"He's really diligent. He treats patients while using Shadow Clones to study in the medical records room. No wonder he's so strong at our age," Taji said to Nono during the afternoon, finally having some leisure time in the hospital.
Nono nodded, continuously observing the young man who was resting to alleviate his headache after recalling his Shadow Clones.
Before Tatsuma arrived, the emergency department of the hospital had always been extremely busy, with a large number of patients queuing every day. Sometimes doctors from other departments would be called in to help.
However, since Tatsuma joined, such occurrences became rare. The emergency department, which used to handle mostly acute trauma patients, was now dominated by Tatsuma alone.
As for others, they were all assigned to receive patients with acute abdominal pain, sudden high fevers, and other such conditions. The emergency room, which had previously been somewhat chaotic, became orderly under Tatsuma's coordination.
Moreover, Tatsuma was occasionally called to assist in departments like surgery and orthopedics. Despite this, Tatsuma still managed to find time to study. In three months, he thoroughly swept through all the medical books in the library.
Recently, he used Shadow Clones to stay holed up in the medical records room, memorizing those cases and studying how previous doctors had treated different illnesses.
However, the cost of being so immersed was that Tatsuma hadn't had a good night's sleep in three months. Even though he had memorized those knowledge and cases without fully understanding them, the sheer volume of information was still overwhelming for him.
Tatsuma didn't know how long he would stay at Konoha Hospital, so he did his best to remember all the knowledge that seemed helpful for his next mission.
After finishing her snack, Nono frowned as she watched Tatsuma lying on the unused hospital bed, his brows furrowed, and swallowing repeatedly. She got up and walked over to a nearby refrigerator.
The management of the refrigerators here wasn't that strict, after all, medications requiring low temperature storage wouldn't be kept in places like the emergency room. The most stored here were ice packs and fever-reducing patches.
Picking up an ice pack, Nono walked over to Tatsuma and said, "Tatsuma, would you like to apply some ice? It might make you feel less uncomfortable."
"Thank you."
Enduring the nausea brought on by his headache, Tatsuma took the ice pack. With a firm grip, he crushed some of the larger ice blocks inside, softening the originally rigid ice pack.
Placing the ice pack on his forehead, Tatsuma did feel some relief from the headache. Seeing Tatsuma relax his brows, Nono also sighed in relief, smiling as she returned to her previous position.
After months of being together, Nono no longer felt awkward and having to call Tatsuma "Sakamoto-san". Although the two of them only had a small common topic about the orphanage besides work, Nono thought it was already good progress.
At least there was some improvement.
Tatsuma waited until his forehead felt chilled from the ice pack before flipping it over and applying it over his eyes. Shadow Clones not only brought back "intelligence," but also some bodily sensations. For instance, the fatigue from prolonged reading was quite taxing, and while a single instance of fatigue might be manageable, several layers of fatigue simultaneously were unbearable.
Although Tatsuma's actual eyes did not suffer any physical damage, the fatigue still needed to be relieved. After applying the ice pack for a while, Tatsuma sensed someone approaching outside. He sat up straight from the bed, although not fully refreshed, feeling much better than before and ready to work at least.
His current state was akin to the involuntary surge of energy after pulling an all-nighter and downing four or five cups of strong coffee.
However, when Tatsuma was about to attend to patients, he found that it wasn't a patient who had arrived, but someone unexpected.
"Tatsuma-kun, looks like you're not too busy today."
Orochimaru, who hadn't been seen in a long time, smiled as he looked at Tatsuma. Tatsuma glanced first at Nono, Taji, and the other doctors nearby who seemed puzzled, then turned to Orochimaru and said
"Orochimaru-sama, shall we proceed to the joint consultation room?"
"Sure, it seems you already know why I've come."
Orochimaru was very polite, and his manner of speaking seemed unchanged, but Tatsuma couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, as if Orochimaru was deliberately suppressing emotions.
It didn't seem like a hidden agenda or sarcasm, but rather a shared understanding?
However, with his currently muddled mind, Tatsuma couldn't grasp these nuances. He led Orochimaru to a joint consultation room and locked the door before asking
"Orochimaru-sama, are all the preliminary preparations ready?"
"Yes, the base construction, equipment procurement, and personnel selection have all been completed."
Orochimaru nodded. For over eight months, he had hardly a moment of leisure, either overseeing construction sites or inspecting factories in other towns.
In addition, he had to assess the professional competence of every project participant. If the Daimyo hadn't allocated funds generously and efficiently, the preparation time might have been even longer.
Orochimaru looked at Tatsuma and asked, "How are your preparations going?"
"Well, I've also done a lot of studying. I hope I can be of help to you," Tatsuma replied.
