Life returned to normal. Although Taiichi wanted to fight ninja again, Konoha currently had no such opportunities for him. His life returned to the routine he had planned: interning at Konoha Hospital in the morning, training in kenjutsu and ninjutsu in the afternoon, then practicing Basic Taijutsu and Basic Meditation at home in the evening.
Nearly every day was packed with this schedule. Sometimes, he would run into Guy, or Rin and Obito, on the road, and they would arrange to train together. They also asked after their other classmates and learned from Obito that their families had kept them home for special training. Apparently, Taiichi had spurred them on. Losing to Uchiha and Hyuga was one thing, but now they could not even compare to a civilian ninja.
Taiichi could only give a dry chuckle. It was nice being from a clan. If your grades were bad, your family would tutor you.
After a month, Taiichi had improved enormously. If he encountered that spy from last time again, he would not dare say he could defeat him alone, but he could definitely hold the spy back without getting hurt again. Just look at his current panel.
Name: Taiichi Matsushita Profession: Genin Lv8 (123/1200) Talent: Diligence Makes Up for Mediocrity, Academic Overachiever Age: 6 Constitution: 14 Strength: 16 Agility: 13 Spirit: 20 Chakra: 4000 (5500) Attribute Points: 10 Skill Points: 11 Fire Nature Transformation Lv2 (156/200) Wind Release Nature Transformation Lv2 (110/200) Yang Release Nature Transformation Lv3 (53/400) Skills: Basic Taijutsu Lv9 (1114/1600), Basic Meditation Lv9 (1023/1600), Chakra Refinement Technique Lv9 (1075/1600), Ninja Tool Throwing Lv8 (123/1400), Three Body Technique Lv8 (162/1400), Fire Style: Flame Bullet Lv7 (263/1200), Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Lv8 (243/1400), Wind Style: Great Breakthrough Lv7 (120/1200), Healing Technique Lv9 (463/1600), Hatake Style Kenjutsu Lv5 (243/800), Mystical Palm Technique Lv5 (258/800), Delicate Illness Extraction Technique Lv3 (142/400) Evaluation: You have escaped the fate of cannon fodder, but beware—you are still just a little bug on the battlefield.
His profession level had risen by one, while everything else had progressed steadily. His Medical Ninjutsu had improved the most. Ignoring his age, people would believe he was a medical Chunin at his current level. That was why he was doing increasingly well at Konoha Hospital. He was young, sweet-talking, and capable of helping everyone substantially at work. Anyone normal would like him.
That morning, while Taiichi was restocking medical supplies, a nurse stopped him. A child had suffered external injuries and had been brought in by her companions. All the other doctors were busy and could not spare the time, so Taiichi had to fill in.
The smell of disinfectant filled the hallway as Taiichi hurried toward the treatment room behind the nurse, the hem of his white coat lifted by the draft. The moment he pushed open the door, he saw Kakashi's silver hair glint in the sunlight, while grass clippings still clung to Obito's distinctive goggles.
"How did it end up being you guys?" Taiichi's gaze fell on Rin's rolled-up pant leg. Three claw marks ran from her knee to her ankle, beads of blood seeping from the torn flesh. Obito squatted in the corner, clutching his hair, his goggles hanging crookedly around his neck. "It's all my fault for insisting on chasing that squirrel..."
Kakashi suddenly pressed a hand onto Obito's head, his voice muffled beneath his mask. "It was my fault. I didn't notice the movement in the bushes." Rin forced a smile onto her pale face and reached for the gauze on the table. "It just looks scary. Actually... ah..." Her sharp intake of breath made both boys freeze.
"Don't move." Taiichi grabbed rubber gloves from the cart. The clatter of metal instruments made the three instinctively straighten up. As he knelt on one knee to inspect the wound, Obito noticed the intern badge reflecting light on his chest.
"You actually work at a hospital?" Obito's shout nearly knocked over the alcohol bottle. Kakashi watched Taiichi's fingers skillfully cut open the gauze, then suddenly spoke. "There's grit in the wound."
Sunlight filtered through frosted glass, scattering mottled patches of light across the treatment bed. Taiichi picked up a cotton ball with tweezers. "Rin, this might hurt a little." The instant alcohol touched the wound, Rin gripped the bedsheet tightly. Obito immediately held out his arm. "You can bite me if you need to!"
