The Three Rules of Medical Ninja! (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

[Precision +3]

[Precision: E- → E]

As the notification appeared on the panel, Nara Kaikei finished the last grain of rice on his plate, a deeply satisfied expression appearing on his face.

This was what it meant to be a true foodie, body and soul~ (tactical lean-back)

One meal had nearly doubled his [Precision] attribute!

And if one meal could give him +3 [Precision], then three meals would be +10, one year would be three thousand, ten years thirty thousand, a hundred years three hundred thousand, and after three hundred years he could become a million-year-old deer spirit and ascend to immortality...

Nara Kaikei frowned, realizing things were not as simple as he had imagined.

Could an ordinary ninja live for three hundred years?

It seemed the [Lazy Glutton System] was indeed remarkably useful, but perhaps not as powerful as he had expected.

Should I eat more? Or eat better? Or perhaps...

Nara Kaikei rubbed his stomach.

Find other ways to increase my [Precision] attribute?

"Something feels strange..."

Tsunade looked at the spotless plate, then at Nara Kaikei's stomach.

"Logically speaking, a ninja who can eat this much shouldn't lack Physical Energy!"

Eat more, grow stronger, and have greater stamina—Akimichi Chō, also a member of the "Pig Deer Butterfly," was a perfect example.

"Maybe Kaikei was just especially hungry today?"

Yakushi Nonō stood and began clearing the table, her smile gentle and mild.

"He usually doesn't eat this much."

Nara Kaikei came back to his senses and said seriously, "Maybe it's because I'm growing, so my appetite has increased!"

His honest answer did not cause much of a reaction.

Yakushi Nonō gave Nara Kaikei an indulgent glance, while Tsunade rolled her eyes irritably.

"Ninja mature much earlier than ordinary people!"

No longer dwelling on the matter, Tsunade tugged at the tight nun's habit she was wearing.

"Nonō, do you have any other clothes I can change into?"

Over the course of that meal, Tsunade and Yakushi Nonō had grown considerably closer.

If Nara Kaikei had to describe it, they were probably now "close enough to hold hands while going to the bathroom together."

Nara Kaikei could not understand that at all.

He was the type who felt uncomfortable all over if someone was using the urinal beside him...

"I do."

Yakushi Nonō glanced at Tsunade's obviously ill-fitting nun's habit, her expression somewhat subtle.

"It's the exclusive uniform of the Medical First Aid Class."

"No problem!"

After changing clothes, Tsunade took the initiative to say goodbye to the two of them, then hurriedly left Kikyo Orphanage.

She still had to report the spy intelligence to Hiruzen Sarutobi, along with another matter she had just thought of...

Nara Kaikei leisurely lay back down on the bed. In front of Yakushi Nonō, who knew him inside and out, he had no need to hide his true personality.

"Kaikei, are you practicing your 'energy-saving philosophy' again?"

After tidying the table, Yakushi Nonō teased him.

"Never do anything unnecessary, and simplify anything that must be done."

"As expected, Sister Nonou understands me best! I'm not being lazy, I'm just saving energy."

Lying on the bed, Nara Kaikei did not mind her teasing and merely went along with her words.

"By the way, Sister Nonou, after coming back this time, will you be leaving the village for missions again?"

Yakushi Nonō had never revealed her true identity as a Root Ninja to Nara Kaikei, even though he had long known.

In Yakushi Nonō's eyes, Nara Kaikei had always merely regarded her as an Elite Jonin of the Medical First Aid Class.

"I'm not sure either."

Yakushi Nonō sat beside Nara Kaikei and gently stroked his black hair.

"After all... war is about to begin."

In the past, Yakushi Nonō had never discussed matters like "missions" or "war" in front of Nara Kaikei.

But now, Nara Kaikei had become an official ninja and would soon become her "colleague."

Only then had Yakushi Nonō stopped avoiding the subject.

However, she still had no intention of revealing her identity as a Root Ninja.

The pitch-black roots hidden underground were simply too far removed from a spirited child like Kaikei...

"War... the Third Shinobi World War..."

Nara Kaikei's originally relaxed and cheerful expression immediately turned calm and cold at those words.

The face of the Iwagakure Spy he had encountered today suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Sister Nonou, you're an elite of the Medical Department. No matter what missions you face in the future, don't forget the Three Rules of Medical Ninja! Especially the second and third rules!"

The Three Rules of Medical Ninja?

Yakushi Nonō's hand paused slightly as she stroked his head.

First, until their teammates have died, medical ninja must never give up treatment!

Second, medical ninja must never stand on the very front line of battle!

Third, medical ninja must never die before any member of their squad!

"Kaikei, I appreciate your concern."

Yakushi Nonō once again gently brushed Nara Kaikei's hair.

"Honestly, you're clearly just a child... Though children of the Nara Clan have never been measurable by common sense."

"Sister Nonou, and the funding for Kikyo Orphanage—"

Usually gentle, Yakushi Nonō showed Nara Kaikei a serious expression for the first time when he brought up this subject and interrupted him.

