Konoha Hospital Ward
"Miss Nurse, when can I get discharged?"
That overly flattering voice rang out again and again—so often the nurses were getting sick of hearing it.
"Mr. Renka, you've only just stabilized. You still need a few more days of recovery before you can leave," the nurse said sternly. She'd long since lost count of how many times she'd repeated that line—she only knew that, if nothing unexpected happened, she'd be asked the same question again tomorrow.
"Come on, I'm already fine! Can't you talk to the doctor for me? Please, big sis—just this once. I swear I'll treat you to a meal when I'm out!" Uzumaki Renka clung shamelessly to the plea, looking nothing like someone who'd nearly died.
"No!" The nurse snapped. "You're the patient—you can be reckless. We can't. A doctor's job is to be responsible for their patients."
She swayed out the door with an irritated twist of her hips.
"Unless the doctor approves it, don't even think about it!"
"I'm clearly healed. These doctors are so stubborn…"
Creak.
Renka was still grumbling when the doorknob turned. Several people filed in—doctors and nurses, and a few familiar faces as well.
"Renka-big brother! You're okay?!" Uzumaki Naruto lunged at him, completely forgetting Renka was supposed to be an injured patient.
Thud—!
"Ow—hey, you little punk! Are you trying to kill me?!" Naruto slammed right into his wound. Renka sucked in a sharp breath. He was mostly healed, sure—but not healed enough for that kind of impact. One crash and it felt like the injury was flaring up all over again.
Renka raised a hand and—without thinking—flicked Naruto on the forehead.
"You always have to be so clumsy! That hurts like hell."
Naruto crossed his arms and tried to act tough. "Tch. It's just a tiny injury. And you still lay in bed for two whole weeks. That's embarrassing."
Seeing the two were about to keep going, the doctor cut in.
"Renka—you can be discharged."
"You're real brave for someone standing there with a healthy body. I'll deal with you later," Renka muttered, then immediately turned bright-eyed toward the doctor and the staff. "Wait—seriously? I can leave?!"
The doctor nodded. "The discharge paperwork's already done. And try to be more careful. I don't want to see you in here every few days."
"Haha! That just shows how good your medical ninjutsu is—really puts people at ease!"
Renka laughed it off. The doctor could only shake his head, gave a few final instructions, and left.
Renka's gaze shifted to the kunoichi in the room—Mitarashi Anko.
He blinked. "Why are you here?"
"You think I'm just hanging around with nothing to do?" Anko stepped forward and dropped casually onto the stool beside the bed. She reached for the fruit on the bedside table and started eating as she spoke. "Hokage-sama's orders. After you're discharged, you're to go see him."
"Hey! That's fruit people brought to visit me. I haven't even eaten any—and you're just helping yourself?!"
Renka was honestly helpless against this overly-familiar woman.
Naruto stood off to the side, swallowing hard as he stared at the fruit, then jumped in to back Renka up. "Yeah! Yeah! That's Renka-big bro's fruit! I didn't even eat any—I held back!"
Renka's forehead twitched. A dark line formed over his face.
He took one look at Naruto's "I'm definitely starving" expression and waved his hand.
"Fine, fine. If you want it, eat."
"YEAH!"
Naruto pounced, grabbing apples and bananas and chomping away like his life depended on it.
"I'm doing you a favor," Anko said, licking her lips after her third banana. "So much fruit—if you don't eat it, it'll go to waste. Anyway… what's with this kid? What's your relationship?"
"What are you—doing a background check?"
Renka complained, but he still explained how he and Naruto had met.
"Good. As long as it stays that way," Anko said flatly. "This time you almost dragged him into something deadly. If he loses control, you know what happens."
She stood, stretched lazily, and her tone sharpened.
"Alright. Stop wasting time. Pack up and move—Hokage-sama is waiting."
"…Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Renka's face went pale for a second. "Naruto, head back first. I'll come find you when I'm done."
"I did say it earlier," Anko shot back. "You just didn't care because you were thinking about your precious fruit. What a petty man."
Renka went silent.
Never argue with a woman.
