The correct way for the Uchiha to rise

Orochimaru was also surprised that Uchiha Kiyoshi had run behind the wall. Based on his earlier assessment, Kiyoshi should have been at the very center of the explosion. Although he was the first to react and alert his teammates, there shouldn't have been enough time for him to run that far, right?

Ignoring Nawaki and Kiyoshi, he decided to check on Uchiha Kiyoshi first. If the situation was still manageable, he could let Kiyoshi treat Nawaki and Kiyoshi.

Upon reaching the wall, they saw Uchiha Kiyoshi leaning against it, exuding an aura of weakness. His pale face was somewhat frightening, and his entire body appeared rather thin. However, he had no visible injuries, neither battle wounds nor blast injuries.

Orochimaru, observing Uchiha Kiyoshi's condition, concluded that he had overused his chakra.

Before long, Orochimaru guessed the reason, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Under normal circumstances, Orochimaru might not have noticed, but now, after carefully sensing the surroundings, he discovered that there was a replacement object every four or five meters, totaling no less than five.

Upon closer inspection, they discovered that there were replacement items bearing the chakra aura of Uchiha Kiyoshi behind the walls surrounding the entire courtyard.

What a cautious person to do this! Just a bunch of bandits, and you actually kept so many... backup plans. Nobody else can do that.

However, this place is at least eight or nine meters away from the explosion's epicenter, right? How did this kid manage to use a substitution technique? But judging from how overdrawn he looks, there must have been a price to pay.

Uchiha Kiyoshi wouldn't have been this weak from using the Substitution Jutsu only once at this distance. The main issue was that he already had very little chakra, so he had to push himself to the limit, instantly extracting a significant amount of chakra. However, his body was now extremely weak. If it weren't for the long period of nourishment provided by the Body-Nourishing Jutsu, he might not have dared to do that, nor would he have been able to extract dozens of calories of chakra instantly.

However, it's best not to tell Orochimaru about these things. After all, it's already quite amazing that a consumption of around 100 calories can replace 10 meters. Others would consume at least several thousand calories, which is a difference of dozens of times.

Anyway, I have many ways to protect myself, so Orochimaru probably wouldn't bother to investigate this aspect of me.

Orochimaru didn't really pay much attention to how Uchiha Kiyoshi activated the Substitution Jutsu; judging from his weakened state, the side effects were significant. Picking up Uchiha Kiyoshi, Orochimaru returned to Nawaki and the other two.

Seeing that Uchiha Kiyoshi was alright, Nawaki breathed a sigh of relief. However, seeing the way Orochimaru brought Uchiha Kiyoshi back, Nawaki couldn't help but laugh.

After setting Uchiha Kiyoshi down, Orochimaru finally had time to check on Sarutobi Saku's injuries.

The situation was urgent, but Nawaki's response was relatively simple; he released a large amount of chakra, which absorbed a significant portion of the explosion's power. Sarutobi Saku suffered the most, even worse than Uchiha Kiyoshi, who was at the epicenter of the explosion.

Having already expended the least amount of chakra, after defeating Matsuoka Izan and then entangled with Matsuoka Iji for a while, his chakra was almost depleted. All he could do at that point was mobilize his remaining meager chakra to strengthen his body and avoid being blown apart by the explosion. At that time, Sarutobi Saku also managed to barely withstand the attack by hiding behind Matsuoka Iji.

At this time, Saku Sarutobi had many wounds on his body, all left from battles, plus burns on his arms, so he was seriously injured.

"Fortunately, there were no fatal injuries. Sarutobi Saku is just unconscious from the explosion."

After confirming that Sakumo Sarutobi did not have any fatal injuries, Orochimaru returned to Kiyoshi Uchiha's side and fed him a soldier's ration pill.

"Quickly restore some chakra and treat Sarutobi Saku. Although there are no fatal injuries, if this continues, he probably won't make it back to the village."

Uchiha Kiyoshi didn't waste any time. After swallowing a soldier's ration pill and recovering some chakra, he swayed and walked over to Sarutobi Saku's side.

Hands form a mudra.

"Healing Technique"

With green light emanating from his hands, Uchiha Kiyoshi began to touch and caress Sarutobi Saku's body... cough... don't misunderstand, he was just treating him.

After more than ten minutes, Uchiha Kiyoya finally stabilized Sarutobi Saku's injuries. He should be fine after some more treatment on the way. Finally, he could go to Konoha Hospital for a while more treatment.

"Qing, I need treatment here too. Hurry, it hurts so much!"

On the other side, after Sarutobi Saku was basically healed, Nawaki also began to wail.

