The medical ninja had been rushed over by Chōjūrō in such a hurry that even now, he still had no idea what had actually happened.
Not only were nearly all the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist present, but even the Mizukage and Lord Yuto himself were here.
"We called you over in such a hurry because we need you to determine why Ringo Ameyuri remains unconscious."
Mei Terumi spoke to the medical ninja with a gentle expression on her face.
Following Mei Terumi's words, the medical ninja finally noticed Ringo Ameyuri lying motionless on the grass ahead.
He hurried forward and quickly began examining her condition.
A long moment passed.
Only then did the medical ninja rise to his feet again, his face heavy with grim concern.
"The reason Ringo Ameyuri remains unconscious is because there is a problem inside her heart."
The medical ninja turned to face Mei Terumi and Yuto, speaking with respectful deference.
So it was Ringo Ameyuri's own illness after all!
Yuto's expression darkened as he looked at the medical ninja. "Can it be treated?"
"Well..."
An awkward look crossed the medical ninja's face.
"The disease afflicting Lady Ringo Ameyuri is congenital. This kind of heart condition comes with excruciating pain, and the fact that she has managed to endure it for this long is already extraordinary."
"With Kirigakure's current medical capabilities, there is no way to cure Lady Ringo Ameyuri."
The medical ninja spoke in a hushed voice. The back of his shirt was already soaked through with sweat.
Yuto fell silent at the medical ninja's words, though he had already anticipated this outcome.
After all, if Kirigakure truly had a way to treat her, Ringo Ameyuri wouldn't have ultimately died of illness in the original timeline.
At this moment, Yuto suddenly understood why Ringo Ameyuri hadn't simply grabbed Neji and fled. Instead, she had fought with everything she had against Might Guy.
Ringo Ameyuri had probably known for a long time that her condition was incurable.
Enduring unimaginable pain, she had refused to let herself die in a sickbed.
Konoha!
A sharp gleam flashed through Yuto's eyes, and a dangerous aura slowly radiated from his body.
As this aura emerged, the surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees in an instant.
The medical ninja couldn't suppress a shudder. He cast a cautious glance at Yuto's cold expression and spoke with the utmost care.
"Lord Yuto, th... there might still be a way."
"Kirigakure's medical techniques are comparatively behind those of other shinobi villages. If it were Tsunade of Konoha, she might be able to do something."
As soon as he voiced this thought, the medical ninja quickly clamped his mouth shut.
Even so, he knew that this hope was slim.
It wasn't a matter of doubting Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu. The problem was that the relationship between Kirigakure and Konoha was extremely poor right now.
Tsunade?
Yuto's aura paused for a beat. If this medical ninja hadn't reminded him, he would have nearly forgotten that Kirigakure's medical proficiency was the weakest among the five great shinobi villages.
Just because Kirigakure's medical ninja couldn't handle it didn't mean no one else could.
As for Tsunade, perhaps she truly could cure Ringo Ameyuri, but Yuto wasn't about to go to her.
Having just spirited someone away from Konoha, turning around and asking Konoha for help was virtually impossible.
Furthermore, Ringo Ameyuri had nearly died at the hands of someone from Konoha. There was no way Yuto would seek their assistance now.
Yuto narrowed his eyes slightly, and a figure suddenly surfaced in his mind.
The main reason Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu was so revered across the shinobi villages was that she had been the first to propose the historic policy of assigning a medical ninja to every combat squad.
After the establishment of Konoha's medical division, the village's casualty rate had been reduced to a truly staggering degree.
The other major shinobi villages had all adopted Tsunade's model to varying degrees and had begun placing greater importance on their medical ninja.
This was the most important reason why most medical ninja across the shinobi world held Tsunade in such high esteem.
Of course, Tsunade's own medical skills were formidable in their own right. But Yuto knew of someone whose medical abilities were absolutely not inferior to hers.
Outside the gates of Kirigakure.
An elderly figure wrapped in a gray, somewhat worn cloak slowly raised her head and gazed at the village gates before her.
A nostalgic gleam flickered in Elder Chiyo's eyes. She could no longer remember the last time she had visited Kirigakure.
Perhaps it had been during the wars between the great shinobi villages.
Elder Chiyo shook her head gently and continued walking forward, all the while surveying her surroundings.
Flashes of surprise occasionally crossed her eyes, making her look much like an ordinary traveler.
The Kirigakure before her was vastly different from the hazy memory she held of it.
Even the intelligence reports on Kirigakure that currently sat on the Kazekage's desk were probably already outdated.
A wary gleam shone in Elder Chiyo's eyes as she peered through the village gates into Kirigakure.
She could almost feel a wave of prosperity washing over her.
It gave her the feeling that she had wandered into the wrong place — that she hadn't come to Kirigakure, a village once as underdeveloped as her own Sunagakure, but had somehow ended up in Konoha instead.
Even though Kirigakure had not yet reached Konoha's level of prosperity.
But Elder Chiyo understood that as long as nothing happened to the First Mizukage, Yuto, it was only a matter of time.
"Kirigakure's current prosperity must surely be the work of the First Mizukage, Yuto."
Elder Chiyo murmured to herself as she walked forward.
When Elder Chiyo was still two or three meters from the village gates,
the two ninja stationed at the entrance stepped forward in unison and blocked her path.
"Name? And state your business in Kirigakure."
One of the village ninja looked at Elder Chiyo, who kept her head slightly lowered, and spoke in a cool tone.
If she were an ordinary civilian, they naturally wouldn't have stopped her. There would have been no need.
But if she was a ninja, that was another matter entirely.
Among the ninja guarding Kirigakure's gates, one was always assigned as a sensor type.
Although the person before him possessed no small amount of chakra, the village ninja wasn't particularly concerned.
These days, there were hardly anyone in the entire shinobi world who would dare come looking for trouble in Kirigakure.
Elder Chiyo raised her head and looked the village ninja directly in the eye. At the same time, she gently pulled back the hood of her cloak.
(End of chapter)
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