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The fighting on the front lines grew even more intense, with Konoha and Hidden Sand ninjas attacking each other. Behind the scenes, the two commanders were also locked in a struggle.

Chiyo's newly developed poison was extremely potent. As soon as it was deployed on the battlefield, it inflicted considerable casualties on Konoha. Tsunade immediately set to work finding an antidote to Chiyo's poison. A day later, she had created one, turning the advantage into a disadvantage and allowing Konoha to suppress Hidden Sand once more.

Inside a semicircular hut made of packed sand, a middle-aged woman with a headscarf wrapped around her head to keep out the sand sat beside a table. Another middle-aged person, also wearing a headscarf, walked in.

"Brother, that Princess Tsunade is a truly troublesome opponent. She's figured out every poison I've made!" Chiyo said, looking frustrated.

Ebizo pondered for a moment, then said, "Sister, we don't have the advantage on the front lines right now. We need to try some other methods."

"You mean..." Chiyo asked uncertainly.

The shrewd Ebizo continued, "We need to find a way to kill a few of Konoha's elite fighters and shake their morale. Ideally, we'd find a way to kill Princess Tsunade!"

"Exactly! That's a good idea!" Chiyo nodded.

"Mm, I'll think it through carefully. Don't worry, Sister!"

Tsunade had gone three days without sleep, constantly working in her tent to prepare new antidotes. Chiyo was a frightening woman, highly skilled in the use of poison. Her new toxins kept coming, one after another. The two were like martial arts masters trading moves, one making a move and the other finding a way to counter it, locked in a fierce contest.

Tsunade sighed and gritted her teeth, forcing herself to carry on.

"Come on, make this antidote!" she said, then bent over her research again.

Riyue received a new order: deliver anesthetics and blood plasma to the hospital. He checked the warehouse supplies and found that they were nearly gone. The next batch of medical supplies wouldn't arrive for three days, so Riyue could only gather up all the remaining stock and rush it to the hospital.

"Wow, you got here fast, kid. Is this really all the blood plasma and anesthetics you have?" The doctor handling the deliveries had grown familiar with Riyue after receiving supplies from him many times.

"This is everything left in the warehouse," Riyue said with a nod.

"Patient in bed 28 needs blood plasma for surgery! Hurry!" another doctor shouted as he ran over.

"I have to go." The doctor picked up the supplies and rushed inside.

After an emergency transfusion, the wounded patient was saved. But the doctors fell silent. They had blood bags this time, but what about next time?

"We have to deal with this problem. Let's report it to Lady Tsunade first," one doctor said.

Tsunade got a headache as soon as she received the news.

"Tell the transport team to hurry up. Have the noncombatants donate blood; that should help for a while. As for the anesthetics... we'll have to save them for important surgeries," Tsunade said after a moment's thought.

"That's all we can do," the doctor agreed with a nod.

So the next day, the noncombatants were notified to go to the Medical Station and donate blood. After medical examinations, several hundred healthy adults gave blood. With several hundred more bags of plasma, the doctors felt a little more at ease.

Once anesthetics were reserved for critical surgeries only, the screams in the Medical Station never stopped. The wounded listened to them one after another, their hearts pounding with fear.

At the Hidden Sand command post, Ebizo brought Chiyo a report.

"Sister, this is a highly classified report from one of our agents inside Konoha." Ebizo handed her the report with a faint smile.

After reading it, Chiyo smiled too. "Tsunade ordered people to donate blood. That means..."

"That's right. Konoha is running out of blood plasma!" Ebizo nodded.

"This is a perfect opportunity! Tell the front lines not to worry about casualties for the next few days. Have them attack with everything they've got! Hidden Sand's victory is near!" Chiyo stood up and gave the order.

"We should also send an elite squad to harass the supply routes behind Konoha's lines. They don't need to kill anyone. They just need to use any means necessary to stop the transport team from getting through!" Ebizo added.

"Once we've held up the blood plasma supplies, that damned Medical Station in Konoha will be out of commission in a few days. Their morale will collapse!" Chiyo gave a cold smile.

The next day, Hidden Sand's attacks were extraordinarily fierce, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. Konoha's frontline Medical Station had already been overwhelmed; now it was packed with wounded. Injured people were still being brought back from the front, so the doctors had no choice but to leave them temporarily in the open space outside. The blood plasma and anesthetics had run out.

At the same time, Konoha's transport team came under heavy harassment. Earth Style and Water Style techniques wrecked the roads, turning them into muddy tracks full of deep pits, blocking boulders, and earthen spikes. Traps planted by the enemy also appeared along the way. Konoha's transport team slowed to a crawl.

