Chapter 77 — Emergency Rescue
The situation was far too urgent for hesitation.
Taichi bit into the pad of his left thumb, smeared the blood across his right palm, and began forming seals at lightning speed:
Boar → Dog → Bird → Monkey → Ram
Summoning Technique!
With a burst of white smoke, a Katsuyu the size of a large wolf materialized on the tent floor.
"Katsuyu-sama, maintain the vital signs of those two wounded first!"
Taichi didn't even have time to greet it.
Sensing the severity of the scene with a quick sweep of its antennae, the Katsuyu nodded without a word. It split cleanly into two mini-Katsuyus, each crawling atop a critically injured shinobi.
Soft green chakra spread from their bodies, stabilizing the dying men.
Taichi moved to the nearest patient.
Almost the entire body was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages.
He frowned.
Yukiya—who had been frozen ever since witnessing the summoning—finally snapped out of his shock. Seeing Taichi's expression, he panicked.
"W-what's wrong, Taichi?"
"The bandaging is terrible," Taichi said bluntly.
"It's not stopping the bleeding, and it's preventing proper treatment."
As he spoke, his hands blurred through another set of seals.
A Chakra Scalpel ignited in his right palm—thin, bright, and razor-sharp.
One gentle sweep—
shffft—
Every bandage across the patient's chest fell away in neat strips… with not even a scratch left behind.
Yukiya's face turned crimson.
He was clearly the one who had wrapped them.
Thankfully, Taichi was too focused to notice.
Saori arrived just then, breath rushing. Taichi glanced at her.
"Saori, Yukiya—hold down his shoulders and legs. Don't let him move."
They obeyed immediately, each taking a side and firmly restraining the patient.
"Severe burns from Fire Release… and blunt-force trauma causing massive internal bleeding."
Taichi diagnosed quickly, his hands already moving.
Mystical Palm Technique bloomed from his palms—dense green chakra sinking into the patient's torso, sealing ruptured vessels and stabilizing organs.
Once the internal bleeding slowed, Taichi switched immediately to Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
He made a small incision in the chest—precise, minimal, controlled.
Dark, clotted blood spilled out, draining rapidly.
The swollen, pressure-filled chest cavity began to return to normal size.
Breath eased back into the patient's lungs.
Color returned faintly to his face.
Yukiya stared, stunned into silence.
This wasn't just medical ninjutsu…
This was saving someone from the brink of death.
Taichi wasn't finished.
The Chakra Scalpel reappeared.
He began debriding the burnt tissue—steady, exact, practiced. His hands moved with the confidence of someone who had done this hundreds of times.
Once all dead tissue was removed, he activated Mystical Palm once more.
This time, the green light spread wide—washing over the patient's entire body.
Slowly…
Painfully…
Flayed flesh regenerated.
Pale, new skin grew over raw wounds.
And at last—
The treatment was complete.
"Make sure he gets proper fluids. He's extremely dehydrated."
Taichi instructed Yukiya, who nodded frantically.
Taichi then moved straight to the next patient.
This one was also suffering internal bleeding—
A kunai had pierced the liver.
He gave a quick nod to the Katsuyu maintaining the man's vitals.
"Alright. Let's begin."
And he launched into the next life-saving procedure.
---
While Taichi was busy saving lives, Captain Yamaguchi had already reached the outpost commander.
"Tsubaki-sama, this is Jōnin Yamaguchi, leader of the supply squad," Tengshan reported.
"His team includes a medical ninja. The other two are already treating the severely wounded."
"That's… wonderful. You arrived at the perfect time."
Relief washed over Commander Chiba Tsubaki's face. His expression brightened, though the movement tugged painfully at a wound on his left arm—clearly a leftover from the earlier battle.
They had driven off the attackers with great difficulty.
No one died in combat…
But several were now dying after the battle due to the lack of medical support.
Nothing was more heartbreaking.
But now—
a medical ninja had arrived.
It felt like heaven itself had sent help.
"Chiba-san, what happened? Why was the outpost attacked?" Yamaguchi asked.
"We just received the investigation results."
Chiba waved the document in his hand.
"They were bounty hunters—hired mercenaries sent to test our strength. We were caught completely off guard. Unfortunately, their leader escaped, and the ones we caught knew nothing about who hired them."
"I see. Is there anything we can do? Our mission details state that we're to assist the outpost if necessary."
"That would be a great help." Chiba nodded immediately.
"I already sent an emergency hawk to the village during the attack. Until reinforcements arrive, the outpost is shorthanded. We'd like your team to stay and help hold the line."
"Understood. We'll follow your instructions," Yamaguchi replied.
"Good. Before anything else, let's go check on your medical ninja. He arrived just in time—I also need my own wound treated."
Chiba gestured for Yamaguchi and Yōhei to follow.
---
Inside the Medical Tent
When they arrived, Taichi was finishing up treatment on the last heavily injured shinobi.
This one wasn't as lucky.
His left arm had been severed at the elbow—and burned away by Fire Release before it could be retrieved.
If the limb had been intact, Taichi might've been able to reattach it.
But now, the shinobi's career as a fighter was over.
Still… early retirement was better than death.
A quiet life was not the worst fate for a shinobi.
Yukiya, who finally had a free moment, noticed the captain entering.
He rushed forward, almost tripping in excitement.
"Captain—! They're all alive! Every single one! Not one died!"
His joy dimmed slightly.
"Only… Senior Takayama's arm was destroyed. Taichi-senpai said he might have been able to reattach it otherwise."
Chiba froze in stunned disbelief.
All three?
All three critically injured shinobi were saved in such a short time?
He knew exactly how bad their injuries were.
He wouldn't have blamed Taichi if even one of them died.
Yet here they were—alive.
Seeing Yukiya's conflicted expression, Chiba reached out and patted his shoulder.
"Don't be sad. They were supposed to die today.
Saving them is already a blessing."
"Y-yes… yes, you're right… I'm being dramatic," Yukiya sniffed.
"Alive… alive is all that matters."
Only then did Chiba finally get a good look at Taichi.
So young.
Far too young.
Yet astonishingly capable.
Another genius… one of the rare, frightening ones.
Taichi finished the final procedure and turned toward the newcomers.
After brief introductions, Taichi immediately activated Mystical Palm and began treating Chiba's arm.
The commander's injury wasn't severe, but prolonged damage was unacceptable on an active battlefield. A commander must remain at full strength.
As he worked, Taichi also instructed Yukiya to gather all wounded shinobi in the outpost.
He intended to treat every single one of them.
This was no small task.
Even a small outpost housed over a dozen shinobi.
Healing all of them would push Taichi's chakra reserves to the limit.
"Taichi… thank the heavens you came."
Chiba exhaled, voice trembling with gratitude.
"If not, this outpost would've suffered irreparable losses."