The Feeling of Being Drained Dry

As he walked down the corridor, the nurse knocked on the office door.

"Come in."

Aoba's familiar voice came from inside.

He pushed the door open. The office was small, and the bookshelves against the walls were crammed with medical records and scrolls.

An oil lamp sat on the desk by the window. Teacher Ueno was sitting there with a report in her hands.

"Oh, it's Yumiko. What is it?"

She froze when she saw Aoba.

"Yamashiro Aoba?"

Teacher Ueno took off her glasses. "What are you doing here?"

"Teacher Ueno."

Aoba greeted her politely.

"Lady Tsunade gave me a pass and told me to come to the Archives Room to study on my own."

Aoba answered truthfully.

Teacher Ueno took the pass and examined it carefully. After all these years since it had been issued, it had finally been put to proper use.

Although she had only taught Aoba for a short while, she greatly appreciated the boy.

"It seems Lady Tsunade thinks rather highly of you."

Aoba thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe she just thinks I'm useful."

"Useful?"

Teacher Ueno was initially stunned, then immediately understood and smiled. That really was Tsunade's style.

"True, but you should also know that not just anyone can make Tsunade think they're useful."

"I understand. That's why I hurried over to improve myself as soon as school ended. It wouldn't be good if I held Lady Tsunade back in class next time."

"Hehe, you little rascal."

Teacher Ueno lightly tapped Aoba on the head.

Aoba rubbed his head and flashed an innocent smile.

Yumiko, standing to the side, was dumbfounded.

No, this little brat had been standing in front of her just minutes ago, swearing that "a man's head can't be touched by women whenever they please."

Yet after being smacked by Senior Ueno, he did not resist at all and was even grinning like an idiot.

She was so furious she wanted to strangle the little brat on the spot.

"How is your Medical Ninjutsu coming along?" Ueno asked.

"I've barely mastered it," Aoba said modestly.

"Oh, you've mastered it already? Very good."

Ueno praised him.

Hmph, what a hypocritical little brat. He didn't act like this when he was showing off earlier.

"Since Lady Tsunade gave you a pass, go ahead. The Archives Room is the third-to-last room at the end of the corridor, but you may only read inside. You are not allowed to take anything out."

"I'll keep this pass. From now on, just let Yumiko know when you come. She'll open the door for you."

"Understood, Teacher Ueno. I'll be troubling you from now on, Sister Yumiko."

Aoba nodded earnestly, then gave the nurse a slight bow.

Yumiko lifted her chin slightly, suddenly feeling that this little brat was not quite as annoying as she had thought.

Aoba then bid Teacher Ueno farewell and followed Yumiko to the Archives Room.

Along the way, Yumiko explained a few precautions, such as not damaging the materials, altering them, or using open flames.

Aoba memorized every one of them.

The door to the Archives Room slowly opened.

A musty odor unique to old paper rushed out, mixed with the smell of preservatives.

It was larger than he had imagined.

As far as the eye could see, rows upon rows of towering bookshelves stretched into the distance, packed tightly with scrolls, books, and handwritten notes.

Aoba's eyes immediately lit up.

So much!

Konohagakure had only been founded for a few years, yet this place likely contained the accumulated wisdom of Konohagakure's medical system over several decades.

"This is the scent of knowledge..."

Aoba took a deep breath. Even if it smelled a little like moldy salted fish, it still smelled wonderful to him.

"Alright, take your time. I still have work to do."

Yumiko's delicate nose twitched. She did not like the smell in here. "Close the door behind you when you leave. It'll lock automatically."

"Alright, I understand. Go ahead and get back to work, Sister Yumiko. Sorry for the trouble."

The moment Yumiko left, the world fell silent.

Aoba walked over to the nearest bookshelf and casually pulled out a stack of documents. It was a personal medical record.

Hasegawa Ya, male, forty-one years old, Chunin. Condition: poisoning, pulmonary fibrosis...

It recorded the man's treatment process and the symptoms that had appeared at different stages.

When Aoba flipped to the last page, he saw three words stamped in huge red letters—DECEASED!

The date was Year 23 of Konohagakure.

This bookshelf—no, perhaps this entire Archives Room—was ninety percent filled with these "expired" case files.

Aoba guessed that the truly valuable materials were stored elsewhere.

This place was more like somewhere for newly promoted—or rather, rookie—doctors to practice and learn.

Most people would probably get dizzy just looking at so many case files.

Only the bookshelves near the entrance showed signs of having been browsed. The deeper one went, the more neatly the materials were arranged.

Looking at the rows of bookshelves, Aoba's eyes behind his sunglasses showed no fear. Instead, they gleamed with greed.

To others, this room might have been nothing more than a storage place for outdated "junk."

But for Aoba, who possessed the Chip, this was not an Archives Room at all. It was clearly data waiting to be entered.

It was a case database!

Konohagakure's complete Medical Ninjutsu system since its founding was right here!

Some of the older case records not only bore witness to the advancement of medical technology, but also carried the treatment philosophies, experience, and wisdom of every healer Konohagakure had ever known.

With so many real clinical cases, once he thoroughly absorbed them, he would be able to quickly determine the optimal treatment when he encountered similar situations. He could even use the cases to reverse-engineer the thought processes of the healers from back then.

This was far more useful than any so-called medical classic.

"System, get to work."

[Command confirmed...]

[Scanning mode activated]

Aoba narrowed his eyes behind his sunglasses, blue light flowing deep within his pupils.

On his retinas, countless streams of data began cascading down like a waterfall.

[Scanning... Text recognition... Image analysis... Data entry...]

Every word, every image, even the notes and annotations left beside them, was converted into data and stored in the Chip's database.

Rustle, rustle.

In the silent Archives Room, only the sound of Aoba rapidly flipping pages remained.

Two hours later.

Aoba straightened up and shook his head, feeling his temples throb.

"Fuck, it's been a long time since I felt this drained."

Aoba took a deep breath.

Although the auxiliary Chip was handling the scanning, the bridge carrying the information was his brain.

Even a concrete road could not withstand heavy trucks continuously rolling back and forth over it. The sensation of his brain swelling was anything but pleasant.

What was more, the Chip's high-load operation required a massive amount of chakra to maintain.

Right now, he felt top-heavy and weak in the legs.

Aoba pulled a Military Ration Pill from his ninja tool pouch and popped it into his mouth.

Luckily, he had wisely prepared Military Ration Pills in advance. The last time he scanned materials in the Konohagakure library without preparing any, his chakra had dropped to the safety threshold, leaving him unable to muster any energy for several days.

But these Military Ration Pills tasted fucking awful!

Aoba decided that once he had mastered the medical path, he would develop Military Ration Pills in dozens of flavors.

The kind with a full imperial banquet's worth of variety.