Helpless, Uchiha Kiyoshi had no choice but to recover his chakra again before beginning to treat Nawaki.

"Hey! Qing, your medical ninjutsu is pretty good. Although it can't compare to my sister's, it's really effective for treating injuries sustained during missions."

"Lie still and don't move."

With a disgruntled slap on Nawaki's head, Uchiha Kiyoshi continued the treatment.

Fortunately, although Uchiha Kiyoshi had overdrawn his body, he had some health-preserving techniques. He could refine chakra while breaking down some of it to nourish his body, and his physical condition actually improved.

A day later, after receiving the mission completion certificate from Liuyue Village, the third team members set off on their way back to the village.

Sarutobi Saku woke up that day, looking at his body covered in bandages, he was on the verge of tears. There were no anesthetics available here. Although Uchiha Kiyoshi had treated him, his injuries were not fully healed yet, and the pain was quite intense.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was also conducting a post-battle review.

"First of all, we were too careless. The opponent actually possessed chakra, although it seemed to have been recently refined, and they couldn't use ninjutsu. Moreover, upon seeing that the opponent had chakra, our first thought wasn't to use explosive tags; we treated them like samurai, which was inappropriate. Hmm, I'll remember that in the future."

......"

After summarizing his mistakes, Uchiha Kiyoshi wrote down all the ones he had made to ensure that he would not repeat them in the future.

"I was a bit complacent because I thought Nawaki would survive until World War II in the original story, which was wrong of me. This is a real world, and we can't always judge it by the original story."

However, after this incident, Nawaki should be more careful about this, right? He won't get blown up again, will he? Hmm, when I get back, I can use this opportunity to educate Nawaki on how to identify traps.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Situation

Along the way, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki took turns carrying Sarutobi Saku back to Konoha.

After registering their information, Uchiha Kiyoshi and his group headed straight for Konoha Hospital.

After settling Sarutobi Saku down, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki also underwent some examinations.

Although they didn't feel any discomfort on the surface, they still carefully checked themselves to avoid affecting their future cultivation.

Uchiha Kiyoya is not yet capable of doing this, as his understanding of the subject is not yet comprehensive. If he misses anything, it will delay his future training.

Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others underwent necessary examinations and treatments at the hospital. Meanwhile, Orochimaru prepared his mission report, submitted it, and discussed the mission with the Third Hokage.

The Hokage's office.

The Third Hokage puffed on his cigarette, smoke billowing from his head.

Orochimaru was recounting the events to him from across the room.

"The unexpected incident during this bandit suppression was that the other side had mastered the method of refining chakra and possessed resources such as explosive tags."

Afterwards, I also investigated and found that the Matsuoka brothers' supplies likely came from Amegakure.

"Amegakure? Are you sure?"

Upon hearing the answer from Amegakure, the Third Hokage frowned; it was not a good answer.

Hanzo of the Salamander from Amegakure rose to prominence rapidly a few years ago, earning the title of a demigod in the ninja world. His strength is considerable, and even Hanzo himself wouldn't dare guarantee that he could defeat him.

What's even more frightening is that the opponent's summoned beast, the Salamander, is perfectly suited for the battlefield, and its poison-spraying techniques are extremely sophisticated. If a war were to break out, it would be a very difficult battle.

Orochimaru, aware of his teacher's concerns, nodded, reaffirming his answer.

The Third Hokage had only asked casually, though he still held a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, it seemed the truth was indeed true. His students were reliable, especially Orochimaru, his most prized disciple, excelling in every aspect. Since he was certain, it was highly likely that this matter was indeed true.

"The Rain Village has already started sending ninjas to the Land of Fire, and has even trained this group of bandits. Are they trying to gather intelligence?"

It seems the Land of Rain finally couldn't hold back any longer.

The two men mistook the Matsuoka brothers for Amegakure's henchmen, unaware of the specifics, but their conclusions weren't far off. The Amegakure ninja who was killed had indeed come to the Land of Fire with this mission.

"Ugh!"

The Third Hokage sighed, his brows furrowed as he considered the implications of this intelligence. However, the thought of war filled him with worry. As a ninja who had experienced the First Shinobi World War, he knew the devastating effects of war, and the more he knew, the more troubled he became.

Hiruzen Sarutobi has indeed worked tirelessly and mentally since becoming Hokage, managing everything from the ground up. Just as things are getting back on track, he faces the threat of war. Despite being in his prime, this constant toil has caused many wrinkles on his face, making him look much older than his late thirties, appearing more like he's in his fifties.

"I know, you go down first."

The Third Hokage didn't think for long. Seeing Orochimaru still standing opposite him, he waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

After Orochimaru left, the Third Hokage once again fell into deep thought with a troubled expression.

