"Hide Kato is just one example. There are many other ninja who have lost their hands or arms and hope for modifications to regain their abilities."
"My first idea was modifying the Decapitating Airwaves from your manga, but that felt too limited. So recently I've been researching and developed these prosthetic ninja-tool arms."
Orochimaru pulled out a design blueprint and handed it to Akaba.
Akaba took it, pretending he could understand, nodding as he looked at it, finally acting like he got it and returned it to Orochimaru saying, "Truly brilliant design."
"You agree too? I integrated both Decapitating Airwaves and Piercing Sound Bullets techniques, and referenced Sunagakure's Puppet Technique so they can manipulate mechanical fingers using chakra threads. Though not as flexible as a normal hand, it's definitely capable in regular combat situations."
Orochimaru wore a proud expression while talking about his creation.
Akaba nodded along slowly, finally getting it.
[It's such a shame about the Spirit Transformation Technique.]
Koharu Utatane sighed.
That's why it's called a kinjutsu—it's extremely difficult to master, and dangerous during training.
Hide Kato managed to learn it mainly because the Second supervised and assisted him. The Soul Binding Jutsu was exactly a product of this period. To recreate another ninja capable of mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique would be extremely difficult.
"What are you talking about? Isn't keeping someone alive more important than anything else?"
Tsunade snapped angrily.
In times like this, still fixated on ninjutsu and techniques...
If it weren't for his comrades who gave their lives protecting him, Hide Kato would've died on the battlefield—not just lost an arm.
"Yeah, yeah!"
Despite Koharu having higher status than Tsunade, she was now intimidated by Tsunade's fierce aura.
She had to admit that Tsunade really had what it takes to become Hokage one day—at least in terms of sheer presence, nobody dared argue back when she raised her voice.
Of course,
if she became Hokage, she'd probably give the advisors quite a headache.
While thinking randomly like this, Koharu quickly followed up to help solve the problem with Hide Kato's prosthetic arm installation.
The biggest challenge in treating Hide Kato lay in his remaining arm.
It wasn't cleanly amputated, but due to enemy ninjutsu effects, parts of his hand nerves were shattered. Without treatment, even if they attached a prosthetic tool arm, he wouldn't be able to control it freely.
Currently, in the area of nerve reconstruction, only Akaba—who had acquired various random bits of medical knowledge—had some grasp. Tsunade and Koharu had never attempted such medical techniques before.
Akaba stepped forward carefully for a closer look.
Clearly, over this past month, Konoha had spent considerable precious medicinal liquid maintaining the viability of Hide Kato's arm.
However, unless properly reconnecting the internally severed areas, the remaining arm would still gradually rot away.
Good thing I acquired plenty of knowledge beforehand, otherwise I'd have made a fool of myself this time.
Akaba thought inwardly.
After observing thoroughly around the injury, he then reached his hand into the medicinal liquid vat.
Some muscle fibers had been torn or sheared previously—although Tsunade and others tried to repair them, the nerve connections were all tangled and incorrect.
He summoned a Chakra Scalpel and carefully cut through those misconnected nerves.
This required extremely high chakra control and precise spatial judgment. If it weren't for his strong sensory abilities and the knowledge obtained through the System, Akaba would never have mastered such a surgery.
Even if he was only half-competent, he was still far superior to the two beside him, who didn't know how to perform it at all and could only watch attentively.
Tsunade was understandable—she had already mastered the Chakra Scalpel and therefore could comprehend Akaba's treatment method. But Koharu Utatane wasn't nearly as fortunate.
She wasn't as naturally gifted as Tsunade. Although her foundation was solid, it was based entirely on outdated medical knowledge from earlier generations. When it came to newer techniques like the Chakra Scalpel or [Mystical Palm Technique], she was starting completely from zero.
She struggled quite a bit in learning, but at least she was trying. In contrast, Homura Mitokado simply kept yapping like a keyboard warrior with no real skills.
"I can't directly install a prosthetic ninja-tool arm just yet; at the very least, I'll need three days of rest before that."
Soon afterward, Akaba stretched his limbs.
Maintaining that posture throughout the surgery had been rather exhausting. After finishing, his back ached from staying in one position too long. Most importantly, this was his very first real surgery. Although the procedure itself hadn't been overly complicated, it had indeed consumed a massive amount of mental energy.
Fortunately, everything had gone well.
From the perspective of the other three, they had originally expected the operation to take at least over an hour. Unexpectedly, it had finished in under ten minutes.
That speed was already considered exceptionally fast.
"How many more are there? Want me to heal them all together?"
Orochimaru gestured toward the upper floor.
"There's more?"
Akaba blinked in mild surprise, having initially assumed there was just this one case. Turns out, there were actually several others requiring treatment?
"Hmph... Several people suffered injuries similar to Lee's—their bone fragments embedded deep within their muscles. Our medical capabilities aren't sufficient to handle such cases."
Koharu said somewhat awkwardly.
"Lee's type? I don't even know how to treat that!"
Akaba felt bewildered. Did these three actually think of him as some fully accomplished version of Tsunade?
"No, not that severe. I'll assist you in the treatment. No case will be harder than this one."
Tsunade immediately grabbed him and headed upstairs.
Truthfully, she hadn't expected Akaba's medical techniques to be so mature and outstanding—his precision and meticulousness even surpassed hers.
