Chapter 9: The Three Rules of a Medical Ninja!
[Stamina +3]
[Stamina: E- → E]
As the message flashed on the panel, Nara Keisuke finished the last grain of rice on his plate, a look of deep satisfaction on his face.
This is what it means to be a true foodie... (Leans back tactically)
A single meal had nearly doubled his [Stamina] attribute!
And if one meal could give him [Stamina] +3, then three meals would be +10, a year would be three thousand, ten years would be thirty thousand, a hundred years would be three hundred thousand, and in three hundred years, he could become a million-year-old deer spirit and ascend to godhood...
Nara Keisuke frowned, realizing things weren't as simple as he had imagined.
Could an ordinary ninja even live for three hundred years? It seemed the <
'Do I need to eat more? Or eat better? Or perhaps...'
Nara Keisuke rubbed his stomach.
'Find another way to increase my [Stamina] attribute?'
"This is a bit strange..."
Tsunade looked at the spotless plate, then at Nara Keisuke's stomach.
"Logically speaking, a ninja who can eat this much shouldn't be lacking in physical energy!"
Eat a lot, grow strong, have great stamina. For a detailed reference, see the Akimichi of the "Ino-Shika-Chō" trio.
"Maybe it's because Keisuke was just too hungry today?"
Yakushi Nono'o stood up to clear the table, her smile gentle and warm.
"He usually doesn't eat this much."
Nara Keisuke came back to his senses and said with a straight face, "It could also be because I'm going through a growth spurt, so my appetite has gotten bigger!"
His honest words didn't cause much of a stir. Yakushi Nono'o glanced at Nara Keisuke dotingly, while Tsunade just rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"Ninja mature much earlier than ordinary people!"
Not dwelling on the issue, Tsunade tugged at the tight-fitting nun's habit she was wearing.
"Nono'o, do you have any other clothes I can change into?"
Over the course of the meal, the relationship between Tsunade and Yakushi Nono'o had grown much closer. If Nara Keisuke were to describe it, it would probably be "they're now at the stage where they can hold hands while going to the bathroom together."
Nara Keisuke found this incomprehensible. He was the type who felt uncomfortable if someone was using the urinal next to him...
"I do."
Yakushi Nono'o glanced at the obviously ill-fitting nun's habit on Tsunade, her expression a bit subtle.
"It's the exclusive uniform for the Medical Emergency Team."
"No problem!"
Tsunade changed her clothes, bid farewell to the two, and then swiftly left the Kikyo Orphanage. She still remembered her duty to report the spy to Hiruzen Sarutobi, as well as another matter she had just thought of...
Nara Keisuke leisurely lay back down on his bed. In front of Yakushi Nono'o, who knew him inside and out, he didn't need to hide his true personality.
"Keisuke, starting your 'energy conservationism' again?"
Yakushi Nono'o, having finished clearing the table, teased him.
"Never do what is unnecessary. Do what is necessary as simply as possible."
"As expected, Sister Nono'o, you get me! I'm not being lazy, I'm just conserving energy."
Lying on the bed, Nara Keisuke didn't mind her teasing and just played along.
"By the way, Sister Nono'o, after you've come back this time, will you still have to leave the village for missions?"
Yakushi Nono'o had never revealed her true identity as a "Root ninja" to Nara Keisuke, although he had long since known. In her eyes, Nara Keisuke had always just thought of her as an elite Jōnin from the Medical Emergency Team.
"I'm not sure either."
Yakushi Nono'o sat down beside Nara Keisuke, raising a hand to gently stroke his black hair.
"After all... the war is about to begin."
In the past, Yakushi Nono'o would never have discussed things like "missions" or "war" in front of Nara Keisuke. But now that he was an official ninja and would soon be her "colleague," she no longer avoided the topic. However, she still wasn't prepared to reveal her identity as a "Root ninja." The distance between the dark roots hidden underground and a vibrant child like Keisuke was simply too great...
"War... the Third Great Shinobi War..."
Nara Keisuke's previously relaxed and cheerful expression instantly became quiet and cold with the mention of this word. The face of the Iwagakure spy he had encountered today flashed through his mind.
"Sister Nono'o, you're an elite of the Medical Department. No matter what missions you encounter in the future, don't forget the three rules of a medical-nin! Especially the second and third points!"
The three rules of a medical-nin?
Yakushi Nono'o's head-patting motion paused slightly.
First, a medical-nin must never give up on treatment until their teammates are dead!
Second, a medical-nin must never stand on the front lines of battle!
Third, a medical-nin must never die before any other member of their squad!
"Keisuke, your concern... I've received it."
Yakushi Nono'o once again gently stroked Nara Keisuke's hair.
"Honestly, you're just a child... although children from the Nara clan can't always be measured by common sense."
