---Ryouma's POV---
The next afternoon, the eting room in the Hokage Building once again welcod guests from a foreign land. This round of negotiations went quite smoothly, no one caused any unexpected incidents.
It was worth noting that Dodai was effectively acting as the Raikage's proxy. Because of that, the Hokage personally attended the talks.
I was initially worried that he might go soft during the negotiation, but to my surprise, he was extrely tough. For the entire second half of the eting, the two young Kumo ninjas who had co along didn't even have the guts to speak.
The final results of the negotiations were quite satisfactory.
First, the usual topic of reparations. The amount was substantial, but since it was ultimately the Lightning Daimyō footing the bill, Dodai didn't waste too much effort haggling. Then ca the matter of exchanging resources for the return of A and the two jinchūriki.
In fact, Dodai hadn't been bluffing yesterday, he did co with genuine sincerity.
In addition to the Advanced Lightning Release Chakra Mode training thod, which Minato and I specifically requested, and the thod for creating perfect jinchūriki, there were even so rare ninja tools and secret techniques that Kumo had seized from various parts of the shinobi world.
With the negotiations successfully concluded, the Hokage called over an ANBU with a broad smile.
"Go release the guests from Kumo who visited Konoha a few days ago."
"Yes."
Dodai, eager to check on the condition of A and the others, quickly took his leave and headed straight to the Konoha inn to wait for them.
As the Kumo delegation departed, I returned ho with a copied training scroll.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Poof!
A clone was summoned, and I gave an order, "Try running your chakra according to the thod on the scroll, I want to see."
"Yes."
The clone saluted , then began molding and controlling chakra according to the thod it had just morized.
Bzzzt~ Bzzzt~
Strands of electric-blue lightning crackled through the air.
"Not bad at all."
I smiled. With the chakra control granted by the Rikugan, this kind of body-enhancing ninjutsu was no trouble at all once the training thod was in hand.
"Try increasing the power."
"No problem!" The clone smiled confidently and then channeled all the chakra I had given it into the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
This chakra mode was known for being rather restrained in appearance, it only showed its true destructive power when fully activated. So even when the clone poured in more chakra, the only change was the sound shifting from "Bzzzt~ Bzzzt~" to a sharper "Crack~ Crack~."
Just as I was about to tell the clone to try amplifying it further, the clone's expression changed.
"Sothing's wrong…"
Poof!
The shadow clone was forcefully dispelled. But it left behind so high-intensity, lightning chakra lingering in the area.
Crack~ Crack~
It looked like so bizarre light show had been activated, the courtyard was now alive with crackling arcs of blue electricity leaping everywhere. Under the nearby wooden veranda, Shukaku stirred from his ditation cushion after hearing the commotion. He yawned, opened his sleepy eyes, and tried to see what was going on. But right at that mont, a bolt of blue lightning shot straight into him. He convulsed violently, sprang up involuntarily, and began performing what looked like a robotic dance.
"Shukaku, get out of the way!" I called out belatedly.
"I think… I need to go back to sleep, buddy…" Shukaku muttered, his eyes spinning in circles as he collapsed back onto his now-scorched cushion.
Thanks to my Rikugan, I could tell that he wasn't seriously hurt. I stepped forward, scooped him up, and carried him back into the house to lie down, then began reviewing the mory passed back by my shadow clone.
There hadn't been any issue with the step where chakra was converted into the stimulating Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
The real problem had been the excessive output. My body hadn't undergone the kind of intense physical training that A had. What's more, the pressure this chakra mode placed on the body was far greater than sothing like Chidori. So it was completely natural that the shadow clone would disappear from the strain, after all, clones were extrely "fragile" and vanish at the slightest damage.
Still, I had accomplished my goal, the training thod was clearly the real deal.
"Good. Now it's my turn to try."
I muttered to myself as I prepared to activate the Lightning Release Chakra Mode again. This ti, I would carefully control the output, keeping it at the "bzzzt-bzzzt~" level.
That should be safe.
Just then, voices rang out from outside.
"Tsunade-sensei! It sounds like soone's broken into the house!"
"What!? Soone causes trouble here? Find them!" ca Tsunade's sharp reply.
