"Fūka, you studied medical ninjutsu under Nurse Nonō Yakushi, right? Hurry up and save Inoshita!" Uchiha Obito shouted, proud as if he were the one who had mastered the healing arts.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot," Fūka shrugged and sighed helplessly. It was as if he was thinking, Do you have to force me to show off? Fine, I'll give you what you want!
Asuma Sarutobi rushed over immediately, his face a complex mix of emotions. "Fūka, you… you know medical ninjutsu?"
Fūka nodded calmly. "I've already learned the Healing Jutsu and the Hemostasis Jutsu."
"What?" Asuma was stunned. He had thought Fūka might have only dabbled in medical ninjutsu, but to his surprise, Fūka had already mastered two techniques! Is this guy a genius? Asuma felt like his world was spinning.
"Hey, Inoshita's in bad shape! Hurry up and help him!" Rin cried out urgently, her eyes brimming with tears.
Beside her, Kurenai was just as distressed. Both girls were kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see anyone suffer.
Fūka nodded and was about to kneel when someone blocked his way.
The person who stepped in was a white-haired boy, his face still pale with lingering fear.
"Y-you can't touch him! Nonō Yakushi-sensei said no one should touch Inoshita!" Mizuki shouted frantically. "Asuma, stop him!"
"What are you doing, Mizuki? Inoshita is dying! You're going to kill him if you keep this up!"
"Yeah, let Uchiha Fūka save him!"
"Mizuki, you jerk, get out of the way!"
The other students started yelling at Mizuki, but the more they yelled, the more stubborn Mizuki became.
"I'm not wrong! Nonō Yakushi-sensei said no one should touch Inoshita. Are you all going to believe Uchiha Fūka over our sensei?" Mizuki shouted, his forehead slick with sweat, his eyes darting nervously. "I don't trust Uchiha Fūka! If he kills Inoshita, who's going to take responsibility?"
"You're just twisting the truth! Get out of the way, or Inoshita will die!" Asuma growled, glaring at Mizuki.
"No! I have to follow Nonō Yakushi-sensei's orders!" Mizuki insisted loudly.
Fūka narrowed his eyes, studying Mizuki's expression and the way he was avoiding eye contact. It didn't take long for him to figure out why Mizuki was acting this way.
"You said earlier that Inoshita got distracted and accidentally injured himself, right?" Fūka smirked, a strange smile forming on his face. "But I think you're lying. It was you who got distracted and stabbed Inoshita, and now you're afraid he'll wake up and expose your lie. That's why you're trying to stop me from saving him! Am I right?"
"You're lying! I'm not lying!" Mizuki's face filled with fear, sweat pouring down his face as his body began to tremble.
"Then why are you shaking? Are you scared?" Fūka chuckled softly. "Maybe you don't know this, but the Uchiha clan's Sharingan can quickly hypnotize others and extract any information we want. Do you want to try?"
"N-no! Stay away from me, you monster!" Mizuki shrieked, stumbling backward in fear. Just as he was about to collapse, Asuma couldn't hold back any longer. With a swift kick, he sent Mizuki flying.
"Fūka, save Inoshita!"
"On it!"
Fūka quickly knelt beside Inoshita, his hands glowing with a soft blue chakra as he pressed them over the wound on Inoshita's chest.
Meanwhile, the other students weren't idle—they gathered around Mizuki and began berating him.
"Mizuki, I can't believe you're such a terrible person!"
"You're the worst!"
"You lied about hurting Inoshita, and now you're trying to kill him just to cover up your lie? You're cruel, a real monster!"
"I don't want to be in the same class as you!"
"Get out of the academy, you jerk!"
Mizuki lay trembling on the ground, his head buried in his arms, eyes hollow with fear. But deep in his heart, a spark of hatred was igniting, slowly consuming him from within.
"Enough! Everyone be quiet!" Asuma shouted, stepping forward again. "Fūka needs quiet to save Inoshita!"
Oh, stop pretending to be in charge! Fūka thought, feeling irritated. When did I ever say I needed quiet? Everyone, keep going! Keep yelling at Mizuki. If you feel like it, give him a few kicks too! Don't mind me at all!
But of course, no one else could understand what was going on in Fūka's head.
"Yeah, let's be quiet. Fūka's helping Inoshita," someone said, calming the crowd.
"Stop arguing. When Nonō Yakushi-sensei arrives, we'll tell him the truth about Mizuki. We need to show Sensei what kind of person Mizuki is!" Obito eagerly rallied the others.
"Yes, exactly! That's what we should do!"
"Make sure Sensei sees the real Mizuki!"
As they talked, Fūka's Hemostasis Jutsu started working. The bleeding from Inoshita's chest wound had mostly stopped, with the blood beginning to clot. The remaining wound was no longer a serious issue.
Under Asuma's comforting words, Inoshita finally began to recover, moving his hands away from his chest.
"Thank goodness, the bleeding's stopped," Rin exclaimed, jumping up with excitement. "Fūka, you're amazing! I want to be a medical ninja too!"
"Yeah, Fūka, you're—wait, Rin, you want to be a… Fūka! You jerk!" Obito had been about to praise Fūka as well, but after hearing Rin's words and seeing the look on her face, something felt off. His thoughts twisted, and the jealousy he had bottled up for so long finally spilled over, leaving him feeling bitter beyond belief.
"Wow, Fūka has changed. Not only did he master Fire Release jutsu, but now he knows medical ninjutsu too."
"I think he could beat Kakashi!"
The same classmates who had previously belittled Fūka were now singing his praises, completely swayed by his actions.
Fūka shook his head and chuckled. These people are so fickle, swaying whichever way the wind blows. No wonder they won't even make it as background characters in the future. I'd better stay away from them so I don't get dragged down too.
At that moment, two figures suddenly appeared in the clearing. One of them was, of course, Nonō Yakushi.
"What the… what happened here?" Nonō Yakushi's heart sank as she saw the blood on the ground, but she relaxed slightly when she noticed Inoshita blinking up at her.
A medic ninja Nonō Yakushi had brought along crouched down beside Fūka. Though her expression was stern, there was a hint of amusement in her tone. "Hemostasis Jutsu?"
As she spoke, her breath brushed against Fūka's ear, causing him to instinctively shrink back.
"Huh?" Fūka turned his head, only to be met with an impressive sight. His eyes widened as he looked up at a familiar, beautiful face, pale as snow, brimming with strength and determination.
Wait… is this… the Princess of the Senju Clan, Tsunade?!
Fūka was genuinely startled.
Nonō Yakushi had said he was bringing a medical ninja… well, alright, in terms of medical ninjutsu, if Tsunade claimed to be second-best, no one in Konoha would dare claim to be the best. But hadn't she developed a fear of blood, rendering her unable to heal others?
Fūka's mind was spinning as he realized that Tsunade was looking at him with a very dangerous expression.