"You really just laid down on my clean sofa cushion, huh?"
"Did you need something?" Takuya asked, setting the cushion aside and deciding to clean it after he ate.
"You need to come with me—Nawaki's in the hospital."
"...What?"
Wait, what? Wasn't Nawaki supposed to be on the battlefield? How did he end up in the hospital? A sudden, sinking feeling hit Takuya. Could it be that despite everything, the events from the original story still happened?
After spending so much time with Minato and Nawaki, they had become his close friends. Takuya had always looked out for Nawaki, constantly reminding him to be cautious of paper bombs and traps on the battlefield, hoping to avoid the tragic fate from the original timeline where Nawaki was blown up by a paper bomb.
"What happened?" Takuya asked, now completely forgetting about the sofa cushion as he followed Jiraiya toward the hospital.
"It's a long story," Jiraiya replied with a grim smile. "Nawaki's a good kid, but he got caught in an explosion while trying to save a teammate. His injuries were pretty serious, but thanks to Tsunade's treatment, he's stabilized. That's why I brought him back to Konoha to recover."
"Minato came back with him too," Jiraiya added. "If it wasn't for this, they would've already returned to the village for New Year's."
Takuya was speechless. Was this fate? No matter what he did, it seemed like Nawaki was destined to get hit by a paper bomb. Despite Takuya's efforts to change things, Nawaki still ended up getting injured—but this time, it was while saving someone else.
They arrived at the hospital quickly. Jiraiya led the way to Nawaki's recovery room, where they were greeted by the sight of Minato leaning against the window, arms crossed. Nawaki lay in bed, completely wrapped in bandages, looking like a mummy. His body was held in place by supports to prevent movement, with only his head free to move.
"Hey, Minato, Nawaki, look who I brought with me!" Jiraiya announced as he pushed the door open.
Takuya stepped into the room and immediately saw Orochimaru standing by Nawaki's bed with a faint smile on his face. The moment Nawaki had gotten injured, Orochimaru had dropped everything and rushed back to the village with him. Neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya could convince him to stay behind. Orochimaru insisted on accompanying them, unable to rest until Nawaki was safely home.
Despite Orochimaru's usual strange demeanor, his care for Nawaki was undeniable.
Minato turned toward Takuya, a smile on his face as he raised a fist. Takuya grinned and bumped it in return before walking over to Nawaki's bedside. Glancing down at his friend, who looked no different than a mummy, Takuya couldn't help but tease, "I warned you before that you were destined to get blown up by a paper bomb. You didn't believe me, huh? Well, how does it feel now?"
"Go to hell… I—cough, cough!"
Nawaki, clearly expecting some words of comfort, had the wind knocked out of him by Takuya's teasing. His attempt to snap back ended in a painful fit of coughing, his injuries too severe for such exertion.
Minato chuckled, unable to hold back his laughter. Nawaki, glaring at him, snapped, "What are you laughing at? Weren't you the one saying you wanted to beat him up? Well, go on then, I'll support you... mentally!"
"Uh…"
Minato's laughter died down as he glanced back at Takuya, whose eyes sparkled mischievously. Minato suddenly realized that trying to challenge Takuya was probably a terrible idea—he'd definitely end up the loser.
"You seriously thought Minato would take me on? What a waste of effort." Takuya couldn't stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of it all. He leaned against the bed and asked Nawaki, "So how bad is it? How long will you need to recover?"
"I'll be fine. Just broke a few bones, lost a chunk of flesh from my chest, and ruptured some internal organs. But my sister treated me right away, and Jiraiya-sensei brought me back to the village for recovery."
Nawaki tried to downplay his injuries with a lighthearted tone, but Takuya wasn't buying it.
Yeah, right. "A few broken bones" didn't explain why Nawaki was wrapped up like a mummy. His body was probably a mess of fractures, and losing a chunk of flesh might not seem like a big deal, but it would leave a pretty nasty scar. The real concern was the damage to his internal organs. Thankfully, Tsunade had been there to treat him immediately. With proper care, Nawaki would make a full recovery and be back to his usual energetic self in no time.
"Hey! What about me? I brought Nawaki back too! Don't I get any credit?" Jiraiya interrupted, clearly feeling left out. "This ungrateful brat didn't even mention me!"
Orochimaru shot him a cold look. "You were the one who suggested sending Nawaki and Minato to help with the body collection. Now you're upset because you had to help bring him back after things went wrong?"
Orochimaru hadn't wanted Nawaki to be involved in the cleanup in the first place. He would have preferred to have him either stay in the camp or be on the front lines. But Jiraiya, in his usual way, had offhandedly suggested they help out with the bodies. Once he'd said it, Sakumo had agreed, and the decision had been made.
If Jiraiya hadn't opened his big mouth, Nawaki probably wouldn't have been injured by the paper bomb.
"Ahem, well… it's not entirely my fault," Jiraiya muttered, clearly uncomfortable. His intention had been to give Nawaki and Minato a meaningful experience, one that might help them appreciate the horrors of war and perhaps even understand the importance of peace. He hadn't expected things to go so wrong.
When Tsunade heard about the accident, she had almost torn him apart. Orochimaru hadn't been much better, glaring daggers at him the whole time. Jiraiya had barely survived the ordeal and decided to accompany Orochimaru in bringing Nawaki back to the village, though it had been a tense journey for him.
Luckily, Nawaki had only been injured and not killed. While he'd have some scars to show for it, Jiraiya was just relieved that the situation hadn't turned fatal.
"It's not Jiraiya's fault. I wasn't paying attention—it was my mistake, not his," Nawaki said, trying to smooth things over. He could see how uneasy Jiraiya felt, so he quickly changed the subject. "So, Takuya, how does it feel to be a jonin-sensei? Pretty cool, huh?"
Nawaki had always dreamed of becoming a jonin-sensei himself one day. He imagined leading the next generation of Konoha's shinobi, guiding them on missions, and teaching them how to grow. But he wasn't even a jonin yet, and Takuya had already become a jonin-sensei.
"It's alright," Takuya said with a smug grin. "Basically, I just accept missions, relax, and watch the others do the work while I get paid. Pretty simple."
"Wait, are you serious?"
Both Nawaki and Minato stared at him, dumbfounded. Was being a jonin-sensei really that easy?
"You don't have to train your students?" Jiraiya asked, raising an eyebrow.
Takuya shrugged. "I'm still just a kid myself. What if I end up teaching them the wrong things? Plus, two of my students are from powerful clans. Ryoji Uchiha and Hyuga Suzune don't need me to teach them anything—they've got their families for that."
"..."
That was... unusual. Then again, he wasn't wrong. Training someone like Ryoji Uchiha was one thing, but how could Takuya possibly teach Suzune from the Hyuga clan? He didn't even know the first thing about Gentle Fist. It made sense to let their families handle their training.
"But what about the other one? The civilian kid, Aida Sui?" Jiraiya asked, curious.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read up to chapter 260+ at patreon.com/ Emik01. Don't forget to give a power stone for many bonus chapters