Danzo Shimura, left speechless, stormed off in frustration.
In the Konoha Hospital lounge, Takashi was leisurely sipping fruit juice, thoroughly engrossed in his book.
As a weak medical ninja with a degraded bloodline, Takashi thought it might be wise to craft a few puppets to bolster his strength and ensure his safety.
"Bang!!"
The lounge door was suddenly thrown open, slamming into the wall with a thunderous noise. Takashi, startled out of his reading, almost tossed his book like a shuriken in reflex.
He looked up—Tsunade stood there, visibly angry.
What's going on here?
Takashi thought it was best to keep his distance and began slipping away with his book in hand.
"Where do you think you're going?"
His escape plan failed; Tsunade was blocking his path.
"I was just about to check on the recovery of two patients I treated today," Takashi hastily made up an excuse.
Tsunade was obviously fuming, and it didn't seem wise to be around her alone.
The fire was already lit at the city gate, and staying in the lounge only increased his chance of getting caught in the flames.
Tsunade's expression was intense as she scrutinized him closely. Before he could brace himself, her face suddenly drew near.
"What the—?!"
"Lady Tsunade, please calm down! I'm still just a kid; don't be impulsive."
Takashi leaned back, hands up defensively to keep her from getting closer; their faces were almost touching.
"Shut up!"
Tsunade paused, a few veins pulsing on her forehead. She clenched her fist, swinging it briefly as she scolded, "I just wanted to look at your eyes. Stop being as perverted as Jiraiya."
My eyes?
Oh, that's fine then; go ahead.
Takashi sighed with relief, his racing heart finally calming down.
Watching Takashi relax, pressing his hands to his chest, Tsunade suddenly felt the urge to punch him again. Did this little brat really think she wanted to take advantage of him?
Seeing that Tsunade was genuinely about to explode, Takashi quickly held up his hands and explained, "Just a joke! Please don't hit me."
"That joke wasn't funny!"
Tsunade glared at him, gritting her teeth, and Takashi could only look back innocently.
The more she looked at him, the more his eyes seemed to have a mysterious depth, an allure that compelled curiosity.
After examining Takashi's eyes for a moment, Tsunade grew uneasy—something was off.
Was this really bloodline degradation, or was it an evolution?
If the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan hadn't been known for its unchanging nature, Tsunade would have suspected Takashi's eyes had evolved alongside the Sharingan.
Throwing the file onto the desk, Tsunade leaned against it, pondered for a moment, then asked, "Are the side effects from the Byakugan degradation still severe?"
Takashi replied, half-truthfully, "Occasionally there's a bit of pain, but it's not as intense as when I first got injured. My eyesight hasn't been affected."
"Is that so?"
Tsunade closely observed his expression, clearly wondering if he was hiding something.
"Is there something on my face?"
Takashi knew what Tsunade was thinking, but he wouldn't show any cracks. Since his transmigration, he'd rehearsed countless scenarios to cover his tracks.
Each time he encountered a situation, he could respond flexibly.
"No." Maybe she was overthinking things. Tsunade shook her head, her whole demeanor drooping slightly.
"Damn it, these people—if they don't understand, they shouldn't interfere."
"And the old man too, actually listening to their suggestions. It's infuriating."
Are the higher-ups stirring up trouble again?
The "old man" Tsunade mentioned was undoubtedly the Third Hokage, and those "people" were likely the other members of the elders council.
"Is this about the reforms to the Medical Department and Konoha Hospital?"
Takashi had heard about this from Tsunade before; the Third Hokage had been considering it, but he didn't expect reforms to come so quickly.
"See for yourself."
Tsunade lay sprawled over the desk, shoving the document she'd tossed aside toward him. Takashi picked it up and examined it.
"Wow, they really went big."
After glancing at the contents, Takashi couldn't help but exclaim.
Medical ninjas were rare; each village lacked the resources and systems to train them, so the process was always slow, leaving them critically understaffed.
And so the elders council proposed reforms, initiated by none other than that old hag Koharu.
The plan was to shift from a one-on-one apprenticeship model to a large-scale, assembly-line style of training.
Talented young ninjas would be gathered and taught by experienced medical ninjas in a classroom setting.
Wouldn't this totally mess things up?
Takashi closed the document. "Isn't this a bit too extreme?"
"I said the same, but the old man refused to listen to me. He insisted that the Medical Department needed reform to make progress." Tsunade, getting more irritated, started pounding on the table.
Perhaps the recent changes in the Ninja Academy had given the council enough confidence to turn their attention to the Medical Department.
Can't they just manage their own logistics department?
Why drag the Medical Department into it?
"You're in for some tough times."
Takashi looked at Tsunade with a sympathetic gaze.
Of all people, this reform would impact Tsunade the most.
Luckily, it didn't involve him too much.
Not enough medical ninjas? That's Tsunade's problem. As long as she doesn't drop dead from exhaustion, they'll keep working her to the bone.
Without hesitation, Takashi set the document aside and picked up his book, resuming his reading.
This kid.
Takashi's reaction made Tsunade chuckle in frustration.
She thumped the table, asking, "You brat, shouldn't you be contributing to the Medical Department reforms? And why are you reading a book on puppet techniques? Don't tell me you want to become a puppet ninja just because of your degraded bloodline?"
"As a weak medical ninja with a degraded bloodline, making puppets for self-protection is perfectly reasonable, right?"
Reforms, Medical Department issues?
I know nothing about any of that. I'm just a freshly graduated apprentice—I wouldn't dare meddle in such big matters.
Reasonable?
Reasonable, my foot!!
Tsunade had to resist the urge to curse.
"It's about time to clock out."
"???"
Before Takashi knew it, Tsunade had forcefully ended his shift.
"Come on, hurry."
"Ouch! Uchiha scum! How dare you harm villagers!"
"I'm going to complain to the Hokage's office about you!"
Just as they were leaving, several patients were rushed into the hospital lobby by the Konoha Military Police Force.
"What happened?"
Tsunade, who was walking with Takashi, approached, examined the patients' injuries, and frowned. "Multiple fractures and extensive muscle damage. Don't you think you were a bit heavy-handed?"
Tsunade wouldn't have cared if the targets had been enemies, but these were Konoha villagers.
"My apologies, Lady Tsunade."
The police squad captain, with an earnest expression, bowed in apology.
Takashi recognized him immediately: Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan's young patriarch.
"Lady Tsunade, you have to help us! These Uchiha scum attacked us."
"…"
Faced with the accusations, Fugaku remained composed, though his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.
Being part of the Military Police seemed rather thankless. This was clearly a false accusation. The Uchiha might be arrogant, but they wouldn't attack villagers without reason.
On the contrary, they were relatively kind to civilians, certainly more so than a clan like the Hyuga.
"What did you say, you bastard?"
Even though Fugaku held himself back, his teammates couldn't. Hearing the villagers' accusations, the Uchiha officer standing behind Fugaku exploded in anger.