Tatsuma didn't explicitly mention that he had focused on studying oncology. After all, it was hard to explain. To cover up his abnormal focus on oncology, he chose to memorize academic research in other fields as well.
Orochimaru nodded. He had been paying attention to Tatsuma and knew that Tatsuma had been working hard for the mission. This attitude made Orochimaru feel even more sympathetic towards this good kid in front of him.
Initially, Orochimaru had brought Tatsuma into the project out of psychological imbalance and to make things difficult for Hiruzen. However, after Hiruzen agreed, Orochimaru started to regret his decision.
He had pulled a child into a quagmire.
Although Orochimaru wanted to make Hiruzen uncomfortable by forcing Tatsuma into the project, which indeed would make Hiruzen uncomfortable, what about Tatsuma himself?
Perhaps this child felt excited about being able to contribute to the village? Otherwise, why would he have been studying so intensely over these past few months?
With a sigh in his heart, Orochimaru put away his thoughts and asked again, "How has Tsunade been recently? I mean, emotionally."
"Well, she should be fine. She has a big patron who treats her to meat and drinks every day. However, sensei seems to have finally sensed the truth recently and her focus has shifted. It should be beneficial for advancing the project," Tatsuma replied after recalling for a moment.
Orochimaru nodded at his words and said, "In the next few days, try to probe her attitude towards the First Hokage's cells. Once we have them in hand, we can start the project."
"Alright. Do I need to explain my work arrangements to Hokage-sama?"
After joining the Wood Release project, Tatsuma wouldn't be able to maintain his job at Konoha Hospital. Orochimaru thought for a moment and said, "I'll handle that for you. Starting tomorrow, during the day, you'll familiarize yourself with the base and equipment with me. In the evening, try to find an opportunity to ask Tsunade."
"Got it."
Tatsuma nodded in agreement. Orochimaru stood up and said, "You can go ahead and coordinate your work now."
After Orochimaru left, Tatsuma first found Biwako and explained that he could no longer continue as a doctor at Konoha Hospital due to additional confidential missions. Biwako, despite her reluctance, had to let him go.
She also said a lot of words about welcoming him back anytime. Tatsuma had heard such words many times in his previous life, but those bosses were not necessarily sincere. However, Tatsuma could feel that Biwako genuinely valued him.
Later, Tatsuma bid farewell to the doctors in the emergency department. Taji tearfully mentioned returning to the days of overtime, while Nono silently watched Tatsuma with a worried expression.
Nono suspected that Tatsuma's departure might be related to Orochimaru, who was a jonin in the village and certainly executed dangerous missions. If Tatsuma went on missions with him and encountered danger...
But Nono didn't know how to voice these concerns and could only silently pray.
Tatsuma did not slack off during his last shift, working diligently until the end of the day. After returning home, it happened to be mealtime.
Mito still prepared a sumptuous dinner, but Tsunade did not return. During this period, she often dined outside, which didn't seem to bother Mito. In fact, she would be displeased if Tsunade came back to eat.
Nawaki enjoyed his meal happily, but Tatsuma seemed distracted. Mito quickly noticed but waited until after dinner to ask, "Is the village's research project starting soon?"
For nearly a year, Mito had refrained from inquiring, but it seemed she had been aware of the project's progress all along. Tatsuma didn't hide anything and nodded, saying, "Yes, it might begin in a few days."
Such confidential missions required secrecy from others. Mito hadn't asked about the project's progress in the past year not because she wasn't qualified but because she chose not to be involved.
Recognizing Tatsuma's mood, Mito added, "I will talk to Tsunade. After all, she has already agreed to it; there shouldn't be any more surprises.
"Also, you haven't disappointed anyone in this matter, so there's no need to feel guilty. I'm just worried whether Tsunade can live up to your expectations."
Mito's seemingly omniscient demeanor didn't surprise Tatsuma. After all, Nawaki, the fool, boasted every day about how many people praised his sister.
Anyone slightly smarter and familiar with Tsunade could detect the exaggeration and disbelief in Nawaki's proud demeanor because Tsunade's character and actions couldn't live up to such praise.
"In about two to three years, the children of this generation will remember Sensei's status. As long as Sensei doesn't commit any fundamental errors in the future, she will undoubtedly be the most prestigious female ninja in Konoha and even the Land of Fire.
"And Sensei will also become the representative of the Senju in the shinobi world. As long as she lives, the Senju will not be forgotten."
"And what about you?"
"Me?"
Mito's question was beyond Tatsuma's slightly sluggish mind today, and he couldn't fully comprehend it. Mito nodded slightly and continued, "Will you become a representative of the Senju?"
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