Naruto: From Extra to Savior

In the Hidden Leaf Village, Mizuki's artificial jinchuriki had become completely useless—his chakra reserves could no longer keep up with the rate of consumption. Gazing at the wounded scattered across the ground, Mizuki felt helpless too; continuing to use Medical Ninjutsu would mean he couldn't sustain his existence any longer.

"There are still far too few Medical Ninjas compared to other ninja."

The prerequisite for using Medical Ninjutsu was excellent Chakra Control—a requirement that immediately excluded a huge number of people. In addition came the need for medical knowledge and anatomical expertise, filtering out those with insufficient intelligence. Those remaining were either elites or at least close to elite caliber. Even among them, many chose other paths that might be just as promising as becoming a Medical Ninja. This path selection further reduced the number of Medical Ninjas, explaining the current situation. And this was even in Konoha, the village that valued Medical Ninjutsu most—who could say how primitive things must be in other villages?

Walking through streets ravaged by destruction, Mizuki occasionally lent a helping hand to those in need. With the Chunin Exams venue calming down, the village had dispatched massive battle-ready forces to reinforce frontline combat against Suna. The battle situation gradually tilted in Konoha's favor since Konoha remained the greatest military organization in the world. If taken seriously, Suna's forces simply weren't comparable—the gap in comprehensive strength was obvious.

As time passed, non-frontline ninja and civilians began rescuing themselves and each other. People around spoke little, silently carrying out their tasks. The atmosphere wasn't warm, rather somewhat muted, yet not oppressive.

"What strong people they are."

People striving to survive through repeated wars sometimes made someone like him—who watched with cold indifference from the sidelines—feel ashamed.

"Huh? What's this?"

Among the battlefield ruins, Mizuki noticed something unusual.

"These... bones? Could it be..."

Mizuki carefully examined the surroundings and indeed found some leftover bone fragments carelessly scattered about.

"Kimimaro?" Mizuki murmured, gazing at the bone fragment resting in his palm. "Looks like he died then. Judging from this nearby battlefield, clearly one side won. Since Konoha didn't lose, Kimimaro must have fallen."

Another teenager was toyed with by fate until death. A pity. Despite slight differences along the way, the outcome hadn't changed after all.

"Mizuki, is that you?" came a voice from behind. "Why are you wandering around here?"

"Oh, it's you, Ebisu..." Mizuki turned around to reply. "This isn't my original body. He's probably busy right now handling rescue missions for genin."

"I see," Ebisu eyed Mizuki suspiciously for a moment. "Judging from your appearance, your chakra must be severely drained. In that case, help me maintain order for civilians and genin evacuating safely."

Although nobody could tell exactly how real or fake this artificial jinchuriki was, manpower shortages everywhere meant anyone capable of helping was welcome.

"Sure. I originally had an emergency evacuation plan mission assigned anyway." It's just that he had been too busy to focus on it until now...

There remained significant differences between warfare among ninja villages and conventional warfare.

When the dynamic balance among the great ninja villages has not yet been broken, wars typically end with one side surrendering.

As Mizuki's original body returned to the village, Konoha had already secured victory.

"Hey, Mizuki, you're just in time," said Asuma Sarutobi, the first familiar face Mizuki encountered. "There are too many injured here—perfect timing since you've arrived."

"Asuma, I heard Suna surrendered unconditionally," Mizuki glanced around and asked. "Did Sasuke and Sakura make it back safely? I hope nothing happened to them."

Asuma nodded. "No need to worry—they're fine. Still, it's unbelievable we actually captured the One-Tail's Jinchuriki. The Suna ninjas immediately surrendered after learning their Jinchuriki was captured and the Fourth Kazekage had died." He took a deep puff from his cigarette as he spoke.

"Your arm wound looks like it's bleeding—should I take a look?" Mizuki couldn't really understand Asuma's current demeanor. After all, his father had just perished in battle, and the village suffered heavy losses. Such sorrow probably could only be understood by himself alone.

[Those who've served as bodyguards have surely witnessed comrades fall again and again—they probably learned to expect this sort of thing.]

The Third wearing full military uniform this morning already hinted at how serious the battle would become. The confrontation between the Five Great Ninja Villages wasn't ordinary small-time skirmishing at all.

