Chapter 72: The Medical Department Says It's Fine? Then It's Fine.
Early the next morning.
Besides feeling unusually sluggish, Asuka found it strangely difficult to breathe. Even his heartbeat felt somewhat labored.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze drifted downward to the orange cat sprawled comfortably across his chest.
"..."
After a long sigh, he muttered,
"Feifei has been spending too much time with Pakura..."
"You're getting fat."
He picked up the cat and set it aside before getting dressed and heading into the living room.
Since Feifei had returned...
Pakura's letter must have arrived as well.
Finding the envelope, Asuka noticed a faint blush of pink showing through the white paper.
"Hm?"
At that moment, Uzuki Yugao happened to pass by.
Her eyes immediately landed on the pale-pink stationery inside the envelope.
A teasing smile spread across her face.
A girl's handwriting.
Thinking of that, she tugged lightly on Asuka's sleeve.
"Teacher..."
"Who sent it?"
"...It's not a love confession, is it?"
Nearby, Shukaku sat silently with a cooking pot balanced on his head.
He deliberately looked indifferent...
Yet the corners of his eyes repeatedly drifted toward the letter in Asuka's hand.
"Ahem."
Asuka cleared his throat.
Of course he knew who had written it.
And he knew equally well...
It definitely wasn't a confession.
He was simply curious about Pakura's travels.
Opening the envelope, he unfolded the pink letter and quickly read through it.
---
To Asuka,
Not long ago, I met a very interesting person in the Land of Grass.
She said that the shinobi world is filled with conflict.
Where there is conflict, there is war.
War gives birth to hatred.
Hatred creates new conflicts and new wars.
The cycle repeats endlessly, like a curse.
When we met, we happened to witness the release of Jiraiya's newest bestseller.
Out of curiosity, I bought a copy.
After reading his childish ideas, she immediately tore the book apart.
Although I also don't believe wars can truly end through mutual understanding and trust...
I wasn't angry enough to tear mine apart.
After all...
I paid for it.
—Pakura
---
Holding the letter, Asuka almost felt as if Pakura herself were chatting beside him.
Sharing daily life...
Not bad.
Judging by her wording...
She must have met a female shinobi she genuinely admired.
A kunoichi from the Land of Grass?
After folding the letter and putting it away, Asuka frowned thoughtfully.
People from the Land of Grass were notoriously unreliable.
It didn't seem likely Pakura would admire someone from there.
Someone from another village?
"Teacher?"
Pulled back to reality, Asuka tucked the letter away.
Looking at the curious expressions on Yugao and Shukaku's faces, he coughed lightly.
"Nothing worth seeing."
"Tch."
Yugao flicked her long purple hair before turning toward the kitchen.
"Oh, right."
"As soon as possible..."
"I'm arranging for you to join the Medical Department."
She froze after taking only a few steps.
Turning around, she asked in confusion,
"Teacher..."
"I can't even save a fish properly."
"Can I really work in the Medical Department?"
Asuka waved dismissively.
"Relax."
"Don't worry."
"You already possess the two most important qualifications for becoming a medical ninja."
"You're already qualified."
Yugao blinked.
Thinking of her mediocre medical ability, she hesitated.
"...What qualifications?"
"The two essential ones."
Asuka lowered his voice mysteriously.
"First..."
"You've mastered the Mystical Palm Technique."
"Second..."
"You can already read medical textbooks."
"If you encounter a disease you don't understand..."
"Ask the patient to wait outside."
"Then quietly look it up in the book."
"Just don't do it in front of them."
"It leaves a terrible impression."
Back then...
I stood beside the Hokage Building with a medical textbook in one hand and the Mystical Palm Technique in the other.
I treated patients for free.
Eventually...
I established my own reputation right under the Medical Department's nose.
I thoroughly humiliated a certain someone.
Yugao's expression immediately became complicated.
She tilted her head toward him.
Her lips moved for quite a while...
Yet no words came out.
She had, of course, asked others about her teacher's past.
Years ago, Konoha's medical system had been severely underdeveloped.
Only after Lady Tsunade's efforts had it expanded rapidly.
But such rapid expansion naturally produced countless problems.
