Chapter 182 174 Ouch, that really hurts!

Leveraging his familiarity with Danzo's personality and his deep insight into the battlefield situation, Orochimaru dug a pit for the latter, leading him to believe that a certain location was the logistics hub for Kumogakure.

In fact, that place was indeed a critical logistics site for Kumogakure.

Under normal circumstances, it would be heavily guarded by Kumogakure.

What Orochimaru needed to do was convince Danzo that Kumogakure had shifted all its focus to the defense of Feinuo Fortress, creating a temporary lapse in security there, providing an opportunity to strike.

If he could truly capture it in one fell swoop, Kumogakure would be forced to retreat in the short term, allowing Konoha to seize Feinuo Fortress at a much lower cost.

With such a great achievement, Danzo would be able to consolidate power in one fell swoop.

Upon sensing the feasibility of such an opportunity, Danzo naturally wouldn't let it slip by.

Unfortunately, this vulnerability was merely an illusion.

Orochimaru bringing his men along was merely to find a suitable excuse to appear at the right place at the critical moment, saving Danzo to ensure he didn't actually perish there.

He wanted to set Danzo up, but he didn't actually want Danzo dead.

However, only Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru knew about this, and the entire process was orchestrated solely by Orochimaru. Others, even absolute confidants like Mitarai Shishō, remained completely unaware.

Everyone would simply assume it was an accidental operational failure.

"Gen, come help treat Elder Danzo's injuries. Everyone else, go to the Medical Department for treatment."

After exchanging a glance with Uchiha Gen, Orochimaru issued his command.

"Very well. Yakushi Nonō, handle the personnel arrangements. Elder Danzo, follow me into the tent."

Uchiha Gen waved his hand, gave the order, and gestured for Danzo to enter the tent.

Once inside, Danzo took the initiative to unbutton his clothes, revealing wounds stained with blood all over his body.

He was indeed severely injured; blood-soaked and covered in wounds on half his body, he could barely move.

Despite being in such a state, Danzo never uttered a sound, silently gritting his teeth to endure it.

It must be said that when it comes to the character 'Endurance,' Danzo truly practiced what he preached, embodying the concept to a significant degree.

"Elder Danzo, lie down. I need to clean your wounds before I can use Medical Ninjutsu to treat you."

Danzo said nothing, simply lying down on the bed as Uchiha Gen instructed.

The latter retrieved tweezers, alcohol, and saline solution from the medical kit and began cleaning Danzo's wounds.

There was no anesthesia for this process, so Danzo would only feel more pain.

Consequently, Danzo finally couldn't hold back and let out a muffled groan.

"Elder Danzo, hold on a little longer. It will be over soon. If you can't take it, I'll be gentler."

Uchiha Gen moved gently, observing Danzo's reaction, and silently slowed his pace even further.

"No————need————, I can handle it."

"Alright then!"

That's exactly what I was waiting for.

"Urgh————ah!"

Uchiha Gen suddenly increased the intensity of his movements, causing Danzo to finally lose his restraint and cry out in pain.

Between prolonged pain and sharp, short pain, Danzo chose the latter, but the intensity of the pain naturally increased exponentially.

"Lord Danzo!" × 2

Hearing Danzo's cry, two Root Ninja outside the tent immediately tore open the curtain and stormed in, radiating killing intent.

However, in the next second, two long, slender snakes instantly coiled around these two Root Ninja, sinking their fangs into their necks.

Pale green venom was injected into their bodies through inch-long fangs, spreading through their arteries across their entire bodies, causing both of them to collapse to the ground instantly.

"Orochimaru————"

"Rest assured, Elder Danzo. This snake venom only has an anesthetic effect; it won't cause any harm to your subordinates. At most, they will only be unconscious for a few hours. It's just that, Elder Danzo, your subordinates seem to be quite distrustful of us."

Orochimaru waved his hand, causing the snakes to coil and toss the two Root Ninja out of the tent.

"Root Ninja must possess the mindset of a Root Ninja. Beyond the Will of Fire, they need the Will of the Root even more. They do not need unnecessary trust to avoid the leakage of intelligence."

Danzo endured the pain, gritting his teeth with difficulty as he spoke.

Then, he was subjected to pain again, letting out a scream.

"Suit yourself."

Orochimaru sat to the side with a chuckle, watching quietly as Uchiha Gen cleaned Danzo's wounds.

A few minutes later, Uchiha Gen set down the tweezers.

What a pity; the time to legitimately torture Danzo was only this short.

"Elder Danzo, you can sit up now. It's time to begin the actual treatment."

Hearing this, Danzo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and sat up from the bed.

It really was painful just now.

It hurt so much that Danzo was already holding a grudge against Uchiha Gen.

An Uchiha by birth, who rejected his recruitment and put him through such pain—given Danzo's vindictive nature and his heart smaller than a needle's eye, how could he not hold a grudge against Uchiha Gen?

However, the next moment, when those hands glowing with green Chakra pressed onto his wounds, sending waves of cool warmth that rapidly healed the injury, Danzo's thoughts shifted instantly.

The pain in his body was immediately dispelled to a great extent by the Medical Ninjutsu.

In just a moment, his injuries were significantly alleviated.

An hour later, when the treatment concluded, most of Danzo's injuries had recovered.

Minor injuries were healed completely, and severe injuries were significantly mitigated, becoming minor ones.

Previously struggling even to move, he judged by his current condition that he had likely regained over sixty percent of his combat strength.

Medical Ninjutsu is good! Medical Ninjutsu must be learned!

The Root must also have excellent medical-nin!

At the inception of the Medical Department, he, Danzo, had of course arranged for three or four slots to be filled, but in such a short time, they naturally hadn't had enough time to be properly trained.

Should he poach a few?

Danzo sat cross-legged on the tatami, his face impassive as he watched Uchiha Gen pack up the medical equipment, his mind racing with thoughts.

There were only three medical-nin in Konoha with top-tier proficiency.

Tsunade, Biwako Sarutobi, and Uchiha Gen.

Tsunade would never accept his recruitment, and Biwako Sarutobi, being the wife of the Third Hokage, was even less likely. The only one left, Uchiha Gen, had also recently rejected his recruitment, so it was impossible for him to directly recruit such medical-nin for the Root right now.

Therefore, the most suitable targets were limited to the dozen or so medical-nin who had followed those three on the Land of Rain battlefield.

After more than a year, these talented apprentices had become competent medical-nin, and some had even shown the aptitude to become top-tier medical-nin.

Danzo's targets were locked onto these individuals.