Hidden Mist Village.
A Jonin from the Hidden Mist was sound asleep on a hospital bed, his body wrapped in bandages—medals of his valiant fight.
Severe burns. To have survived was a small miracle.
But this miracle could not continue.
Extensive, severe burns all over his body, accompanied by high fever and infection. Appropriate measures were needed to target the bacteria causing the infection and prevent sepsis and septic shock.
Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is a systemic infection with pus.
Now, he could no longer survive the infection period, ultimately dying in agony during a shock-induced coma.
This was a large hospital ward.
It had been hastily converted to treat the Shinobi from the River Country mission.
Over two hundred people, mostly suffering from various degrees of burn injuries.
It was late at night, yet the ward was not quiet. Faint groans and cries of pain echoed ceaselessly, tormenting the auditory nerves of those who were awake.
Currently, the medical technology in the Villages of the Five Great Nations was in its nascent stages, lacking effective treatments for many illnesses.
Especially for tricky burn injuries.
In the past, Fire Release casualties were extremely rare; even if a unlucky individual was hit, they mostly died on the spot.
Such severe, full-body burns were uncommon.
Therefore, there was a lack of experience in dealing with them.
More directly, they could only apply secret medicine, wrap bandages, and leave the rest to fate.
In other words, it was a matter of enduring with one's physical constitution.
Did those with minor injuries feel lucky?
Perhaps…
Some closed their eyes and fell into an exhausted sleep.
In their dreams, a terrifying, overwhelming tide of insects engulfed them like a tsunami.
Followed by an almost silent explosion.
Their brains buzzed with the sound of the explosion.
Their ears were deafened instantly, and all they saw around them, front, back, left, and right, was fire.
Accompanied by the unpleasant smell of burnt flesh, like roasted meat.
With a cry, the Shinobi awoke from his sleep, then fearfully and vigilantly scrutinized his surroundings.
The Shinobi in the adjacent bed had the opposite symptom.
Insomnia.
He hadn't had a good night's sleep in days, tormented by nightmares.
When he closed his eyes, all he saw were terrifying, massive swarms of insects.
Crimson dragonflies flew and dived in the sky, leaving behind severed limbs and fragments wherever they went.
Right before his eyes, his younger brother was surrounded by a swarm of insects and blown to pieces.
Nothing was left.
Sitting on the bed now, his whole body trembled incessantly, then he broke down and cried.
No one was in the mood to mock him.
Some numbly watched as the Nurse carried away another corpse.
Some were depressed, constantly muttering self-reproaches, pulling at their hair in anguish as they whimpered.
Some were filled with anger, their emotions taut. When their eyes met inadvertently, both pairs were filled with murderous intent towards each other.
And some were drinking heavily, using the power of alcohol to numb their nerves and find brief peace.
Some were giggling foolishly, dazed.
It wasn't that they were scared silly, but rather a physical concussion.
They weren't completely insane, just suffering from symptoms like impaired consciousness, recent memory loss, difficulty concentrating, and slow reactions.
Finally, extremists would commit suicide.
This was a young Shinobi who had lost a leg.
Without warning, he pulled out a sharp steel wire, wrapped it around his neck, and soon blood soaked the pale bedsheet.
Everyone was accustomed to it by now.
Before, there were even rare cases of madmen who violently attacked and killed others.
The Nurse rushed in to clean up, scolding the junior Nurse for not having properly collected the Shinobi's equipment earlier.
Then she cleaned up as usual.
Rough and simple.
At this point, no one had realized that everyone was suffering from a serious illness.
The Hidden Mist Shinobi had more or less shown these symptoms before; after the River Country mission, it had only become a little more severe.
PTSD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Also known as shell shock, or war syndrome.
And throughout the Ninja World, among the Shinobi community, this condition was widespread.
Normally, they appeared fine, but a simple trigger could detonate the illness.
For example, a desperate defeat.
The entire ward was enveloped in a heavy, gloomy atmosphere.
