Naruto: The Medical Ninja

Chapter 267: Chapter 264: Heavy Lifting

”I... I can’t join you.” The words, a fragile whisper against the silence of the hideout, were a raw confession of a spirit pushed to its absolute limits.

A stunned silence fell. For Tsunade, Dan, Yuki, and Shizune, the refusal was baffling. In their world, a second chance, a path out of suffering, was something to be seized with both hands.

”But why?” he asked, his gaze searching her face. ”You just saw what you can be. A life free from that wheelchair.”

Rina looked down, her shoulders slumping as if years of suffering were pressing her into the ground. She tried to hide her trembling with her hands clenched.

”I’m just... tired,” she confessed, her voice barely audible, thick with exhaustion. The memory of the violence she’d endured flashed through her mind. ”What happened to me... it broke me. Not just my body, but... my will. I don’t want to fight anymore. I just want... peace. A quiet life, away from it all.”

Ryu stared at Rina, analysing her words and the deep emotional fatigue in her eyes. He saw soul-deep exhaustion, not a lack of courage, that no physical healing could fix. He knew true recovery was emotional and spiritual. He let out a barely audible sigh, followed by a sad smile.

”It’s your decision, Rina,” he said, his voice imbued with quiet dignity. ”And if that’s what you truly want... then it’s okay.” He stepped closer, placing a hand gently on her shoulder, a silent promise in his touch. ”My door will always be open for you.”

With that, Ryu turned, and the group began to make their way out, leaving Rina behind in the quiet aftermath of her choice.

Tsunade, still processing Rina’s unexpected rejection, finally murmured to Dan, ”Did he... did he just give up on her? After all that effort?”

Ryu replied, ”Not by a long shot. This rabbit just needs time to remember how to hop on her own again.”

Dan replied, ”Now, let’s focus on things we can control right now. Ryu, how about we go see how your new lab is coming along?”

”Excellent idea, Grandpa! Let’s go.”

They travelled to a large, newly renovated building near the outskirts of River City that would serve as his new lab and workshop. To their surprise, the new Minister of Innovation, a woman in her thirties named Shunzo, was already there, supervising a small team of staff who were unloading instruments and supplies.

”Welcome!” Shunzo greeted warmly, bowing respectfully. ”We’ve begun setting up as per your instructions, Ryu-san. It’s... a bit more basic than what you might be accustomed to, but we’re making progress!”

”Excellent work, Shunzo-san,” Ryu replied, surveying the progress with a pleased nod, seemingly unbothered by the rustic setup. ”And please, Minister Shunzo, just ’Ryu’ is fine.”

”Of course... Ryu,” she corrected herself. She felt a jolt of shock. This man, so young yet so clearly brilliant.

”Good, good,” said Dan, as a craftsman himself, inspecting the under-construction workshop and looking around. ”And the craftsmen? Have they arrived?”

Shunzo’s smile faltered slightly. ”Ah, yes, Dan-san. We have five craftsmen currently. We’ve had some difficulty recruiting more for this region. Most are wary of the long-term prospects.”

Ryu, however, remained unfazed. ”Only five? That’s perfectly fine for now,” he said. He turned to Shunzo. ”Please gather these five craftsmen for me. I’d like to speak with them directly,” he requested.

A few minutes later, five nervous-looking individuals, their clothes worn and faces etched with the dust of manual labour, stood before Ryu. He offered them a warm, reassuring smile. ”Welcome. I understand you have families living in this region?”

They nodded hesitantly.

”Good,” Ryu continued, his voice clear and resonant. ”Then you’ll be pleased to know that for your dedication to this project, you and your families will be rewarded with permanent land deeds here, along with comfortable, newly built accommodation once the initial buildings are ready. And as a significant signing bonus, each of you will receive a substantial sum of money immediately, enough to ease your burdens. Furthermore, all your food and water needs will be covered.”

He paused, allowing the significant implications of his words to sink in. The workers looked at each other in disbelief.

