Danzo's Plan, Veterinarian Chiya Rikuto!

Chiya Rikuto, a third-year genius.

He had been taken on as a disciple by Princess Tsunade, the Princess of Konoha, one of the legendary Sannin and a disciple of the Third Hokage.

Countless people envied him.

At the Third Hokage's direction, the school had also publicized it heavily.

He had become a role model for countless students.

It had sparked a wave of enthusiasm for studying hard.

"I'm not going to the Ninja Academy. I'm going to Konoha Hospital with Sister Tsunade later to learn how to treat the injured!" Rikuto shrugged.

"But no matter how intricate or powerful a puppet is, it takes a puppeteer's skillful control to bring out its full combat power..."

He wiped the fine sweat from Tenten's forehead.

Looking at the lively, cheerful girl with her hair in buns and her Chinese-style appearance, he smiled and encouraged her. "You'd better work hard!"

"Yeah, I'll work hard to become an outstanding puppeteer, Rikuto!"

Tenten clenched her small fists, full of determination.

"Go on. It's getting late, and you'll be late if you wait any longer!"

Rikuto smiled.

He had to admit, Tenten's family was truly wealthy.

The materials they had given him exceeded his expectations. Even after he finished making Rikuto No. 1, more than half remained.

He planned to spend some more time designing a support-type puppet, different from the combat-oriented Rikuto No. 1, that could be used in different battle situations.

He would give it to Tenten before leaving Konoha.

After discovering that Tenten was truly talented in this field,

he had decided to train the little rich girl into a truly outstanding puppeteer.

"See you, then, Rikuto!"

Tenten was reluctant to leave.

But she could only say goodbye to Rikuto and run off toward the Ninja Academy.

He watched Tenten leave.

"Flutter..."

A little sparrow flapped its wings.

It boldly landed on Rikuto.

It chirped and hopped about.

It seemed to regard him as an ordinary tree and showed no fear of him at all.

Looking at the sparrow on his shoulder, Rikuto smiled, his eyes brightening slightly. "Maybe I should design a flying puppet!"

To be honest,

when he had studied the Puppet Technique before, aside from his personal interest,

it had been because he didn't want to expose his Woods-Woods Fruit ability too early and invite unnecessary trouble.

He had intended to use the Puppet Technique as his overt means until he truly grew stronger.

He hadn't actually planned to develop in that direction.

But now he had become the disciple of Tsunade of the Sannin.

He could be said to belong squarely to the Hokage's faction.

And he might be leaving Konoha soon.

He no longer needed that disguise.

There was no need to be as cautious as before.

After all, he had someone backing him now.

He could afford to be more conspicuous and openly display his talent for Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.

But since he had set Tenten on the path of a puppeteer, he naturally had to do the best he could.

A puppet that could truly carry a person through the air and possessed formidable aerial combat capabilities.

He believed the girl would be quite satisfied with it.

Chapter 30: Danzo's Plan, Veterinarian Chiya Rikuto!

"Has that guy woken up yet?"

On the outskirts of Konoha,

inside a vast underground complex,

a sinister-looking old man stood leaning on a cane. His right eye was covered with bandages, his entire right arm was wrapped in clothing, and an X-shaped scar marked his chin.

Before him,

a masked figure knelt on one knee and answered respectfully, "Lord Danzo, he's awake..."

"His mental state is still rather poor, but we've gotten a general picture of what happened..."

The Root ninja reported in a low voice, "He first fell under Chiya Rikuto's Genjutsu. The moment he broke free, he was caught in a second layer of Genjutsu cast by Chiya Rikuto!"

"He's proficient in Genjutsu too?"

The old man raised an eyebrow and said indifferently, "And he can even use a double-layered Genjutsu with ease, swiftly taking down a Chunin and toying with him at will..."

"As expected of Senju Toka's descendant. What an astonishing brat!"

He was none other than one of Konoha High Command,

Shimura Danzō, the leader of Root, whom the Third Hokage had appointed as an adviser to the Hokage.