Today, Renka finally understood that truth in his bones.
After a quick instruction, he followed Anko at full speed toward the Hokage's office.
---
Hokage's Office
"Has your injury healed cleanly?" the Third Hokage asked, looking exhausted. Danzo had used this incident as an excuse to hassle him more than once.
Renka answered calmly, neither groveling nor defiant. "Thank you for your concern, Hokage-sama. I'm fully healed. Rest a couple more days and I can take missions again."
The moment Renka said missions, the Third's eyelid twitched.
"You…" the Hokage sighed. "You turned a C-rank mission into an A-rank disaster. You're basically a second Naruto—never letting anyone relax."
Renka looked awkward.
The Third's expression turned serious. "That said, you handled it well. But don't do something that reckless again—especially with Naruto involved. This concerns the village's safety. A kid who isn't even a shinobi has no business getting mixed up in that kind of situation. That's just sending him to his death."
Renka lowered his eyes. "Understood, Hokage-sama."
"Good." The Third nodded. "Even though it started as a C-rank mission, considering you destroyed the enemy's scheme and saved lives, you'll receive two hundred and fifty thousand ryō total, including mission pay."
A scolding—
Then a reward.
"Two hundred and fifty thousand? That much?!" Renka stared.
"Take it. You earned it," the Third said. "It's not only the village's reward. One hundred and fifty thousand ryō is payment from the Hyūga clan. Also—after you leave, go visit the Hyūga compound. You only survived because Hyūga Hiashi arrived in time. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing here right now."
"So that's what happened…" Renka's lingering doubts finally cleared. "I was wondering how I lived. So it was Lord Hiashi who saved me."
The weight in his chest loosened.
Then Renka took a breath and spoke carefully.
"Hokage-sama… I have a request. I want to use this money to learn more ninjutsu."
"After this, I understand how weak I really am. No matter how good I look among genin, against chūnin—against jōnin—I'm helpless. Like an insect trying to shake a tree. No chance at all."
"If possible, I want to learn stronger ninjutsu—so I'm never that powerless again."
"You said we're the village's future… but if I can't even protect myself, how can I protect the village?"
Renka knew the Third valued loyalty and the Will of Fire—how Konoha was "one family," how shinobi must protect their home. Asking directly for jutsu could feel too demanding, so he framed it as a resolve to defend the village.
The Third snorted. "You've been a genin for a week, haven't you? You beat two chūnin and survived against someone at jōnin level—and you call yourself weak? What do you think that says to every other genin?"
Renka coughed lightly and added, "Technically… it's been half a month."
The Third stared. "A genin who did one day of missions and then spent half a month in bed?"
Renka could only give an embarrassed grin.
The Hokage sighed. "Still… wanting to grow stronger is good. As Hokage, I should support that. Forget the money. With your current physical base, the fastest progress you'll make in a short time is by training higher-difficulty techniques."
He produced three scrolls.
"Choose one: Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb, Earth Style: Great Mud River, or the A-rank technique: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Renka shamelessly asked, "Can I try all of them?"
The Third's eyes narrowed. "Greedy. Don't you know biting off more than you can chew?"
Renka scratched his cheek with a dry laugh. "I'm trying to save you trouble, Hokage-sama. If I can't learn one, I'll switch immediately. Out of three, surely I can master at least one, right?"
The Third pressed a hand to his forehead. "This involves chakra nature transformation. You can't just 'try' and expect it to work."
He paused, then waved him off.
"…Fine. If you want them, take them all."
"And Anko's back, isn't she? As for the jōnin squad-leader issue, you two work it out yourselves. Don't come bother me again."
Renka's heart nearly soared out of his chest from the sheer profit. He snapped to attention and grinned.
"Understood, Hokage-sama. I'll take my leave."
After Renka left, the Third suddenly remembered something and muttered to himself:
"Forgot to ask what his chakra nature is. From ANBU reports he can use Fire Style… ah, whatever. As long as he stops coming in here to give me headaches."
...
Meanwhile...
Hyūga clan first… then Anko.
Walking out of the office, Uzumaki Renka thought happily.