An Encounter at Konoha Hospital

"Qingshui, someone is looking for you."

Uchiha Inabi walked over.

"Who is looking for me?"

Qingshui looked at Uchiha Inabi, who should have come tomorrow, and frowned slightly.

Uchiha Inabi shouldn't be here right now; had he triggered some kind of butterfly effect?

"It's a girl, dressed like a servant, but her eyes are Byakugan."

Uchiha Inabi clapped his hands and said.

The Byakugan was considered an ancient bloodline limit with impressive power, yet they insisted on that main house and branch house system—it was simply feudal.

Uchiha Inabi felt that the Hyuga Clan just had too much time on their hands; look at them, the Uchiha, treating everyone equally was so much better.

Wasn't it true that people still coveted their Sharingan?

Things were just as they were, and the human rights of the clansmen had to be guaranteed.

"Dressed like a servant..."

Qingshui vaguely knew who it was. He notified Uchiha Tekka and Uchiha Inabi before heading to the entrance of the Uchiha settlement.

"Sigh, Qingshui has reached that age too, huh."

Uchiha Tekka acted like an old man and shook his head.

"What are you pretending for? I don't know who likes..."

Uchiha Inabi teased.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't talk nonsense."

Uchiha Tekka's face flushed red; wasn't it normal to like someone?

He hurriedly covered Uchiha Inabi's mouth, hoping no one else had heard.

"Right, let's spar."

Uchiha Tekka touched his empty wallet and suddenly remembered something.

"Uh, sure."

Uchiha Inabi nodded.

He didn't have anything to do anyway; he had just returned to the Uchiha settlement from the village when he happened to run into a woman who asked him to call Uchiha Shimizu.

"But, we have to add a wager."

Uchiha Tekka looked at Uchiha Inabi as if he were looking at a fat sheep.

Outside the Uchiha settlement.

Qingshui saw Hyuga Natsu from a distance.

"These are gifts to apologize to you. I hope Qingshui-san can forgive the rude behavior of Hyuga Tetsu and myself."

Hyuga Natsu respectfully handed over the gift box.

Just from the packaging, one could tell it was expensive. Qingshui guessed that the Hyuga Clan had forced her to come.

Qingshui didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the items.

He usually ate Military Ration Pills, so improving his diet for once wasn't a bad idea.

Seeing Qingshui accept the gifts, Hyuga Natsu said a few polite pleasantries before turning around and limping away.

Qingshui narrowed his eyes. Chakra was the manifestation of the heart.

The more sunny a person was, the warmer their chakra would be.

His cold chakra seemed to have sensed an equally cold chakra.

Personality couldn't define a person entirely.

But to a large extent, it represented how a person would choose to respond when faced with the predicament of oppression.

"The Hyuga Clan, the main house and the branch house, huh?"

Qingshui chuckled to himself.

Hyuga Natsu was far from as humble as she appeared on the surface.

Deep inside, she hid darkness.

If guided properly, she might just become a nail Qingshui could bury within the Hyuga Clan.

Before the Uchiha Clan Downfall arrived, every extra bit of certainty was a good thing.

At the same time, Qingshui also coveted the Byakugan.

By attempting to make contact, perhaps he could simulate it as well.

Possessing both the Sharingan and the Byakugan simultaneously was something only Kaguya Otsutsuki had achieved in the current era.

Even her two sons, Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki, had each inherited only one.

Hagoromo Otsutsuki inherited the Rinnegan, and his descendants possessed the Sharingan.

Hamura Otsutsuki inherited the Tenseigan. When sealing Kaguya, one could see black dots appearing in the center of his pupils rather than pure white eyes, proving they were Tenseigan and not ordinary Byakugan.

His descendants possessed the Byakugan, the Hyuga Clan; not a single one of them had even experienced an atavistic return to the Tenseigan.

If Uchiha Shimizu possessed both of these bloodline limits simultaneously, his observational abilities would rise to a terrifying level.

Qingshui opened the gift box and took a look; there were quite a few items inside.

He then carried the gift box out of the Uchiha settlement and headed toward Konoha Hospital.

By the time Qingshui reached the vicinity of Konoha Hospital, it was nearing dusk, and the horizon was gradually dimming.

The hospital remained brightly lit, with patients walking back and forth in the corridors.

Qingshui navigated the hospital with practiced ease, turning left and right through the halls.

"Eh, is that classmate Qingshui?"

Nohara Rin looked toward the end of the corridor, where a familiar figure stood.

Unfortunately, before she could see clearly, the figure turned a corner and vanished from sight.

"Uchiha Shimizu?"

Beside Nohara Rin, Uchiha Obito pushed up the yellow goggles that had fallen over his eyes and looked around.

He peered about for a while, but he didn't see Uchiha Shimizu anywhere.

"I don't see the guy, Rin. You must have seen wrong."

"Perhaps. I'll go get your medicine."

Nohara Rin nodded.

She also figured she must have been mistaken.

If one went up the stairs at the end of the corridor, they would reach the offices of the medical ninja; why would Qingshui be in a place like that?

Unless Qingshui was a medical ninja.

Nohara Rin shook her head, shaking the absurd thought from her mind.

How could that be? She understood the requirements for becoming a medical ninja better than anyone.

After all, she had dreamed of becoming a medical ninja since she was a child, and her family had even bought a pile of books on the subject.

"Hehe, I'm counting on you, Rin."

Obito, his left arm bandaged and in a cast, rubbed his nose with the index finger of his remaining hand, looking touched.

As expected, finding Rin after getting injured was the best.

"It's nothing."

Nohara Rin smiled gently and went to fetch the medicine for Obito according to the hospital's prescription.

Her petite figure wove through the crowd, and after a short while, she finally reached the pharmacy window.

Just as Nohara Rin turned around, a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Little Qingshui is so sensible. Big sister likes you more and more."

Nonou Yakushi rubbed Qingshui's small cheeks and smiled.

"If I have good things, I must share them with Big Sister Nonou."

Qingshui let Nonou Yakushi rub his cheeks, taking the opportunity to enjoy the close-range "cleansing."

By offering small, everyday favors, he let Nonou believe he was a person of good character.

In the long run, this would yield immense benefits, as she would be more dedicated to imparting knowledge to him.

The two walked past not far from Nohara Rin, who watched the scene in astonishment until Qingshui and Nonou Yakushi disappeared from her sight.

"Why does Qingshui know Lady Nonou?"

Nohara Rin was filled with confusion.

Lady Nonou Yakushi was the captain of the Medical Team, managing multiple units; she was considered a high-ranking official at Konoha Hospital.

She had never heard of Uchiha Shimizu having such a relative; besides, one was surnamed Yakushi and the other Uchiha.

She guessed that perhaps Qingshui's parents knew Lady Nonou, otherwise, how could Qingshui be so intimate with her?

"Rin, thank you so much."

Seeing Nohara Rin standing there in a daze, Obito assumed she meant for him to come over and get it himself, so he hurried over.

"Um... it's nothing."

Obito suddenly walking to her side snapped Nohara Rin out of her deep thoughts.

Uchiha Obito scratched his head and invited Nohara Rin to return with him.

"Let's go back together. It just so happens I can protect you; it's gotten so late now."

Obito patted his chest, causing his left arm wound to tear, making him wince in pain.

Nohara Rin looked at Obito's comical appearance and couldn't help but laugh, then said:

"No need, you go back first, Obito. I'm going to walk around here for a bit."