The Active Little Veterinarian

Hiruzen Sarutobi was in a good mood.

Thinking of the look on Danzo's face when he had been startled by Hiruzen's sudden appearance while sitting in the Hokage's seat... Hehehe... Scaring people was so much fun!

However, out of consideration for their friendship and Konoha's current circumstances, he had not chosen to deal with his old friend. Konoha's reserves could hardly be called abundant these days...

When Kakashi Hatake and Uchiha Shisui arrived at his office, Hiruzen Sarutobi's kindly expression gradually crumbled away. He asked gravely, "A strange person capable of using the Flying Thunder God Technique... Are you certain, Kakashi?"

"I am Minato-sensei's disciple," Kakashi said in a low voice. His meaning was clear.

"Hmm... Did you notice anything unusual?"

"His Chakra reserves were no less than those of any jonin. He was highly proficient with the Flying Thunder God formula, immensely strong, extremely fast, and very conscious of secrecy..." Recalling the strange man's performance in battle, Kakashi said doubtfully, "But he did not seem to have received ninja training..."

"What do you mean?"

"His taijutsu and swordsmanship were full of openings, and he lacked combat experience... Furthermore, throughout the entire battle, aside from the Flying Thunder God Technique, he did not use any ninjutsu. Even his shuriken accuracy was very poor..."

At that point, Kakashi glanced at Shisui beside him.

The other source of intelligence was a shuriken prodigy, and Shisui was even more puzzled. "Based on my calculations, his thrown shuriken posed no threat whatsoever..."

He was clearly a powerful ninja, yet he could not even throw basic shuriken. Other than his Flying Thunder God, everything else about him was an insult to the ninja profession...

"...I understand. That really does sound like his style!" Hiruzen Sarutobi habitually put his pipe between his lips. "Kakashi, Shisui, go back and get some proper rest. Just make sure to keep this confidential!"

Kakashi Hatake: "..."

"My apologies, Lord Hokage." Uchiha Shisui dropped to one knee. This was indeed a responsibility he had to bear. "The Fugaku family may also learn of this..."

Shisui could only explain that troublesome crow once again.

"...Is that so?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly picked up a document from his desk, tore it to pieces, and tossed it into the wastebasket. "It does not matter. After you return, help me pass a message to Fugaku."

"Yes!"

"The Konoha Police Force does not need to relocate its headquarters for the time being. The village still needs them to maintain public order. They cannot be too far from the village."

After the Third Hokage spoke in a deep voice, he slowly exhaled a thick plume of smoke. It shrouded him, making his expression impossible to see...

Shisui nodded. "Understood! But I heard the clan has already begun constructing an office building for the Police Force at the new clan grounds..."

"It is a trivial matter. As captain of the Police Force, he can allocate it himself."

Uchiha Fugaku was still at home, pondering how he should secretly investigate this matter. Someone had attempted to assassinate the Hokage... Just hearing about it made it feel... so thrilling!

Expecting a crow to keep a secret was impossible. It would never happen... After working so hard to do something itself, it would naturally have to embellish the story as well.

A powerful genius Wood Release ninja... A bizarre Flying Thunder God user... A group of ambushers comparable to an elite Anbu unit... Fugaku had been utterly stunned by Itachi's explanation.

Putting everything else aside, a single Wood Release ninja was enough to frighten anyone.

In the entire ninja world, aside from Konoha's First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, there had never been a second Wood Release ninja... And how powerful was Wood Release? Need an example? Just look at the Uchiha during the Warring States era!

Whenever people mentioned Wood Release, they habitually dragged the Uchiha through the mud... Have you heard of Konoha's Sharingan clan? They possessed the strongest bloodline limit in the ninja world!

Yet during the Warring States era, Senju Hashirama had beaten them senseless with Wood Release. In the end, they had no choice but to surrender and join Konoha. Even their clan leader, Uchiha Madara, the Demon of the Ninja World, had been killed by Senju Hashirama... There were still statues at the Valley of the End!

...Becoming the backdrop for the overwhelming strength of the God of Shinobi was something countless people dreamed of! For instance, a certain financial expert probably loved to boast that he had once fought the First Hokage and escaped unscathed...

The Uchiha clan was not like those people. They would find that deeply painful... According to the crow's intelligence, there was a Wood Release ninja within Konoha. Fugaku's mood was easy to imagine.

"Say, Fugaku, did something happen?" Uchiha Mikoto sat beside her husband and handed him a cup of hot tea. "Ever since Kitahara returned, you have seemed very distracted."

"Something minor happened in the clan. Hah..." Fugaku blew on the steam rising from his tea and shook his head. "You have worked hard. I will be off the day after tomorrow, so I can help out at home..."

"Will that be possible?"

"It should be... Where are they?"

Uchiha Mikoto raised a finger to her lips. "Shh. Sasuke finally managed to fall asleep in his room... Itachi took Kitahara out..."

"Huh? I forgot to tell them not to talk about what happened earlier outside." Having already roughly guessed the suspicious party's identity, Fugaku especially did not want any further complications.

"Itachi is very smart..."

Although Uchiha Itachi was still young, with his intelligence, he would surely understand that the Hokage's assassination was not something to be discussed in public.

Everyone knew that the eldest son of the Fugaku family was exceptionally clever—except for the crow at his side... It felt that there was something wrong with Uchiha Itachi's brain today.

A little girl had merely patted his shoulder and told him that the crow on him might be sick. She said she was a veterinarian and could help treat it... Yet Uchiha Itachi had actually believed her!

"I have treated lots of animals already!" The little girl placed a hand on the crow. "Your crow looks listless, and its heartbeat is irregular. It may have been frightened..."

Uchiha Itachi thought for a second, then nodded. "Yes."

"Good thing you met me today..." The little girl confidently took out a medical kit, looking quite professional.

"Caw!"

The crow struggled desperately in the little boy's arms... Its emotions were just out of sorts!

After the excitement of battle faded, panic over killing those Anbu ninja surged up within it... Kitahara consoled itself that they could not possibly have been innocent, but that heart-pounding unease would not fade so easily.

Who would have thought Konoha had such an overly helpful little doctor...

"First, stroke the animal's back to help it gradually relax..."

"Then locate the animal's blood vessels..."

"Finally, give it a sedative injection!"

"Caw!"

The crow, which had just relaxed slightly, instantly became wide awake and twisted its body desperately again... Who used physical treatment for psychological problems? She was the one with a problem!

Uchiha Itachi held the crow tightly and looked at the thick needle in the little girl's hand. "Um? Are you really sure about this?"

"Of course! It contains a sedative I prepared myself! Once it gets a good sleep, its body will automatically regulate itself during hibernation..." The little girl spoke with complete confidence.

If he ignored her age, the syringe in her hand, and her patient, even Kitahara would have thought that the little girl made perfect sense... As a bystander, Uchiha Itachi was convinced.

However, a burly man saved Kitahara...

No doctor in the world could cure every illness, which meant trouble would always come looking for them... Even a little veterinarian was no exception!

"Tsume Inuzuka! So you were here! I finally found you!"

"Ever since you treated my little McGee last time, it has been limping whenever it walks!"

Tsume Inuzuka was Kiba's older sister, roughly the same age as Itachi's classmates.