A Blessing in Disguise

Takuma slowly opened his eyes. "As expected... the Senju Clan really are tough to kill."

The air smelled of disinfectant mixed with a faint herbal scent. He was in Konoha Hospital, then.

The door opened. Takuma was trying to move his fingers.

The person who entered was the Medical Corps Captain at Konoha Hospital, a middle-aged kunoichi wearing round glasses.

She saw that Takuma's eyes were open and froze for a moment. Then she quickly regained her professional composure, walked to his bedside, and began checking the readings on the instruments.

"You were unconscious for three days," the Medical Corps Captain said briskly, jotting notes on his chart. "Your vital signs fell to critical levels three times. You showed signs of chakra running wild twice, and your heart stopped once."

"Sounds exciting," Takuma said. "Too bad I missed it."

The doctor set down the chart and touched Takuma's forehead with her index finger. A pale green glow of medical chakra flickered at her fingertip.

The pale green chakra seeped from his forehead, slowly spreading through every part of his body.

He could feel the gentle force moving between his blood vessels, muscles, and bones, like a cautious tentacle checking whether any cargo had been damaged.

She withdrew her finger and pushed up her glasses, seeming to gather her thoughts. "The Cursed Seal hasn't disappeared."

"But its spread has been completely contained," the Medical Corps Captain continued, her voice edged with disbelief. "It's now confined to an area within three inches of the bite mark on the back of your neck, in a... dormant state. Your body has actively suppressed the power of the Cursed Seal."

"That's not a bad thing, is it?"

"Whether it's good or bad depends on how you look at it." The Medical Corps Captain picked up the chart, flipped to a fresh page, and began recording. "The Cursed Seal's power hasn't disappeared, but it's lost the ability to spread on its own. And—"

She paused. "In the process of suppressing the Cursed Seal, your body underwent a certain degree of change."

Takuma tilted his head slightly, waiting for her to continue.

"Your cells are about three times as active as they were before you were admitted. Your chakra reserves have at least doubled, and your physical strength has also increased significantly."

"Simply put, you've been blessed with a silver lining."

Takuma was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about the Cursed Seal itself? If it's dormant, can it still be activated?"

"In theory, yes. But based on its current state, even if you activate the Cursed Seal, your body won't be ravaged on a large scale like before. It'll become a controllable power—at the cost of severe fatigue and chakra depletion after activation."

"So I can use the Cursed Seal at will now, without worrying about becoming Orochimaru's puppet?"

"In the short term, yes," the Medical Corps Captain emphasized. "But the Cursed Seal is essentially chakra left behind by Orochimaru. We can't say whether frequent, long-term use will have other effects. My advice is—to use it as little as possible."

Takuma nodded and kept her warning in mind.

The Medical Corps Captain gave him a few more instructions, then left the hospital room.

The hospital room door opened again.

Mori Kazuki hurried inside.

His eyes were shadowed, and his stubble was unkempt. The calm, composed air that usually surrounded the bookstore owner was nowhere to be seen.

He was carrying a thermos lunchbox. When he saw Takuma looking at him with open eyes, he froze in the doorway.

"You're awake?" Mori Kazuki's voice trembled slightly.

"I'm awake," Takuma replied.

Mori Kazuki walked to the bedside, set the lunchbox on the cabinet, then sat down in a chair.

He reached out and took Takuma's wrist, pressing his thumb against his pulse.

"Your pulse is steady now," Mori Kazuki said, his voice finally returning to normal. "Much stronger than when you were admitted. The Senju Bloodline inside you... has been fully awakened."

"The price was getting a Cursed Seal planted in my neck while Orochimaru strangled me," Takuma said. "Can't say it was a good deal."

"People from the Senju Clan never make good deals." Mori Kazuki let go of his hand, his expression relaxing, the corners of his mouth even lifting into a faint smile. "We only make deals that let us survive. As long as you survive, it wasn't a loss."

"Does Mom know?"

Mori Kazuki's smile stiffened.

Takuma read the answer in his father's changing expression.

"She knows you're in the hospital," Mori Kazuki said with difficulty. "But she doesn't know about the Senju Clan or the Cursed Seal. I only told her you got a minor injury during the Chunin Ninja Exams and needed to stay in the hospital for a few days of observation."

"And you've spent three days camped out in the hallway instead of going home?" Takuma raised an eyebrow. "Mom wasn't suspicious?"