"This war seems unavoidable. The Land of Rain has too few resources, and the development of the Rain Village has reached a bottleneck. Uneven resource distribution will definitely lead to war, but we can't let them seize our land. Sigh! What a hassle!"

As an outstanding politician, Hiruzen Sarutobi was very astute and had a very accurate grasp of the situation.

After so many years of peaceful development in the ninja world, all the countries have reached their peak and their desire for aggression is at its greatest. This is especially true for Amegakure, where resources are unevenly distributed. The key point is that Amegakure's overall strength is indeed no less than that of the five great ninja villages, so they are bound to feel resentful. The five great nations will not agree to give them territory, so in the end, the only solution is war.

……

Orochimaru left the Hokage Building and headed straight for the hospital without stopping.

At this time, Saku Sarutobi's ward in Konoha Hospital was also very lively.

Of course, the "lively" part doesn't mean it's noisy, but rather that there are quite a lot of people.

Saku Sarutobi was undergoing surgery on by four or five Konoha medical ninjas. Kiyoshi Uchiha and Nawaki rushed over after their examination. Kiyoshi was there to watch the surgery and learn his medical ninjutsu, but what was Nawaki doing there? That was hard to explain; judging by the kid's curious expression, Kiyoshi almost wanted to kick him out.

Throughout the entire process, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki dared not breathe too loudly, for fear of disturbing the doctors' treatment. They were only allowed to stay and observe because of Uchiha Kiyoshi's medical ninja skills, giving him a learning opportunity.

Uchiha Kiyoshi even tightly covered Nawaki's mouth to prevent him from shouting at everything.

Nawaki rolled his eyes, clearly displeased with Uchiha Kiyoshi's behavior. "What do you mean? You don't trust me? You think I can't even control this? I'm just curious about the hospital's equipment and methods. Even with an older sister like Tsunade, a medical ninja, he's never been to Konoha Hospital!"

Ignoring Nawaki's reaction, Uchiha Kiyoshi covered Nawaki's mouth while watching the doctors work together to perform surgery on Sarutobi Saku.

"As expected of a medical ninja from Konoha Hospital, their medical ninjutsu skills are quite high."

Is this the technique of extracting toxins? That's amazing, a ninjutsu that directly extracts toxins.

Moreover, I never imagined that being blown up at such close range, with my arms burned, could leave me with burns.

Also, is this the Palm Healing Technique? It's much more effective than healing spells; the wound healing speed is at least several times faster.

Watching them perform the surgery in amazement, Uchiha Kiyoshi remained silent, silently commenting to himself.

At this moment, Orochimaru arrived at the door, barely managed to see the situation inside through the window, but did not go in directly, instead waiting there.

The entire surgery lasted half an hour.

Sarutobi Saku was indeed seriously injured this time. With little chakra left, he was directly hit by the explosive tags. If Uchiha Kiyoshi hadn't warned him and given him a second's notice, he probably would have been dead. Of course, the explosive power was equivalent to at least five explosive tags detonating simultaneously. Even a Chunin, if hit head-on by the blast, would be seriously injured.

Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki were rather special cases. One used a substitution jutsu to dodge the attack, while the other had too much chakra and released it to envelop his entire body, negating most of the damage. With the help of Uchiha Kiyoshi's healing along the way, he was already mostly unharmed.

In half an hour, Uchiha Kiyoshi continuously studied the techniques of several doctors, feeling that his medical skills had improved somewhat, and he had also gained some insights into the technique of extracting small ailments, which should reduce his study time by half a month.

"Alright, the patient's condition has been basically resolved. He just needs to rest for half a month. Don't take on any missions during this time; stay in the hospital."

After the doctors finished the surgery, they gave them some advice and then left.

I wasn't particularly interested in how much Uchiha Kiyoshi had learned. After all, how much could a recent graduate possibly learn?

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Essence of Ninjas

After the surgery, Saku Sarutobi recovered completely and stayed in the hospital for more than half a month.

For the past two weeks, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki have been visiting him every day. After three months of joint training, plus this mission, the three have grown closer, and a bond has been initially established. This is also what the Third Hokage hoped to see. With his nephew in the middle, and with Orochimaru's guidance, Uchiha Kiyoshi will grow up to become a bridge between the village and the Uchiha clan.

Having just recovered from his injuries and having been delayed for more than half a month, Saku Sarutobi was subjected to Orochimaru's abusive training after being discharged from the hospital.

Uchiha Kiyoshi and Nawaki have been much more relaxed these past two days, no longer needing Orochimaru's "care".