Known for his hard-line methods, ruthlessness, and willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, he was called the "Darkness of the Shinobi" throughout the Shinobi World and was greatly feared by the major nations.

"Lord Danzo, should we continue testing him?" the Root ninja asked.

"No need. Tsunade and her teacher, the Third Hokage, have become virtual strangers. She won't stay in the village much longer, so there's no need to provoke her too much..."

Stroking his right arm through the clothing wrapped around it,

Danzo's eyes flashed with cold killing intent. "Besides, we can't spare attention for a mere brat who hasn't grown up yet. We have more important things to do!"

"Go and summon Uchiha Itachi. It's time he made his choice!"

"Yes..."

Meanwhile-

Inside Konoha Hospital.

"Lady Tsunade!"

"Lady Tsunade, you're back!"

"This is wonderful!"

Whether they were patients

or the doctors and nurses at the hospital,

they all crowded around Tsunade in excitement.

Even the female nurses had hearts in their eyes, looking as though they had forgotten themselves.

Shizune and Rikuto, who had been pushed aside, got a full taste of the prestige and charm of the legendary medical expert Tsunade.

"Sister Tsunade, you really are popular..."

Rikuto, who had come to Konoha Hospital with Tsunade for practical training, marveled.

"Of course. Lady Tsunade isn't just the granddaughter of Lord Hashirama, the First Hokage. She has also rendered outstanding service in many important battles and commands enormous respect in the village..."

Holding Tonton, Shizune said with some pride, "And over the years, the medical-nin system Lady Tsunade established herself has saved countless people!"

Once Tsunade finally managed to extricate herself from the crowd,

the hospital staff, at her direction, quickly assigned an injured patient to Rikuto, her disciple.

Tsunade had no intention of taking part. She simply said, "Shizune, you're in charge of guiding him!"

She suffered from a fear of blood and couldn't bear to see it.

She couldn't personally guide him in the operating room.

Besides, it was only a relatively simple minor operation.

After her years of training, Shizune's medical skills were more than sufficient to handle it.

"Ah! My leg! My leg..."

In the operating room,

an injured man wearing a Konoha Chunin flak jacket lay on the operating table, wailing.

His right leg was covered in blood, its flesh mangled.

It was somewhat horrifying.

"His right leg was injured by an Explosive Tag, but fortunately, it can still be saved..."

Wearing gloves, Shizune examined the injury and spoke directly to Rikuto beside her. "To avoid amputation, we need to remove the necrotic tissue and disinfect the wound as soon as possible, to prevent inflammation and further infection!"

"I see."

Rikuto nodded.

Seeing the mangled flesh,

he finally understood just how cruel the world of shinobi was.

And this was only the tip of the iceberg.

There were even more brutal, bloodier things.

Even so, he was fairly strong-minded.

Looking at the bloody, partially rotting thigh, he wasn't too badly affected.

Shizune, standing nearby, took in Rikuto's reaction.

She nodded to herself.

"Would you like to give it a try, Rikuto?" Shizune asked.

Given Rikuto's medical skills,

and with her there to guide her junior,

she believed a minor operation like this would be no problem at all.

"I'm a professional veterinarian, in a manner of speaking. Leave it to me!" Rikuto took a deep breath and nodded.

It wasn't as though he had never performed a similar operation.

But he had operated on small animals like rats, stray cats, and wild rabbits, not humans.

He had three or four years of experience as a veterinarian.

"A... a veterinarian?"

But Yamashiro Kawaki, a Jonin from the medical corps who was standing nearby, felt his eyelid twitch.

He couldn't help raising his voice. "Miss Shizune, you're Lady Tsunade's disciple, and you've studied under her for years. You have plenty of experience, so naturally there's no problem with you..."

"Although he's also Lady Tsunade's disciple, he's a bit too young..."

"Hey, hey, aren't you taking this a little too lightly?"

On the operating table.