Hope

Takemoto Shuichi rose to his feet and gazed at the sky, looking somewhat dispirited.

He said to his son and granddaughter, "We old folks don't have many years left. Once we're all gone, Konoha will probably go to war. When that happens, the clan will be counting on you."

"Father, what should I do then?" Takemoto Masamasa asked anxiously. "Should we pledge ourselves to the Hokage?"

Takemoto Shuichi laughed, his face twisting into a grim smile.

"My foolish son, the interest groups around the Hokage are already big enough. Every spot is taken. If you pledge yourself to them, you'll only be treated as cannon fodder."

Takemoto Anna spoke up. "So we need to support our own Hokage?"

"Exactly." Takemoto Shuichi looked at Takemoto Anna with approval, then shot his foolish son another glare.

"Yukihito explained the situation to us years ago and even came up with an effective solution. He paid for it with most of his clan—and even his own son's life."

"He did well. He earned the trust of the ninja clans, and he also gave Shi-Die a good reputation among civilian ninja. Those things are the little one's foundation."

"And his performance at the underground training ground gave us even more confidence."

"Once he comes of age, whether I'm still alive or not, you must do everything you can to put him in power. The other clans will do the same."

Takemoto Masamasa looked dejected. "I understand. But what if he really becomes Hokage and then pushes us aside?"

At those words, Takemoto Shuichi's eyelid began to twitch. He glared at Takemoto Masamasa as if he were about to devour him.

After a long pause, he turned to Takemoto Anna. "Your father is hopeless. I'll be leaving the clan in your hands, Anna."

"I understand."

Another year passed.

Shiraishi Yoshijo turned ten.

The year had flown by in a blur. Every day, he had been running around like a spinning top.

He worked at the hospital during the day while studying medical knowledge, then spent his evenings continuing his experiments and developing Ninjutsu.

He slept only a few hours a night, and had grown thin. A strange odor often clung to him, and with no time to take care of himself, he looked unkempt.

The results, however, were disappointing.

Eating did lessen the effects of Medical Ninjutsu and replenish vitality, but the process was extremely slow.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had calculated that the amount an average person ate in a day barely increased the energy in their body's cells.

Ordinary food therapy would never be enough to restore Shiraishi Eizawa's vitality.

On top of that, Shiraishi Eizawa had a drinking problem, and his digestive system was already weak. He couldn't handle eating large quantities.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had asked Shiraishi Eizawa to quit drinking more times than he could count, but he couldn't control his uncle.

When Shiraishi Eizawa got fed up with him, he would even hang him up and beat him.

Shiraishi Yoshijo felt miserable. He had found a way, but his uncle simply wouldn't cooperate.

He had explained everything to Shiraishi Eizawa, even showing him the results of his research.

But Shiraishi Eizawa had ignored him.

When someone wants to die, no one can stop them.

Perhaps Shiraishi Eizawa still longed for a life as a Ninja Butterfly.

Shiraishi Yoshijo had already taught Shiraishi Eizawa how to use Medical Ninjutsu and told him not to use it in front of outsiders.

Shiraishi Eizawa had learned quickly. After all, their clan had always been good at Chakra control.

The reason Shiraishi Yoshijo had taught Shiraishi Eizawa Medical Ninjutsu was that without it, he couldn't control how his own cells divided.

The Ninjutsu Shiraishi Yoshijo was developing—one that involved eating large amounts of food and then digesting it quickly—had to be controlled by the user himself.

In the end, Shiraishi Eizawa had to work on developing his Medical Ninjutsu himself.

By now, Shiraishi Yoshijo had more or less figured out the principles of Medical Ninjutsu.

The foundation of Medical Ninjutsu was Chakra control, and that ability determined a medical ninja's potential.

Some people needed twenty minutes to treat a wound, while others needed only ten.

The difference came down to Chakra control.

Shiraishi Eizawa had no shortage of Chakra control. What he lacked was the will to survive.

If Shiraishi Yoshijo's Ninjutsu succeeded but Shiraishi Eizawa's Medical Ninjutsu fell short of the minimum requirement, all his efforts would still be for nothing.

But Shiraishi Yoshijo's Ninjutsu was developing slowly, and Shiraishi Eizawa's will to survive remained low.

Shiraishi Yoshijo just couldn't understand it. Even a dog knew to gnaw on a bone, but even if he put a bone right in Shiraishi Eizawa's mouth, his uncle would probably spit it out.

What a headache!

As he thought about it, Shiraishi Yoshijo stuffed food into his mouth.

He was using his own body for experiments, then using Chakra to digest the food.

