Keeping People Alive Is What I Do Best

Under the watchful eyes of the Grass Ninjas, little Karin timidly approached the daimyo's son. She stared fearfully at his mutilated, horrifying body.

After hesitating for a long while, Karin finally reluctantly rolled up her sleeve under Muto's impatient gaze and exposed her arm. The little arm was covered in bite marks and bloodstains, with dark-red scabs obscuring her originally fair, tender skin. She looked utterly ghastly.

Tahm felt a surge of anger. Was this how those Grass Ninjas treated a seven-year-old girl? They had completely turned her into a mobile blood bag instead of treating her like a person. Having spent more than half a year as a loli's adoptive father, Tahm couldn't tolerate people who abused little girls.

Karin brought her arm to the daimyo's son's mouth and said awkwardly to Muto, "Lord Muto, I can't make him bite me."

Muto, however, had already prepared for this. He handed over a kunai and said coldly, "Cut open your wrist and feed His Lordship your blood."

Karin took the kunai and frowned deeply, but she still didn't dare disobey Muto's command. Gritting her teeth, she drew a deep cut across the only uninjured part of her wrist. Blood immediately gushed from the tiny wrist.

Another Grass Ninja helped the daimyo's son sit up and made him open his mouth to drink the blood.

Astonishingly, once the blood entered his mouth, the daimyo's son's complexion immediately improved. His pale skin even gained a hint of rosiness.

"It really works!" The daimyo, anxious for his son, no longer cared about his earlier contempt for the Hidden Grass Village and became excited.

Grass Ninja Muto was also beaming. He even cast a slightly provocative glance at Tahm, making Tahm genuinely worry that he was about to be humiliated.

However, as the daimyo's son continued taking in blood, his complexion merely improved like a dying man's final burst of vitality. The lost parts of his body showed no sign of growing back, and he still didn't regain consciousness.

Muto's expression gradually turned ugly as he glared at Karin, his face filled with displeasure.

Time passed, and Karin's blood continued to drain away. Her complexion grew paler and paler. At last, Karin could endure no longer and cautiously tested Muto's patience. "Lord Muto, I don't think I can hold on much longer."

Muto raised an eyebrow and said only two words: "Continue!"

Karin immediately shuddered all over and didn't dare speak again. She could only let her blood keep dripping from her wrist.

A young, vibrant life was gradually drained of its color, yet not one person present spared it any consideration—not even Kakashi, the supposed good man.

Tahm could feel the little girl's fragility and fear swelling without limit. If there was any death more terrifying than most, it was watching one's own life slowly ebb away while all the people around stood there coldly observing.

Having spent more than half a year living in peace and comfort in Konoha, Tahm finally witnessed the cruelty and ruthlessness of the shinobi world. The fury in his heart built bit by bit until it erupted!

"Enough!" Tahm roared.

Everyone stared at the suddenly enraged Tahm in shock, not knowing what he intended to do.

"You're all just going to stand there and watch a life wither away right in front of you?" Tahm glared at everyone present with murderous eyes, whether they were Grass Ninja jonin or the high-born daimyo.

"Her life?" Muto's expression didn't change in the slightest as he leisurely retorted, "How could it compare to the life of the daimyo's son?"

Tahm was so furious that he laughed instead. "Are your dog eyes blind? No amount of this blood will heal the daimyo's son!" Muto had actually seen this for himself, but he was still clinging to a sliver of hope, trying to gamble Karin's life for a chance at the billion-ryo reward.

Tahm strode forward angrily. He knew that if he didn't intervene, Karin might not die, but she would certainly bleed herself into a serious illness and damage her foundation.

Tahm paid no attention to Muto's attempts to stop him. He walked straight up to Karin and slapped the kunai from her hand, silently intoning, Starcall!

In an instant, golden light rose from Tahm's palm and enveloped Karin. The wound on her hand, which had been gushing blood, healed instantly. Even more amazingly, the countless bite marks on her arm vanished as well. Color returned to Karin's pale complexion, and the warmth, like a mother's embrace, made her involuntarily let out a soft hum.

This display made the daimyo, who had been displeased by Tahm's disrespect in front of him, brighten up. He couldn't help praising him aloud. "Sage Tahm truly possesses godlike abilities! Please, Sage, save my son."

Tahm maintained his aloof demeanor and ignored him. Instead, he smiled at Karin and said, "Karin, go rest somewhere nearby. I'll resolve everything here."

"How do you know my name?" Karin asked in confusion as she looked at the more-than-two-meter-tall toad before her. His enormous body didn't frighten her in the slightest. Instead, she felt a sense of warmth.

"I'm the Great Toad Sage's grand-disciple. I can tell fortunes." Tahm gave her a playful smile.

Karin moved aside, but she didn't return to the Grass Ninjas. Instead, she obediently stood behind Tahm's broad back.

Starcall!

Another flash of golden light passed, and the daimyo's son, who had been reduced to a mutilated torso, instantly regrew his missing organs and trunk.

The scene of flesh and bone emerging from nothing was so overwhelming that even Kakashi, who had come along with them, stared wide-eyed.

If Tahm had been there before, perhaps Obito and Rin wouldn't have died. Kakashi suddenly recalled the darkest memories in his heart.

A few seconds later, the skill came off cooldown. Tahm cast Starcall once more, and the daimyo's son's missing limbs instantly grew back.

This was what made Tahm's skill so terrifying. When he used this healing technique on someone else, he actually digitized the target's body in that instant, quantifying it into a health bar like his own. No matter how severe the injuries, once the health bar was filled, the target would recover completely.

With the final Starcall, the daimyo's son had become a perfectly normal person. His complexion was even rosier than that of the surrounding ninjas, and he looked more energetic than they did. The daimyo's son suddenly sat up in bed and looked at the crowd of strangers around him in confusion. "Where am I? Is this the underworld?"

The daimyo burst into tears and suddenly embraced his son, creating a heartwarming scene of father and son reunited.

It took a long while for the daimyo to calm down. Even then, he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes and kept praising Tahm. "The Sage of Mount Myoboku truly is extraordinary. What miraculous skill, what miraculous skill!"

Tahm, however, merely said with serene indifference, "It was only a small favor. There's no need to mention it."

The daimyo was a perceptive man. He waved to his attendants. "Someone, quickly bring over the Sage's reward!"

"That can wait." Tahm turned his cold gaze toward the Grass Ninjas and said, "I still have a few matters to discuss with these Grass Ninjas."

Muto's heart chilled. This Sage of Mount Myoboku, who clearly possessed immense abilities, evidently disliked him intensely. He had no idea how Tahm intended to make things difficult for him.