Finally, thank you for being ugly. You go to bed first. I'm Yan Da, and Brother Yun is Uncle Yun's reward, okay!)
Standing in front of the hospital bed, looking at Hoshinohara who was lying there, Chao YanQian didn't know what he was feeling in his heart at the moment.
Now, over 60% of Hoshinohara's body is bandaged, and he moves like a puppet. This should be due to multiple fractures in his body.
He had spent a long time in Konoha Hospital, and Chao YanQian, who knew this kind of injury, understood that it would cause immense pain with every movement. However, after Chao YanQian appeared, Hoshinohara seemed to feel no pain—crying and laughing like a happy child.
"Qian Ren, it's great that you're still alive!" Hoshinohara said excitedly.
"Yuan... how are you?" Chao YanQian asked in a deep voice.
"Qian Ren, come here!" Namikaze Minato said from the side.
The members of Minato's squad were all standing in the ward. Kakashi and Uchiha Obito had also suffered varying degrees of injury, but they weren't serious and would heal with some time and training.
He and Namikaze Minato walked out of the ward. Minato patted Chao YanQian on the shoulder and whispered, "Sorry, I didn't make it in time to rescue Keita, and Hoshinohara suffered such serious injuries..."
"How bad is Yuan's condition?" Chao YanQian asked.
He could hear that Namikaze Minato truly felt guilty. As the captain of this mission, the fact that his team members were so badly hurt weighed heavily on him. With Minato's character, self-blame was inevitable. He could have avoided all this, but due to a secret mission for the village, he had to make a painful decision.
"He has multiple fractures throughout his body. With the current level of the medical corps, even if he's healed, I'm afraid he won't be able to fight as a ninja again." Nohara Rin stood to the side and said softly, her voice tinged with sadness, not knowing how to offer comfort.
"How could it come to this..." Chao Yan Qian's heart trembled.
He had known Hoshinohara for more than two years and understood him deeply.
Although Hoshinohara lacked talent, like many ninjas who loved their village, he believed that if the elders said a sacrifice was necessary "for Konoha's future," he would obey without hesitation.
It was Hoshinohara's dream to become a ninja and contribute to Konoha.
One must admit that Konoha's cohesion with ordinary shinobi was incredibly strong—and terrifying. History has proven that they would willingly give their lives for even the simplest of causes. It was thanks to their sacrifices that Konoha stood strong today.
The irony is—they received nothing in return. The spoils of victory were divided among the elite families and Konoha's high-ranking officials.
Hearing that Hoshinohara might never fight again was hard for Chao Yan Qian to accept.
Even though he had resolved to cut off bonds and focus on power, the bond built through over two years of shared hardship with Hoshinohara and Hyuga Keita was not something easily severed.
To Chao Yan Qian, Hoshinohara was a comrade. Even if he chose to walk a path of ruthlessness, he couldn't bear to see Hoshinohara's dream shattered.
"Is there really no other way?" Chao Yan Qian asked.
Rin slowly shook her head and said softly, "I've checked Hoshinohara's injuries. Unless... unless Lady Tsunade is willing to take action, otherwise..."
Get Tsunade to heal him? Stop dreaming.
Let alone Hoshinohara, a regular chunin—even if Orochimaru or Jiraiya were dying, Tsunade might not be able to overcome that wall in her heart. The deaths of her lover and younger brother had hit her too hard.
The more carefree a woman looks, the more delicate her emotions.
Unless someone as radiant as Uzumaki Naruto appeared to melt her heart...
But that person definitely wasn't Chao Yan Qian, because Chao Yan Qian had become cold.
Yet Rin's words sparked a faint hope in Chao Yan Qian's heart. Hoshinohara wasn't beyond saving—it was just that the current medical level wasn't enough.
"I'll treat him!" Chao Yan Qian said firmly.
"You?" Rin Nohara looked at Chao Yan Qian in surprise. Though she had seen him at Konoha Hospital several times, it was still hard to believe he had such refined medical skills.
Ignoring her reaction, he entered the camp and walked to Hoshinohara's bedside, calmly saying, "Yuan, you're seriously injured. I'm going to operate on you right away."
"Okay!" Hoshinohara replied firmly, without the slightest hesitation in his voice as he looked at Chao Yan Qian.
After taking Hoshinohara's chart, he quickly flipped through it to confirm the injuries.
Though most injuries looked severe, regular medical-nin could handle them. But his right leg had a comminuted fracture—a break where the bone is in pieces. Even if his life was saved, he might never walk normally again.
After pushing Hoshinohara into the operating room, Rin Nohara offered to assist Chao Yan Qian. As a kind-hearted girl with basic medical ninjutsu knowledge, he certainly didn't refuse—he needed help.
A comminuted fracture meant the bones were in fragments, requiring surgical reconstruction before recovery.
Medical knowledge in the shinobi world isn't advanced, because medical ninjutsu covers most trauma. But when a medical-nin's skill is insufficient, such cases can be hopeless.
This was Chao Yan Qian's first time handling such a complex case. Normally, a ninja with this type of injury would have to retire. But nothing is absolute. In the future, Rock Lee was nearly crippled by Gaara and was fully healed by Tsunade—without any sequelae.
Chao Yan Qian didn't dare compare his skills to Tsunade's, but he had confidence—and he had to.
Five hours later, Chao Yan Qian and Nohara Rin emerged from the operating room to find Minato, Kakashi, and Uchiha Obito all waiting outside. When they saw him, Minato asked with concern, "How did the surgery go?"
Rin looked at Chao Yan Qian with admiration and said excitedly, "Qian Ren is amazing! Yuan's injury is no longer serious. The rest is just recovery."
"That's really great!" Namikaze Minato said happily.