Chapter 10 — Visible Growth and a Plan Coming to Fruition
Time flowed like water; in the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
During this period, Taichi stopped worrying about Tsunade. Everything would happen naturally—after all, someone like her wasn't a person you could just meet whenever you wanted. That ambush-at-the-door stunt he pulled before was a one-time thing; try it too often and it'd only get annoying. They weren't exactly close friends, after all.
With that concern set aside, Taichi settled into a steady routine:
Up at 5 a.m. every morning for training—sometimes with Might Guy, sometimes with Kakashi, and occasionally all three would meet up for a session.
Then home for breakfast and tidying up before heading to the Ninja Academy at 8.
After classes let out at 4 p.m., he'd regroup with Guy and Kakashi to squeeze every drop of stamina out at the training grounds. If possible, Shizune would join them; sometimes Rin and Obito would show up too, thanks to Kakashi.
At 6:30 p.m., it was home again for dinner and rest, followed by personal evening drills—mainly the Three Basic Techniques, plus fundamental taijutsu and meditation practice.
Taichi's days were plain yet fulfilling—his training relentless, repetitive, and stubbornly consistent. And the results showed: compared to a week ago, he was practically a different person. He was confident he could absolutely thrash the old version of himself.
He could now use throwing weapons fluidly in combat, and even slip in the Three Basic Techniques at opportune moments. His rapid progress left his friends stunned more than once—and even drew Yamada-sensei into a light sparring match, followed by the inevitable post-fight report.
Current Status:
Name: Matsushita Taichi
Profession: Ninja Apprentice Lv.3 (324/400)
Talents: Diligence Makes Up for Lack of Talent, Scholar
Age: 6
Constitution: 11
Strength: 12
Agility: 11
Spirit: 19
Chakra: 2000 (Max: 4600)
Attribute Points: 6
Skill Points: 6
Skills:
Basic Taijutsu Lv.7 (537/1200)
Basic Meditation Lv.7 (684/1200)
Chakra Refinement Lv.6 (345/1000)
Throwing Weapons Lv.5 (463/800)
Transformation Jutsu Lv.4 (13/600)
Clone Jutsu Lv.4 (462/600)
Substitution Jutsu Lv.4 (534/600)
Evaluation: You're now a slightly bigger cannon fodder… but still cannon fodder.
Taichi had long grown used to the panel's sarcastic commentary and treated it like background noise. What mattered were his steadily rising stats and skills. Every time he looked at his panel, he felt the road ahead shining bright.
---
Konoha Hospital — Office
After skipping work for several days, Tsunade finally remembered she still technically had a job here. For once not slacking off, she entered her office—only to spot a small bottle placed right in the center of her desk. That's when she remembered a promise she'd made to a certain someone.
Luckily for Taichi, he'd been smart when bottling the allicin, using a brown light-proof vial to reduce degradation, and the current early-spring temperature was cool enough to preserve it. Otherwise, after so long, the contents would have already lost their potency.
Picking up the bottle, Tsunade uncorked it and cautiously sniffed it. The strange scent revealed nothing to her, so she decided to head straight to the lab—where the hospital's equipment far outclassed anything Taichi had at home.
After sterilizing her hands, she took a common bacterial sample from the fridge and placed it under the microscope.
"Mm… good, all healthy."
She then drew a small drop of the "miracle medicine" from the vial and dripped it onto the sample. Peering back into the microscope, her eyes widened—within moments, every bacterium in its path had lost vitality and stopped moving.
The effect was so potent, Tsunade could hardly believe it.
For the next several hours, she tested the substance on every bacterial strain she could find. The results were consistent: it killed most common bacteria with exceptional efficiency. If this could be refined into a formal medicine, it would drastically reduce infection-related deaths both in daily life and—more importantly—on the battlefield.
Even in Konoha, medical-nin were in short supply despite her years of pushing for the program. On the battlefield, their chakra reserves were limited and had to be used on the most valuable cases, leaving the majority of injured to conventional treatment—which meant heavy reliance on medicine.
The most common battlefield injuries were blade wounds, and antibacterial agents were crucial. But Konoha's current stock was barely adequate for mild cases, and near useless for anything more serious. If they had this "miracle medicine," countless ninja lives could be saved.
Realizing the implications, Tsunade quickly cleaned up the lab, erased all traces of her tests, grabbed the remaining vial, and rushed straight to the Hokage's office.
---
Hokage's Office
BANG! The door flew open.
Inside, three pairs of eyes turned toward the source of the noise—Tsunade, lowering her foot after kicking the door in, striding forward in a rush.
"Old man! Look what I brought you!" she called.
"Lord Hokage, we'll take our leave," one of the two jonin in the room said.
"All right, Jonin Murata, Jonin Ikeshita—you may go," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied.
Once they left, he looked at Tsunade. "What is it now? You keep this up and I'll have to replace the door again."
Tsunade didn't answer—just glanced around the room.
Understanding, Hiruzen made a quick hand signal. A faint rustle sounded from all directions.
"Now," he said, "you can speak."
Tsunade set the small vial on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk. She began by explaining everything about Yakushi Nonō and Matsushita Taichi, then detailed her tests on the medicine, along with its potential applications and value.
"You're saying this 'miracle medicine' was discovered by a boy named Matsushita Taichi?"
"Right. What—old man, you know him too?" Tsunade tilted her head in mild surprise.
Hiruzen gave a faint nod. "Yes. I've been hearing his name often lately. A prodigy in this year's Academy intake—perhaps another talent like Minato."
"Oh? You rate him that highly?"
The Third Hokage glanced at her but didn't answer.
Tsunade arched a brow. "Well, the drug really is as good as I said. Even in its current unfinished state, its potency is over five times greater than any similar medicine on the market. Once refined into a finished product, it'll be even stronger."
"You mentioned they want to cooperate with the village under the joint name of the orphanage and that child?" Hiruzen asked.
"That's right. I checked the orphanage records before coming here." Her expression turned serious. "The orphanage hasn't received much funding from the village for the past two years. They've been surviving mostly on mission rewards earned by the headmistress, Yakushi Nonō."
A sigh escaped Hiruzen's lips. "Haa… It seems I've been a poor Hokage." Regret lined his face.
Tsunade wasn't moved—she'd long grown used to this performance. If her teacher had been half as decisive as her granduncle, Danzo's schemes would never have gotten so far.
"So, how do you want to handle the cooperation?" she asked impatiently.
"Like this—give them a lump sum and some shares. Be generous with the money—say, twenty million ryō. As for shares, not too much; they can't protect a large stake right now."
Seeing that the arrangement was fair enough, Tsunade didn't argue. She simply turned on her heel, tossing over her shoulder, "I'll go tell them," and strode out.
Left alone, Hiruzen picked up the small vial and gazed at it in thought. His mind drifted to scenes he'd recently watched through his telescope technique—moments of a boy training diligently at the Academy.
A good child…
---
Outside, Tsunade made her way to the orphanage and found Yakushi Nonō. When she delivered the news, Nonō finally let out a long breath, her face brightening. She'd been quietly worrying that the deal might fall through after all this time.
After discussing arrangements for the orphanage, the two women headed straight for Taichi's home.