"Idiot, that'll interfere with treatment." Kakashi pressed down on Obito's shoulder, but his eyes remained fixed on Taiichi's hands. The iodine-soaked cotton ball traced concentric circles around the wound, the young doctor's wrist as steady as if he were forming hand seals.
"A Wildcat-type Ninja Beast?" Taiichi rotated Rin's lower leg. The three claw marks had taken on an unnatural bluish-purple hue beneath the sunlight. Kakashi nodded. "Poisoned claws?"
"Just ordinary inflammation." Taiichi pulled out a pale green ointment from the bottom shelf of the cart. "Sister Nonō taught me how to identify two hundred kinds of beast poison." The coolness of the ointment against her skin made Rin relax. Obito's nose nearly touched Taiichi's working hands. "Your technique is more professional than the Medical Team's!"
The cart's wheels suddenly screeched. Director Fujita appeared at the door with a stack of medical records in her arms. "Taiichi, Bed Three needs..." Her voice abruptly stopped as her gaze swept over the three children in Ninja Academy uniforms. "Come get new sutures after you finish."
The moment the door closed, Obito sprang up. "That was the Trauma Department director, right? My uncle said she made Chunin cry during lectures!" Kakashi's pupils widened slightly—the recognition of the Medical Unit Leader carried far more weight than exam scores.
"Treatment is starting." Green chakra lit up in Taiichi's hands, and the blood seeping from Rin's wounds suddenly floated in the air. Obito stared wide-eyed as the torn flesh seemed to be smoothed flat by invisible hands, while Kakashi instinctively clenched his fists.
As the chakra glow dimmed, Rin cautiously bent and straightened her knee. "It doesn't hurt at all!" The instant she jumped off the bed, Obito's red-rimmed eyes finally could not hold back the tears. "That's great..."
"Change the dressing twice a day." Taiichi tore open individually wrapped dressings. "No strenuous exercise for three days." As he lowered his head to write the instructions, Kakashi suddenly asked, "When did you learn the Mystical Palm Technique?"
"Not long after vacation started, I guess." Taiichi took fruit candy from his white coat pocket and handed it out. "An Anbu uncle got burned by an Explosive Tag, and Director Fujita asked me to try reconnecting his nerves." Obito's hand trembled as he held the candy wrapper, while Rin noticed the lingering burn scar on Taiichi's right index finger.
The lunch break bell rang outside, and the scent of rice balls mixed with the disinfectant smell. As Taiichi cleaned up the instruments, he asked, "Want to try the hospital cafeteria's miso soup?" Obito had just started to nod when his stomach let out a loud growl.
As the four squeezed onto a bench in the staff break room, sunlight shone on Taiichi's intern badge. Kakashi stared at the pickled plum in his lunchbox. "The Medical Team allows students to intern?"
"Lady Tsunade recommended me." Taiichi split apart his disposable chopsticks. "Hokage-sama personally approved it." Obito choked on his rice ball, and Rin hurriedly handed him barley tea. Through the mist on the glass, Taiichi recounted his experiences accompanying the emergency team on calls at four in the morning.
"Last week, an old woman had an asthma attack, so I ran across seven streets carrying an oxygen tank." Taiichi pointed at his bruised knee. "It was more exhausting than Taijutsu training." Rin suddenly poked his arm. "There's still iodine here that you didn't wipe clean."
Kakashi silently placed the fried shrimp from his lunchbox into Taiichi's. It was the way he had learned to express thanks from his father's lunches. Obito searched through all his pockets before finally pulling out a treasured ninja card. "This is for you! It's a rare First Hokage card!"
As the afternoon cicadas chirped through the window screen, Director Fujita's footsteps sounded in the hallway. The three children hurriedly cleaned up their lunchboxes, and Rin stuffed the last piece of pickled radish into Taiichi's mouth. Obito clung to the doorframe and shouted back, "You have to come to the back mountain for special training next week!"
Sunlight slanted across the empty treatment room as Taiichi bent down to pick up Obito's fallen goggles. The indicator light on the sterilization cabinet changed from red to green, and the instruments in the metal tray gleamed coldly. He suddenly remembered how clumsy he had been when helping Sister Nonō bandage wounds for the first time.
Cloud shadows passed over the hospital's outer wall. Taiichi adjusted his crooked intern badge in the glass window. The wind lifted the hem of his white coat, revealing the Short Sword tucked behind his waist.
Ever since discovering the shortcomings in his kenjutsu during the last spy incident, Taiichi had practiced drawing his sword whenever he had spare time, even while at the hospital.
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