hotmtlnovel Chapter 80 Chun
Chapter 80 Chun
Chapter 80 Chun
early morning.
West Street warehouse, laboratory.
Chiba, wearing rubber gloves, pulled a tube out of Uzuki Yugao's mouth.
"Cough cough————"
Xi Yan let out a weak cough. Her face was still pale, but she was much better than when she first arrived.
"Thank you for your hard work, Yugao."
Chiba pushed up his glasses, looking like a grown-up doctor.
"Today's detox went very well. Impurities in your lungs are decreasing."
"Thank you, Chiba-nii-san—" Yugao nodded obediently, then closed her eyes wearily and fell asleep.
Chiba turned around and handed the collection bottle at the end of the tube to Sousuke.
About 5 milliliters of golden viscous liquid settled at the bottom of the bottle.
This is today's harvest—liquid natural energy.
Beneath the blindfold over Sousuke's left eye, the sensory snake twitched excitedly. Through the snake's vision, Sousuke could clearly see the terrifying energy radiation emanating from the liquid in the bottle.
"Sealed up".
Sousuke ordered.
"Yes." Chiba operated it skillfully.
Knock, knock, knock. Just then, a knocking sound rang out on the door.
Sosuke went to open the door.
Standing outside the door was Hyuga Isamu.
The boy, who had previously glared angrily at Sosuke, looked dejected.
"Mr. Sosuke."
Hyuga Isamu walked into the warehouse and bowed directly to Sousuke.
"Please—save my brother."
"What happened to your brother?" Sosuke asked. "He should still be in the recovery period; his paralysis is temporary."
"That's not it."
Hinata Isamu raised his head, his eyes bloodshot.
"It's an order. The Zong family issued a recruitment order."
"My brother, a branch ninja, has been assigned to the Third Reconnaissance Battalion and will be heading to the front lines in the Land of Rivers tomorrow."
"He's still bedridden and can't even walk."
The elder said, "Since your legs can't move, you can still use your eyes, right? Then have someone carry you there. The fate of the branch family belongs to the family. As long as you have a breath left, you must be loyal to the family."
'
"They—they don't treat him like a human being at all."
Sosuke looked at the desperate boy. He had nothing to say.
"What do you want me to do?" Sousuke asked. "I can't disobey the Hyuga main family. That's your family matter."
"I want to—I want to go in his place."
Hinata Isamu clenched his fist.
"I have my share of disdain too. I can go to the battlefield in his place."
"But the elder said the list has already been submitted and cannot be changed. Unless—"
"Unless what?"
"Unless someone can pay the deposit."
Sousuke smiled.
Through an exchange of benefits, they managed to get the main family to show leniency—I never expected such a thing to happen in the Hyuga clan.
"How much?"
"One million taels," Hyuga Isamu said in despair.
One million taels. For a branch family genin, that's an astronomical figure.
Even if Hyuga Isamu sold himself, he still wouldn't be able to raise the money.
Sosuke thought for a moment.
Hyuga Masaru's paralysis was also due to his own reasons; he couldn't stand idly by.
Moreover, through this incident, he can establish a deeper connection with the Hyuga branch family.
"One million taels, I'll pay," Sosuke said.
Hinata Yu was incredulous; he hadn't expected Sousuke to be so agreeable.
"You—you're serious?"
"I'm not joking."
Sosuke stood up and walked to the shelf.
"Mr. Sosuke————"
Hinata Yu was speechless.
"From this day forward, Hyuga Isamu's life belongs to you."
"I have no use for your life."
Sosuke said coldly.
"Go. Don't let your brother die. And don't you die either."
Hinata Yu nodded gratefully.
"Mr. Sosuke, thank you. Thank you so much. If I come back alive from the front lines, I will repay you in due time."
"If I die—"
He smiled, a smile tinged with melancholy.
"I will use my pension to pay off your debt."
Sousuke looked at him.
This kid is only fifteen. The prime of his life. And now he's going to be cannon fodder.
"etc."
Sosuke called out to Yu, who was about to leave.
"If you're going to your death, then don't die too quickly."
Sosuke went into the inner room and took out a black box.
"Here is a set of high-quality ninja tools. The craftsmanship is superior to those commonly found on the market."
"Thanks----"
Tears streamed down the boy's face.
He bowed deeply to Sosuke once more. Then, he picked up the box and left.
Heading to the battlefield.
Sosuke stood at the door, watching the boy's retreating figure.
What Hyuga Yu didn't know was that more than half of the ninja tools in that box were explosive tags. Sousuke had deliberately put them there.
That was just a small, insignificant blessing.
"Survive, kid."
"Life is what gives value."
West Street Warehouse.
A small private room was partitioned off in a corner of the warehouse.
The room was filled with a strong medicinal smell.
Hyuga Masaru lay in bed. He had been brought here by his younger brother.
He still can't move.
At this moment, the veins at the corners of his eyes bulged slightly.
He was trying to mobilize his chakra, even if it was just to twitch a finger. But he couldn't. The chakra within him didn't respond to his will at all.
The door opened. Sosuke walked in.
"Your brother just left."
"I gave him the best equipment."
