No one liked dealing with Aburame Ryoma, and Kazamatsuri Takuno was no exception.
Ryoma was not only the second-in-command of the current medical corps, but also the second-in-command of Root.
"I know your physical condition has always been poor, but the village is short on personnel. The new generation trained at the Ninja Academy isn't ready to take on too many missions. And you know, Lord Ryoma never listens to proposals from a chūnin like me—he only gives orders to be carried out."
Takuno was deeply concerned about Kaede Tsukasa's health, constantly feeling that he might collapse at any second. In truth, everyone worried about this during the few actions Tsukasa took.
Yet Tsukasa endured.
"There's no choice. Ryoma is Lord Danzo's right-hand man—he shows no leniency even to ordinary Konoha shinobi, let alone a war orphan like me."
Tsukasa gave a chilling smile, like a grinning skull.
War orphans were a common group. Every village, if it had the resources, would gather young children and train them.
In Konoha, this task had now fallen to Yakushi Nonou. In the Third Shinobi World War a few years later, she would lead the Leaf medical corps.
The MVP among the war orphans was naturally Yakushi Kabuto, whom Nonou had taken in during the Third War.
When Tsukasa was brought back to Konoha, absolute trust was never an option.
The village would train war orphans like him toward a specific purpose—turning them into functional shinobi skilled in only one area, to be used and discarded when necessary. This method was actually very practical.
Ryoma had first come to select suitable candidates. Whether or not any of these children were spies from other villages didn't matter—once they entered Root, it was no problem.
Children with special kekkei genkai were selected first. Tsukasa had none, was barely alive, and looked like he could drop dead at any moment—naturally, he wasn't chosen.
Then there was an on-the-spot test to select intelligent children suitable as expendable spies. Tsukasa, running a high fever and feigning stupidity, was again passed over.
By the time the ninja officially responsible for taking in war orphans arrived, Tsukasa and other untalented children were taken away. If abandoning him outright had violated Konoha's founding principles—or sown distrust among the other children—he might have been left to die in the wilderness.
"One country, one village. But even as a large military district, the village population—including civilians—is too small. We must continually recruit usable personnel from other towns… If I'm lucky to survive until now, I should contribute to the village as much as I can—that's what I'm supposed to do."
Tsukasa spoke slowly, his words carrying some sincerity.
"I've recently learned a new jutsu and have been practicing constantly. I hope I won't have to use it."
In this cruel world, where chakra and its extraordinary powers existed, even a few-year-old child could kill ordinary people effortlessly, as long as they were a ninja. Naturally, they had to participate in combat during wartime.
Honestly, only Konoha gave Tsukasa enough time to grow. Among all the combatant villages, Konoha was the last to send children into battle.
At least, that was true during the Second Shinobi World War.
Konoha's founding principle was to protect the children. Hashirama Senju thought so, Madara Uchiha acted accordingly, and Tobirama Senju wanted to carry it through.
But by the end of the Second War, Konoha could no longer hold back. Hiruzen Sarutobi began sending children into battle, assigning them to minor, peripheral missions.
Tsukasa first stepped onto the battlefield during that time, using his poorly developed so-called medical ninjutsu to desperately tend to the wounded. No matter what he did, he was criticized, and eventually he was assigned to simple, mundane yet necessary tasks—joining corpse transport squads to escort bodies.
As a war orphan, Tsukasa had been cultivated by Konoha over many years and was confirmed not to be a spy. With his poor physical condition and minimal combat ability, he was expendable at any moment. Thus, he was tasked with transporting the bodies of fallen shinobi, both enemy and allied, to designated locations for specified personnel.
Of course, precious kekkei genkai bodies were never entrusted to Tsukasa; he could only handle the most ordinary, least valuable corpses.
"I'm certain I've passed the critical point. My body is stabilizing. All these years, I've been carefully refining my minimal chakra and constantly conditioning my body. Finally, it's paying off."
Following Kazamatsuri Takuno through the dense forest, Tsukasa could now move like a normal Konoha genin, leaping from one giant tree to another.
No one knew the immense, even brutal effort he had invested. The moment his feet touched a branch, he would coat them with chakra to adhere, then push off to jump again. He was now well-practiced in this technique.
It was all worth it—everything in the future would gradually change.
"That said, compared to my body, even Gekkō Shippū is an absolute powerhouse." Tsukasa paused on a tree for two seconds, coughing and catching his breath, giving his body a brief chance to recover.