Feeling slightly guilty, I picked up Shukaku and was about to head upstairs. But Tsunade suddenly opened the inner door, her gaze locking directly onto with full suspicion, and shouted, "It was Ryouma!"
She imdiately rolled up her sleeves and stord into the room. "He's coughing up so gold today! Shizune, Rin, get him!"
Holding Shukaku, I ran circles around the living room trying to escape Shizune and Rin, but after just a few seconds of pursuit, I was swiftly apprehended.
I tried, I really did. But a two-on-one? No chance, right?
---
Under the bright chandelier in the living room, Rin stood and announced my sins.
"For recklessly going wild, damaging household plants and trees, and suspected mistreatnt of family mber Shukaku-chan, Ryouma is hereby sentenced to begin helping out at Konoha Hospital starting tomorrow. Mm."
She then turned to Tsunade to confirm, "Is that correct, Tsunade-sensei?"
"Yes, that works."
"Eh?" Shizune said in surprise. "I thought you would use this chance to extort so money for gambling."
"Don't take for so kind of hopeless gambler."
Ah, she wanted to laze around.
Recently, with the war against Kumo having ended, many battlefield ninjas had returned to the village. Nurous wounded ninja had been sent to Konoha Hospital. Most of these injuries had only been temporarily suppressed on the battlefield, without sufficient or proper treatnt. Now that the war was over, the hospital was imdiately packed to capacity.
She had already planned to drag in as extra manpower. After all, if one had to be technical, I was still officially registered as a dical-nin. Thanks to her earlier efforts, many of Konoha's three-man genin squads were each assigned a dical-nin. Although I had hardly ever gone on missions with Team Inoichi, I was in fact registered as their dical support. And I had mastered the majority of dical ninjutsu to a high degree of proficiency.
---
The next day brought another regular morning at Konoha Hospital.
"Alright, Ryouma, this is your work station." Rin walked a few steps up to , pointing at a U-shaped reception desk near the entrance.
"Huh? Isn't this just the front gate desk?" I looked confused. Wasn't it just yesterday they said the hospital was severely short-staffed? I even went out of my way to wear a white lab coat to appear more professional.
She waved her right index finger in front of my face and shook her head as she explained, "That's a rude way to put it. The front desk of the ergency departnt is a very important position. Most patients will first be assessed by the doctor here before being sent to the appropriate departnt. So, we need a highly skilled dical expert with sharp judgnt stationed here."
After briefly explaining the importance of the role, she walked around behind , massaged my shoulders, and guided to sit at the reception desk.
With a wink, she raised a thumbs-up and cheered on, "The hospital's about to open. It's all up to you, Doctor Ryouma~"
With that, she turned and went off to the floor she was assigned to. And so, I began my part-ti journey at Konoha Hospital.
I had to admit, I was actually quite suited for the job. My Rikugan were more effective than any dical diagnostic equipnt. Just like now, with the ninja who had co up to consult .
"Rapid breathing, pale complexion… Likely acute asthma."
With just a few glances, I made a diagnosis of the civilian genin in front of .
"Please proceed to the ergency room. The doctor there will arrange for oxygen and dication treatnt."
As I sent that genin off, another one stepped forward imdiately.
"Fever and chills? Likely an infectious disease. Head to the infectious disease departnt."
The next patient made pause. A middle-aged civilian man stood nervously.
"I have... stomach problems," he mumbled, avoiding eye contact.
My Rikugan imdiately activated, scanning his internal structure. What I saw made freeze.
There, lodged in his digestive tract, was a distinctly familiar cylindrical object made of stainless steel. My mind flashed back to that vibrator I'd used to kill Rasa. After its noble sacrifice in battle, I'd decided its design shouldn't go to waste.
So why not create dildos, right?
Using Transformation Technique, I'd established a discrete "wellness product" company, marketing these items as "personal massage tools for stress relief" with detailed instruction manuals. The shinobi world had been surprisingly receptive to the concept.
But seeing one of my products in this situation was not what I'd expected.
I walked around the desk, keeping my expression professionally neutral. "I need to ask you directly, what exactly did you ingest?"
The man's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "I... well... my wife bought this strange cylindrical food item. It was supposed to be so kind of exotic delicacy? It ca with instructions, but they were confusing, sothing about 'personal wellness techniques' and 'stress relief thods.' I thought maybe it was so kind of hard candy or... or dicinal supplent!"
