Chapter 24: Rope Tree Gravely Wounded (Please Vote)

"Lady Tsunade, quick, hurry to the emergency room, your brother—"

Bang!

Before the medical ninja could finish his words, Tsunade stamped her foot, leaving a small crater in the floor, and then sped past him, racing toward the emergency room.

When Tsunade arrived, she saw Rope Tree lying on the brink of death. The medical ninja on the battlefield had managed only rudimentary first aid; his skills were insufficient, able only to keep Rope Tree's vital signs stable, but not to save his life.

"Lady Tsunade."

Upon seeing her, the other medical ninjas breathed a sigh of relief and immediately cleared a space, allowing Tsunade to prepare for surgery herself.

One glance was all Tsunade needed to grasp the gravity of Rope Tree's injuries. The burns and wounds from the explosive tags were not the worst; the most critical damage was to his abdomen, which had been blown apart, with his internal organs also injured. His life signs were rapidly fading.

Tsunade immediately summoned two shadow clones and began treatment with three medical jutsu simultaneously. If only she had perfected the Creation Rebirth technique a few days earlier, she would have been more confident in saving Rope Tree now. Fortunately, the medical ninja had provided emergency care; otherwise, Rope Tree would never have lasted until Tsunade arrived.

Time ticked by. When Tsunade sensed her chakra dwindling, she even asked her assistant to feed her a few specially made soldier pills, barely completing the surgery in the end.

"The rest... you take over: cleaning, stitching, bandaging..."

Before Tsunade could finish her sentence, she slumped into a nearby chair. After seven or eight hours of continuous treatment, her chakra was nearly exhausted; only her willpower kept her from passing out.

"Leave it to us, Lady Tsunade."

The remaining procedures were quickly handled by the other medical ninjas, who soon wrapped up everything.

Rope Tree was bandaged from head to toe, looking like a mummy, and still hadn’t regained consciousness. Even if he woke, what awaited him was...

"I know. Thank you all for your help," Tsunade said, pale-faced as she forced herself to stand. She had performed the surgery herself and knew better than anyone what Rope Tree’s prognosis was. While there was hope he would survive, he would never be a ninja again.

This was a crushing blow to someone who had dreamed of becoming Hokage since childhood. Even if Rope Tree regained consciousness, he might never come to terms with it. But Tsunade had done all she could. If she’d treated him immediately, there was a good chance he would have fully recovered, but the medical ninjas on the battlefield weren’t as skilled as she was.

This realization only intensified Tsunade’s resolve to establish a proper medical system. If there were enough medical ninjas, Rope Tree and others wounded on the battlefield wouldn’t have to face death or such grievous injuries.

When Tsunade left the emergency room, she ran into Orochimaru. He asked, "How is it?"

"It’s all right. The rest can wait, Orochimaru."

She had only recently become his apprentice, and now faced this ordeal. Tsunade was exhausted and needed to inform Granny Mito.

Kahn knew nothing of these events. In his memory, Rope Tree was supposed to die, but unexpectedly survived thanks to him. The abundance of medicine had eased the burden on the medical ninjas, shortened treatment times, and, with the hospital's supplies at full capacity, all the accumulated wounded were soon treated.

With less pressure in the village, Hiruzen Sarutobi dispatched a batch of medical ninjas and supplies to the front lines, which was why Rope Tree survived. Without medical ninjas there, Rope Tree would never have lasted until he could return to Konoha for Tsunade’s treatment.

No one would tell Kahn about any of this. After a day’s rest, he discussed with Kawaki Miwa buying two more properties nearby to open shops: one a barbecue restaurant, the other an izakaya.

Konoha’s commercial district had yet to take shape. After surveying the area, Kahn found the shops were scattered and haphazard, most combining storefronts with living quarters in the back. Clearly, the concept of a commercial district was alien here, so Kahn decided to create one himself.

War was ending, and after war comes economic recovery. The surviving ninjas would have earned a fortune, and their consumption needs were simple: food, clothing, shelter, and transport. Once his barbecue restaurant and izakaya were established, Kahn planned to open even more shops.

He would fund and set up the businesses, then leave everything to the managers. Kahn still had plenty of money from the ninja world, which could only be spent here. He might as well invest it all and convert future profits into valuable resources.

The task of buying property was handed to Kawaki Miwa. If he went himself, he’d likely be swindled again. As far as Kahn was concerned, those two members of Konoha's F4 had questionable business sense; they didn’t realize who truly held the valuable resources. Konoha might cheat him on real estate, but he could make ten times the profit back on medicine.

A few days later, Kawaki Yuri settled the property purchases for far less than he would have paid himself.

Afterward came sourcing supplies and recruiting staff, both relatively simple tasks. Barbecue restaurants required only good meat for customers to grill themselves, and the izakaya didn’t depend on the chef’s skill—most patrons came for the drink, with food as a side.

If possible, Kahn even intended to open a casino in Konoha. After war, only gambling and entertainment could help people quickly forget the battlefield’s traumas. Kahn saw it as a way to ease the ninjas’ grief. But this needed further inquiry; if feasible, he’d import high-end gambling machines from Tiger Hill and establish the largest casino in the Land of Fire.

He realized the Konoha casino could wait, but the Land of Fire casino could start sooner.

Having given instructions for Konoha, Kahn left a million ryo with Kawaki Miwa as startup funds, then prepared to visit Kawaki Town. He intended to take Natsukawa to scout for more business opportunities; with several tens of millions of ryo yet unspent, keeping it on hand was as useless as holding scraps of paper. He was making money every day and needed to invest quickly for snowballing growth.

Just as Kahn was about to leave, Kushina returned to the food shop.

"Um... Boss, you’re here," she said.

Kahn replied casually, "Yes, but I’m about to head out. If you need anything, talk to the new manager... though she’s pretty busy too."

Kushina glanced around the shop, then approached Kahn and asked, "Boss, if I want to give a gift to someone bedridden, what would be best?"

"Fruit. You know where the fruit shop in Konoha is, don’t you?"

Kushina frowned and shook her head. "He’s a few years older than me, so he probably wouldn’t like fruit."

Comparing herself was pointless. When I was ten, I loved eating chili peppers! Kahn thought exasperatedly. After a moment, he said, "If you’re unsure, just give me a hundred thousand ryo and I’ll prepare a gift for you."

"A hundred thousand ryo!?"

Kushina’s eyes widened in shock, immediately suspecting the boss was trying to cheat her out of her money again.