Konoha Forest
When the Third Hokage carefully examined the container, he decided to take it back to Konoha before making a decision. He discovered that the container was sealed with the "Four Black Fog Formation" and the "Black Sealing Method," which could induce a state of suspended animation.
The Third Hokage wasn't sure what state Sasuke was in, so it was best to examine him back in the village.
Thus, Jiraiya carried the corpse of the substitute Kabuto, and he and the Third Hokage rushed back to Konoha.
Sakura followed Tsunade-sensei to the Konoha Hospital.
Tsunade led Sakura to a treatment room. It was a square room with only a small table against one wall, and the floor was covered in sunken grooves.
" Sensei, why isn't there even a bed here?" Sakura had thought she would be lying on a bed for treatment, as she had last time, but the room's layout clearly indicated otherwise.
"What do you need a bed for? Do you want to sleep?" Tsunade glared at her.
"Haha, no, no," Sakura quickly denied.
Sakura looked at the grooves on the floor, and after a moment's thought, she understood their purpose.
Tsunade-sensei had once explained that for more severe injuries, standard healing techniques were very slow. Therefore, she had developed an auxiliary formation to accelerate the healing process.
By carving a formation on the ground and filling the gaps with medicinal solutions, combined with the practitioner's medical ninjutsu, recovery could be sped up. At least one practitioner was required.
This method, combining medicine and ninjutsu, could accelerate injury recovery. Of course, this was only possible if the conditions allowed for carving the formation.
If, on the battlefield, there were no such conditions, several medical ninja could jointly perform this jutsu, and by maintaining a constant output of chakra for the healing jutsu, they could achieve rapid healing.
It was hard to say which method was better; they simply addressed different situations. The advantage of carving the formation directly on the ground was that only one person was needed to operate it, but the initial preparation was troublesome, requiring the preparation of medicinal solutions and the carving of the formation.
The latter method was quicker to prepare, but it required four people to perform the jutsu simultaneously to maintain the formation.
In terms of healing effectiveness, with an equal number of people, the former method was faster, thanks to the assistance of the medicinal solutions.
This formation was, of course, developed by Tsunade. However, she hadn't taught Sakura much about it, as the operation didn't require any technical skill; one simply needed to maintain a steady chakra flow. The key was still the practitioner.
Simply put, it was like combining the effects of multiple healing jutsus and amplifying them, making one plus one greater than two. Medical ninja had varying levels of skill, and this formation effectively integrated and utilized their combined effects.
Tsunade took two bottles of medicinal solution from the table in the corner of the room and handed one to Sakura.
"Pour this medicine into the grooves of the formation," Tsunade instructed.
Sakura took the bottle and then knelt on the floor, carefully pouring the liquid into the grooves.
"Can't you use chakra to control the medicine and pour it in?" Tsunade asked, feeling weary as she watched Sakura's awkward posture, ing her butt in the air.
"Ah~~~~ Sorry, Sensei, I forgot," Sakura said, suddenly realizing. She used to use chakra control for everyday tasks, but after synthesizing her bloodline limit, she had become a little complacent, and her usual attention to detail had vanished...
After pouring the medicine, Sakura sat cross-legged in the center of the formation. " Sensei, how long will this treatment take?"
"Until dawn, probably," Tsunade said, forming the "Ram" hand seal with both hands.
"Will I be completely healed by dawn?" Sakura asked.
"It won't be that fast. It will probably take about a month, depending on your body's recovery," Tsunade replied. "Don't talk. Let me concentrate."
Sakura immediately fell silent. Seeing Tsunade-sensei concentrating on healing her, she felt a surge of emotion. She only needed to sit there, while Tsunade-sensei had to output chakra like this all night.
Land of Rice Fields
The Land of Rice Fields was a small country bordering Konoha. It didn't have a ninja village before, but the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields was unwilling to remain under the control of the larger nations and wanted to establish a ninja village that served him.
However, ninja with average abilities lacked the strength to establish a ninja village, while those with powerful abilities were all in the major ninja villages, enjoying the resources they provided.
The Daimyo was a classic example of ambition exceeding ability.
Therefore, when Orochimaru, who had betrayed Akatsuki, approached the Daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields, the Daimyo eagerly provided funds for Orochimaru to establish a ninja village, as the name of a Sannin was quite prestigious.
However, Orochimaru had no intention of establishing a ninja village for the Daimyo. He simply wanted to cultivate experimental subjects.
So, although there was ostensibly a ninja village, Orochimaru used most of the money for his human experiments.
The ninja within the village were also merely Orochimaru's test subjects.
In a dimly lit underground room, a man wrapped entirely in bandages sat in a chair. Beside him was a white-haired ninja wearing glasses and a Sound ninja forehead protector – Kabuto, who had failed to capture Sasuke.
"That's how it happened, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said respectfully. "Jiraiya and Tsunade are both in the village. The Third Hokage personally pursued me."
Orochimaru remained silent, listening to Kabuto's report, which contained no good news. Kimimaro had remained in Konoha, likely dead. Tsunade had returned to the village. Sasuke hadn't been consumed by darkness as Orochimaru had anticipated.
Kabuto's account was logical and reasonable; Orochimaru couldn't find any flaws. But it was too logical and reasonable. Orochimaru's animalistic instincts told him something was wrong.
"I understand. You may leave. It was my oversight in this matter," Orochimaru said. He still valued Kabuto, and without discovering any concrete problems, he wouldn't arbitrarily punish his subordinate.
The Konoha Crush had yielded no benefits for the Sand, and Orochimaru had similarly gained nothing, instead losing a considerable number of subordinates. Although Orochimaru didn't place much importance on these pawns, it still bothered him that they had been lost before they could be fully utilized.
Sasuke hadn't been guided by him, nor had he been brought back. But it didn't matter; the curse mark had already been planted. No matter where Sasuke was, Orochimaru could find him.
When the Third Hokage and Jiraiya returned to the village, dawn was just breaking.
"Third Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama," Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, the gatekeepers, greeted the Third Hokage as soon as they saw him.
"Where is Tsunade?" the Third Hokage asked urgently.
"Tsunade-sama... She's currently at the hospital," Kotetsu replied.
"The hospital? Has the village been attacked?" It seemed bad news was piling up. The Third Hokage asked, his face grim.
"No, that's not it. It seems Tsunade-sama's disciple is injured," Izumo said after thinking for a moment.
"Disciple? Sakura?" The Third Hokage didn't waste any more words. Carrying the barrel, he rushed towards the hospital.
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