Tsunade's Request

Konoha Hospital

Inside the hospital's Surveillance Room

Uchiha Nara, Uchiha Fugaku, and Yuhi Shinku all looked pale, as if they were exhausted.

All three had other jobs and weren't full-time doctors.

Nara was the captain of the Police Force, while Fugaku was his secretary. As high-ranking members of the Police Force, Fugaku had even more work than Nara. As captain, Nara often dumped his work on his subordinates.

Yuhi Shinku was one of the Anbu squad leaders. The Anbu nominally had four squads, each with seventeen members. Every squad leader held a high position, bore great responsibility, and had a heavy workload.

Strictly speaking, Root was just another Anbu squad. Shimura Danzō also oversaw an Anbu Training Class, which did the dirty and thankless work for Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Of the other four Anbu squad leaders, only two had publicly known identities: the Genjutsu master Yuhi Shinku and the elite Jonin Mitarashi Shishio.

The identities of the remaining two squad leaders were unknown. No one knew who they were.

The Anbu answered directly to the Hokage. It had squads, but no such position as a director. If there was one, then the Hokage could be considered the director.

Compared to Nara, Fugaku, and Shinku, who all looked pale and exhausted, the Jonin Kurama Ryota was doing much better. He had only been a Konoha Jonin, but now he had a position in the Mental Therapy Class. From then on, he wouldn't even need to go on missions. He had, in a sense, entered the system.

The Mental Therapy Class now had ten medical staff. Nara and Fugaku weren't included; they were only consultants who handled Genjutsu-related inquiries.

Of the ten, two were Jonin from the Uchiha Clan, three were Jonin from the Kurama Clan, one was a Jonin from the Yuhi Clan, and the other four were from small clans or were civilian ninja.

The Yuhi Clan was a small clan. Its only Jonin were Yuhi Shinku and one ordinary Jonin. The clan survived by attaching itself to the Hokage.

Uchiha Jiichiro, twenty-six years old, Konoha Jonin, Three-Tomoe Sharingan. He specialized in Genjutsu, swordsmanship, Shuriken, and Fire Style, and was highly skilled in ninjutsu.

Uchiha Masao, nineteen years old, Konoha Jonin, an elite whom the Uchiha Clan kept a close eye on. He specialized in Genjutsu, Shuriken, and Fire Style, and was highly skilled in ninjutsu.

There was a slight age gap between them. Nara had selected them that way so they wouldn't be the same age and both get brainwashed or recruited by the Hokage or someone else. Since they were different ages, they wouldn't be too close in their everyday interactions, and if anything came up for discussion, they could consider each other's opinions.

Nara had carefully selected these two to join the Mental Therapy Class and draw a salary from the government. He also hoped they would play an important role there and spread the Uchiha Clan's prestige. It would be even better if they could edge out their other colleagues and make room for a few more Uchiha ninja.

"Hm? Something's happened!"

Shinku and Fugaku, who had been staring at the screen, cried out and rushed out of the Surveillance Room, heading for the Mental Therapy Department's examination room.

Nara, who had been distracted, came to his senses and followed them.

In the Mental Therapy Department's examination room, the ninja who had been stimulated by the Genjutsu had bloodshot eyes.

"Salamander Hanzo, you're going to die!"

The ninja seemed to have been traumatized on the battlefield in the Land of Rain and hated Salamander Hanzo.

The medical ninja who specialized in Genjutsu was a civilian ninja. At that moment, he was dodging frantically, in a sorry state.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

Shinku reached the examination room in the blink of an eye. After a few breaths, he finished forming the Hand Seals and cast Tree Binding Death, immobilizing the agitated ninja.

"Phew..." The civilian ninja who had just escaped death let out a breath and wiped his sweat.

"Thank you, Lord Shinku!"

"What happened? Why did this happen?"

Nara and Fugaku stood to the side, quietly watching.

"He seems to have seen something extremely terrifying. I used Sly Mind Affect Technique: Modified. It shouldn't have gone wrong."

The people present more or less understood what had happened.

Hell Viewing Technique was a D-rank Genjutsu. No matter how strong a person's will was, everyone had something they feared and didn't want to see. This Genjutsu exploited each person's fear, making it take shape and causing them to believe it was real.

In other words, the greater the target's fear, the stronger the impact of the technique. It showed the opponent the image they feared most, striking a blow to their mind.

Sly Mind Affect Technique: Modified was a Genjutsu the group had studied and improved. It could make people see what they loved most and the scene they most wanted to witness, making the things they cherished appear before them. It let the target see the person or thing they loved most, providing mental treatment.

After being improved and tested, the Genjutsu had shown no problems. And in theory, it was impossible for the thing someone loved most to also be the thing they feared most.

"Try that Genjutsu on me," Shinku said expressionlessly.

"Yes, sir."

The civilian Chunin quickly formed the Hand Seals.

"Demonic Illusion: Sly Mind Affect Technique: Modified!"

Two seconds later, Shinku's chakra rippled.

When Shinku woke up, his face was slightly flushed. He glared at the Chunin and said:

"You're fired. Pack your things and get out!"

"Ah! Lord Shinku! Why?"

"I don't know where you were recruited from, but you can't even tell Hell Viewing Technique apart from Sly Mind Affect Technique: Modified. Hmph! I'll investigate the recruitment process thoroughly! I'll find out who hired an idiot like you!"

By the end, Shinku was practically roaring with rage.

"Heh, I figured it'd be something like this."

Nara shook his head. Seeing how the target had reacted, he had guessed that this might have been the mistake.

"Go back and retrain. If this happens again, you won't just be fired; you might also be held responsible. Think carefully about it."

Tsunade's voice rang out.

Kurama Ryota and Tsunade walked in. After the incident occurred, Ryota had reported it to Tsunade, who had put aside her work and come to see what had happened.

Hearing what Shinku said, Tsunade, as the head of the Mental Therapy Department, thought it over and gave the Chunin another chance. At the same time, she put pressure on him, leaving him to consider whether he wanted to continue bearing this responsibility.

The Chunin looked at Shinku, then at Tsunade, and gritted his teeth.

"Yes! My training wasn't good enough. I'll retrain! Thank you for your leniency, Lady Tsunade."

With that, he bowed to Tsunade.

Tsunade remained expressionless and waved her hand.

"Fine. You can go."

"Yes!"

The Chunin left dejectedly.

Nara rubbed his chin, noticing a small detail. As the Chunin left, he shot Shinku a venomous glance. It lasted only an instant before he disappeared from the examination room.

Konoha Hospital Director's Office

Tsunade sat behind her desk, with Nara seated opposite her.

After the incident in the Mental Therapy Department had been dealt with, Tsunade invited Nara to her office.

Tsunade looked at the young man before her. He had handsome features and wore a black robe embroidered with golden ears of rice, with a short purple jacket over it. If not for the authority he exuded, he would have looked like a noble young master.

Nara was puzzled. He didn't know why Tsunade had invited him.

Earlier, he had asked Uzumaki Nao to help him get in touch with Tsunade, hoping she could arrange for some Uchiha ninja to work at Konoha Hospital. Tsunade had rejected him outright.

That had left Nara with little interest in building a relationship with Tsunade of the Sannin.

Tsunade gently bit her lip, seeming hesitant.

Nara didn't ask. When someone had summoned him, being too eager would make him seem desperate. So he waited quietly.

"Nara, I'd like to ask you for a favor..."