Blood Ties and Connections

Yuka's and Rofu's injuries were manageable. Traditional medicine had ways to set bones and stop bleeding. But Haruki's severed arm left Lu Zeming at a loss.

Reattaching a severed arm was a job for Western medicine. Traditional medicine had no good way to do it.

Yuka looked at him with pleading eyes. All right, then. He would give it a shot, however unlikely it was to work!

Lu Zeming thought his Wood Spiritual Root might help repair the arm.

He lined up Haruki's severed arm with the stump, pressed a hand to Haruki's shoulder, and slowly channeled Spiritual Power imbued with his Wood Spiritual Root into Haruki's body.

As Spirit Energy flowed in, Lu Zeming could clearly sense the meridians and blood vessels inside Haruki.

His Spiritual Power traveled along them toward the stump. When it reached the severed ends, it hit a dead end.

I need to reconnect the blood vessels and meridians!

Lu Zeming began picturing their shapes without realizing it, and his Spiritual Power changed shape in turn.

If someone had looked closely, they would have seen countless tiny, green-glowing tendrils extending from the stump at Haruki's shoulder.

The tendrils swayed and probed forward until they touched the severed arm. As if they had found the way home, they all burrowed inside.

As more and more tendrils entered, the arm joined more firmly to his shoulder.

Little by little, new flesh began to grow across the break. More followed until it filled the entire gap.

Even unconscious, Haruki's tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.

By the time Haruki's arm was as good as new, Lu Zeming was drenched in sweat.

Having watched the whole thing, Yuka was overjoyed. She bowed to Lu Zeming again and again, thanking him.

Lu Zeming was about to offer a modest reply when Rofu let out a startled cry.

"Ah! What's going on? Why is my hair falling out?"

Lu Zeming scratched his head awkwardly. "Ahem. Losing hair means you're getting stronger!"

Rofu actually believed him.

"Huh. Now that you mention it, I do feel a little stronger than before!"

Looking at Rofu's guileless, rather dim expression, Lu Zeming couldn't help sighing.

If all my future patients were like Rofu, doctor-patient relations would be so much more harmonious!

As they chatted, Lu Zeming learned more about the three of them.

Yuka and Haruki were both members of the Mind-Listening Clan, but the clan had fallen into decline!

People said the Mind-Listening Clan was cursed. They were shunned wherever they went and forced to wander from place to place.

According to Yuka, the main reason the clan had fallen so far was that no one wanted anyone else to know their innermost thoughts—every last one of them.

As the saying went, there were two things you could not look at directly: the sun and the human heart.

Anyone would have that concern, but Lu Zeming felt there had to be more to it. Still, they had only just met, so he could hardly press her.

"If people are afraid you'll hear their thoughts, why is Rofu happy to be close to you?"

Yuka did not answer. She looked at Rofu instead.

Rofu had long since forgotten about his hair loss. He was rummaging through his pack for food, looking utterly carefree.

Lu Zeming realized his question had been unnecessary. Why would someone as simplehearted as Rofu fear having his thoughts heard?

"Can everyone in the Mind-Listening Clan hear people's thoughts?"

"Of course not. Only a very few can. Haruki, for example, can only hear the thoughts of birds and beasts. Their minds are simpler and slower. Human thoughts are too tangled and chaotic for him to hear!"

"Oh, I see. Wait, hang on. I feel like I've forgotten something. Never mind. It's already dark. I'll deal with it tomorrow!"

If Mui and Shinbu Kosuke, still waiting miserably where Lu Zeming had left them, had heard that, they would have been heartbroken!

That night, Lu Zeming kept watch while the three injured companions rested and recovered.

Yuka lay in her sleeping bag, pretending to sleep. Through half-closed eyes, she stole glances at Lu Zeming's profile.

The flickering firelight threw his face in and out of shadow, but it could not hide his bright eyes.

His eyes shone like stars, and Yuka felt her heart begin to race.

Since she and Haruki had set out, they had met with nothing but contempt and discrimination. Lu Zeming was the only person who had made her feel truly respected.

Even after learning she could hear thoughts, he had shown no sign of keeping his distance.

It moved Yuka deeply. He had done so much for her without asking for anything in return.

That night, Yuka slept soundly—more soundly than she ever had before.

At first light the next morning, Lu Zeming heard Shinbu Kosuke shouting in a voice weak and ragged with exhaustion.

"Lu Zeming, you bastard! Where the hell did you go? Did a dog eat you? Even if it did, you could've said something! Bastard! You left the two of us waiting in the cold wind all night!"

In truth, Shinbu Kosuke had spotted Lu Zeming long ago. He was shouting on purpose so a certain bastard would hear.

Lu Zeming kicked up a leg. His shoe flew off and struck Shinbu Kosuke square in the face.

Shinbu Kosuke stopped cursing. Instead, he hurled Lu Zeming's shoe even farther away.

"Damn, you're a real jerk!"

Laughing as he cursed, Lu Zeming hopped off to retrieve his shoe.

Mui wanted to laugh, but though the corners of his mouth twitched for a while, he could not manage it. Remembering his expressionless face, he ran ahead and kicked Lu Zeming's shoe even farther away!

Now Lu Zeming could not even see it!

Lu Zeming simply shook off his other shoe.

"Ah, even the best doctor can't do a thing about unruly patients!"

After the joking died down, Lu Zeming introduced everyone. When Mui and Shinbu Kosuke heard that Yuka and Haruki belonged to the Mind-Listening Clan, they both took two steps back.

Haruki, now awake, looked embarrassed. Yuka lowered her head in shame.

She felt she had embarrassed Lu Zeming.

Lu Zeming threw an arm around Yuka's shoulders and gave Mui and Shinbu Kosuke a wicked grin.

"What's this? Discriminating against my friends?"

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke shook their heads emphatically.

"Then get over here."

Mui and Shinbu Kosuke came back, though both looked as if they wanted to laugh at Lu Zeming.

Yuka was much taller than Lu Zeming. To put his arm around her shoulders, he had to stand on tiptoe, making him look ridiculously cute.

Yuka could hardly bring herself to look at anyone now. Her face had turned as red as an apple.

Lu Zeming let go of her shoulders and asked the three of them, "Your injuries have mostly healed. What are you planning to do next?"

Yuka was silent for a long while before answering firmly.

"We still want to try. Only by becoming ninja can we give the Mind-Listening Clan any hope of revival!"

Before Lu Zeming could speak, Shinbu Kosuke cut in. "Stop dreaming. Do you know how many people will be selected in the end? Twelve. Eleven of those places have already been claimed by the various clans. That leaves just one for civilian ninja like you. Who do you think you can beat? Forget everyone else—even Zeming could wipe the floor with all three of you."

The three of them went pale as death.

Shinbu Kosuke was not finished. "Some things can't be achieved just by risking your life. Even if you somehow become one of the twelve, I guarantee that if anyone in charge finds out you're from the Mind-Listening Clan, you won't be allowed to be a ninja!"

Near despair, Yuka collapsed to the ground.

Lu Zeming sighed. He had understood the rules of Naruto World for a long time.

Take the Chunin Ninja Exams in Konoha, for instance. Sakura was the only genuine civilian ninja.

Rock Lee and Tenten? Don't make me laugh. Just look at who Rock Lee's teacher was.

Tenten's family could afford to run a Ninja Tool Shop in Konoha, and she tossed weapons around in every fight as though they cost nothing. Anyone who called her a civilian was kidding themselves.

And Sakura's fighting ability had only truly taken shape after she became Tsunade's student.

At its heart, this world ran on blood ties and connections. For an ordinary person, getting ahead was next to impossible.