"Sister Nono'o, and the funds for the Kikyo Orphanage—"
Yakushi Nono'o, who had always been gentle, showed a serious expression to Nara Keisuke for the first time as he brought up this topic, and she interrupted him. "Keisuke, I am responsible for supporting everything at the Kikyo Orphanage!"
"But wasn't I one of the original founders of the Kikyo Orphanage?"
Nara Keisuke closed his eyes, recalling the first time he and Yakushi Nono'o had met.
"And back then, you were the one who abducted me and brought me back to the Kikyo Orphanage!"
To be precise, Nara Keisuke was the very first "orphan" of the Kikyo Orphanage... which didn't seem to be a glorious achievement.
"We... we promised not to talk about this!"
A blush appeared on Yakushi Nono'o's oval face, and she started to stutter, the serious aura she had just displayed instantly vanishing.
Back then, when she was training by herself in the forest outside Kikyo Castle, she had accidentally discovered Nara Keisuke sitting alone in the woods. He wasn't carrying any identification at the time—and still wasn't. Yakushi Nono'o didn't know his true identity and just thought he was a reclusive, solitary child. In a fit of maternal instinct, she brought him back to her home—which later became the Kikyo Orphanage.
And then... Yakushi Nono'o was almost dealt with by the Nara clan as a kidnapper!
Nara Keisuke stared into Yakushi Nono'o's hazel-green eyes and said with utmost sincerity, "In any case, if the Kikyo Orphanage has any financial problems, you can discuss them with me."
Yakushi Nono'o adjusted her glasses and said in a low voice, "Keisuke, I can't accept funding from the Nara clan for no reason."
"Not from the Nara clan, from me personally."
Nara Keisuke gave a thumbs-up, pointing back at himself.
"Being a ninja is a very expensive profession... I don't want to keep taking money from my family."
Yakushi Nono'o found Nara Keisuke's statement a bit strange.
Is being a ninja very expensive? But, if it was just support from Nara Keisuke himself... it should be fine. Although she had never announced it publicly, Yakushi Nono'o did indeed consider Nara Keisuke one of the founders of the Kikyo Orphanage in her heart. And with her personal income, it was indeed a bit difficult to support the orphanage's operations on her own. Not to mention, she was already thinking of leaving Root.
The missions from Root were indeed dangerous and arduous, with the risk of death at the slightest misstep. But correspondingly, the pay was also high! If she were to leave Root in the future, Yakushi Nono'o didn't know where else she could earn funds to maintain the Kikyo Orphanage.
But Keisuke... could he do it? Yakushi Nono'o studied the boy's handsome little face.
"Then let's find some time later and discuss how to 'make money' together!"
As she said this, Yakushi Nono'o suddenly felt that something was not quite right. It sounded just like an old married couple discussing how to get through a family financial crisis...
"No problem!"
Nara Keisuke sat up from the bed.
"Then I'll head back first... Sister Nono'o, you must have just gone to my house to pass on the message, right?"
Yakushi Nono'o nodded lightly and watched Nara Keisuke leave the Kikyo Orphanage.
...
Under the cover of night, Nara Keisuke hurried home. Yakushi Nono'o had always been so meticulous and serious. As long as he went to the orphanage, she would never forget to inform his family.
Dad and Mom should be waiting for me to come home right now... right?
Nara Keisuke walked up to his front door and saw that it was completely dark inside, without a single light on. He silently took out his key, unlocked and pushed open the door. He hadn't taken two steps before a strong beam of light shone on his face. He instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, peeking at the person opposite him through the gaps in his fingers.
"Why is it you? Why are you back?"
A familiar voice he had heard for twelve years sounded, but the light didn't go out.
"..."
Nara Keisuke was silent for a moment, then slowly lowered his hand.
"Keiko, have you ever considered the possibility that this is also my house?"
Click!
Nara Keiko turned off the flashlight in her hand and flicked on the wall lamp, looking at her son with exasperation.
"How many times have I told you! You have to call me 'Mom'!"
Nara Keiko turned and walked into the house. If one looked closely, one would notice that her gait wasn't quite standard; she walked with a bit of a limp.
"Little Kaku, you're getting less cute the older you get!"
"At least until you change what you call me, I won't change what I call you, Keiko."
Nara Keisuke said very seriously.
"Nara Kaku... that name sounds so half-hearted! Especially since our family has a deer named 'Ōkaku' (Big Horn)!"
Nara Keiko turned and glared at her unfortunate child.
"That's the name your dear husband gave you!"
A chill ran down Nara Keisuke's spine.
Dear husband.
The corresponding pet name from Nara Keisuke's father, Nara Shūsuke, was—dear wife.
'Such a mushy couple, and they're my parents... how embarrassing.'
"And speaking of 'Ōkaku'..."
Nara Keiko picked up a kitchen knife, flicked her wrist in a brilliant flourish, and pointed the gleaming tip directly at her son's head.
"Why did only you, Little Kaku, come back? Where is Ōkaku?"
(End of Chapter)