Not just these Shinobi from the Land of Water, but also those from the Land of Wind, far to the west.
The Shinobi who escaped from the River Country were also suffering.
Many people returned, but the cost was the near-total annihilation of their puppet forces.
Puppets could be rebuilt, but for Sunagakure, which already had a small population, losing people was heartbreaking.
Chiyo felt a deep heartache.
At this moment, she was inspecting the ward. Compared to the Hidden Mist, Sunagakure had extensive experience in treating severe burns.
In the desert, burns were a common ailment; one could easily get scalded by ubiquitous rocks and other objects if not careful.
Based on this, the Ninja Academy even had a genius child who developed a unique Bloodline Limit, an unprecedented special Scorch Release.
In the future, this Ninjutsu would spread throughout Sunagakure.
"Ah ah ah ah ah! Bugs!!! Bugs!!! Get away ah ah ah ah!!!"
Just then, a scream erupted from a nightmare.
The person on the bed was struggling.
This person was highly stressed, irritable, volatile, and plagued by nightmares.
They had previously lashed out and injured others, nearly killing them, and had to be confined to a private room.
Before this, Chiyo knew him as a cheerful and optimistic young man.
It was hard to imagine he would become such a pathetic sight.
Chiyo could treat physical pain.
But mental anguish…
She was powerless!
To avoid harming others, they could only restrain him.
"Exploding Dragonflies, huh…"
Chiyo clenched her fist.
She also saw the weakness of the puppet corps.
Namely, the Puppet Master themselves.
"Our Village's puppets are still too weak…" Chiyo said, almost to herself.
"Sister, are you thinking of something?" her inseparable younger brother, Ebizo, hesitated.
He was also a super-class Puppet Master; unlike his impulsive sister, he was a meticulous and thoughtful strategist, as delicate as a woman.
Meaning, he couldn't beat his sister.
"That Ninjutsu envisioned by the Second Kazekage." Chiyo said gravely, "The human puppet."
human puppet.
The Second Kazekage was a brilliant and exceptional figure. He developed and established the renowned Puppet Mastery that became famous throughout the Ninja World.
He was the progenitor of Puppet Mastery and Sand Manipulation Ninjutsu.
He dedicated himself to researching Ichibi Shukaku and Fuinjutsu.
He developed numerous Ninjutsu.
For example, the seemingly unimpressive and somewhat comical Cloth Release.
But in Ninjutsu development, he was no less than Senju Tobirama, the rumored fastest Shinobi in the Ninja World, from Konoha.
Otherwise, Sunagakure would only have Wind Release to boast about now.
"Since it's your wish, Sister…" Ebizo said, "I'll go prepare immediately."
"Go, time waits for no one." Chiyo said gravely.
"Which type of human puppet are you planning to research?" Ebizo asked.
"I want both types!" Chiyo said gravely.
One type refers to turning puppets into humans.
The other type refers to turning humans into puppets.
The former are automatic puppets, and the latter are also automatic puppets.
"Sister!" Ebizo said gravely, "The Village doesn't have the capacity for you to mess around anymore. Every single person is precious to us. Please reconsider."
"My foolish younger brother…" Chiyo turned to look at Ebizo and said, "Am I not human?"
Meaning, turning herself into a puppet.
"It can't be!!!" Ebizo exclaimed, "Sister!"
"Shut up!" Chiyo said, "Stop babbling. I'm in charge of the Village now! Get to work!"
"Ha!" Since his sister had made up her mind.
As a younger brother, he could only obey.
"Oh, and bring that child, Pakura. I'll teach her!"
I guess you're going to say that Pakura is from the same generation as Minato, active during the Third Shinobi World War.
Their age difference isn't significant.
Similarly, the Fourth Kazekage would also be present at this time.
Sasori hasn't been born yet.
That's all for now. I've been busy all day, so I'm going to sleep. I'll update heavily tomorrow.
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I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"