The Surgery Begins

"How dare you bargain with us? Insolent brat!"

"Director, this is too much..."

"Young people these days get carried away just because they happened to develop a new technique!"

"Director, kick him out!"

The dispute sparked by Yamada Soji plunged the entire preparation room into a chaotic shouting match.

Under the lights, the white-haired authorities of the older generation looked like angry statues lining an imperial road, casting hostile shadows over the boy standing in the middle of the room. From behind, their shadows joined together in a jagged, undulating pattern, like the sharp teeth of a beast...

Yet Chosokabe Masayuki, the one in charge, uttered only four simple syllables.

"Silence!"

The old director's words restored calm to the preparation room.

He looked at Yamada Soji, who was kneeling before him, and continued in a voice devoid of emotion. "When someone's life is at stake, there's no time to waste. Say what you have to say."

"Yes."

Soji kept his head lowered, his reply quiet.

But his steady, composed cadence and even breathing made his attitude seem all the more firm.

"Given the unusual nature of this operation, I need two skilled, experienced seniors to assist with the treatment. If possible, I'd like Chief Kobayakawa and Chief Inoue to lend me a hand."

Inoue Hisahide showed no particular reaction, but the other person Soji had named, Chief Kobayakawa, visibly darkened.

"You want two chiefs to assist an intern?"

"Of course, if a more senior colleague is willing to take on the responsibility, that would be even better."

"..."

Soji's understated retort made the atmosphere in the room even more tense.

Several of the old doctors were plainly seething, but the fraught situation and Director Chosokabe's authority left them no chance to take the boy to task.

With no other choice, everyone turned their eyes toward the director at the head of the room.

The old man, a hearing aid hooked over his ear, gave a slight nod. His sunken eye sockets were hidden beneath deep shadows.

"I can't grant your request."

"In that case, please forgive me, sir..."

"Wait."

The old director abruptly raised a hand, cutting Soji off.

He adjusted his mask, then gestured to the nurse beside him to fetch his glasses.

Once the rigid frames, with an elastic band tied to their ends, were perched on Chosokabe's nose, the unsmiling old man seemed to transform into a battle-hardened warrior, still strong despite his age.

"If you truly need an assistant, then I alone will suffice!"

"..."

"Director!"

"You can't! Absolutely not!"

"Please choose another surgeon..."

Chosokabe Masayuki's offer to take the initiative sparked another round of debate in the preparation room.

People crowded around the old director, talking over one another as they tried to dissuade him.

Only Yamada Soji, kneeling on one knee, had already begun revising the image of the old director he'd formed in his mind, after recovering from his initial shock.

He admitted that his own practical-minded nature had probably led him to misunderstand the old man earlier. Otherwise, he wouldn't have deliberately insisted on having chief physicians assist with the operation...

A difference in perception had led to a subtle misunderstanding.

Now, the business tactic of starting high and bargaining down had suddenly turned into a provocation, leaving Soji himself in a difficult position.

Judging by the old director's attitude, he was one hundred and ten percent serious about treating the Uchiha Clan's ninja! His willingness to brave danger clearly showed that he hadn't even considered how to handle things or apportion blame if the operation failed!

But as the lead surgeon, Soji knew he couldn't guarantee success...

If the Uchiha guy stopped breathing and failed to make it back from the brink of death, then Soji's earlier attempt to play hardball would have dug his own grave!

At that thought, the boy instinctively turned to the more worldly, shrewd Inoue Hisahide.

To his surprise, the General Surgery Department chief, who had been silent the whole time, was already directing the surgical team to prepare. In the blink of an eye, even the anesthesiologist had been pushed over to Soji...

That old fox!

The boy cursed inwardly, but kept his expression perfectly composed.

At this point, there was no turning back.

Without changing his expression, the boy took the surgical gloves and mask from a male nurse. Then, steeling himself, he followed Director Chosokabe and began asking about the patient as though he knew exactly what he was doing.

"Are the surgical instruments ready? Does the patient have any allergies?"

"Based on his previous medical records and skin tests, we haven't found any common allergens," the anesthesiologist replied at once.

"Are the vital-sign monitors connected properly?"

"Blood pressure, pulse, and heart rate are all normal."

"Have you confirmed that the repairs to the other organs are complete?" Soji turned to Chosokabe.

"I personally supervised the entire operation. You needn't worry about that. Do whatever you need to do," the old director said with a steady nod. He then gestured for two nurses to stand beside the boy. Once the abdomen was open, they'd be ready to pass Soji medical instruments and wipe away his sweat.

"Since everything's ready... the operation begins now."

"Yes!"

A human life was paramount.

At the lead surgeon's command, every member of the medical team, including Director Chosokabe, immediately responded.

The experienced old director raised his right hand. A sharp Chakra Scalpel gave a faint hum at his fingertips.

Though Chosokabe Masayuki was past fifty, his movements were steady and precise. The moment he began operating, there was no sign of age slowing him down.

Based on the patient's earlier examination, his incision exposed the surgical field without causing any unnecessary damage, giving Yamada Soji a good start for the procedure ahead.

But as Soji slipped his slender hand into the patient's abdominal cavity, sharpening his chakra perception through direct contact, a new challenge immediately confronted the boy!

The Sand Ninja's Magnet Release techniques truly lived up to their reputation.

Wounds this fine and unusual were unheard of...

The patient's liver was riddled with punctures no larger than pinpricks. If the doctors at Konoha Hospital hadn't been so skilled and stopped the bleeding in time, the massive hemorrhage caused by the ruptures alone would likely have killed the Uchiha.

Soji tried using the Disease-Seeking Technique to expand his perception. At last, the metal fragments inside the liver, each smaller than a grain of sand, gradually entered his "field of vision."

The lesions are visible. Now I just need to protect the liver and remove the "stones"!

Yamada-kun immediately tried using Accio on the fragments. But whether they were too small, or had adhered to the liver after so much time had passed, even his unfailing Filth-Licking Technique couldn't extract them accurately!

And that wasn't all...

The fragments shifted inside the liver, making the bleeding worse. The patient's previously stable vital signs began to fluctuate as well!

"Heart rate's at 160! Blood pressure is dropping rapidly!"

"His breathing is becoming rapid!"

"Doctor! We should stop the operation immediately!"

"Director Chosokabe!"

The unexpected turn of events sent the tension in the operating room soaring!

The immense psychological pressure shook the resolve of those performing the procedure. Only the old director remained steady, keeping his focus on the main problem.

"Don't panic! Everyone, stay at your stations and don't interfere with the lead surgeon!"

The old man looked at the boy's youthful profile, as if he could see the countless tangled thoughts in his mind...

Faced with a life on the operating table that could slip away at any moment, Soji fell briefly silent, then narrowed his eyes once more.

He wasted no words. To the astonishment of the other medical staff, he shoved his other hand into the patient's abdominal cavity as well!