Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
The news that all the assassins sent out had been captured alive was delivered back to the village.
Inside the Raikage's office, A was furious!
"Damn it! Those useless fools! Worthless trash!"
"To think they got humiliated so badly by a boy who just graduated from the Ninja Academy!"
"And every single one of them was captured alive!"
"What's worse, Konoha shamelessly demands we pay a million ryo just to ransom one man back!"
"This is outrageous!"
The more A spoke, the angrier he got. Finally—BANG!—he smashed his desk apart with a single kick.
The intel ninja giving the report trembled in fear.
A continued, "If this gets out, Kumogakure will become the laughingstock of the entire shinobi world!"
"Not only did we break the inter-village peace agreements and ambush another village's ninja, but we got completely taken down and captured alive!"
"No! The reputation built up by the First Raikage cannot be ruined in my hands like this!"
A turned toward his younger brother, Killer B, who was sitting beside the desk.
"B! Do you have any ideas on how to minimize the fallout from this mess?"
Killer B thought for a moment, then offered a suggestion.
"This incident really hurts the village's image. If we want to cool things down, the only way is to quietly bring our assassins back home. That way we won't have to pay, and we can also show off Kumogakure's strength, yo! ❛‿˂̵✧ skr~"
A was long since used to B's strange way of talking and couldn't be bothered to complain anymore.
But this time, Killer B's suggestion was actually quite useful.
A slammed his hand down decisively.
"Then it's settled! B, you'll lead the team to rescue all the shinobi captured by Konoha."
"And remember—you're called the 'Killer B' for a reason. It'd be best if you could take that Shinju down while you're at it."
Killer B pulled an awkward face.
"Why me? There are still plenty of matters in the village that need me! (||๐_๐)"
A said, "We sent over ten elite assassins, and that boy defeated them all. His strength can't be underestimated. If we send anyone else, it'll be pointless."
"After thinking it over, you're the only one suited for this mission. You and the Eight-Tails together have Kage-level strength. Even if you can't beat that boy, at least you can escape."
Killer B: (´இ皿இ｀)
That was exactly why he didn't want this mission.
That boy had crushed more than ten of Kumogakure's jōnin.
If B went and got crushed too, it would be utterly humiliating!!
Seeing Killer B hesitate, A stood up and cut him off.
"Enough. It's decided!"
...
Konoha Village.
One week later.
Shinju spent a week completing Tsunade's surgical training.
Now, not only had he mastered advanced medical ninjutsu, but he also developed an incredibly strong mental composure.
Even if someone were split in half in front of him, he wouldn't so much as blink.
"The surgery will be tomorrow. I'll be by your side as your assistant the whole time, so there's no need to be nervous."
After the final lesson, Tsunade patted Shinju on the shoulder and spoke with a rare hint of seriousness.
"I'm not nervous."
Shinju smiled.
"By the way, have you told Lee? As the patient, he has the right to know."
Tsunade shook her head. "I'm afraid it'll only make them worry."
"After all, in a sense, you're still just a rookie in medical ninjutsu. Aside from me and Shizune, no one trusts you yet."
Shinju admitted to himself she had a point and could only nod.
"Then I'll head back for now."
...
At Shinju and Naruto's home.
Naruto, who was in the middle of intense training, lit up with surprise when he saw Shinju suddenly appear.
"You're back early today?"
Ever since Shinju had mentioned preparing for Lee's surgery that night, he had been waking up earlier and coming home later each day.
Understanding as always, Naruto had even controlled his breathing while sleeping at night, afraid of disturbing Shinju's high-precision practice.
Seeing Shinju return early, Naruto tilted his head. "Don't you need more surgery training?"
"Didn't Granny Tsunade say Lee's operation was extremely difficult and would take tons of rehearsal?"
"I've finished all the training. Tomorrow, we'll perform the surgery on Lee."
Shinju exhaled deeply.
Tomorrow it would finally be over—the half-month of torment he endured because of this surgery.
"What? (꒪⌓꒪) But it's only been a little over a week since you started preparing… are you sure you can handle it?" Naruto asked.
"I should be able to."
Shinju gave a vague answer, then quickly changed the subject.
"So, what's for dinner tonight? Tomorrow's the operation, so I should eat something good tonight."
Naruto, as usual, suggested, "Let's eat ramen!"
"Ichiraku's having a promotion—buy ten bowls, get one free!"
"I'll eat ten, and you can have the free one!"
Shinju: "..."
"Why's your appetite so huge! (ー_ー)!!"
"But since you mentioned promotions, that reminds me—when we first came back to the village, Ino gave me a convenience store lottery ticket."
Shinju suddenly perked up.
"That's right! We'd better use it before it expires!"
Naruto's eyes lit up too.
Two seconds later, Shinju used Flying Thunder God to teleport directly to the convenience store across from Ino's flower shop.
People on the street were long since used to this convenient travel method of his.
A familiar uncle passing by waved warmly.
"Heading out for instant noodles again, Shinju? You should eat better at home. Let me treat you to some yakiniku!"
"No, I don't eat instant noodles that often. Only when I don't feel like cooking. I'm here today for the lottery." Shinju scratched his head and laughed.
Sometimes a casual word from a passerby could warm the heart.
Across from the convenience store, Yamanaka Ino, who was minding the flower shop, spotted Shinju. Her eyes sparkled: (´◊ω◊｀)
She couldn't help blurting out, "Shinju-kun!"
Then she realized how unladylike and embarrassing that was, and immediately shrank back.
Shinju turned, confused, but didn't see anyone.
"Hm? I could've sworn I heard Ino just call me… (‧_‧?)"
At that moment, Naruto called from ahead,
"Shinju! What're you spacing out for? Come on, today's the last day for the lottery!"
At the convenience store entrance, Shinju took out the lottery ticket.
The clerk glanced over it, then pointed to the raffle machine at the counter.
"Go ahead and spin. You know the rules, right? Each ticket gives you one spin. The smaller the number, the better the prize."
Shinju nodded, stepped up to the machine, and slowly pulled the lever.
Clatter clatter clatter...
A small ball rolled down the chute into the tray.
Shinju picked it up, glanced casually—then his pupils shrank sharply!
"What did you roll? Why're you frozen like that?"
Naruto leaned over curiously to look at the ball in Shinju's hand—then his pupils shook just as hard!
On the ball was a glaringly clear number: [1].
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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