Not long after, the Akatsuki members began moving about. Some wore expressions of grief. Others had red eyes. Clearly, some of their comrades could not be saved and were still going to die despite everything.
The depth of their internal unity was something even an outsider could not help but admire. As an unofficial armed organization operating under the constant suppression of a powerful ninja village, the members' will had not been broken. This kind of cohesion was not driven by self-interest but by genuine feeling for one another. Even soldiers from established ninja villages often did not possess this degree of closeness.
"I can save them."
Sensing that the moment was right, Yuji looked toward Nagato.
Compared to Yahiko, both Nagato and Konan showed that their convictions were somewhat less absolute. If the goal was to create a ripple of doubt within Akatsuki's thinking, starting with Nagato and Konan was likely the better approach.
"My medical ninjutsu is reasonably skilled. Why not let me try?"
Nagato heard this and said nothing.
He remained silent, his gaze wavering slightly. He did not dare simply release the mysterious person outright. First, he feared the other party might be setting up some kind of trick. Second, he felt compelled to maintain the same stance Yahiko had taken toward the mysterious person, keeping their distance.
They had accepted the medicine and paid for it, treating the entire interaction as a normal commercial transaction. They did not want any further entanglement with this person. The plan was to wait until everyone had withdrawn from the outpost before releasing him, as though the encounter had never happened.
"You have already sensed that I want to help you, even if my reasons serve my own interests. At least for now, since you have no ruler of the Land of Rain, I cannot claim to have any power over you.
Beyond that, I am your only reliable supply line. Without me, there is no more medicine, and the image of your comrades dying will only replay in your minds over and over."
"The three of you together have superior combat power, and I am still your prisoner. There is no reason to bring suffering upon yourselves when you do not have to."
"Saving people comes first."
He added one final reason, understanding exactly which argument would land hardest.
He also understood the broader situation perfectly. The Hidden Rain Village was currently engaged in frequent battles throughout the country. He could accumulate experience points through the battlefield effect. He would not sacrifice the Sand Village's forces as the price. Instead, he would profit from others fighting each other. That was the arrangement.
After those words, Nagato's face showed visible hesitation. He glanced in the direction Yahiko had just left.
"You know healing ninjutsu?"
"Of course. Trying once would not hurt anything. If it does not work, you can bring me back here and examine me afterward. Would that not be a reasonable arrangement?"
"Thank you."
Nagato thought for a moment, then finally turned and stepped closer, unfastening the restraints on the masked figure.
"As expected, Yahiko is impossible to move directly. I still need to work on both him and Konan together," Yuji thought to himself.
The three of them had not been able to determine his age from the encounter. They could only sense his immense power and the likelihood that he was a highly experienced veteran ninja, which naturally suggested his age was not young.
Nagato addressed him as senior, and kept his body positioned carefully even as he removed the restraints, his expression guarded, as though ready for a sudden attack at any moment.
Yuji smiled.
"Let us go."
He then walked quickly out of the passageway, heading toward the open area where a group of people had gathered not far away. This underground stronghold, spread beneath the deserted village, occupied a considerable area, but the individual spaces were relatively narrow. A single main tunnel had been dug out, and stone chambers had been opened to the left and right of that central tunnel, used for war councils and storing supplies.
Nagato followed closely behind, always maintaining a careful distance, watching for any sudden movement.
"Move aside."
Several battered medical personnel were standing around the operating table. Other Akatsuki members were also present, watching their wounded comrade's condition. Yuji's sudden appearance in the room immediately startled them.
What they called an operating table was in reality nothing more than a few worn wooden planks set together. Around it were several bottles and jars of supplies. Beyond the Sand Village pharmaceuticals, there were also some herbs that had been discarded by the wider ninja world market and were past their effective date.
Before the Sand Village's pharmaceutical industry had undergone its comprehensive transformation, those older medicines circulating on the market, things like basic clotting pills and blood restoration pills, had still been available in some form.
"Nothing to worry about," Nagato said to the others, who were looking at the masked stranger with panicked expressions.
Yuji paid no attention to anyone else's reaction and immediately entered working mode. He scanned the equipment and instruments in the makeshift operating room and began treating the patient without hesitation.
His treatment of the injuries did not involve any sophisticated medical techniques that would reveal his true capabilities. To the observers around him, he appeared to be using seemingly basic emergency methods to stabilize the patient. Then he applied the Mystical Palm Technique to heal the underlying wounds.
As with any technique, the same healing jutsu produced different results depending on who was using it. And these Akatsuki wounded soldiers, whose lives had appeared to be hanging by a thread, were in his eyes not even a significant challenge.
Very quickly, as the chakra was withdrawn, the man on the wooden board's skin regained some color and his breathing stabilized.
"He did it."
"That is wonderful!"
The surrounding Akatsuki members exclaimed with excitement. Even the other medical personnel's expressions toward the mysterious figure shifted noticeably.
"Quiet."
Beneath the mask, his cold gaze swept across the room. This silenced the Akatsuki members before they could fully express their excitement. None of them dared to breathe too heavily.
"Non-essential personnel, step back. Do not crowd around. Do you not understand that this affects the treatment?"
He reprimanded them sharply. Then, without another word, he moved on to the next patient.
Throughout the entire process, he did not display any excessive ease or confidence, nor did he demonstrate any particularly spectacular healing techniques. Everything was calibrated to appear just right. The Mystical Palm Technique, while not something everyone could learn, was also not something so extraordinary that its use here would raise deeper suspicions. He simply achieved the technique's effectiveness through his personal mastery and nothing more.
He subtly raised his awareness.
Look all you want, he thought to himself, concealing a quiet smirk beneath the mask.
Because in a corner of the wall above his head, unnoticed by everyone in the room, a white face had appeared and was staring down at the mysterious person and Nagato who was assisting with the Mystical Palm Technique. The underground environment was dimly lit, everything visible only through the glow of lamps placed throughout the space.
Just then, footsteps sounded from the passageway.
Yahiko, having heard the news, arrived slowly with Konan.
"Yahiko," Nagato said softly upon seeing him, his face carrying an apologetic expression.
Yahiko raised his hand slightly, signaling Nagato not to apologize. His gaze then turned toward the mysterious person treating his companions.
None of them dared to disturb him.
One. Two. Three.
As the hours passed, patient after patient who had been facing the immediate threat of death was brought back from the edge of that threat on the makeshift operating table. The efficiency with which lives were being saved shocked even those who had grown accustomed, through long years of hardship, to simply accepting the deaths of their companions as an unavoidable cost.
The impact of what they were witnessing struck all three of them deeply.
They had not expected that this man not only possessed considerable mastery of taijutsu, Earth Release, and Water Release, but also carried exceptional skill in medical ninjutsu on top of everything else.
...
STONES 💎💎
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