"I've had some free time lately, so I conducted a small experiment related to the texture of raw meat after cooking. Are you interested?"
The chakra scalpel quickly cut through Dan Kato's wound, but Tatsuma's tone seemed somewhat casual. Biwako absorbed the blood from the wound and then asked, "Let's hear it?"
"Beef tastes great either within ten hours after slaughter or after seven days without spoiling. What do you think is the reason?"
"I usually eat meat within four hours after slaughter and haven't really thought about this question."
Biwako echoed the sentiment. As a doctor, she knew that many surgeons would talk about things unrelated to the surgery during the procedure, so she didn't find anything unusual.
Nono, Taji, and Minato all showed curious expressions. Tsunade kept her head down, seemingly still praying. Orochimaru seemed to have understood something and silently turned his head.
"Because about ten hours after a cow dies, rigor mortis sets in, which lasts for about three to ten days, but under refrigerated conditions, it's generally seven days.
During the rigor mortis process, the texture of the beef declines and becomes less palatable. However, within ten hours post-slaughter, during the hot fresh meat phase, and after seven days in the mature phase, the texture improves.
Some steakhouse practices of aging and maturing meat are based on this principle, essentially alleviating rigor mortis to restore or even enhance the beef's texture."
After Tatsuma explained, the initially curious three people had complex expressions. Biwako also smiled and said, "With that explanation, I don't think I want to go to a steakhouse anymore."
Taji nodded in agreement and said, "My parents said they'd take me to a steakhouse when I got promoted to Chunin, but it looks like that's not happening now."
After her initial speechlessness, Nono started thinking about how the discounted meat she bought before never tasted good. It seems that from now on, the meat bought for the hospital should be refrigerated for a few days first.
Minato felt a bit relieved. Thankfully, his favorite food was ramen, not meat. Noodles shouldn't have rigor mortis, right?
"No need to be so sensitive. Knowing this just means you'll understand what you're eating better."
After grossing out a few people, Tatsuma felt no burden at all. His hands continued working, having already removed the damaged kidney and sutured the wound.
Biwako released the hemostatic clamp, and seeing there was no bleeding, she also breathed a sigh of relief. Tatsuma glanced at the monitor and noticed Dan Kato's blood oxygen levels were rising, making him smile unconsciously.
"Sensei, Director, should we use Regenerative Healing Jutsu?"
Tsunade snapped back to reality, nodded, and said, "Okay!"
Seeing her like this, Biwako asked worriedly, "Are you sure you're okay? Should we transfer him to Konoha Hospital? I can quickly arrange for medical ninjas to conduct joint treatment."
"No need. Transferring these life-support devices is too troublesome. Let me lead this jutsu. If it weren't for Sensei teaching us not to use Shadow Clone, I could handle it myself. But, Minato, I might need your help."
Tatsuma refused Biwako's suggestion. Hearing his words, Tsunade, who had been in a daze, also snapped out of it and said, "No, I'm fine. It's my fault that caused this situation, and I need to make amends."
Hearing this, Tatsuma nodded. He didn't know what had happened during Tsunade's mission, but as long as Tsunade could regain her composure, there wouldn't be any problems.
The Regenerative Healing Jutsu's formation covers a large area and takes a long time, so chakra can't be directly substituted. Fortunately, among the equipment and supplies Biwako brought, there was special ink for inscribing the jutsu formula.
The complex jutsu formula covered almost the entire operating room, and hair used as the "medium" was also taken. The Regenerative Healing Jutsu requires at least five medical ninjas, with four positioned at the four corners of the formula and one leading the jutsu.
Tatsuma sat in the leading position, while Biwako, Tsunade, Nono, and Taji sat at the four corners. As they formed seals, the five pressed their hands together, and the edges of the formula began to emit green chakra light.
Tatsuma felt somewhat relieved that Dan Kato had a full head of hair; otherwise, given the size of his wound, it would have been difficult to heal.
The principle of the Regenerative Healing Jutsu is to use the patient's own cells, transforming them through the jutsu into cells that can fill the wound, and then repairing the wound through precise chakra control.
However, the jutsu also has significant limitations. Firstly, it requires many participants and a long treatment time. Secondly, some complex organs are difficult to simulate and transform.
Muscle, skin, and even bones can be transformed, but internal organs cannot.
When a ninja suffers an injury like Dan Kato's, the village often opts to give up on them rather than spend extensive manpower and time on treatment. After all, losing an internal organ makes it nearly impossible to continue being a ninja.
Seeing the five busy, Orochimaru didn't stay idle either. He began collecting the removed kidney tissue from Dan Kato, planning to cultivate a new kidney later, using this as the best material.
Three hours later, Taji and Nono were visibly exhausted, and Biwako also looked tired. Minato and Orochimaru quickly replaced Taji and Nono, letting them rest.
Minato and Orochimaru weren't particularly skilled in Medical Ninjutsu, but since Tatsuma was leading the jutsu, they only needed to provide precise chakra to decompose Dan Kato's hair.
