Ever since the Chūnin preliminary examination, Morkel had become incredibly popular in the village.
As Shikamaru had once pointed out, Morkel's growth was nothing short of astonishing. Naturally, his rapid progress attracted many admirers, particularly among the village's young girls.
Ino, who once considered herself ordinary, never took the initiative to approach Morkel after that. He was always busy training, rarely seen in public. However, today was an exception—she saw both Morkel and Tsunade-sama at the same time! It was as if her two wishes had come true at once!
Shikamaru, standing beside Ino, sighed and spread his arms. "This is so annoying. It's bad enough that we had to pick up Tsunade, but why did you drag me and my team along?"
Chōji, munching on a handful of chips, responded, "Morkel actually trained with the two legendary 'Sannin'. That's incredible."
"We graduated from the Ninja Academy together, yet he's now a hero who saved the village while we're still pulling radishes in the fields," Shikamaru added, shaking his head.
Ino turned and smacked Shikamaru. "What do you know!"
At that moment, Sakura chimed in, "Ino, why don't you go say hello to your crush?"
Ino shot back, "Why is your big forehead always in my way? Shouldn't you be at the hospital taking care of Sasuke?"
Sakura fell silent.
Once, she had mocked Ino for liking Morkel, calling him a loser. But now, Morkel had become the village's hero, while Sasuke, the one she admired, was bedridden with the curse mark problem.
"I don't have time for you!" Sakura huffed and walked away.
At Konoha's village gate, Morkel and his group entered to the cheers of the villagers.
For Naruto, this was a new experience. "I didn't expect Granny Tsunade to be so popular."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Tsunade was the first to push for adding medical ninja to every three-person squad. She has an incredible reputation in the medical field."
Naruto grinned. "That sounds cool, but she's still a gambling addict."
As they walked in, many villagers handed flowers to Tsunade—including Tenten and Ino. Unlike Tenten, after giving flowers to Tsunade, Ino shyly turned to Morkel and handed him a small slip of paper.
"What's this?" Morkel asked.
Blushing, Ino replied, "It's a lottery ticket from my family's shop. You could win a special prize. Since you just got back, I wanted to give you one."
Had Sakura been there, she would have laughed. Who gives a crush a raffle ticket as a gift?
But Ino hadn't expected Morkel's return with Tsunade and wasn't prepared. She had already given flowers to Tsunade, leaving Morkel empty-handed, which felt wrong. So, she impulsively handed him the ticket, hoping it would give her another chance to see him if he came to claim a prize. Clever thinking—two birds with one stone!
Had she given him flowers, he might not have accepted them. But since it was a simple lottery ticket, Morkel gladly took it and, in return, handed her a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God technique.
"This kunai has my mark. If you're ever in danger, I can get to you immediately."
The moment Morkel said this, Ino's face turned crimson.
Morkel, noticing her reaction, asked, "Are you feeling too hot?"
Idiot!
How could he say something so intense so casually?
Ino, overwhelmed, turned and ran without a word—but not before carefully tucking away the kunai, seeing it as Morkel's silent promise to protect her.
Jiraiya, watching this exchange, smacked Morkel on the head. "You brat! You're going to be single forever!"
Tsunade laughed. "Good job!"
Jiraiya grumbled, "When talking to girls, you need to be smoother. That was way too blunt, not romantic at all."
Naruto snickered. "Pervy Sage, if you know so much, why are you still single after fifty years?"
Jiraiya coughed awkwardly, stealing a glance at Tsunade. "What do you know, brat? Let's go."
After chatting for a while, Tsunade excused herself. "Shizune and I need to head to the Hokage's office."
Morkel and Naruto decided to visit Sasuke at the hospital.
---
At Konoha Shinobi Hospital, Sasuke lay on his bed.
Morkel entered and frowned. "Why are you lying down again? Didn't the curse mark's effects subside?"
Sasuke sat up. "Yeah, but using my Sharingan still affects my body slightly."
What he didn't say was that whenever he felt an intense thirst for power, the curse mark threatened to break the seal.
"I can reinforce it for you," Morkel offered.
Sasuke shook his head. "No need, I can handle it."
Morkel studied him but didn't push further.
They chatted, mostly Naruto talking since Sasuke wasn't much of a conversationalist.
As they walked home, Naruto suddenly asked, "Morkel, is Chidori direct current or alternating current?"
Morkel was surprised. Naruto asking something technical? "Are you asking about mine or Sasuke's?"
"What's the difference?"
Morkel smirked. "Mine? No idea. Sasuke's? Definitely direct current—because he doesn't like to 'communicate' with people."
Naruto processed this new 'knowledge' with a blank look.
---
A few days later, the Fifth Hokage succession ceremony took place.
During the event, Morkel sensed an unsettling chakra aura. He traced it to a one-eyed, bandaged old man—Danzo. His chakra flared momentarily before he noticed Morkel watching and forced himself to calm down. Danzo turned and gave Morkel a stiff smile.
Morkel shuddered. That smile was creepy.
From that day forward, Morkel remained cautious of Danzo.
Life in Konoha settled into routine. Morkel performed minor missions, trained Naruto and Konohamaru, and developed new techniques.
One day, Shizune knocked on his door, panting. "Tsunade-sama wants you."
At the Hokage's office, Tsunade sat comfortably at her desk. "How's your medical training?"
Morkel demonstrated the Chakra Scalpel, even extending it into a long energy blade. Tsunade's jaw dropped—he had effortlessly transformed medical chakra into a powerful combat tool.
She then revealed the real reason she had called him. "There's a ninja named Rock Lee. You know him?"
Morkel nodded. "Yeah, he fought Gaara and got badly injured."
"His condition is serious. Surgery has only a 50% success rate. I need you to research cell activation."
Morkel was stunned. "But I'm just a Chūnin! I've only started learning medical ninjutsu—"
"You've worked with Orochimaru and Kabuto. You can figure it out."
She added an incentive: "If you succeed, I'll reward you with two million ryo."
Morkel smirked. "You're deep in debt."
Tsunade whispered, "Konoha has billions in its treasury… two million won't hurt."
Morkel agreed—on the condition that Tsunade alone took responsibility.
A week later, he presented a complete surgical plan. Tsunade was amazed.
Then, she made one final request. "I want you to perform the surgery."
Shizune gasped. "But Morkel's only been studying medical ninjutsu for a month!"
Morkel grinned. "For five million, I'll do it."
Tsunade smirked. "Deal."
More episodes are available on patreon
https://www.patreon.com/Atoki_29