Thanks to this, surgeries that once seemed impossible were suddenly within reach.
Akaba felt helpless.
Could he really refuse when Tsunade herself had spoken up?
He had little choice but to go along with it.
Throughout the entire afternoon, Akaba dedicated himself to saving lives and treating injuries, facing various complicated and difficult medical conditions—not limited merely to disabilities or extracting bone fragments.
Eventually, the hospital even gave Akaba a uniform and handed him an ID badge like he was officially part of the staff.
Initially, he refused—it's not like you could just tell him to become a medical ninja and expect him to comply. However, with Tsunade nearby, he could only reluctantly accept the honorary title of "Director-in-Chief."
By nighttime, Akaba left Konoha Hospital tired and exhausted alongside Tsunade.
Before departing, though, he had witnessed Orochimaru's research results firsthand—an exact recreation of [Decapitating Airwaves], [Piercing Sound Bullets], and [Bell Genjutsu] techniques, enhanced further with mechanisms inspired by Puppet Techniques.
All things considered, it was undoubtedly an incredibly powerful modified weapon—potentially even surpassing its original version crafted later by himself.
Well, given everything, it made perfect sense.
In Orochimaru's eyes, all his subordinates were merely tools.
Of course, one would look for handy tools. Who would bother transforming a chopstick into a powerful weapon?
If he truly wanted to upgrade them, creating enhanced versions stronger than those three weapons would be effortless for a Sannin-level ninja like Orochimaru—it was simply beneath him.
What truly interested Orochimaru in the manga was only the Sharingan and the Uchiha bloodline.
Actually, even now, Orochimaru still disliked such cold mechanical enhancements; he preferred studying life itself. Still, seeing people who had lost their status as ninja regain their abilities through him brought him genuine joy.
It felt like saving lives and granting a second chance.
When he returned home, Sakuma Chiaki didn't seem to have gone to bed yet.
He had lit a lamp and glanced up at the sound of footsteps, spotting Akaba before motioning him over.
"Father, you're still awake this late."
Akaba sat down.
It seemed to be today's update—the chapter depicted Orochimaru's subordinates arriving at Konoha with the intent to recruit Sasuke Uchiha to the Village Hidden in Sound.
The subsequent plot hadn't been drawn yet, but needless to say, the so-called "Second Pillar" defected.
"Agh, I got scolded all day by the Uchiha bunch. I'm just catching up on the latest chapter," Sakuma Chiaki half-jokingly remarked.
"The Uchiha?"
Akaba blinked, then understood and couldn't help laughing softly.
As the "sole survivor" of the Uchiha in Konoha, Sasuke's defection came as no surprise, but for today's Uchiha clan, apparently, it wasn't exactly an amusing storyline.
Thinking about it, Akaba apologized slightly, "I hope I haven't caused you trouble."
"No, everyone was just teasing me quite friendly-like. Speaking of which, quite a few Uchiha clan members have recently awakened their dōjutsu, especially after the internal conflict. There are far more Three Tomoe-level experts than before."
Sakuma Chiaki held up the manga volume in his hand and sighed in exasperation. "Today, one ninja, unable to believe that Sasuke would betray Konoha, excitedly evolved his Sharingan from one tomoe straight to two tomoe."
"Seriously? Such a thing happened?"
Akaba widened his eyes in disbelief.
"Yeah, saw it myself. That kid was around fourteen or fifteen years old. We argued about how with Kakashi as an excellent teacher and teammates who love him, Sasuke shouldn't betray the village—and while arguing, his eyes suddenly evolved."
Sakuma Chiaki sighed deeply.
The Uchiha could awaken their Kekkei Genkai just by reading manga—who knew? They of the Sakuma clan also read manga, so why hasn't anyone awakened anything?
What a headache!
"What's the word from the Uchiha side?"
Akaba scratched his head. He hadn't expected watching manga could actually advance someone from the Uchiha clan. If he had known earlier, he'd definitely multiply by a hundredfold the volumes sold to the Uchiha.
"Motonami said he's willing to pay handsomely if you'd produce more Uchiha-related plots—you know, the more tragic and conflicting with reality, the better."
Sakuma Chiaki covered his face with his hand.
When he first heard that request, he really couldn't understand the mindset behind it.
"Yes, that certainly sounds exactly like him."
Akaba nodded slightly, showing no sign of surprise.
Motonami Uchiha didn't give two hoots about appearances if it helped the Uchiha clan survive and grow. Otherwise, he wouldn't have pretended to be a good guy in front of the Elders for years.
But how much worse could things get for the Uchiha when there were only two left?
Did they really have to wipe each other out until not a single drop of Uchiha blood was left?
Sure, that'd be tragic, but honestly, how likely was something like that to happen? If the whole Uchiha clan had gone extinct, do you think Obito would create a world where Rin was the only person left and start a new human race with her?
Besides, Motonami oversimplified how emotions truly work. Only by first experiencing acceptance and love, followed by the pain of loss, could the Sharingan evolve. Simple tragedy alone couldn't evoke true resonance.
"How do you think I should respond?"
Sakuma Chiaki didn't have any particular opinion on the matter.
He sighed softly and said, "Don't worry about him. That guy can be pretty ridiculous sometimes. He probably went a little loopy this time after hearing how his clansmen evolved just from reading manga. Just ignore him."
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