When Tsunade heard the news, she was frantic with worry. If this continued, the Medical Station would be paralyzed, and the troops' morale would crumble. Tsunade decided to go there herself and take charge, doing everything she could with Medical Ninjutsu to treat the patients and reduce the use of blood plasma and anesthetics.

Tsunade's arrival gave the Konoha Ninja confidence. It was as if, as long as she was there, even the gravest wounds could be healed.

But Hidden Sand had no intention of letting Tsunade have her way. Just as she had stabilized the Medical Station, a ninja appeared in a flash and knelt before her.

"Lady Tsunade! Emergency report from the front! Hidden Sand commanders—Chiyo and Ebizo—have led an elite Hidden Sand force into battle!"

"What?!" Tsunade was stunned. The enemy commander and Hidden Sand's elite forces had deployed. She had to go to the front herself and lead Konoha's elite into battle. Ordinary Konoha ninjas couldn't hold Chiyo back. They would simply be throwing their lives away. They could only watch as the enemy's elite reaped lives, which would deal a terrible blow to morale and could let the enemy's elite rout the entire force.

But what would happen to the Medical Station if she left? What about all these wounded? Without blood plasma and medicine, they would die! More importantly, the wounded would lose hope—and losing hope was the most terrifying thing of all!

"Lady Tsunade, you can't leave! The Medical Station can't manage without you! If you go, it'll be paralyzed!" A doctor prostrated himself, begging Tsunade to stay.

"Lady Tsunade, the front lines are in trouble. Please hurry there and provide support!" the communications ninja said.

"This..." Tsunade was torn between two impossible choices.

In the end, Tsunade gritted her teeth, stood up, and headed for the battlefield. She couldn't let Hidden Sand rout the troops on the front lines. Otherwise, even three more Medical Stations wouldn't have enough beds for the wounded.

"To all these injured comrades... I'm sorry..."

As Tsunade left, the wounded looked dejected, their eyes filled with despair. The overcrowded Medical Station seemed to have become hell. The wounded weren't receiving care here; all that awaited them was death.

"Did Lady Tsunade... abandon us?" one wounded ninja murmured, his disappointment plain on his face.

All the medical staff fell silent. The doctor who had prostrated himself slammed a hand against the ground and burst into tears. "Damn it! The Medical Station is going to collapse! Without blood plasma and medicine, these wounded could have lived, but now we can't save them! We can't save a single one of them! Sob..."

Just then, someone stepped in front of him. "Hey! Need a hand?"

"Hm?" The doctors stared at him in surprise.

"Hey! Do you need help?" the person asked again.

The doctor on the ground raised his head and looked at the person standing before him. It was... a child.

"We badly need help, but what can a child like you do?" one doctor asked, confused.

"Me? You're just out of blood plasma and anesthetics, right? I can help with that. Are you going to give up just because you've hit a little snag? All you can do is cry and give up on yourselves?" The newcomer spoke confidently, with a hint of disdain in his voice.

"Y-you can really help us? You're not joking, are you?" the doctor on the ground asked.

"I can! You're out of options anyway, so let me try. If I can't do it, you haven't lost anything. How can you know it won't work if you don't try? We'll know as soon as I give it a shot!" Riyue stood before them with his arms crossed. His small body radiated confidence. In the end, Riyue stepped in to help. He couldn't stand by and watch Konoha's forces collapse.

With nothing to lose, everyone decided to give it a try. A few doctors already knew Riyue as a conscientious logistics worker, and his words gave them a glimmer of hope.

Riyue immediately gathered all the medical staff and began assigning tasks.

First, he asked the Medical Station to bring in a squad of guards to protect the premises. He didn't want anything unexpected to happen while they were saving lives. They would secure the area around the Medical Station first, and the guards would respond immediately to any emergencies.

Next, he asked the doctors to triage all the wounded and give them wristbands in different colors. Black meant the patient was already dead or beyond saving. Red meant the patient was critical and needed immediate treatment. Yellow meant the patient was seriously injured and needed care, but wasn't in immediate danger. Green meant the patient had minor or light injuries and could be treated last.

Then, he divided the doctors and nurses into groups. Seven of them could use Medical Ninjutsu. They all knew basic healing techniques, hemostasis techniques, and medical skills. Riyue divided six of them into two groups of three to staff the operating rooms and treat critical patients. The other three doctors would conduct initial examinations, triage, and basic treatment for the wounded.