"Just a little longer… we're almost at the destination."
Takuno's expression shifted slightly. Suddenly, he made a hand signal. Tsukasa and another medical-nin immediately stopped, hiding their presence as best they could.
"I've located three comrades. The lightly wounded one is escorting two heavily injured toward the village. No sign of enemies so far."
Takuno observed for a moment, suspicion in his mind. He gave Tsukasa a subtle signal before emerging and confirming the code, then began directing the treatment.
"Captain Takuno, I'm so sorry! We were on routine patrol when Mist ninja infiltrated and ambushed us! Please help my comrades—they're barely holding on!"
The young genin, dusty and grimy, had obviously just survived a fierce fight. His nerves were tense, and only after recognizing Takuno did he finally relax.
Takuno had a small reputation—he had treated many people, after all, not just anyone was qualified to follow Jiraiya-sama.
Tsukasa examined the ground, considering the traces and injuries on the three, then asked, "You're a standard four-person squad, right? Where's the medical-nin in your team?"
"Dead. Mist may not have fought large-scale wars with us, but they know our village assigns one medical-nin per team. All attacks prioritize the medical-nin." The genin sounded sorrowful.
During the Second Shinobi World War, Tsunade, Kato Dan, and others had worked to implement this system, overcoming personnel shortages and lack of instructors, gradually improving the number and status of medical-nin—even though many of the so-called medical-nin assigned to small teams were subpar, often just genin with basic healing techniques.
Konoha's leadership wasn't sure how to build a cost-effective development system with minimal resources—they were constantly trialing and adjusting.
War orphans like Tsukasa, with pitifully low chakra, could still be designated as medical-nin.
Even now, as villages suffered heavy losses and large-scale operations became rarer, small-team infiltration tactics became popular. These mission teams increasingly had the chance to include a medical-nin.
Tsukasa knew that in a few years, when the Third Shinobi World War erupted, most standard four-person squads led by jonin would include a properly trained medical-nin—just like Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin's team.
"Mist… they're formidable opponents." Takuno urgently treated a heavily injured, unconscious shinobi, signaling Tsukasa and the other medical-nin to tend to the other.
Even from the most utilitarian perspective, a shinobi who survives the edge of life and death undergoes immense psychological changes. They can respond more calmly to unexpected situations and are more motivated to increase their strength. Every veteran carries enormous value.
Everyone present was worried—if weakened Konoha faced near-full-strength Mist in a full-scale war again, no one could predict how many would die.
"The Third Hokage would probably seek peace, offering concessions in exchange for Mist's calm… From his perspective, this is the most advantageous choice for Konoha, a village with deep foundations and the fastest recovery."
Tsukasa thought of events yet to come—like Kushina Uzumaki almost being kidnapped, and Hiruzen's sacrifices.
He then lowered his gaze to examine the wounded. "There's a through wound on the left abdomen with irregular edges—likely caused by a kunai. A 3-centimeter laceration runs along the outside of the right thigh. Tissue around the left shoulder is swollen… The patient is breathing rapidly, pulse weak, consciousness fading."
Another medical-nin quickly said, "Then I'll use a chakra scalpel on his leg—"
"No. Conserve as much chakra as possible. Use Mystical Palm to prioritize the abdominal wound. If I'm correct, the liver or intestines are likely injured—the most dangerous area. Mystical Palm already consumes a lot of chakra."
As for the veins in the right thigh, Tsukasa went straight to work. Ignoring the gruesome texture of flesh and blood, he skillfully isolated the vessels and tied a clean knot. "This will give him more time."
The other medical-nin worked on the abdominal wound, dumbfounded.
At this time, medical techniques were not as advanced as in Naruto and Sasuke's era. Systematic, institutionalized, and standardized approaches were not yet fully developed, and the prevailing mindset was to rely on chakra and medicinal tools first.
"As for the consciousness fading… Captain Takuno, I remember you can only carry one extremely rare adrenaline injection, right? I suggest using it on your patient first," Tsukasa said.
"What? And the other one? They're both my comrades! Should I abandon one? Damn it…" The young genin panicked, clutching his head and crying in despair.
"Calm down. As medical-nin, we never abandon a comrade. You're Fubuki Tonbo, right?"