But because the Ninjutsu was incomplete, the more he ate, the more often he had to go to the bathroom.

He even felt that something was wrong with his stomach.

Lately, he had been having diarrhea almost every day.

Incidentally, he was still a hospital orderly. Takemoto Anna had become a doctor six months ago, and now even had an office of her own.

Shiraishi Yoshijo hadn't taken the exam. He had his own goals and didn't care what job he was doing.

His stomach gurgled again. A while later, Shiraishi Yoshijo came out of the bathroom, utterly drained.

He thought he should visit the Akimichi Clan. Their Ninjutsu for eating large quantities of food and storing Chakra might help him.

But that technique was surely the Akimichi Clan's most fundamental Secret Technique.

They would never show it to him. If he went, he'd probably be carried out.

By now, he had also realized the fundamental reason his Ninjutsu was developing so slowly: his Chakra control was insufficient.

Shiraishi Yoshijo didn't know what level his Chakra control was at.

But this ability to digest food quickly required him to activate every cell in his body to draw energy from the food. The Chakra control it demanded was terrifying.

Perhaps only Tsunade, once she became Hokage, would have that level of control.

The more he developed the Ninjutsu, the less sure he became. More than once, he'd felt completely out of his depth.

If only the Butterfly Seed had fully matured. At the thought, he began communicating with the Butterfly Seed.

"Jo, is there any way to speed up the formation of your soul?"

"There is, but it will have side effects."

"Tell me."

"Normally, I absorb your vitality very slowly. If I speed up, it will shorten your lifespan even further."

"How much will it shorten it?"

"Five years. You don't need to rush, though. I'll form my own Consciousness Entity in three years at most. Your Chakra control is improving, too."

"By next year at the latest, you'll definitely have developed the Ninjutsu successfully."

Next year. Shiraishi Yoshijo gave a bitter smile.

This was already the fourth year. Shiraishi Eizawa would die next year.

What use would it be if he managed to develop the Ninjutsu?

"I understand. Don't worry about me. Speed it up."

"All right. It'll hurt a little, so bear with it."

After leaving the Consciousness Space, he sat cross-legged on the ground.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot from his heart and spread through his entire body.

Cold sweat streamed down his cheeks as Shiraishi Yoshijo clenched his teeth.

Within a minute, Shiraishi Yoshijo was rolling on the ground.

"That's 'a little'? I'm going to kill you!"

The pain felt like a worm slowly eating away at his heart. Shiraishi Yoshijo had the illusion that his internal organs had been hollowed out, leaving only an empty shell.

Ten minutes later, Shiraishi Yoshijo trembled as he struggled to his feet.

He staggered forward, then suddenly collapsed again.

His eyes closed, and he passed out.

By the time he woke up, it was already the following afternoon.

Shiraishi Eizawa sat beside the bed, staring intently at him.

"You're finally awake. What happened?"

Shiraishi Yoshijo felt awful all over. His throat felt as if a ball of fire were burning inside it.

"Water, Uncle. Water."

Shiraishi Eizawa hurriedly brought him some. Shiraishi Yoshijo gulped it down.

Feeling a little better, he looked at Shiraishi Eizawa.

"There was a problem while I was developing the Ninjutsu. It's nothing serious."

He couldn't tell the truth about making the Butterfly Seed absorb his vitality faster.

Shiraishi Eizawa narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "I thought I told you not to develop that Ninjutsu anymore."

Shiraishi Yoshijo was silent for a moment before replying, "You're the only family I have left. How could I give up? You're dying."

Shiraishi Eizawa's expression softened slightly. He sighed, at a loss for words.

They both fell silent.

"You know yourself that even if you develop that Ninjutsu successfully, I might not be able to use it."

"And at best, it'll only extend my life a little. The outcome won't change. I'll still die."

Shiraishi Eizawa reached out and rubbed his head. "I don't see you as a child anymore. You can't always rely on me. Sooner or later, you'll have to face life's storms on your own."

Shiraishi Yoshijo remained silent, not saying a word.

He knew his uncle was right.

He had known for a long time that Shiraishi Eizawa's Chakra control was inferior to his own.

It wasn't realistic to expect Shiraishi Eizawa to learn a Ninjutsu that even he struggled to use.

Even if Shiraishi Eizawa learned it, he had no time left.

His body was already completely spent. There was no way he could replenish his vitality in such a short time; the extra nourishment would only overwhelm him.

The tiny hope he had bought with five years of his life had now vanished on the wind.

He was acting just like a sulking child.

Nothing like himself at all.