Naruto: The Ninja World's Life Buyer

Chapter 51: The Story of the Battlefield

After the memorial ceremony, Sosuke went to the waste treatment plant.

Yuanzao did not sit at the door of the container.

He hid inside.

When Sosuke went in, he smelled a strong smell of alcohol mixed with a musty smell.

Yuanzao lay on the tattered mattress, holding an empty wine bottle in his arms, staring at a spider web on the ceiling.

The spider is mending its web.

Outside, wind and rain raged, and its net had a large hole torn in it.

But it is very patient, spinning out threads to mend the wound circle by circle.

"You're here?"

Yuanzhao's voice was hoarse, as if his throat was full of sand.

"No practice today."

"Why?" Sosuke put down the two bottles of fine wine he had brought.

"My legs hurt."

Yuanzao patted the empty pant leg.

"When it rains, the cut hurts. It feels like someone is sawing my bones."

Phantom limb pain.

This is a nightmare for amputees.

Although the nerve endings are severed, the brain still thinks the leg is still there and continues to send pain signals.

"I've learned some medical ninjutsu."

Sosuke walked to the bedside and took out a set of silver needles from his pocket.

"Maybe it can relieve the pain."

Yuanzao glanced at him, did not refuse, but just laughed.

"Let's try anything, even if it's a dead end."

Sosuke rolled up the trouser legs of the original design.

The severed limb was dark purple, and although the wound had healed many years ago, it was still gruesome, with the surrounding muscles severely atrophied.

Sousuke held out his hand.

Pale green chakra glowed at his fingertips.

He first sensed it using his chakra.

Neuroma.

At the ends of the fracture, nerve fibers become entangled, forming sensitive sarcomas.

This is the root of the pain.

"Bear with it."

Sosuke picked up a silver needle.

There was no anesthetic.

He precisely pierced the "Huantiao" and "Zuwuli" acupoints above the severed limb.

Then it directly pierced the area around those neuromas.

Cut off the signal.

Nourishes—

Sosuke twitched his fingers slightly and channeled healing chakra into his body.

Guiding healing chakra with silver needles and repairing nerves is not an pleasant experience.

"Well……"

Yuanzhao's entire body tensed. He felt excruciating pain.

But after the intense pain subsided, the phantom limb pain actually lessened.

Yuanzao let out a long breath, and sweat mixed with tears streamed down his face.

"He's alive..."

He grabbed the bottle and took a swig.

"Kid, your medical skills are really not bad. Those unscrupulous doctors at Konoha Hospital would charge at least 100,000 taels for this."

Sosuke put away the silver needles.

"How did you break your leg?"

Yuanzao remained silent for a long time.

He stared at the spider that was still mending its web.

"It's a rainy day too."

"The Land of Rain. It's always raining there."

"Our team is in charge of reconnaissance."

"I am a Chunin, skilled in tool manipulation. I thought my net was invincible."

Genzo chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"I have laid a trap on the only way. Any Iwa ninja who steps in will surely die."

"but……"

Genzo's eyes became empty.

"The Iwa ninja didn't take that route. They came from underground."

"The Jonin leading the Iwa ninja team is a master of Earth Release. He sensed the vibration of the steel wires on the ground."

"He didn't disarm the trap. He just used the 'mental decapitation technique' to drag my leg into the ground."

"Then……"

Yuanzhao pointed to his broken leg.

"He got one of my legs stuck in the rocks. Then he detonated an explosive tag."

"To save my life, I cut off the rest of my flesh myself."

Sosuke listened.

The war of ninjas was a brutally simple affair.

"Why didn't that Iwa ninja kill you right away after dragging you underground?"

Sosuke asked the key question.

In terms of ninja efficiency, if they captured an enemy, they should immediately slit their throat or pierce their heart.

Why go through all that trouble, choking the leg and then detonating the explosive tag?

"Because I am the bait."

"He knew we were a small team."

"He blew off my leg, making me scream in agony."

"My teammates... those two idiots, they heard me scream and rushed over to save me."

Genzo's fingers gripped the bottle tightly.

"Then, they all died."

"That Iwa ninja set up an earth-style barrier around them, waiting for them to walk right into the trap."

"I survived because I cut fast enough. And also because..."

Genzo chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"That Iwa ninja thought that a Chunin with a broken leg, who was skilled in taijutsu and tool manipulation, was already a cripple. It didn't matter whether he was killed or not; keeping him alive would only add another wounded soldier to Konoha's burden."

This is the scheming of the ninja world.

It's better to wound an enemy than to kill one.

The injured person needs two people to carry them, requires medical resources, and needs subsequent compensation.

A crippled Genzo is a far greater drain on Konoha than a dead Genzo.