"Your mother's suspicious of everything." Mori Kazuki sighed and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He was just about to light one when he remembered they were in a hospital room and sheepishly put it away. "She came to see you yesterday, but you were still unconscious. She sat for a while, then left. Before she went, she said something to me."

"What?"

"'Don't think I don't know that you and your son are hiding something from me.'" Mori Kazuki mimicked his wife's tone, his expression bitter. "'When he's discharged, the two of you are coming home and explaining everything.'"

Takuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

I'm doomed.

Mom might be an ordinary person, but her intuition was sharper than any sensory ninja's.

Ever since he was little, nothing he and his dad did behind her back—his dad smoking, him skipping class, the two of them training in the Senju Secret Arts in the backyard—had stayed secret for more than three days.

And now there was the Cursed Seal and his awakened Senju Bloodline...

"Can I just not get discharged?" Takuma asked earnestly. "I think I could stay in bed for another month."

"Don't you dare." Mori Kazuki stood up and patted his son on the shoulder. "I'll explain things to your mother. Right now, you just need to focus on getting better—and there's something else."

His expression grew serious.

"Lord Hokage came to visit you in person yesterday."

Takuma froze.

The Lord Third had personally come to visit a Genin? Even if Takuma was a Senju descendant, that was far too much attention.

"Lord Hokage said something very strange," Mori Kazuki said slowly. "He said, 'The Senju Clan truly is a bloodline of miracles.' Then he looked at you, unconscious, and stayed silent for a long time. Finally, he said four words—"

"'Get stronger quickly.'"

Silence fell over the hospital room.

Takuma stared at the ceiling, weighing the meaning of those four words.

The Lord Third wouldn't say something like that without a reason.

Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan was already taking shape. The official Chunin Ninja Exams matches were about to begin, and the combined forces of Sunagakure and Otogakure were secretly gathering. The Lord Third knew better than anyone that a storm was coming.

At a time like this, "Get stronger quickly" could only mean one thing.

Konoha needed everyone who could fight.

"I understand," Takuma said.

Mori Kazuki nodded and said nothing more.

He went to the window and pushed it open, letting fresh air flow inside. Outside, sunlight finally broke through the clouds, casting a golden patch across the hospital room floor.

As Takuma looked at the patch of light, something suddenly occurred to him.

He'd been unconscious for three days. Had the system reacted at all?

He focused on the system interface. A notification had been waiting for him for a long time.

[Witnessing "The Cursed Seal's Trial and Rebirth" complete. You have received a lottery draw.]

Takuma mentally selected the draw.

The familiar wheel began to spin. A black object appeared in the lottery space.

A pair of sunglasses.

Black frames, slender arms, and lenses as dark as ink, gleaming with a cold sheen.

Looking at the sunglasses, Takuma braced himself for another useless prize.

[The Matrix's Neo's Sunglasses: When worn, they let you see the flow of chakra.]

[Note: Their appearance automatically adjusts to fit the wearer. They cannot be damaged and do not need to be charged.]

Takuma stared for three seconds.

Then he took the sunglasses out.

They felt more substantial than they had in the space of his consciousness.

The frames were made of some kind of lightweight metal, cool and smooth to the touch. The lenses were black as ink, yet let plenty of light through.

Through the glasses, he looked at his father standing by the window. A pale blue aura surrounded his body—the natural manifestation of chakra.

The aura was concentrated around his abdomen, extending up through his chakra pathways and into his limbs.

His chakra flow was abundant and steady, like a broad, placid river.

Then he looked at himself.

He raised an arm and saw pale blue chakra coursing through his chakra pathways, flowing faster and more abundantly than his father's.

"What are you looking at?" Mori Kazuki asked, noticing his son's movements.

Takuma took off the sunglasses, folded one arm, and spun them around his fingers. "The world."

Mori Kazuki had a complicated look on his face. He was thinking, My son was unconscious for three days, and now he's acting kind of strange. Should I call the doctor to check him again?

Takuma didn't explain. He hooked the sunglasses over his collar and looked at the sunlight pouring in through the window. At last, a genuine, heartfelt smile appeared on his face.

A blessing in disguise.

His Wolverine Healing Factor had fused deeply with his Senju Bloodline, his chakra reserves had doubled, the Cursed Seal had been contained within controllable limits, and he'd gotten a pair of Matrix sunglasses that let him see the flow of chakra.

The process had certainly been brutal—he never wanted to experience Orochimaru planting a Cursed Seal while strangling him again—but the result was worth it.

It was even fair to say he'd come out ahead.

Of course, that was assuming he survived the upcoming Konoha Crush Plan.