"Kaikei, I alone will bear the responsibility of supporting everything at Kikyo Orphanage!"

"But aren't I one of Kikyo Orphanage's original founders too?"

Nara Kaikei closed his eyes, recalling the scene of his first meeting with Yakushi Nonō.

"Besides, Sister Nonou was the one who dragged me back to Kikyo Orphanage back then!"

Strictly speaking, Nara Kaikei had been Kikyo Orphanage's first "orphan"... though that did not seem like anything to be proud of.

"W-We agreed not to talk about that!"

A faint blush spread across Yakushi Nonō's oval face, and she began stammering. The serious air she had just displayed vanished in an instant.

Back then, while training alone in the forest outside Kikyo Castle, she had accidentally discovered Nara Kaikei sitting alone in the woods. At the time, he had carried no identification whatsoever—just as he still did now.

Yakushi Nonō had not known Nara Kaikei's true identity. She had merely thought him a lonely, withdrawn child living apart from others, and in a burst of maternal instinct, she had brought him back to her home—the future Kikyo Orphanage.

Then... Yakushi Nonō had nearly been treated as a human trafficker by the Nara Clan!

Nara Kaikei gazed into Yakushi Nonō's brownish-green eyes and spoke with utmost sincerity. "In any case, if Kikyo Orphanage has funding problems, you can discuss them with me."

Yakushi Nonō adjusted her glasses and said quietly, "Kaikei, I can't accept support from the Nara Clan for no reason."

"Not the Nara Clan. Me personally."

Nara Kaikei raised his thumb and pointed it back at himself.

"Being a ninja is a very expensive profession... I don't want to keep taking money from home."

Yakushi Nonō found Nara Kaikei's statement somewhat strange.

Were ninja really that expensive?

But if it was only support from Nara Kaikei himself... there should not be any problem.

Although she had never said so openly, Yakushi Nonō truly regarded Nara Kaikei as one of Kikyo Orphanage's founders.

Moreover, supporting Kikyo Orphanage's operations alone with her personal income was indeed rather difficult.

Not to mention that Yakushi Nonō had already begun considering leaving Root.

Root's missions were indeed dangerous and arduous. One careless mistake could cost her life.

But correspondingly, Root's mission rewards were also high!

If she left Root in the future, Yakushi Nonō had no idea where she could earn the funds needed to maintain Kikyo Orphanage's operations.

But Kaikei... could he manage it?

Yakushi Nonō examined the boy's handsome little face.

"Then let's find a time later to discuss how we can 'make money' together!"

As soon as she said that, Yakushi Nonō suddenly felt something was off.

It sounded exactly like an old married couple discussing how to overcome their household financial difficulties together...

"No problem!"

Nara Kaikei sat up from the bed.

"Then I'll head back first... Sister Nonou, you must have gone to my house just now to pass along the message, right?"

Yakushi Nonō nodded lightly and watched Nara Kaikei leave Kikyo Orphanage.

Under the cover of night, Nara Kaikei headed home.

Yakushi Nonō had always been so meticulous and conscientious. Whenever Nara Kaikei went to Kikyo Orphanage, she never forgot to notify his family.

Dad and Mom should be waiting for me to come home right about now... right?

Nara Kaikei arrived at his front door and looked at the pitch-black interior, where not a single light was on.

He silently took out his key and opened the door. After only two steps, a powerful beam of light shone directly into his face. He instinctively raised a hand to shield himself and peered through his fingers at the person opposite him.

"Why is it you? Why are you back?"

A familiar voice he had heard for twelve years rang out, but the light did not go off.

"..."

Nara Kaikei fell silent for a moment before slowly lowering his hand.

"Pingzi, is there a possibility that this is also my home?"

Click!

Nara Pingzi switched off the flashlight in her hand, turned on the hanging lamp in the house, and glared at her child irritably.

"How many times have I told you? Call me Mom!"

Nara Pingzi turned and walked deeper into the house. On closer inspection, her gait was not quite normal and had a slight limp.

"Xiaojiao, you really are getting less lovable as you grow up!"

"At least until you change what you call me, I won't change either, Pingzi."

Nara Kaikei spoke very seriously.

"Nara Xiaojiao... that name sounds far too half-hearted! Especially when our family also raises a deer named 'Big Horn'!"

Nara Pingzi turned around and glared at her troublesome child.

"Your dear father gave you that name!"

A chill ran through Nara Kaikei.

Dear father.

Correspondingly, Nara Kaikei's father, Nara Shusuke, had a special pet name too—dear wife.

What a disgustingly lovey-dovey couple, and they're actually my parents... This is humiliating.

"And speaking of Big Horn..."

Nara Pingzi grabbed a kitchen knife, spun her wrist in a dazzling flourish, and aimed its gleaming tip directly at her child's head.

"Why did only you come back, Xiaojiao? Where's Big Horn?"