Uchiha Yu's expression subtly shifted. It was the first time he'd ever heard someone talk about kidney deficiency in such a fresh and elegant way.
Everyone in the cabin thought this guy seemed completely unreliable—probably a fake doctor.
But what the sleazy-looking doctor did next shut everyone up.
The middle-aged doctor examined Tamao's wounds, and in an instant, his lewd expression vanished. His face turned serious, his movements orderly, as he began unwrapping Tamao's bandages.
In that moment, he looked no different from the stereotypically rigid medical-nin.
Suddenly—
The doctor paused, then glanced around the room and asked, "Who tied the butterfly knot on this bandage?"
Everyone was stunned.
Izumi gave a goofy grin, showing her little tiger teeth, and raised her right hand:
"Me!"
"This kind of wrapping isn't scientific at all. Forget it. After I save him, I'll teach you a bit about proper wrapping techniques."
The doctor sighed and continued removing the bandages.
Izumi frowned and looked down. She thought she was going to get praised—but what the heck was this?
She pouted and said proudly,
"I don't want to learn!"
"Why not? It's free!" the doctor shot back, though his hands never stopped moving.
"You're indecent!"
"But my techniques are very decent!"
"I don't want to learn, and that's final!"
Izumi huffed, but regretted it immediately.
Their team really did lack someone with medical knowledge.
She thought it over.
For the sake of the team—
She quickly made peace with herself and muttered weakly, "Alright, alright, I'll learn."
The doctor nodded and focused on unwrapping the bandages.
Mikoto wanted to laugh but held it in. Still, she couldn't help it a little, so she distracted herself by thinking of her late husband, and her mood quickly sank.
She suddenly felt this journey of exile had taken a strange turn—and it hadn't even been two days.
Where on earth did Yu find these oddballs?
"Tch… easy there, that hurts!"
Even someone as tough as Tamao couldn't handle the pain of the bandage pulling on his wounds.
"Hah, didn't you act all tough earlier?
That kind of whiny tone—I've only heard it from the girls I've saved."
The middle-aged doctor kept his hands moving.
Tamao clenched his teeth and forced a laugh through the pain: "Is it possible… they were all lying to you?"
Oof. That hit hard.
The doctor's face froze for a moment. His hands stopped, his expression crumbled, and the bandages were completely off.
He ignored Tamao's sass and focused on the young man's front-facing injuries. His brows gradually furrowed. His face turned grave as he sucked in a breath.
This wasn't just a cut or two.
His entire front side was a mess—bloody and mangled, like an overcooked, chopped-up steak.
And yet this guy was still alive.
"A total medical miracle!"
The doctor muttered inwardly. With a heavy expression, his hands began to glow with a soft green chakra, and he swept them over every single wound on Tamao's body.
When the Uchiha saw the visible chakra of a medical jutsu, they finally relaxed. No longer did they doubt whether this guy was a real doctor.
Even Yu began to look forward to a potential "side quest" reward.
About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later—
The doctor stopped using the beginner-level medical ninjutsu. He clicked his tongue and shook his head:
"Can't be saved. No hope. Just wait for death!"
Just as a flicker of hope began to rise in everyone's hearts, it was immediately snuffed out by the doctor's words.
This time, the doctor's expression was calm. He looked directly at Uchiha Yu and explained seriously:
"He's suffered massive trauma from a Wind Release technique. Judging by your group, you must be ninja too.
You should understand how terrifying Wind Chakra can be.
After cutting through the human body, Wind Chakra can even penetrate into the cells, causing widespread cellular damage around the wound.
The destructive penetration of high-level Wind Chakra is comparable to poison.
Ten years ago, during my peak—when I had the best control over medical chakra—I might have been able to treat wounds caused by Wind Chakra.
Unfortunately, I'm no longer that strong. I can only handle injuries caused by Fire and Water Chakra now."
Uchiha Minami asked urgently:
"Isn't there any other way?"
The doctor glanced at the people who'd dragged him here and replied:
"Sure—if you can find a medical-nin who's better than me, they might be able to give it a try.
But I can't do it!
That said, he's got strong blood and a tough body.
And you did well to keep him alive with emergency field methods—mainly using soldier pills to stimulate his chakra and resist the lingering effects of the Wind Chakra.
Otherwise...
He would've died yesterday."