Hearing Mizuki's words, Asuma waved him off with an easygoing air. "They're just surface wounds—I'm fine. Go check on the others instead."

"Alright then, I'll be on my way." Mizuki nodded and walked forward.

From afar, Mizuki spotted Sakura immediately—the bright pink of her hair stood out among the group of Medical Ninjas in standard uniforms.

[Even pulling out Genin now to fill spots?]

Thinking that, Mizuki quickly approached. Thanks to her recent training, Sakura Haruno's sensory abilities had sharpened remarkably—she noticed Mizuki first.

"This way, Teacher Mizuki!" Sakura greeted him from a distance. "Great! Now strong reinforcements have arrived."

Mizuki also exchanged greetings with several familiar-faced Medical Ninjas. Having stayed in the hospital nearly a month and frequently interacting with medical ninja, Mizuki had made a few acquaintances.

"Sakura, go rest now. Check on Naruto and Sasuke later, then head home—you know your family's probably waiting anxiously."

"But I can still help!"

"Enough. There are plenty of people here—we won't let a Genin exhaust herself to death. It's bad when kids push their chakra reserves too far…"

After much persuasion, Mizuki finally convinced Sakura to leave.

"Phew," Mizuki exhaled deeply. "It's definitely not the time for Genin to throw themselves recklessly into danger. Otherwise, where would our dignity lie?"

"Yeah," said a nearby Medical Ninja. "That girl had been pushing herself—her chakra reserves are almost gone."

No kidding. Given Sakura's physical condition, she fought against Dosu first, then assisted in battling the One-Tail's Jinchuriki, next endured the exhausting long-distance trip escorting the wounded, and finally played the role of a Medical Ninja. Without the Breath-Sealing Art backing her up, completing even one of those tasks would've been lucky enough. Still, Genin shouldn't be exploited like that.

"You guys rest and recover your chakra first. I'll go take a look."

With that, Mizuki walked into the temporary hospital ward.

"This wooden structure must be Tenzo's wood release technique. But I didn't see anyone like him earlier — he's probably gone already."

Looking at the staff gradually transporting injured shinobi back to Konoha Hospital, Mizuki didn't want to bother them. Instead, he scanned for any critical patients needing emergency treatment. He'd stabilize them first and leave the rest of the treatment to more experienced doctors.

"Mizuki?" someone called his name.

"You?" Mizuki looked in surprise at the person before him. "Did you get injured too?"

The person was none other than the old acquaintance Aoba Yamashiro.

"With your fighting style, it's not easy for you to get hurt. And this injury..."

Aoba Yamashiro had suffered severe damage to one leg, while the rest of him was almost unscathed.

"How did this happen?"

"I burned through all my chakra and came crashing down from the sky..." Aoba said awkwardly.

"Brilliant job," Mizuki gave him a thumbs-up. But jokes aside, Mizuki didn't mean to mock him. Just imagining how intense a battle would have to be to drain all his chakra and break his leg made it clear this wasn't something to laugh at.

"How's Captain Morino doing? When I left, the situation seemed pretty bad."

Aoba pointed toward Ibiki Morino who was receiving treatment nearby. "Nothing serious, though there'll definitely be another scar on his back."

"That's good. But why do I feel something odd about your tone?"

"Don't you think we were lucky it wasn't his face that got injured? There's no more room left... If there are more scars, he won't be able to find a wife..."

"The fighting's over and the rumor mill kicks in again. People living in turbulent times really need strong hearts."

"Is there anything I can help with?" Mizuki asked, ignoring Aoba Yamashiro's dry humor. "Anyone needing emergency treatment?"

"Most of them have already been taken care of. Those still needing attention aren't urgent cases — they've either already been sent to the hospital or they're beyond saving anyway."

"Sigh," Mizuki sighed. "Did I come too late?"

"It's not your fault. Everywhere is short-handed."

"Yeah." Even so, watching people die wasn't comfortable.

"But right now, there actually is someone who needs your attention. She still hasn't regained consciousness."

"Hmm? Who is it?"

Aoba led Mizuki into a small room and pointed at the person lying on the bed. "It's her."

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