Treatment

Bai Sui woke up early the next day, having passed the night without a single dream.

He had wanted to get a good night's sleep, but the bandages wrapped around his abdomen were truly uncomfortable.

Logically, he should have unwrapped them to change the dressing, both to prevent infection and to relieve the excessive pressure.

However, he lacked the knowledge for such things; if he unwrapped them and the wound started bleeding again, there didn't seem to be any healers in the village.

Furthermore, the distance wasn't great, and he would reach the Uzumaki Clan Territory in five or six hours of travel today, so Bai Sui decided to set off early and let the Uzumaki clan handle it for him.

Yet, despite thinking he had risen early, he found the village chief's family already up and about as soon as he stepped out of the room, with breakfast nearly ready.

After a simple meal, Bai Sui thanked the chief's family once more and set off toward the Uzumaki Clan Territory.

"Halt!" Outside the Uzumaki Clan Territory, two ninjas suddenly appeared from nowhere.

They appeared in a pincer formation, pinning Bai Sui in place.

Feeling a kunai pressed directly against his neck from behind, Bai Sui weighed his words carefully and said, "I am from the Fifth Transport Squad. I was assigned to transport supplies, but we were intercepted by the Uchiha clan on the road. The lord escorting our squad killed them all and ordered me to return their bodies. The scroll and the letter are here in my tunic."

Once Bai Sui finished speaking, another member of the Uzumaki clan emerged from the nearby woods and nodded at the two guards.

Seeing this, the person behind Bai Sui spoke up: "Take them out."

Bai Sui carefully retrieved the scroll and the scrap of cloth from his tunic, holding one in each hand and extending them forward.

Only then did the person behind him withdraw the kunai from his neck and reach out to take both items.

The three Uzumaki clansmen unfolded the cloth, and upon seeing the Uchiha clan crest, they understood the situation.

They briefly scanned the contents of the letter and checked the sealing barrier on the scroll to ensure it hadn't been tampered with before they were satisfied.

Seeing that there were no issues, two of them vanished in a flash, leaving only the person who had been behind Bai Sui.

"Alright, you know the clan is at war right now, so we have to be strict with our inspections. I see your wounds haven't healed yet; come with me, and I'll take you to get treated."

"Ah, yes, thank you, my lord," Bai Sui replied, recalling the persona he had been maintaining in his memories.

He followed the man, winding through the outskirts of the territory until they reached a cluster of buildings—the "hospital" of the Uzumaki clan.

In the past, few people came here, as the Uzumaki clan possessed strong natural recovery abilities; minor injuries rarely required attention, and those with major injuries might not even survive the trip.

As for the commoners, they didn't seek treatment here either; there were healers in the outer residential areas, though those were merely ordinary people.

Upon entering an empty room, they were met by another ninja wearing the standard Uzumaki uniform, who looked surprised to see Bai Sui enter.

After all, to his perception, Bai Sui was just an ordinary person with no chakra, and his attire was that of a commoner, so he assumed the man had walked into the wrong place.

However, seeing the clansman who had brought Bai Sui in, he shifted his questioning gaze toward him.

"Kinya, he was injured during a logistics transport mission. I brought him here for treatment," the clansman who had led Bai Sui in explained, aware of the other's confusion.

Seeing this, the ninja known as Uzumaki Kinya said no more and gestured for Bai Sui to sit before him.

He asked Bai Sui about his injuries.

Bai Sui was clueless. "I'm not entirely sure. At the time, the Uchiha people unleashed a massive fireball that blew us all away. I only remember my abdomen bleeding quite a bit. Lord Uzumaki Sanjin bandaged me while I was unconscious, and I haven't touched the bandages since."

Learning of the situation, Uzumaki Kinya frowned. "Fine. Lie down over there. I'm going to remove your bandages. It might hurt a bit, so you'll have to endure it; it's been a long time, after all."

At these words, Bai Sui's face went pale. He realized that, at the very least, the blood had likely scabbed over into the bandages, and removing them would be like reopening the wound all over again.

But it was a necessary step; he couldn't just let the bandages grow into his skin.

Bai Sui gritted his teeth, lay down on the cot, and closed his eyes, waiting for the man to begin.

Yet, there was no movement. He waited and waited, his anxiety mounting, until he finally opened his eyes to see when Uzumaki Kinya would start.

Eventually, the man finished preparing his tools and came to Bai Sui's side, patting him to signal that he should take off his shirt before closing his eyes again.

Blushing, Bai Sui hurriedly stripped off his top, revealing the bandages wrapped around his abdomen.

Looking at them now, the front of the bandages was completely soaked through with blood and, naturally, crusted over.

Thinking of the pain to come when the wound was exposed, Bai Sui squeezed his eyes shut, trying to force himself to forget the impending agony.

However, when a person loses their sight, their sense of touch heightens; the slight draft of air brushing against his body made him shiver, and the hair on his arms stood on end.

Seeing that Bai Sui was this tense, Uzumaki Kinya didn't make him wait any longer; with a swift motion, he sliced the bandages open from the side.

His precision was perfect—all the bandages were severed without scratching Bai Sui's skin, leaving him feeling only a sudden chill on his flank.

Another quick cut followed, and the bandages on the other side were opened as well.

Next came the main event: peeling off the scabbed gauze.

If this were an ordinary healer, they would have peeled it away bit by bit with extreme caution, but this was a ninja—an Uzumaki medical ninja.

His movements were clean and efficient; he gave a single, sharp tug, ripping the entire scabbed bandage right off Bai Sui's body.

"Hiss—uh?"

A surge of pain flared up for a split second, but it vanished as quickly as it had arrived, because Uzumaki Kinya immediately pressed his right hand over the wound.

Instead of the expected pain, Bai Sui felt a wave of tingling warmth, and curiosity compelled him to open his eyes.

He saw a green light emanating from the man's palm, covering the exact area of his wound.

Seeing Bai Sui open his eyes, Uzumaki Kinya said, "You aren't a ninja and have no chakra. I will only stop the bleeding for you; the rest of the recovery will have to depend on you."

Though he was incredibly curious about medical ninjutsu, Bai Sui knew that all he could do for now was nod in agreement.