet no matter how many thoughts raced through his mind, Soji's expression gave nothing away.

"Director Inoue, I'm organizing the pathology report from the last operation and didn't come out to greet you. I apologize.

"I haven't had the chance to thank Director Chosokabe and my other colleagues in General Surgery for the gallbladder polyp removal. I hope you and the director won't hold it against me.

"By the way, I have some difficult cases here that I haven't been able to resolve. If it's convenient, please give me a moment to organize these documents, and then I can ask the senior doctors for advice."

...Soji never fought a battle unless he was sure he could win.

He deliberately took his time getting up to greet the director, stalling with irrelevant chatter while quickly thinking of an excuse to get out of there.

But to his surprise, Director Inoue Hisahide didn't follow the usual script and engage him in a verbal battle of wits.

Faced with Soji's delaying tactics, the old man from the Establishment Faction broke with convention and resorted to force!

Poor Soji had never been much of a fighter—he'd struggled to handle even his own classmates since arriving in this world. Caught off guard, how could he possibly stand up to the two male nurses who suddenly appeared behind the director?

Acting on instinct, as the two men lifted him off the ground and held his arms, the boy nearly used Dirt Lick to escape.

But when he realized the male nurses didn't mean to hurt him, he quickly suppressed the trump card he'd only half prepared.

"Director Inoue, what are you..."

"There's no time."

Inoue Hisahide, the liver spot on his face prominent, waved his hand, then signaled to the two male nurses to carry the boy.

Under the knowing gazes of their colleagues, the four of them quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"That's it. Director Inoue's come to the department to abduct someone again... Do you think Yamada-kun will make it back?"

"Hard to say. There's a serious problem in the Emergency Department. I hear the higher-ups sent someone down to supervise!"

"It's that serious? Then I have to see for myself!"

"Let's go, then!"