Chapter 24: The Encounter
Based on the intelligence they had gathered, they could have submitted a perfunctory, half-finished report and been done with it. But Orochimaru knew that as a test for the Hokage's disciples, that would be a failing grade.
As he'd said before, their mutual espionage was something that happened in the shadows. They couldn't just march into the Land of Lightning or take more drastic actions based on flimsy evidence. Choza-senpai would never approve, and neither would their teacher. It wasn't that they couldn't, but that it wasn't worth the risk. At least, not yet.
The Red Eye clan and the suspected Steel Release clan were likely already inside the Hidden Cloud. Chasing them into the Land of Lightning would be pointless and would only risk escalating the situation.
Therefore, Orochimaru concluded, they should wait. If the Cloud was actively recruiting bloodline clans and intentionally routing them through the Land of Hot Water, then there would be another time, another team. Perhaps next month, a new migrating clan would arrive. As the most prosperous nation on the way to the Land of Lightning, it was the logical route for the Cloud to take.
"We'll stay in the Land of Hot Water," Orochimaru decided. "Choza-senpai didn't give us a time limit. It's highly likely another group will pass through here."
Lying in wait, remaining hidden until the time was right, was the most logical choice. Besides, Choza-senpai didn't seem to be in any hurry. In fact, he would probably love nothing more than to stay here for half a year.
However, Tsunade and Jiraiya were too restless. He needed to find something to keep them occupied.
"By the way, Tsunade," he said, "we have plenty of time. I've heard rumors that a skilled physician, possibly a medical-nin, has recently come to the Land of Hot Water. Care to go check it out? We might learn something."
As expected, Tsunade's interest was piqued. "A medical-nin who doesn't belong to a village?" she mused. "That is interesting..."
"Hey!" Jiraiya interjected. "You're not trying to create an opportunity to be alone with Tsunade, are you?"
Orochimaru looked at Jiraiya as if he were an idiot. This fool didn't even know who he should be worried about. No wonder he'll never win her over. He had no problem leaving her to go to the kabuki district, so why was he acting so jealous now?
"Someone has to stay in the capital," Orochimaru said calmly. "All three of us have summoning animals. If there's trouble, we can use the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to support each other. You keep an eye out for any large groups traveling with elderly members and children, entire families on the move."
That should keep things in order, Orochimaru thought.
"But Tsunade..."
"?" Tsunade looked at him.
"Your timing earlier, when you interrupted me with that thief," Orochimaru said, his voice a low hiss. "It was quite a coincidence, wasn't it?"
The next morning, the Cloud entourage was up early, preparing breakfast. To ensure old man Yoshitoki could focus all his energy on the diagnosis, they did every conceivable chore for him.
Someone even suggested adding a soldier pill to his breakfast to replenish his chakra and speed things up, but they ultimately decided against it, fearing the "soldier pill" would send the old soldier straight to the afterlife.
Old man Yoshitoki himself was eager to help, trying to lend a hand with every task he saw. But no one would let him, as that was more torturous than just doing the work themselves. In the end, Yoshitoki and Dana were left to sit and chat in the courtyard.
"Grandpa Yoshitoki," Dana asked with his signature 'charm offensive for the elderly' smile, "what's the name of that jutsu you used yesterday?"
This was the very face that could pacify the entire council of Yotsuki elders.
"That jutsu? Let me think... it's called the Life Peep Jutsu."
"It's an amazing technique! Can it really see inside a person's body?"
"Not just people. It works on most things. Like this..." Yoshitoki formed a one-handed seal, and his fingertip began to glow. He picked up a dry twig from the ground. The twig became translucent, its internal grain and fibers clearly visible.
"But there's not much point in looking inside a rock or other things, is there? I usually just use it for medical diagnoses, so I called it the Life Peep Jutsu."
Unbelievably cool! It can see through other things too!
Dana glanced at their team's medical-nin, Mamoru Anzai, who looked just as shocked.
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Dana asked curiously.
"Today... hmm, let's try this."
Dana watched as Yoshitoki slowly formed three hand seals. The dry twig in his hand began to grow plump and moist, and then, a tiny green shoot sprouted from its tip.
"This one... is called the Life Return Jutsu. It converts chakra into life force and infuses it into another's body. Of course, it works on non-humans too, but you need to understand their structure."
It seems similar to the Mystical Palm Technique, Dana thought. No, that's not right. Mystical Palm stimulates the patient's own healing ability. If this jutsu really infuses life force, then the principle is completely different.
"Is that... Yang Release chakra?" Dana asked.
"No. The Life Return Jutsu must use non-elemental chakra," Yoshitoki said, slowly planting the sprouted twig in a nearby pot. "Your body has likely accumulated some damage from its long-term 'starvation.' In addition to molding more chakra, you also need treatment. Just like when you've been starving, you can't just gorge yourself on food. You need to nurse your body back to health."
Dana felt a wave of relief.
"Well now," Yoshitoki said, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm an old man, and I don't have much chakra left. That little demonstration just now used up all of it. Let's eat first. We can talk more tonight." He slowly stood up and shuffled towards the table, where the attendants had prepared a lavish breakfast.
Dana nearly face-planted. That's it? He's out of chakra already?
You're already spent right after waking up, and now I have to wait until tonight?! Why didn't you just demonstrate on me...
But looking at the old man, who seemed to be on the verge of collapsing at any moment, everyone was both anxious and afraid to rush him.
We have to find a way to bring this man back to the village.
And if they couldn't, then these two jutsu and his medical knowledge had to be passed on. Dana suspected that in the original timeline, Yoshitoki had probably died in obscurity in this small village, taking these two incredibly valuable techniques with him to the grave. Thinking about it, how many other amazing jutsu had been lost to time? The ninja world was in constant turmoil, but it also produced countless geniuses. Who knows how many masterpieces of ninjutsu had vanished into the river of history.
In his youth, Yoshitoki must have been a remarkable genius himself. For such a person to choose to live out his final years in a small village in a minor country, treating unknown patients without reservation, was it because he had seen through the vanities of the world, or for some other reason?
Old man Yoshitoki didn't seem to care. He slowly patted the dust off his pants and headed for the breakfast table. Seeing that there was porridge, he smiled happily and called out to everyone, "Come, come! You've all worked so hard. Let's eat together."
The attendants, led by Ume, were hesitant. They had been trained since childhood by the Yotsuki clan and felt it would be improper. It wasn't until Dana also insisted that they all eat together that they finally relented and sat down.
Ume secretly gave Dana a thumbs-up, and he returned her smile.
Just as the group was enjoying a peaceful and happy breakfast, a young man and woman appeared at the gate of Yoshitoki's courtyard.
"Excuse me," the man called out, "is there a doctor here? My wife is sick..."
The atmosphere suddenly went quiet, the only sound being the slurping of old man Yoshitoki's porridge.
Dana looked up from his food, confused. The ninja around him were already on their feet. The newcomers seemed startled by their unified and intimidating presence, and their words trailed off. Several of the Cloud ninja already had their hands on their weapon pouches.
Dana was completely baffled. Why was everyone so tense?
"They're ninja," Arashi said, his voice low and serious. "Their appearances are just a Transformation Jutsu."
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