A knock sounded outside the office, interrupting Tsunade and Shizune's conversation. The two quickly separated and busied themselves with their own tasks.
"Come in."
"Master, what did you want to see me about?"
"Ah, Tuoye, wait a moment. I have a mission for you, and there are others coming too."
Kimura Takuya had been feeling a little guilty, but at that, he breathed a sigh of relief and headed straight for the sitting area. He flopped onto the sofa.
Seeing how utterly exhausted Kimura Takuya looked, Tsunade gave him an exasperated, disapproving look.
"Oh my! Young people need to exercise restraint. When you're young, you don't know the value of your—when you're old, you'll—mmph!"
"Lady Tsunade, what strange things are you teaching Tuoye now?"
Shizune acted quickly, clamping a hand over Tsunade's mouth before she could say anything more shocking.
When Tuoye showed no reaction, Shizune let go and went over to check on him.
"Did he fall asleep?"
"Idiot! This kid definitely got up to no good last night. Hey, kid! I called you here to give you a mission, not to sleep!"
Tsunade's anger flared. She rolled up her sleeves and prepared to punch him.
But just as she raised her fist, Shizune stopped her with both hands.
"Lady Tsunade, please let Tuoye rest for a bit.
"Ever since he learned the Shadow Clone Technique, he's sent a clone to the hospital every day, where it stays all day long. He even keeps a clone there overnight.
"Since his clones started working at the hospital, the death rate among patients with serious injuries from accidents immediately dropped to zero!
"He's even cured terminal illnesses that were once considered incurable.˜"*°•.˜"*°• •°*"˜.•°*"˜
"At the hospital, people have even started calling him the 'Undying Miracle Healer'!
"His reputation is sure to surpass yours!"
Tsunade froze, thinking of how her fear of blood had kept her from treating patients with bleeding injuries. Then she compared her own Medical Ninjutsu to her disciple's.
That Medical Ninjutsu—Flesh Substitution Technique.
It was a truly genius technique, a universal Ninjutsu that could cure any physical illness.
Unfortunately, neither she nor Shizune could learn it.
Thinking about that made Tsunade feel utterly dejected.
Damn it, even I can't learn it!
What kind of monster is this guy?
Not only had he developed a universal Medical Ninjutsu,
but in just over half a month, he'd also learned more than a dozen forbidden techniques from the Scroll of Seals.
And on top of that, he'd learned all of her Ninjutsu.
Yes, he'd learned them on the side.
"Ah, I'm really sorry, Master. It took me three days to learn the Ninjutsu in the little scroll. I spent all my time on the techniques in the Scroll of Seals, so I could only learn the ones in this little scroll on the side."
Remembering that kid's exact words, Tsunade felt disheartened all over again.
Wasn't he supposed to be lacking in ninja talent?
Tsunade looked at Kimura Takuya. Seeing him lying there with his eyes closed, looking perfectly content, she knew he was pretending to be asleep.
Shizune was using her Medical Ninjutsu to help him relax.
Idiot! I've hardly ever gotten to enjoy that myself.
A greeting from outside the door interrupted Tsunade's little fit of jealousy.
"Lord Hokage, did you call Team 3 here to give us a special mission? Lee, did you see that? Men who work hard are the ones who get trusted with important tasks!"
After loudly greeting Tsunade, Might Guy turned and lectured Lee, who was behind him.
He even held up a thumbs-up and flashed a smile bright enough to blind anyone.
Lee was instantly inspired and put on the same expression.
"Yes, Guy-sensei! I'll work even harder!"
"Here we go again."
Tenten pressed a hand to her forehead and edged away, making it clear she wanted nothing to do with the two of them.
Neji watched with his usual cool detachment, unsurprised.
But then he noticed Kimura Takuya on the sofa in the sitting area, receiving treatment from the Hokage's attendant.
→
Startled, Neji immediately activated his Byakugan to examine Kimura Takuya's "injuries."
In the end, he stared for quite a while and couldn't see anything at all.
He was only surprised to find that Kimura Takuya had even more chakra than the last time he'd seen him.
Tenten's attention was drawn by Neji's gaze. When she saw Kimura Takuya receiving treatment, she hurried over.
"Tuoye, are you okay? Lady Shizune, what happened to him?"
"Don't worry, Tuoye's fine. He's just a little tired."
"Oh, right. I'm fine. I just dozed off for a bit."
Feeling everyone's eyes on him, Kimura Takuya couldn't very well keep sleeping. He sat up, greeted them all, and waited for Tsunade to announce the mission.
"Now that everyone's here, I'll brief you on the mission.
"Recently, several major incidents have taken place in the village.
"Former Hokage Advisor Shimura Danzō is dead, and Root has been disbanded. I've only just become Hokage, and the Anbu hasn't been fully organized yet.
"The other nations were already eyeing Konoha, and now they've discovered that Orochimaru, an S-rank rogue ninja from Konoha, has infiltrated the village and is taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble.
"Just this morning, the Anbu reported that another mysterious and powerful figure is hiding in the village. His intentions are unknown.
"All of this has made me want to recall many elite ninja who are away on missions, so they can help defend Konoha.
"The others should be easy enough. Their mission locations are known, so an Anbu team can be sent to retrieve them.
"But there are two special cases. They're constantly on the move, so we'll need people to search for them specifically.
"And persuade them to return to Konoha."
"Persuade them?" Guy asked in confusion. This was an order from the Hokage. Why had Lady Tsunade used the word "persuade"? Would these two actually refuse the Hokage's orders?
"Exactly. Persuade them! Not only are these two men important figures, they're also powerful, and both have important responsibilities.
"However, they chose to take on their missions themselves; they weren't assigned by the Hokage.
"So whether my order can bring them back to Konoha depends on how well you persuade them."
Tsunade then handed everyone the information on Jiraiya and Uchiha Itachi and explained the mission.
"I see. Lord Jiraiya went to track down Orochimaru. Now that Orochimaru has suddenly returned to the village, it should be easy to persuade Lord Jiraiya to come back.
"As for Uchiha Itachi, he's undercover in a mysterious organization?
"We wouldn't have needed to recall him otherwise, but Orochimaru's infiltration of the village might expose Itachi's identity. So we have to bring him back before he's discovered for real?
"I understand, Lord Hokage."
Might Guy nodded to show that he understood the mission.
Then he gave a thumbs-up.
"Don't worry, Lord Hokage! The elite members of Team 3 will definitely complete the mission!"
"Wait, I'm not finished! Kimura Takuya will be going with you. Your team doesn't have a Medical Ninja, and this mission could be dangerous."
"Ha! That's great, Tuoye! At last, you'll be with me on my path of youthful passion!"
The others barely reacted, but Lee rushed over as soon as he heard Tsunade and threw his arms around Kimura Takuya.
The latter struggled free, then pinned down the excitable Lee and held him still.
"If you have no objections, I'll leave this to you. Return as soon as you can."
"Yes!"
After answering, they each left to pack at home before setting out that morning.
The sudden mission threw Kimura Takuya's plans into disarray.
Orochimaru and Sasori were near Konoha. When he had free time, he'd planned to study Ninjutsu while keeping an eye on them.
But now he'd suddenly been given a mission—one that involved searching all over the world for people.
Not only would it disrupt his training plans, it would make it difficult for him to keep track of Orochimaru and Sasori's research.
If either of them made a move, Kimura Takuya wouldn't be able to respond quickly.
"I need to get those two out of here first!"
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