Medical fees were expensive.
Patients were numerous.
Medical ninja were scarce.
Rumor had it...
The senior official in charge of the Medical Department had personal grievances against her teacher and deliberately prevented him from joining.
So, in a fit of anger...
He simply opened his own medical stall directly beside the Hokage Building.
Since the Uchiha Police Force maintained public order...
No one could stop him.
Her teacher valued freedom.
He also believed people should learn to fix their own mistakes as quickly as possible.
Through sheer stubbornness...
He managed to establish himself right beside the Hokage's office...
And completely embarrassed everyone who had hoped he would fail.
Watching Asuka head off to wash up...
Yugao instinctively puffed out her cheeks.
Although her teacher really had done exactly that...
She still felt...
It had been somewhat irresponsible toward the patients.
---
Meanwhile...
After giving a few instructions...
Asuka turned around with an unusually complicated expression.
He still remembered that incident vividly.
After achieving respectable medical skill...
He had confidently submitted an application to join the Medical Department.
The official in charge hadn't even looked at his application.
Instead...
With complete disdain, he sneered,
"The Medical Department isn't somewhere you can enter just because you feel like it."
Heh.
Recalling that shameless man who had questioned both his character and his medical ability...
Asuka laughed coldly to himself.
Yesterday...
He had approached the current director of the Medical Department and asked whether his apprentice could join.
The director hadn't even glanced at Yugao's file.
Instead, he replied immediately,
"The Medical Department isn't somewhere you can enter just because you feel like it."
See?
Sometimes...
The gap between people is even greater than the gap between people and dogs.
---
Five minutes later...
While brushing his teeth...
Asuka silently called out to the system.
"System."
The familiar interface appeared.
Looking at his own reflection in the mirror, he asked,
"I've been thinking about this all night."
"But I still can't figure it out."
"Why did Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's blood suddenly disappear?"
"Wasn't it supposed to be the reward you provided?"
"Or..."
"Do all systems share the same reward pool..."
"And another host claimed it before me?"
...
After a brief silence...
Words finally appeared.
«This system is a Counterattack System.
Its purpose is to help the Host surpass Uzumaki Naruto and become the strongest shinobi in the world.»
"...?"
Asuka blinked.
"Why are you suddenly introducing yourself?"
...
After another pause...
The system displayed another sentence.
«This system exists to help the Host become the strongest shinobi in the world.»
"I know that."
"But you haven't answered my question."
...
Silence.
A moment later...
More text appeared.
«Become the strongest shinobi in the world.»
"...Meaning?"
«The shinobi world.»
"...Could you be more specific?"
«THE SHINOBI WORLD!!»
"..."
Looking helplessly at the system, Asuka sighed.
"I know you're a Counterattack System."
"I know your purpose is to make me the strongest."
"But what I want to know..."
"...is why my reward suddenly disappeared."
"If something similar happens again..."
"I'd like to prepare in advance."
This time...
The system remained silent for an exceptionally long time.
Only after Asuka finished washing his face...
Did eight new words finally appear.
«The moon was too far away. Out of range.»
"...?"
He stared blankly at the strange explanation.
Before he could ask anything else...
The interface disappeared.
Drying his face with a towel, Asuka looked thoughtfully into the mirror.
The moon... was too far away?
Out of range?
What does that even mean?
Could it be...
The system had originally intended to extract a drop of blood from Kaguya herself—
Who remained sealed inside the moon—
And award it directly?
"Hm..."
"If that's really how it works..."
"...then this truly is an authentic system."
Just like the brand-new Kusanagi Sword it had rewarded him before...
Everything it produced was apparently freshly acquired.
"System."
A new thought suddenly occurred to him.
"You mentioned that replacement reward..."
"...the blood of an Ōtsutsuki descendant."
"That wasn't freshly extracted too..."
"...was it?"
This time...
The system answered almost immediately.
«In stock.»
"...Phew."
Learning that the blood hadn't been taken from someone moments earlier...
Asuka finally let out a long sigh of relief.
In that case...
The mysterious nosebleeds and hospitalizations involving the wives of several major clan leaders...
Probably had nothing to do with the system after all.