"So you really do think I'm an idiot!" Uchiha Ran laughed bitterly. "I sign the contract, and I'm not even allowed to use it? If I can't use it—what's the point of learning it at all?"
"Besides," he continued, "if I'm not mistaken, Shikkotsu Forest senjutsu is said to be the most difficult among all the known sage techniques, right?"
"According to the records, the only one who ever mastered the senjutsu of the Damp Bone Forest was your grandfather—Senju Hashirama. Not even your great-uncle managed to succeed. And you think I stand a chance?"
"So don't bring it up again!" Ran snapped. "Sure, I'm interested in studying Katsuyu—it would improve my medical skills. But that alone isn't enough motivation."
"Don't forget, I didn't just invent that technique you saw the other day. There are others—ones I haven't shown you yet only because I still don't have enough chakra. What you're offering me isn't even close to enough."
"There are more?" Tsunade's breath caught.
And that technique… it's called the "Life Return Technique"—could it really bring back the dead?
Before Tsunade could press him further, the office door flew open. A nurse stepped in and announced:
"Dr. Ran, there's a patient here to see you. He called you by name—specifically asked for your treatment."
"On it."
Uchiha Ran grabbed his medical kit and vanished like a gust of wind, leaving Tsunade frowning deeply in his wake.
---
So the days went by.
In the evenings, Uchiha Ran continued mentoring Namikaze Minato, testing his ideas and theories in ninjutsu.
During the day, he worked at the hospital as usual.
The only difference now was that Tsunade shared his office.
Over time, Ran grew more at ease with her presence.
To outsiders, it might've looked like he'd finally accepted her. In reality, it was more like resignation—something that drove Tsunade absolutely mad.
Still, as colleagues, they discussed medical theory and ninjutsu with a level of passion that was nothing short of exhilarating—often losing track of everything else around them.
Tsunade, the undisputed pinnacle of medical-nin, had never had anyone to truly talk to—no one could keep up with her thoughts, let alone contribute anything useful.
She'd always been the best.
But now… everything had changed.
The ideas Tsunade shared often opened Ran's eyes to new possibilities.
And Ran's insights? His solutions? They drove her to the brink—so unconventional, so precise, so deep.
More than once, she caught herself thinking: How can one man be this brilliant… and this infuriating at the same time?!
As the number of healed patients soared, Tsunade's name rang through the village.
More and more people started to agree with the new nickname: the twin stars of Konoha's medical world.
Whenever a particularly difficult case arose, the two of them tackled it together—analyzing, debating, healing.
---
Three months passed.
One day, Uchiha Ran received an official order—he was to transfer to the pharmaceutical division to work on developing a new antidote.
He immediately understood: this was a chance.
A chance to get closer to freedom.
Seven years had gone by… and he was tired. He didn't want to drag it out any longer. After all, how many seven-year stretches does a man get in life?
In one of the pharmaceutical division's secure rooms—now his personal lab—he got to work.
But the ever-suspicious Utatane Koharu still sent guards to watch over him.
Ran had long since gotten used to it. No matter where he was, freedom had always been a distant dream. It was just normal now.
Everything else barely mattered. But…
But he couldn't even test the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.
And if he was ever going to escape Konoha—one of the Five Great Villages—he needed that technique.
For most people, learning Hiraishin no Jutsu was considered impossible.
But it had been invented by that damn Senju Tobirama—and Uchiha Ran had inherited every ounce of Tobirama's talent.
So Ran never doubted that he could learn it.
After seven years, he'd fully grasped the theory behind the Flying Thunder God.
But he still hadn't dared to begin practicing.
He was afraid he wouldn't finish developing it in time—and would be destroyed before he could even try it.
But Hiraishin wasn't the kind of technique you could master on paper. It had to be sharpened through countless battles and endless training.
Without it, Ran felt like there wasn't a single place in the shinobi world where he could truly feel safe.
A heavy sigh.
He took out the prepared ingredients and began cleaning and extracting the base components.
Ten minutes later, Utatane Koharu herself walked into the lab—that old witch.
"Out," she ordered the guards. Then it was just her and Uchiha Ran.
"Uchiha brat," she sneered, looking down her nose at him. "You have until noon to finish the antidote formula and record the recipe. Otherwise—you're dead."
Ran clenched his fists in rage.
He'd heard it before. Many times.
Scenes like this were nothing new.
Koharu was a coward—she would never dare speak that way in front of others. She wasn't like Tobirama, who said what he thought to your face.
Only when there were no witnesses did she let herself act like this. And more than once, Ran had been tempted to just end her.
I can't take on Hatake Sakumo… but you? You I can handle just fine.
Among all of Tobirama's disciples, Utatane Koharu was the only woman.
In her youth, she'd been attractive enough. And while Tobirama was alive, she acted modest and obedient, enjoying the status of the village's darling.
She had also been a medical-nin—one of the best, strong enough to reach elite jōnin rank.
For medical-nin, who typically had weak combat potential, that was already an achievement. Tsunade was an exception.
But Tobirama had been dead for seven years. Age had caught up to her, her training had dwindled—and her strength had faded significantly.
No one knew that during these years, Uchiha Ran had already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.
With his current level, taking out that hag would be child's play.
One genjutsu—and she wouldn't even realize she was dead.
But killing Utatane Koharu would bring nothing but brief satisfaction.
No real benefit. And the price? His own life.
Sacrificing himself for Koharu? Never. The thought alone was degrading.
Uchiha Ran knew: her hatred wasn't just about loyalty to Tobirama.
She despised him because he was a medical-nin—yet still so talented that he made her look mediocre by comparison.
The more time passed, the more pathetic Koharu felt.
Once the proud darling of the village, now just a bitter, faded old woman, eaten alive by envy.
If he didn't bring her profit, she'd have gotten rid of him long ago.
But there was one more reason for her hatred—and it had to do with Uchiha Kagami.
In the past, Utatane Koharu had no hatred for the Uchiha clan.
During joint missions and the First Great Shinobi War, she'd often fought side by side with Uchiha Kagami—a strong, kind, and just young man who had saved her life more than once.
And it was him—an Uchiha—who'd left a mark on her heart… a mark she had never quite been able to erase.