Another three doctors and one medical ninja would treat the seriously wounded and prevent their condition from worsening. Ten nurses and one doctor would treat those with minor injuries so they could return to the battlefield soon after receiving care. The remaining nurses would care for the patients and assist the doctors.

Next, Riyue gathered all the remaining blood bags and arranged for them to be distributed according to a single, coordinated system. One of Riyue's Shadow Clones made another trip to the prisoner camp and "borrowed" quite a few blood bags from several dozen Hidden Sand prisoners. They were just sitting around in captivity anyway, and losing a little blood wouldn't kill them. By the time Riyue left, the Hidden Sand prisoners were all sprawled on the ground, too weak even to cry out.

Finally, Riyue opened a scroll and took out his full set of surgical equipment. He made four Shadow Clones, and together with his original body, coordinated work throughout the Medical Station. A few doctors watched what Riyue had done and secretly gave him a thumbs-up. They began to believe he really could help them through the crisis.

Riyue picked up a scalpel, his hand trembling slightly. At last, I'm standing at this table again, old friend. Excited, he began the silent battle. The moment he stepped up to the operating table, his presence changed. His sharp gaze, nimble movements, and confident voice radiated an unquestionable authority.

It was as if he had returned to his former life, once again becoming a surgeon who had spent years immersed in medicine, a master of the operating table. Everyone else fell into his rhythm, instinctively trusting his decisions and doing their best to follow his lead.

Everyone quickly got to work. Patients with minor injuries were guided to chairs outside, and all the beds were given to the seriously wounded. One person objected, but the guards "escorted" him away. The Medical Station sprang into action. Riyue told everyone to avoid using Hemostasis Techniques as much as possible to conserve chakra. He would only transfuse a patient if they had lost too much blood, and then only enough to bring their blood volume out of the danger zone.

"Kid, we're out of anesthetics, and this patient needs surgery on his leg."

"Coming. Let me take a look." One of Riyue's Shadow Clones activated the Byakugan, glanced over the patient, then quickly pressed several acupuncture points.

"Done! He won't feel anything in his leg for six hours. You can operate!"

"Kid, this patient's wound needs treatment." One of Riyue's Shadow Clones came over and pressed several points on the patient. The bleeding stopped. Riyue then began stitching up the wound, working at astonishing speed. Every stitch was placed in the way best suited to the patient's recovery. The doctor beside him couldn't stop praising his work.

"Kid, how come your surgeries barely cause any bleeding?" Riyue's original body stood on a stool, operating on a critically injured patient. The assistant doctor beside him couldn't help asking.

"First, I pressed a few of his acupuncture points to prevent unnecessary blood flow. Second, I'm performing minimally invasive surgery, so the incision is small. And when I cut the blood vessels, I used a chakra needle to cauterize part of the wound, so there wasn't much bleeding." This was the hemostatic cauterization technique used by the laser scalpels of his previous life.

"Hemostat!" Riyue stretched out his right hand. One of his Shadow Clones stood nearby, watching the operation. The moment Riyue reached for the instrument, the clone placed exactly what he needed in his hand. Their perfect coordination, precise technique, and superb skill left even the medical ninja assisting with Healing Techniques marveling at how rudimentary his own medical skills were.

"Mm, just a broken hand. Green. Next!" Another of Riyue's Shadow Clones carefully examined the patient's arm with the Byakugan, then deactivated it.

"Kid, you're from the Hyuga Clan, right? Where did you learn your medical skills?" The doctor beside him was extremely curious. How could such a young child have such extraordinary medical skills? It would take at least a decade to reach that level. He couldn't make sense of it.

"Uh... my mother is a doctor. She taught me a lot." Riyue could only say that. He couldn't exactly tell them that he had studied medicine for more than ten years and worked as a surgeon for years.

The doctor froze. What kind of doctor could raise such an amazing son? It was hard to imagine. If the son was this skilled, just how capable was his mother?

With Riyue in charge, the Medical Station's efficiency doubled, morale soared, and the standard of care improved enormously. All the wounded received proper treatment, while very little blood plasma was used. They didn't need anesthetics at all. The Medical Station was back in operation!

Someone hiding in a corner was frantic. "Damn it, we were clearly out of blood plasma and medicine, and the number of wounded has multiplied, but instead of collapsing, the Medical Station has become even more efficient! What did that kid do? If this goes on, all the ninjas who died on the Hidden Sand front lines will have died for nothing!"

"That kid has to die!"