After a few more hours, Tatsuma finally breathed a sigh of relief. The required cells had all been transformed, and the rest was straightforward.
With Tatsuma's control, the transformed cells adhered to Dan Kato's wound, like a 3D printer, layer by layer printing muscle, fascia, fat, and skin onto Dan Kato.
When Tatsuma stopped the flow of chakra and the glow of the jutsu faded, Dan Kato's original wound had become smooth and even. From the outside, no one could tell he was missing a kidney.
Looking at Dan Kato, who still had his eyes closed, Tsunade opened her mouth a few times but didn't dare to ask. Tatsuma and Orochimaru looked at the screens of the two life-support devices. Seeing the stable readings, Orochimaru said, "Deactivate life support?"
Tatsuma thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let's try it."
Orochimaru turned off the life-support function of the device, but the monitoring function remained on. As the life support was turned off, Dan Kato's vital signs began to drop again, making Tatsuma nervous. Orochimaru even considered turning the life support back on.
However, when the values dropped to a certain point, they suddenly stabilized. In an instant, Tatsuma's tense posture relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief. Orochimaru slightly opened his mouth, and tears seemed to flash in his eyes.
A few days ago, the village had dismissed his past two years of work, but at this moment, Orochimaru was convinced that the past two years had definitely not been the "waste" they had called it.
He had saved a life that even Tsunade couldn't, proving the success of his research! And this was just a very small part of all his research achievements over the past two years.
However, when Orochimaru thought about how his and Tatsuma's access to the base had been revoked, he felt an emptiness inside, devoid of the joy that should come with a successful operation.
While Orochimaru stared blankly at the two life-support devices, Tatsuma, less affected by emotions, began checking Dan Kato's condition. Seeing that Dan Kato's breathing and heartbeat had returned, he finally smiled and removed the mask that had severely restricted his breathing.
Tsunade, who had initially felt like crying again at Orochimaru's disappointment, now saw Tatsuma's contrasting expression and was momentarily unsure which emotion to follow.
"The surgery was successful. Now we just need to wait for Dan Senpai to wake up on his own. But this is only the first step. After the kidney is cultivated and transplanted, Dan Senpai will be able to regain his strength."
Seeing the panic in his sensei's eyes, Tatsuma smiled and said, hearing this, Tsunade almost couldn't get up. She crawled over in a disheveled state, hugged Tatsuma, and began to cry loudly.
After a long while, Tsunade's emotions gradually calmed down, and she started to recount their mission to Tatsuma.
They had found the culprit behind the disappearance of the Konoha ninja—a group of Iwa ninjas. Kunugi Mokume and Kemuri were responsible for the frontal combat, while Dan Kato used the Spirit Transformation Jutsu, leaving his body to Tsunade and sending his soul into the enemy camp to assist from a distance and check for any surviving Konoha ninjas.
However, a squad of Iwa ninjas broke through Kunugi Mokume and Kemuri's defenses. Tsunade made the mistake of choosing to pursue them, leaving Dan Kato's unguarded body behind, and the unexpected happened.
They annihilated the enemy, but at the same time, Dan Kato's body, left unprotected with his soul outside, suffered a potentially fatal attack.
If Tatsuma hadn't arrived in time and brought Dan Kato back for treatment, Dan Kato wouldn't have had any chance of survival. His injuries at that time were beyond Tsunade's ability to heal.
Of course, she could remove the kidney and suture the wound, but she couldn't restore the heartbeat and breathing of the deceased Dan Kato. Without Orochimaru's two life-support devices, which had only been tested on piglets, no amount of medical ninjas would have been of any use.
At this moment, Orochimaru held a test tube containing Dan Kato's kidney tissue, feeling immensely melancholic. He could cultivate a kidney, but it required the equipment in the base. Yet, Hiruzen's attitude clearly intended to shut him out.
"The cancellation of your and Tatsuma's access rights was a mistake in the transmission of sensei's orders. Can you forgive sensei?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice, though feeling somewhat distant, sounded behind Orochimaru. Orochimaru retracted all expressions from his face, turned around, and calmly looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had appeared unnoticed. He smiled and said:
"Sensei, I think you did the right thing. Perhaps I should relinquish the leadership of the Wood Release experiment and let the research return to the track you desire."
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, Hiruzen pursed his lips, seeming about to explain something, but Orochimaru raised the test tube in his hand and said, "There's something else I want to accomplish now. I need to return to the base, Sensei. Can you allow me?"
Looking at his disciple, who now seemed completely different from the young man he remembered, Hiruzen remained silent for a while, then nodded and said, "As I promised beforehand, go and pursue the research you want to do."
Meanwhile, in the makeshift ward, Dan Kato, whose blood oxygen had recovered, slowly opened his eyes and saw Tsunade's face. Dan Kato was momentarily stunned and sorrowful as he said, "Why do I see you so soon?"
Before Tsunade could respond, an unexpected face appeared in Dan Kato's line of sight. As his groggy mind struggled to recall who this person was, he spoke, "You're awake? The surgery was successful; you're now an incomplete man."
"Jewel Crusher? What did you do to me?"
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