"So remember this," Genzo said, looking at Sousuke, "don't rescue people indiscriminately on the battlefield."

Sousuke nodded.

"Been taught a lesson."

Yuanzhao finished telling his story.

About that broken leg, about that Iwa ninja, about the sacrificed squad.

He did not show any other emotion.

Only peace.

A tranquility marinated by time and alcohol.

Sosuke put away the silver needles.

He didn't offer those cheap words of comfort, like "things will get better."

The source doesn't need this kind of thing.

"I have a medicinal wine."

Sosuke broke the silence.

"It's made by boiling tiger bones and medicinal herbs. While it won't regenerate your limbs, it can soothe and nourish your nerves, preventing phantom limb pain from recurring."

Yuanzao raised his eyelids.

"Do you want money?"

"It's free. It's included in the tuition. But you'll have to wait another two months before it's ready."

Yuan Zao laughed.

Thanks.

Yuanzao quickly fell asleep on the tattered mattress, snoring loudly.

Sosuke quietly slipped out.

He returned to the West Street warehouse, took a shower, and washed away the smell of garbage.

8 PM.

Sosuke arrived at the orphanage basement on time.

At this time of day, Nono would usually be wearing a white lab coat, lesson plans ready, and waiting for him.

But today, the basement is deserted.

Only a small figure sat beside the old desk in the corner.

Chiba.

Hearing the door open, Chiba looked up.

"The dean is not here."

Where did she go?

"The medical department suddenly summoned me. I left in a hurry in the afternoon and didn't even have time for dinner."

Chiba pushed up his glasses, his gaze falling on the cage containing the frog that Sousuke was carrying.

"She said if you come, you can go back first, or practice on your own. She's not sure when she'll be back."

Sosuke glanced at the clock on the wall.

8:05.

Time is precious and should not be wasted.

"I'm not going back."

Sosuke placed the cage on the cutting board.

"Without a teacher, I taught myself."

He looked at Chiba.

"Have you been reading 'Neuroanatomy' lately?"

"I've finished reading it." Chiba closed the book in his hands. "I've memorized all the theories, but I haven't had a chance to practice them."

"The opportunity has come today."

Sosuke opened the cage and pulled out a frog.

"I'll make the incision, and you'll tell me where to cut, how deep to cut, and which blood vessels to avoid."

Sosuke took out a silver needle. "Nonou-sensei is so kind. She always teaches me how to save people. But now I need to know how to precisely control nerves."

Chiba's eyes lit up.

It was a thirst for knowledge, and also a secret excitement about this kind of transgressive experimentation.

He pulled out a diagram of the nervous anatomy of a frog from the pile of books and spread it on the table.

"The sciatic nerve branch here."

Chiba extended her slender finger and tapped it on the drawing.

"If you insert a chakra needle without cutting the skin..."

He looked up at Sosuke.

"You need to avoid the femoral artery, turn 15 degrees to the left, and go 1.2 centimeters deep."

Sosuke picked up the silver needle.

The tip of the needle was enveloped in pale green chakra.

"Let's begin."

The candlelight flickered in the basement.

Two figures, one tall and one short, stood around the cutting board.

No unnecessary words.

"Wrong." Chiba suddenly spoke, his voice stern. "It's off by 0.5 millimeters. That's a blood vessel; puncturing it would cause subcutaneous bleeding and affect the observation of nerve conduction."

Sosuke immediately adjusted his wrist.

"here?"

"Yes. Thrust it in. Infuse a small amount of chakra, at a low frequency."

Nourishing.

The frog's legs suddenly straightened.

"Record the reaction." Sousuke's forehead was beaded with sweat. "How long can this intensity of stimulation maintain muscle stiffness?"

"According to the book, it should take about three seconds."

Chiba looked at the pocket watch.

"One, two, three. It's relaxed."

"It seems the book was right."

The two of them worked together like that.

One possesses the executive power and chakra of an adult, while the other has a genius-level theoretical foundation and observational skills.

This class, without a teacher, was surprisingly efficient.

Until the frog completely lost its reaction and lay limp on the cutting board.

Sosuke pulled out the silver needle and wiped his hands.

"A very interesting experiment."

"Yes." Chiba closed his notebook. "Through this kind of stimulation, it is indeed possible to forcibly take over the motor nerves of a living organism. However..."

Chiba glanced at Sousuke's back.

"If it's used on humans, the risks will increase exponentially."

"So I need you to help me develop a safer plan."

Just then, the basement door was pushed open again.

A gust of damp, cold wind blew in.

Nonou stood at the door, her body reeking of rain and the smell of earth, her face pale.

She saw the dead frog on the cutting board, and also the two people huddled together studying it.

"Feel sorry……"

Nonou leaned against the door frame, her voice weak.

"I'm late."