One of the younger men, a carpenter with calloused hands, looked down at his own scraped knuckles and whispered, ”Permanent land deeds? Is this... is this even real?”

An older blacksmith simply collapsed onto his knees, overwhelmed, tears silently tracking paths through the dust on his cheeks. ”My grandson... he won’t have to break his back like me,” he choked out, his voice thick with emotion. A chorus of ”Thank you, sir!” and deep, heartfelt bows followed.

Ryu turned to Minister Shunzo, his smile widening. ”Soon,” he commented, his voice a low, knowing murmur just for her, ”they will all line up to join.”

Shunzo’s jaw tightened slightly, a fleeting expression of both shock and grudging admiration. Ryu had just solved their workforce problems that are common with the western region. He had bypassed all of her complex plans with a single, audacious offer that went straight to the heart of what mattered to these people. He didn’t just understand technology; he understood people in a way that she, for all her ambition, had yet to grasp.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Shunzo watched as Ryu, his demeanour shifting back to that of an inventor, began to question the craftsmen about their knowledge. He quickly found three skilled blacksmiths who could do intricate metalwork, one master builder with structural integrity experience, and a skilled carpenter who could make precise wooden parts.

”Excellent,” Ryu said, devising a complex plan to combine their strengths. ”This is more than enough to begin designing and constructing the instruments we need.”

His first project was a detailed hydraulic hand pallet schematic. Ryu unfolded the blueprint, showing complex, interconnected mechanical and hydraulic systems. He looked at the old man who talked about his grandson not breaking his back. Ryu said, ”No one’s grandson will have to break their backs.”

”We begin with lifting machines,” he said, gesturing to the blueprint, ”to reduce worker fatigue, accelerate construction, and establish a new standard for efficiency and safety.”

The men looked at each other in confusion. They do not understand such complex designs. How can a machine do the work of ten men?

Ryu smiled, knowing that with time and patience, they would eventually grasp the concept. ”Think of it like this,” Ryu began, ”you know how a small log used as a lever can move a huge boulder if you find the right balance point? You press down on the long end with just your body weight, and the boulder on the short end lifts. This machine is a kind of lever, but it uses oil. You press a small lever, which pushes down on a small amount of oil. That oil is connected to a much larger space. The small force from your hand is then multiplied on that huge space, and that becomes a great big push that can lift the heaviest load.”

One of the older blacksmiths, his face etched with years of labour, suddenly looked up, his eyes widening. ”Ah! So you’re saying a tiny push on a small space... makes a great big push on a large space?”

Ryu’s expression softened. ”Exactly,” he said, nodding. ”This is not about replacing hands, but about freeing them. These machines will not take your jobs; they will elevate them. They will free you from the most gruelling labour, allowing you to master new skills, oversee these machines, or engage in more intricate work that requires human ingenuity, not just brute force.”

Ryu continued, ”We are building a new kind of city and era. This requires minds to design, hands to craft intricate components, and spirits to envision a better future, not just lifting stones. Labour work will continue, but in a more dignified manner.”

Next, Ryu unrolled a second set of blueprints for a tower crane. He looked at the assembled group with a visionary gleam. ”Men should think more,” he began, ”and leave heavy lifting to machines... when not at training, of course.”

Ryu gestured to the crane’s towering design. ”This won’t just lift heavy stone; it will lift the very burden of physical exhaustion from our labourers. It will free minds to innovate, to learn, and to grow. We will build a new age by prioritising tools that empower our people and reduce their hardship.”

”My engineer will be joining us soon to assist with intricate machinery,” Ryu informed the craftsmen. ”By then, study these designs thoroughly. Understand every component, every joint. Have wooden prototypes of the key mechanisms ready using my blueprints. We are building the future, piece by piece.”

Minister Shunzo and the five newly recruited craftsmen nodded enthusiastically, showing their understanding and commitment. They saw more than just blueprints; they saw the cornerstone of an industrial revolution they were about to construct through their own efforts.

A/N:

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