Sosuke poured a glass of water for Katsu and fed it to him.
"One hundred explosive tags, plenty of ration pills, and shuriken and kunai. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid, he can survive even if he encounters a Chunin."
Hinata Masaru's eyes were filled with gratitude.
"Next, we need to find you a caregiver—"
Ri Xiangsheng's current condition requires constant care. He needs someone to massage him, turn him over, and wash him daily.
Chiba is a researcher, not a caregiver. Making a genius do menial tasks is a waste of resources.
Go to the orphanage and find another child? That's not realistic.
Nono wouldn't let the children take on this kind of work. The Hyuga clan's bodies are a secret; what if the main family came knocking on their door?
Those kids can't do this kind of work.
We need to find a professional, discreet, tolerant of dirt, and independent supplier of consumables.
"I know where to look."
Sosuke turned and walked out of the room.
The southern slums on the outskirts of Konoha Village.
This place was originally a wasteland, but now it is filled with colorful tents and simple wooden houses.
Before the refugees from the Second Shinobi World War had been fully absorbed, the refugee crisis of the Third Shinobi World War arrived.
The Land of Rain, the Land of Rivers, the Land of Grass—countless displaced people flocked to the Land of Fire, hoping to find food there.
Sosuke, dressed in a low-key gray robe, walked through the muddy slum.
His snake eyes sensed the dense, faint flames of life surrounding him.
This place is rife with disease and hunger, which means there is cheap labor.
Sosuke wasn't searching aimlessly. He was holding a list in his hand—a "reserve labor list" compiled by the Takaya Trading Company when recruiting laborers.
He stopped in front of a tent.
-
The tent smelled of cheap, even musty, herbs.
"Next." A tired female voice came from behind.
Sosuke lifted the curtain.
The tent was packed with people. Some had broken legs, some had sores, and some had fevers.
Behind a broken table in the middle sat a woman.
She was probably around twenty years old, dressed in coarse cloth, her hair casually tied up with a wooden hairpin. Her hands were rough, with medicine residue and dirt stuck under her fingernails.
She was applying a dark ointment to a child's leg.
"Dr. Chun, can this child still walk?" the mother next to her asked, crying.
"The bone has been set, but there's no anti-inflammatory medication."
The woman's voice was cold, but her movements were gentle.
"Go dig up some dandelion roots, boil them in water, and drink it. That's the poor man's antibiotic. Whether you live or die is up to fate."
Her name is Tsubaki. She used to be a doctor in a small town in the land of rivers.
Her town was razed to the ground by the Iwagakure demolition squad. She led the survivors on their way to Konoha, but because she did not have a medical license, she was turned away by Konoha Hospital and could only work as an unlicensed doctor in this refugee camp.
Sosuke stood at the doorway, watching quietly.
In the snake's field of vision, this woman's chakra was so little that it was almost negligible.
But her hands—
The hands that were tying the knot were incredibly steady. It was muscle memory honed from treating countless wounds and witnessing countless dead bodies.
"That's all for today's appointments. We're out of medicine."
Chun stood up and waved to shoo people away.
The refugees dispersed with sighs and groans.
The tent was empty.
Chun slumped wearily into a chair, picked up the kettle, and took a swig of cold water.
"Who are you?"
She looked up, staring warily at Sosuke.
Sosuke's clean and tidy clothes made him stand out in the muddy refugee camp.
"I'm here to discuss business."
Sosuke went inside.
He took a bottle of clean water out of his pocket.
"Do you recognize this?"
Chun's eyes widened instantly.
"The purified water from the Takaya Trading Company—" She swallowed hard. "On the black market, this bottle costs eight hundred taels."
"Are you here to sell medicine? I can't afford it."
"No, I'm here to hire people."
Sosuke placed the clean water on the table.
"I need a private caregiver. The job location is on West Street, and room and board will be provided."
"The patient is a paralyzed adult male. He needs to be turned over every two hours, his excrement needs to be handled, his muscles need to be massaged, and he needs to be fed liquid food."
"The work is dirty, tiring, and requires absolute secrecy."
Chun gave a cold laugh.
"I'm a doctor, not a nanny. Nor am I a servant who takes out your excrement."
"A monthly salary of fifty thousand taels," Sosuke quoted the price.
Chun's cold smile froze on her face.
Fifty thousand taels. In this refugee camp, that amount of money could buy a hundred lives.
"Furthermore, I can provide you with proper medical qualifications. Once you have those qualifications, you won't have to stay in the refugee camp anymore."
Chun fell silent.
"Who is that patient?" Chun asked. "Why does it need to be kept secret?"
"He's a ninja."
Sosuke said calmly.
Chun's eyes changed. Hatred.
The refugees of the Land of Rivers hate ninjas the most. It was the ninjas' wars that destroyed their homes.
"You want me to serve a ninja?" Tsubaki gritted her teeth. "Wouldn't it be better to let him rot in bed?"
"You can let him rot to death."
Sousuke's voice was calm.
"Then you'll just rot here and die."
Tsubaki stared at Sosuke. Her fingernails dug into her palms.
a long time.
She took off the stained apron.
"make a deal."