I barely managed to keep a straight face. The instruction manual I'd written was deliberately euphemistic to avoid scandalized reactions, but apparently it had been too subtle for so custors.
"And you... ate it?"
"I tried to! It was much harder than I expected, and then I accidentally swallowed it when my wife startled by coming ho early!" He wrung his hands. "What was that thing? My stomach feels terrible!"
I cleared my throat. "That was not a food item. It's a personal wellness product, specifically designed for external use only."
"You an I swallowed a...?"
"Yes. But don't panic. The stainless steel construction ans it's non-toxic, and fortunately, it's small enough to pass naturally."
I paused, considering the best approach.
"However, I'm going to give you a strong laxative. I won't lie to you, this is going to be an extrely uncomfortable experience."
I moved to the dical supply cabinet and retrieved a bottle of industrial-strength laxative typically reserved for severe constipation cases.
"Take this entire bottle over the next hour. Drink plenty of water, and find yourself a very comfortable bathroom because you're going to be there for a while. The next few hours will be unpleasant. But it's much safer than surgery for sothing this size."
"How unpleasant are we talking about?" he asked nervously.
"Let's just say you'll never mistake product instructions again. Think of it as a very painful learning experience. Your digestive system will forcibly expel the object, but it's going to feel like giving birth through the wrong end."
The man went pale. "There's no other way?"
"Surgery would be far more invasive and expensive for sothing this small. Trust , this is the lesser of two evils." I patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Just rember to stay hydrated and maybe warn your family to avoid the bathroom for the rest of the day."
"I thought those were cooking instructions!" he wailed again as I guided him toward the exit.
I made a ntal note to revise my product packaging to include massive warning labels about ingestion hazards and perhaps so very explicit diagrams about proper usage.
Returning to my desk, I was relieved when the next few patients presented with refreshingly normal dical issues.
"Frequent vomiting? Let see… Obvious food poisoning. Go to the ergency room."
"Chakra flow blocked in your left arm? Hmm. You go to the ergency room too."
"…Go to the ergency room."
---
"Doctor, should I go to the ergency room too?"
A familiar voice ca. I looked up and asked in surprise, "Obito? What's wrong with you?"
"I, uh, well… My eyes are feeling a bit uncomfortable."
My gaze sharpened, and I frowned. "Didn't I warn you back in the Land of Hot Water about the cost of using the Mangekyō Sharingan? Did you use Kamui again in secret?"
Obito broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing that. He stamred, "I didn't use it that much…"
"That doesn't matter."
"But it is just too useful! I can't stop myself from wanting to jump in and out of the space…"
At that, he put his hands together and pleaded to .
"Isn't there any way I can replenish my eye power?"
"I'll think of sothing."
After sending him off, I did begin seriously considering a solution. After all, he was my childhood friend. I couldn't just ignore him. If it were any other Uchiha, it might be a different story, but for Obito, I did have a potential thod: implanting Hashirama cells, or more accuracy, White Zetsu cells.
Throughout history, very few people have been able to truly adapt to Hashirama's cells. Roughly speaking, it's only Madara, Yamato, Danzō, and Obito… Although in Obito's case, he adapted to the weaker version, White Zetsu cells modified by Madara with Hashirama's cells.
I knew that research on Hashirama cells had already begun during the reign of the Second Hokage. After his death, Danzō picked it up and restarted the project. I had seen many of the Second Hokage's research notes in the Senju clan's study, there were even so sealed samples of Hashirama cells.
Tobirama truly lived up to his reputation as a research maniac. According to the tistamps in his notes, these cells were obtained while Hashirama was still alive. Well, it was also possible that he secretly took them from his older brother.
As for White Zetsu cells, I had so as well. Last ti, when I brought back a White Zetsu corpse from the Land of Water to Konoha, I kept part of it. All the materials were in place, the only thing missing was a researcher.
I myself only specialized in techniques, well, jutsu; when it ca to life sciences, it was just too far out of my expertise.
Orochimaru did say he wanted to collaborate with last ti… Should I just poach him from Danzō?
I thought this idea was worth trying. Danzō's conditions could be t on my side too, and whatever I didn't have, I could ask the Third Hokage for.