Tamao scoffed, "Are you kidding? I worked out at the hospital every day. Of course my body's tough!"
Uchiha Minami's mouth twitched. So this is your reason for tanking Danzo's Wind Release with your body? Seriously?
Uchiha Yu fell silent, deep in thought.
The doctor ignored Tamao's bragging. He squatted beside him again and resumed healing with medical chakra—seemingly doing something pointless. After a moment, he looked up at Yu and said:
"All I can do is reduce his pain a bit, so when he dies, it won't be as agonizing."
Tamao muttered, "Huh... guess you do have some medical ethics."
"Are you sure you're giving it your all?"
One of the Uchiha asked suspiciously.
Others echoed the doubt, voices rising.
The cabin became noisy and tense.
Tap — tap —
With a light tap of Uchiha Yu's fingers on the table, the noise ceased. Everyone turned toward him, faces filled with concern.
"How long do you need?"
Uchiha Yu asked the doctor.
The doctor replied crisply:
"Ten minutes!"
Yu nodded, then looked to the others and said in a firm voice:
"Pack up. We move out in ten minutes."
At those words, sorrow appeared on the Uchiha's faces. Heading northwest would mean leaving the borders of the Land of Fire—making it nearly impossible to find another medical-nin.
That meant Tamao was truly about to become the first Uchiha to die on this journey of exile.
There were so few of them left now.
Even losing one was too much for Minami to bear.
Tamao's two teammates suddenly had tears in their eyes. Heads bowed, fists clenched, a wave of despair and helplessness rose in their hearts.
"Oh, right. If you want him to die peacefully, stop carrying him on your back!"
"Hey, little girl—come here. I'll show you how to properly wrap a wound!"
"Watch carefully—I'll only demonstrate once!"
The doctor's voice rang out again and again, full of grumpy reminders.
The cabin fell into a dead silence.
The Uchiha all wore sorrowful expressions. Even Mikoto couldn't bear to see something like this happen again to what remained of their clan.
She felt that she was the one who should have died instead.
Whatever peace they had was gone, vanished like smoke.
Yega, who had been silent all this time, could clearly feel their helplessness, despair, and powerlessness.
He'd felt the same way when his own family was destroyed—so he understood this feeling deeply.
Fortunately, Yeager had met Uchiha Yu, who had pointed out a clear path for him.
That path led him to bring these people to Mount Kikyo.
It was early last year.
While working as a hunter, Yeager had gone out to chop wood and met the woman who would become his wife beneath a tree.
In a way, everything—his happy and complete family—was thanks to Uchiha Yu.
Because of that, Yeager felt he had to do something, even if it meant going against his own "reputation."
Some things were simply more important.
"Doctor Nak, do you remember me?"
Yeager stepped out from the crowd.
"A while ago, my wife and I brought our baby to you for treatment."
Everyone turned to look at him, puzzled.
The doctor turned to glance at Yeager as well, then looked away and said flatly:
"Sorry, don't remember. I've seen too many patients in Kikyo City. I even have to save poor women at night—can't expect my memory to be too sharp!"
Yeager looked slightly embarrassed but spoke with determination: "Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome!"
The middle-aged bald doctor, Nak, turned back to look at Yeager again. Something seemed to click, and he asked:
"Your son… that newborn… is he already dead?"
It's like this with gastroenterologists—maybe they won't recognize your face.
But moon your butt and show them your surgically treated hemorrhoids?
They'll clap their hands in excitement:
"Ah! That hemorrhoid excision—I did that last year! How's it healing, kid? Still using your pelvic floor muscles? Good lad!"
Yega smiled and said:
"He's not dead. He's fully recovered now!"
Yega's pupils contracted. The muscles in his face twitched slightly.
Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome is one of the most fatal conditions for newborns.
It can lead to hypoxemia and collapsed alveoli, causing all kinds of complications.
He couldn't treat that disease—but he did remember a baby with that condition not too long ago.
Tamao added, like a knife to the gut:
"Wow. You really suck."
Yeager was momentarily speechless. He walked over to Uchiha Yu and explained:
"Captain Yu, the evening before yesterday, a woman moved into our village. She had blonde hair, wore round glasses, and dressed in black and white wizard robes that made her look like a shrine maiden.
She's the one who cured my son's illness.
But...
She warned us not to tell anyone about it."
°°°
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