Sushi

"Brother, I'm sorry. I misunderstood you."

After dinner, Gekko Hayate finally came to his senses. He lowered his head and came to find Hanfu to apologize. "I shouldn't have said those things to you. Please don't be mad at me, okay?"

Hanfu looked at his little brother's aggrieved expression and couldn't help but sigh. He patted him on the shoulder and said with a melancholic tone, "Don't worry. Even though you misunderstood me and hurt my feelings with your words, I won't blame you. After all, you're my little brother."

Gekko Hayate felt like something was off, but hearing that Hanfu wasn't angry, a happy smile finally appeared on his face.

"However!"

Hanfu's tone shifted, and he began to rub his thumb and middle finger together in a sleazy manner. "When I fell down the stairs, I lost my pocket money. Sigh, it's really quite a dilemma."

Gekko Hayate was a bit dazed: So, were his brother's injuries caused by his classmates beating him up, or from falling down the stairs?

If he didn't fall down the stairs, why would he lose money?

The more Gekko Hayate thought about it, the more his head hurt. Finally, he decided not to dwell on it and asked, "Brother, are we going to practice swordplay together tonight?"

"..."

Hanfu's finger-rubbing motion paused. I... was my hint not obvious enough?

But when he saw his little brother's pure and innocent eyes, Hanfu understood in an instant: This little sprout hadn't been through the storms of life yet; how could he possibly know what this gesture meant?

Forget it. He was just a little brat, after all. Let him be.

Hanfu waved his hand and said, "Little brother, I'm not feeling well. I need to go to bed early tonight, so I won't be able to hang out with you."

"Oh."

Gekko Hayate looked at the bruises on Hanfu's face, nodded sensibly, and ran off to the backyard to practice his swordplay alone.

When Hanfu returned to his bedroom, he saw Keiko tidying up his tatami mat. There were already many clothes and pants in the room that didn't belong to him.

Clearly, Gekko Hayate would be officially moving in to live with him from now on.

Hanfu had expected this. After all, Hayate came from a single-parent family, and with his father off on the battlefield, he couldn't live alone, so he had to move into their home.

"Hanfu-chan, Hayate will be living with you from now on. Don't bully him when you're sleeping," Keiko said.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in that," Hanfu said with a yawn.

"That?"

Although Keiko was an adult, she hadn't experienced much of the world and didn't understand the implication behind Hanfu's words. Still, she instructed, "Hanfu-chan, Hayate is the future of the family and is meant to inherit the Konoha-Style Kenjutsu. You must not lead him astray, or your father will beat your butt to a pulp."

"Got it, got it."

Hanfu had a bad feeling: With this kid from another family moving in, was he going to be used as a negative example and dragged through the mud every single day?

Thinking about it this way, it's a little desperate.

At this moment, Keiko had finished tidying up. She stood up and walked toward the entrance, saying without looking back, "Hanfu, Mom has a night shift at the hospital. Take Hayate to school tomorrow morning and be careful on the way, you hear?"

"Yeah, I got it." Hanfu nodded, then his expression shifted, and he hurried after her to ask, "What about our breakfast and lunch bento for tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, Mom has already made them for you!" Keiko turned back with a gentle smile. "They're in the kitchen."

"..."

Hanfu looked at her expressionlessly. "It's not rice balls, is it?"

She had clearly promised to make something else!

Hanfu was so annoyed!

"No, this time I made sushi!" Keiko laughed. "Hanfu will definitely like it! Alright, bye-bye."

As she spoke, Keiko changed her shoes at the entrance. When she opened the door, she paused for a moment.

Hanfu immediately offered his 'blessing': "Goodbye, Mom!"

Bang!

Once Keiko left, Hanfu immediately ran to the kitchen. At a glance, he saw two bento boxes placed together, and next to them was a plate with about ten pieces of sushi on it.

Hanfu leaned in to take a look, and his face turned dark!

This sushi, aside from the rice, had seaweed and sesame seeds... so other than the shape, what was the difference between this and a rice ball?

Hanfu could barely catch his breath.

He then opened the bento boxes, and the sushi inside was all the same!

Sigh, I'm too tired to even care anymore.

Konoha Hospital.

As soon as Keiko walked into the hospital, she was spotted by her colleague, Matsuda Risa. "Keiko, you're here. Hurry up, there's a meeting."

"A meeting? It wouldn't be because of that news from this afternoon, would it?" Keiko recalled something.

Earlier that afternoon, news had spread through the hospital that a very distinguished doctor would soon be arriving at Konoha Hospital to exchange ideas and interact with the doctors of Konoha.

It was important to note that this person was a doctor, not a medical ninja!

"That's right, it's true. Keiko, let's go." Matsuda Risa urged her anxiously.

Keiko hesitated, "But if it's just a doctor... is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Keiko was a medical professional herself, so she naturally understood the vast gap between doctors and medical ninja. Many conditions that were extremely difficult for doctors could be easily resolved by a medical ninja with just a single medical ninjutsu!

Furthermore, in the same amount of time, a medical ninja could treat far more patients than a doctor!

Therefore, in Keiko's view, no matter how hard a doctor worked, they could never compare to a medical ninja.

Because this was a difference in quality!

"Keiko, this time is different!"

Matsuda Risa said excitedly, "It is said that this doctor's medical skills are incredible—even better than those of a medical ninja!"

"How is that possible?" Keiko was skeptical.

"It's true. I heard that the Director held a meeting this afternoon to discuss this, and specifically tasked our medical department with receiving this doctor! Tonight's departmental meeting is all about this!"

Matsuda Risa said with excitement, "Keiko, this is our chance. If we can learn anything from this doctor, it might benefit us immensely!"

"Really?" Keiko's eyes began to light up as well.

"Yes, I heard that even the Director holds this doctor's medical skills in high regard!" Matsuda Risa said with certainty.

Keiko nodded solemnly, "I understand! Risa, let's go."

Soon, Keiko and Matsuda Risa arrived at the conference room.

Inside the room, more than half of the medical staff on the night shift had already arrived. It was impossible for everyone to be there, of course, since this was a hospital and some staff had to remain to look after the patients.

Seeing that most had arrived, the head of the medical department, Kamijima Chusei, got straight to the point: "Everyone, you should already know the content of tonight's meeting. Yes, a doctor named Shennong will be coming to our hospital in a few days, and our department is responsible for receiving him..."

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