Under the stunned and numbed gazes of those around him, Tsukasa struck the wounded's upper thigh hard several times.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The patient's pubic bone shattered, and the near-unconscious shinobi let out a blood-curdling scream—far more effective than an adrenaline injection.
As for the consequences of breaking the pubic bone, or whether hitting this spot could cause other issues… Tsukasa didn't care. His sole responsibility was to save lives, often using the most chakra-efficient methods due to his own physical limitations.
Tsukasa strictly upheld the sacred duty of a medical-nin. After finishing treatment, he felt a small sense of satisfaction seeing the comrade instinctively try to cover themselves, even in a dazed state.
"Good. So full of life. I saved another comrade," Tsukasa said, moved by his own actions.
Takuno wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled. Having worked with Tsukasa before, he was naturally somewhat accustomed to this unconventional method.
"With this, both comrades have a chance to survive. But stay vigilant—though we're far from the border, the enemy could infiltrate. This has happened many times, and even…"
Even, the enemy might deliberately leave an injured comrade to lure Konoha's medical-nin, creating an opportunity to kill them.
Killing a medical-nin consumed far more of Konoha's resources—it was the most cost-effective approach.
Fubuki Tonbo looked at his comrades who had passed the danger point, then gazed at Tsukasa with a mixture of awe and respect, and said to Takuno, "Captain Takuno, I can't guarantee I can safely escort these two severely injured comrades back to the village by myself. Could I get your assistance?"
"No. We also have to follow Aburame Ryoma's orders. Unless Lady Tsunade, as the commander-in-chief, personally cancels the mission, there's nothing we can do," Takuno shook his head.
The current medical corps was still extremely rough at the institutional level—chaotic, even.
Takuno and Tsukasa, who had undertaken two missions outside the village, had previously mostly followed Jiraiya, participating in the Rain Village's campaigns.
Last year, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru all acted together but were decisively defeated by the Rain Village leader, Hanzo the Salamander. They earned the title of "Three Legendary Nin" from Hanzo, but also forced him to step back, effectively ending the war between Konoha and Rain Village.
Tsundade and Orochimaru returned to the village smoothly and participated in other fronts, but Jiraiya did not return, and no one knew his whereabouts.
Many were puzzled, even dissatisfied—unless he had died in battle, why wouldn't he hurry back to join the fight? What could be more important than the war? Every day, comrades were dying! Up to this day, over a year later, Jiraiya remained missing. During wartime, a general pulling off such mysterious actions seemed utterly absurd to ordinary eyes.
Tsukasa calculated the timeline in his mind and confirmed that Jiraiya must have stayed in the Land of Rain, carefully instructing the ten-year-old Namikaze Nagato.
From Jiraiya's perspective, training the Child of Prophecy was far more important than participating in the Ninja World War. No matter how many ordinary shinobi died, they were less important than nurturing the prophesied child.
"That Uchiha Madara awakened the Rinnegan during the Second Great Ninja War. Now he's probably hiding in the mountainous tombs of the Land of Iron, searching for a suitable successor."
Many hidden dangers had been planted during the Second Great Ninja War. Nagato was one case, and the blackened Obito during the Third Great Ninja War was another—they could all trace back to the Second Great Ninja War.
Suddenly, Tsukasa spoke. "We do have orders, and we cannot defy them—but encountering an unexpected situation is another matter."
"What kind of unexpected situation?"
"This is the unexpected situation… You're a low-ranking shinobi, ambushed, and yet you've managed to slowly carry two comrades this far. That alone is an unexpected situation."
Tsukasa shifted sideways a step, positioning himself to protect the group on all sides.
Takuno's expression showed realization, and he scanned the surroundings warily.
Rustle!
"So we've been discovered after all. But our purpose has been achieved. Your chakra as medical-nin has been drained quite a bit, hasn't it? Medical-nin are far more valuable prey than ordinary shinobi."
Three Mist shinobi spread around, surrounding Tsukasa and the others.
Penetrating deep into the Land of Fire's border was undoubtedly a huge risk. Loss of manpower was inevitable, but if they could kill a few more medical-nin and finish off the ones deliberately left alive earlier, this risk would pay off immensely.
"Three medical-nin… Although not the Hyuga I had hoped for, it's still not a wasted trip."
The lead Mist shinobi drew a kunai and said, "Konoha shinobi, remember this: the one who kills you is the Jonin Ao of Mist Village. Do not forget this even in the Pure Land."