Treating Rika

After obtaining the medical ninjutsu he needed, Hyuuga Nen immediately began training, even setting Sealing Technique aside for the time being.

After three months, Hyuuga Nen had mastered the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique and the Mystical Palm Technique.

During this time, Rika fell ill again, so Hyuuga Nen decided to treat her right away. He even specifically asked Yamamoto Yuuichirou for leave so he could carry out the treatment.

That night.

"Taro, go stand guard outside. Don't let anyone in." Hyuuga Nen looked at Taro as he spoke. At his words, Taro stopped watching Rika and immediately ran to the door, where he sat down.

Hyuuga Nen turned to Rika. "Mother, lie down on the bed first. I'm going to start treating you."

Rika looked a little worried, but she didn't say anything. She only nodded, then did as Hyuuga Nen said and lay down on the bed.

Hyuuga Nen went to Rika's side. First, he used Gentle Fist to temporarily seal her vocal organs so she wouldn't be able to speak for a short while. Then he secured her hands and feet to prevent her from struggling in pain during the procedure and interfering with the treatment.

"I'm starting now," Hyuuga Nen said softly as he looked at Rika. Hearing him, Rika closed her eyes, but the constant trembling of her eyelashes showed just how nervous she was.

Once Rika was lying down, Hyuuga Nen began controlling the chakra within his body. Two balls of chakra giving off a soft green glow appeared in his hands. He placed his hands over Rika's chest and carefully sensed the condition of her lungs.

After a while, Hyuuga Nen opened his eyes, his brows tightly furrowed.

Hyuuga Nen filled a basin with water and submerged his hands in it. Under his control, two balls of water wrapped in chakra appeared in his hands.

Hyuuga Nen slowly moved the water balls above Rika's lungs, then gently pressed them down. As he did, the water balls gradually disappeared into Rika's chest and entered her lungs.

As the water balls entered Rika's lungs, she felt as though she were suffocating, and her face showed her discomfort.

Seeing Rika's expression, Hyuuga Nen realized it was because of his lack of experience. He immediately used chakra to shrink the water balls, and only then did Rika's expression become less pained.

Hyuuga Nen used the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to carefully sense the condition of Rika's lungs, trying to find the pathogen causing her illness.

"Found it!" Hyuuga Nen exclaimed. "You might be in a lot of pain in a moment. Just bear with it; it'll be over soon." He spoke to Rika.

"I'm starting now."

Hyuuga Nen began extracting the pathogen from Rika's body. As he did, her face suddenly turned pale. She opened her mouth as if crying out in pain.

But she was unable to make a sound, so Hyuuga Nen couldn't hear her cry.

"Hang in there. It'll be over soon!" Hyuuga Nen said anxiously. He saw Rika gripping the edge of the bed so tightly from the pain that her fingers had turned white.

Although Hyuuga Nen was anxious, he didn't speed up his movements. He knew that any mistake could have serious consequences, so he continued the treatment at his own pace.

By now, Hyuuga Nen had drawn the pathogen out of Rika's body using the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. He slowly raised his hands, and the water balls gradually lifted away from Rika's body with them.

Hyuuga Nen's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. Gritting his teeth, he maintained the rhythm of the technique. At last, the water balls had completely left Rika's body, and her expression became much more relaxed.

Hyuuga Nen looked at the water balls in his hands, but couldn't see anything inside them.

At that moment, Hyuuga Nen released the seal on his Byakugan and activated it. Looking at the water balls again, he saw some extremely tiny bacteria, invisible to the naked eye.

"I knew the Byakugan could magnify things, but is it really that powerful?" Hyuuga Nen wondered. But he didn't dwell on it for long, returning his attention to the treatment.

Hyuuga Nen held his hands above the basin and relaxed his control over the chakra. The water balls naturally fell into the water.

Hyuuga Nen then used the Mystical Palm Technique to treat the inflamed parts of Rika's lungs, before helping her sit up.

"How are you? Do you feel any better?" Hyuuga Nen looked at Rika with concern.

Rika straightened her back and held a hand to her chest. She took a deep breath, then said in delight, "I can breathe much more easily, and I'm not coughing anymore. It seems like I'm cured. Nen, I can't believe you've become so skilled! I'm so happy for you." After saying this, she gently hugged Hyuuga Nen.

Hyuuga Nen then walked Rika back to her room and told her to get some rest.

Hyuuga Nen soon came out of Rika's room, but he didn't look relieved at all. Instead, his expression was more serious than ever.

"During the examination and treatment just now, I found that Mother's body is much weaker than most people's, and her resistance is poorer too. There are also some lesions in her lungs that look like white fibers!" Hyuuga Nen thought as he walked.

When he pressed her about the reason for her poor health, his mother reluctantly told him that she had given birth to him in the freezing snow, and had been left with a chronic illness as a result. She fell ill every winter.

To solve this problem, Hyuuga Nen needed to use Yang Release Chakra to stimulate immune cells to divide. But he didn't know which cells were responsible for the body's immunity, so he couldn't resolve the issue for now.

"The lesions in her lungs are an even trickier problem. When I used the Mystical Palm Technique just now, I found that the affected cells were influenced by it too. If I crudely used medical ninjutsu to stimulate the lung cells to divide, the affected cells would divide along with them. At that point, Mother might not be able to be saved."

The only way to solve this problem was to perform open-chest surgery. While removing the affected area, he would also use the Mystical Palm Technique to stimulate the growth of healthy lung cells.

But Hyuuga Nen's medical ninjutsu wasn't advanced enough for this, and he didn't know how to perform open-chest surgery. After all, Hyuuga Nen wasn't a real medical ninja. He would need a medical ninja there to assist him.

"But where am I supposed to find a medical ninja? Sigh, for now, I can only set this aside and focus on slowing Mother's illness. Maybe I can find another way to solve the problem."

Thinking this, Hyuuga Nen let out a deep sigh. He looked back at Rika's room, then turned and headed to his own.