On the fourth day, when Shinichi took on the role of acting chief of the medical and logistics unit, early in the morning, before the sky had fully brightened, a burst of hurried footsteps broke the calm of the field hospital.
An extremely brutal encounter had occurred last night. The reconnaissance and assault unit, while attempting to clear an area infiltrated by the Village Hidden in the Sand, had run into the main force of Chiyo's puppet corps.
After a bloody breakout, out of more than five hundred people, only three hundred remained, and more than two hundred of them had been poisoned.
"Wounded! Large numbers of wounded! From the front line!"
"Quick! Prepare stretchers! Notify all available Medical Ninjas!"
The tent flap was violently lifted, and stretchers streamed in one after another. Their faces were bluish, lips purple. Some were convulsing all over, some had already fallen into deep unconsciousness.
"It's poison!"
"The Village Hidden in the Sand's puppet unit ambushed us! It was Chiyo! Chiyo led them personally!"
"More than two hundred people! All poisoned!"
The field hospital instantly fell into chaos. Medical Ninjas swarmed in and began emergency treatment.
Cleaning wounds, inducing vomiting, injecting basic antidotes, and trying to stabilize the vital signs of the injured.
But the situation was worse than imagined.
The toxins were too complex. Ordinary antidotes had almost no effect. Some began to suffer respiratory failure during treatment, and some went into cardiac arrest. The tents were filled with urgent shouts and the clatter of equipment.
"Quick! Antidotes! Bring all the antidotes!"
"No use! This poison is something we've never seen! Standard antidotes are barely effective!"
"Body temperature is rising rapidly! Organs are showing signs of failure! Heartbeat is weakening!"
"It's Chiyo's poison!"
"Some people are already beyond saving!"
Several experienced Medical Ninjas gathered together and exchanged grave words while attempting to formulate various possible detoxification plans. But the Village Hidden in the Sand's poison techniques had been passed down for decades, and Chiyo was a master of poison, who could crack her toxin in such haste?
When the news reached the command center, Jiraiya, who was looking at a map, was completely shocked.
"What!?"
He suddenly raised his head, his expression drastically changing.
"Ambushed by Chiyo's puppet corps? Lost more than two hundred people? And over two hundred of those who escaped back are poisoned by Chiyo?"
The ninja nodded forcefully. "Yes, Jiraiya-sama! Chiyo led the team personally! The field hospital is already in complete chaos!"
Chiyo.
This name itself meant trouble.
That poison and puppet master of the Village Hidden in the Sand had already made Konoha suffer greatly during the second Shinobi World War. Now she had finally taken action, and with one move, hundreds of lives were lost.
Jiraiya had no time to think further and immediately got up, rushing straight toward the field hospital.
…
At almost the same time, Shinichi was already standing at the entrance of the field hospital.
The moment he heard the news, he put down everything he was doing and rushed over directly from his office.
The tent flap was lifted, and what came into view was chaos, groans, shouts, and the clashing of instruments mixed together.
The wounded on the stretchers had bluish-purple faces; some had already stopped convulsing and lay there quietly.
Shinichi's gaze swept across the entire tent, and he immediately stepped forward to examine one of the injured.
Seconds later, Jiraiya's figure appeared at the entrance as well. He walked in quickly, his gaze falling on the wounded, his brows tightly furrowed.
"How is the situation?"
A Medical Ninja raised his head, his face full of exhaustion and anxiety. "Jiraiya-sama, the toxins are too complex. We… we've tried several methods, but none have had much effect. Already… already a few people are beyond saving."
Jiraiya fell silent.
Shinichi crouched beside a severely poisoned patient, his fingers pressing against the man's wrist as he checked his condition.
After a moment, he stood up, his expression still calm, revealing little emotion.
Jiraiya quickly walked to his side and asked in a low voice, "How is it, Shinichi? Did you find anything? Is there a way?"
Shinichi raised his head and spoke concisely while meeting Jiraiya's gaze: "Jiraiya-sama, this is a new type of composite toxin. To detoxify it, there is only one way: To figure out its original composition."
Jiraiya frowned tightly. "You mean…"
"Analyze the formula. As long as we know what materials it is made from and in what proportions it was prepared, we can formulate a targeted antidote."
As he spoke, Shinichi picked up several poisoned metal needles from a tray beside him. With a flick of his finger, the thick black toxin attached to the needle tips was lightly shaken into a porcelain bowl in front of him.
Jiraiya's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Then arrange people to analyze it right away. I'll contact Tsunade to return immediately!"
"It's too late, Jiraiya-sama."
Shinichi shook his head, his gaze sweeping across the tent.
"They won't last until Tsunade-sensei returns. And even if she does, there won't be enough time."
Jiraiya fell silent. He looked at those faces, their bluish-purple complexions, and the Medical Ninjas trying various methods in vain, only able to watch helplessly.
"So, there is only one method left now."
The boy's voice sounded again, breaking the silence.
Jiraiya suddenly raised his head, hope in his eyes as he looked at Shinichi.
The boy took a deep breath, as if making a certain decision.
"Have someone personally test the poison."
Personally test the poison?
Jiraiya was stunned. Before he could react, he heard Shinichi continue as if speaking to himself: "This person must have excellent medical knowledge to judge the body's reactions at the first moment, must have outstanding physical condition to withstand repeated invasions of the toxin, and must have extremely sharp perception to distinguish the differences behind every subtle change."
The more Jiraiya listened, the stronger the unease in his heart grew.
Those conditions sounded more and more familiar.
It's more and more like they described the same person.
He was about to say something when the boy had already raised his head and smiled at him slightly.
That smile shone especially brightly in the dim tent, conveying a sense of reassurance and certainty.
"So, I'll do it, Jiraiya-sama."
The moment those words fell, the tent fell into dead silence.
Everyone who heard those words froze in place.
The Medical Ninjas and assistants, even the wounded who were still groaning, all seemed to be frozen by some force, their gazes uniformly turning toward that boy.
Jiraiya froze in place. After a moment, he finally reacted, his expression changing drastically as he blurted out: "Are you crazy!?"
"Jiraiya-sama."
Shinichi's voice remained calm. "This is the only method."
"No! It's too dangerous! Shinichi, you can't do this."
Nono Yakushi hurriedly spoke up in alarm to stop him.
Jiraiya directly stepped forward, grabbing Shinichi's shoulder with such force that it seemed he wanted to pin the stubborn boy in place.
"Kid, do you even know? If something happens to you…!"
He took a deep breath and said word by word: "Tsunade will kill me!"
"So no! Absolutely not!"
Jiraiya shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the poisoned and injured ninjas in the tent, then over the equally shocked Medical Ninjas. "There must be another way! Let's think again…"