At most, my lab would be a bit more… ethical. Unlike Danzō, I had boundaries. Besides, the current Orochimaru wasn't as deranged as he would be in the future. If we did manage to work together, I could also keep an eye on him to prevent him from going too far down a dark path.
Thinking about it that way, Konoha would be winning big.
But if I couldn't convince Orochimaru to collaborate, I'd have to beco that researcher myself. That ant acquiring dical texts, studying cellular biology, learning cultivation techniques, essentially getting a crash course in life sciences from whatever resources I could find.
But as I contemplated this, my mind drifted to those unique items I had acquired from my wish pulls. Sitting here in the hospital, surrounded by dical equipnt, I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to those seemingly useless prizes than t the eye.
My Rikugan already allowed to see things on a cellular and even molecular level when I concentrated hard enough. What if those items contained genetic material that could be useful for research? The tissue sample, despite its questionable origin, might contain cellular structures Orochimaru could analyze. Even Elizabeth's garnt could potentially have skin cells or other biological traces.
The fundantal problem wasn't observation, my Rikugan handled that perfectly. What I lacked was the ability to extract, isolate, and cultivate living tissues.
Looking around the hospital, I could see various dical tools, but nothing approaching the sophistication needed for genetic manipulation. I could see the cellular structures with perfect clarity, but I couldn't physically manipulate them at that scale.
My precise chakra control was incredible for energy manipulation, but biological matter was different. I could control chakra with microscopic precision, but that didn't translate to handling actual cells, extracting DNA, or creating culture diums for tissue growth.
The real challenge was that I needed specialized tools for cellular extraction and cultivation, things that simply didn't exist in this world yet. I'd have to create them from scratch or find alternative thods.
My ultimate goal was becoming clearer: research into bloodline limits and potentially create new ones. The Senju clan's natural vitality and healing capabilities were particularly interesting.
As for the Goddess Clan abilities from the Seven Deadly Sins world... from what I rembered, the Goddess Clan's powers were primarily wielded by female mbers. Their Arc abilities, healing light, and purification techniques seed inherently feminine in nature. Even if I could sohow extract and study such genetic material, adapting it for male physiology might be impossible.
However, the healing aspects might be more universal. If I could understand the underlying principles of how divine power promotes regeneration and cellular repair, I might be able to create a chakra-based equivalent.
The key would be developing the necessary biodical tools and techniques. I'd need to figure out how to create sterile environnts, develop culture diums, and find ways to extract and preserve genetic material using only chakra-based thods and whatever primitive equipnt I could construct.
---Third POV---
Inside the battlefield command center in the Land of Grass, Jiraiya furrowed his brow as he read the intelligence report just handed to him from the front lines.
"A powerful enemy with strange purple ringed eyes was spotted in Region K of the Land of Grass. Characteristics: black cloak, red hair, estimated age around 17... Isn't that Nagato?"
He rubbed his forehead, his expression like he was suffering from constipation.
How did Nagato end up getting involved with Iwa? And more importantly, why was he alone? Where were Yahiko and Konan? Could it be those two finally got together and now the trio's friendship had beco awkwardly crowded?
"I told you back then, children of war like that should have been killed on the spot."
"Orochimaru, how do you know he's the sa kid from back then…?"
"Heh." Orochimaru didn't answer directly. Instead, he gave a sly smile. "I have my own sources of information."
Jiraiya lowered his head, finding it hard to believe. "They all longed for peace more than anyone else. They would never do sothing like this…"
"But it has already happened. The war orphans from back then have returned to seek revenge on Konoha. What will you do now?"
"I'm going to find Nagato and talk to him myself. I know those three kids. Sothing must have happened, sothing I don't know about."
Jiraiya raised his head and looked at Orochimaru.
"No. I'll arrange for others to investigate. You'll stay here." Orochimaru put the scroll away, flatly refusing Jiraiya's request.
"Why?"
"There's a possibility this is a trap ant to lure you out. You're no longer in a position to act recklessly. Your life now directly affects the outco of the entire war for Konoha."
Jiraiya clearly didn't want to accept this. He knew the kind of grudge Nagato held against Konoha, if other Konoha ninjas tried to reach out to him, it would only make things worse.
30 advance chapters!
/Malphegor
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