Walking along the bustling street under the glowing lanterns, Mizuki didn't feel that the streets were any less crowded than before Orochimaru's "Konoha Destruction Plan." Thanks to Konoha's advantageous geographical location and its unmatched military strength and prestige, it was recovering from its wounds much faster than expected. Even though a major attack had taken place just two days ago, most of the bloodshed occurred in the shadows, hidden from ordinary eyes. To civilians, life carried on as if nothing had changed.
What struck Mizuki as odd was that he'd expected his recent exploits to make him well-known by now, yet as he walked the streets looking like his usual forgettable self, hardly anyone recognized him. Except for an occasional greeting from someone he knew, most people remained unaware that this man in the unflattering vest was actually a powerful Jonin. Apart from his striking silver hair, he lacked defining features that might earn him a grand nickname or even make him memorable.
Though few common ninja or civilians knew the full story, word still found a way to travel. The ninja world is vast, and even Konoha alone was no minor settlement—it was practically the size of a small town. Even among elite ninja, not every name was a familiar face. Take Kakashi Hatake—despite his legendary status, even Iruka Umino barely knew who he was before he became Naruto Uzumaki's squad leader. Mizuki himself had only heard of him, never met him directly, and had only seen him at a distance a few times without either ever acknowledging the other. Before their connection through Naruto, communication across ranks wasn't very fluid, so unfamiliarity was understandable.
This time, however, it seemed some invisible hand was restricting the spread of certain information. Indeed, for various reasons, some things needed to be handled more carefully. Tailed Beasts were already sensitive enough, but those capable of suppressing them were even more alarming. Whenever such individuals appeared, they always stirred up great waves. As for Sage Mode, while its existence wasn't completely suppressed, keeping knowledge limited to only essential personnel remained crucial.
Konoha Hospital had practically become a second home to Mizuki during this period, aside from his actual residence. Every time he walked through those doors, Mizuki couldn't help but worry for patients in this world. This supposedly top-tier hospital was run by medics whose hands trembled as they performed even basic surgeries using Medical Ninjutsu. Mizuki wasn't sure if chakra really was a miracle cure, but one thing was clear—it couldn't heal everything. In rare cases, it even caused side effects.
Fortunately, Tsunade was back now. Hopefully, her presence would push these mediocre medical ninja to improve—at least enough to stop making Mizuki cringe. Think of Rin Nohara, who over a decade ago, while still underage, successfully transplanted Obito Uchiha's Sharingan eye into Kakashi Hatake on the battlefield. Such a complex transplant required extreme precision—an operation even Mizuki himself wouldn't dare attempt at this stage.
Over a decade ago, even a lowly Genin like Mizuki had surpassed most of today's Medical Ninjas. Mizuki immediately felt he had lived his life shamefully. Others could switch eyes as easily as changing glasses, while he struggled to eliminate the lingering damage in his own body.
As agreed, Mizuki was meant to see Tsunade first, but after thinking it over, he chose to check on Hayate Gekko instead.
In the quiet hospital room, Yugao Uzuki was once again the only visitor stopping by to see Hayate Gekko. When Mizuki entered, Hayate happened to be awake.
Since Tsunade's return, Konoha Hospital had become far more efficient—not to mention that the group of average Medical Ninjas now had an even better mentor, and naturally improved significantly in skill. Many critically injured patients who had previously seemed beyond treatment were now recovering, even getting discharged.
In reality, Mizuki hadn't played a direct role in these improvements. The effects of the life-saving pills were clear—both their healing power and side effects were immediately apparent. Only Tsunade could truly alleviate such injuries. Before anyone obtained the so-called cheating Yang Technique, no one could surpass Tsunade in Medical Ninjutsu.
As for Hayate Gekko, although he had temporarily regained consciousness, his body was already on the verge of collapse. Even Tsunade could only maintain his awareness and restore sensation—but actual physical recovery was still far off.
Upon noticing Mizuki entering the room, Yugao noticed him right away. She stood up and nodded in thanks.
Mizuki silently walked up to the hospital bed. Seeing Hayate's relatively decent complexion and watching him open his eyes to greet the visitor with a slight smile on his face, Mizuki knew that this determined yet unlucky Tokubetsu Jonin wasn't facing immediate danger.
After exchanging a few polite words with Yugao, Mizuki left. Regarding Hayate's condition, Mizuki hadn't come up with a better solution yet—there hadn't been any breakthroughs so far. Meanwhile, some self-rescue techniques Mizuki himself had considered weren't really suitable for Hayate either. Without precise Chakra Control, the chances of Hayate mastering them were nearly nonexistent—making any attempt pointless.
Next, Mizuki headed directly into a secret laboratory and found Tsunade, who was immersed in experiments.
"You're here already? Give me a minute."
"Alright."
Conveniently, Mizuki could use this opportunity to observe exactly how Tsunade researched Medical Ninjutsu.
Unlike typical laboratories, this place lacked many strange measuring tools, but instead overflowed with various piles of documents scattered everywhere.
Picking up a random file, Mizuki skimmed through it and then placed it back on the shelf.
Mizuki knew these theory-heavy materials weren't useless—they had real value—but he also understood their big limitations. At least for now, there wasn't any further potential for Medical Ninjutsu in Mizuki's hands.
Not long later, Tsunade finally paused her work and said to Mizuki, "Your potion is truly amazing stuff. Sometimes it even serves as a hidden card for saving your life."
Without waiting for Mizuki to respond, Tsunade continued speaking.
"This will definitely take a lot off my plate—no more wasting brainpower on these little problems."
Tsunade wasted no time getting straight to the point, as always.
"As for your body condition, I've gone through quite a few records after reviewing your case. I didn't find a direct cure, but there are some techniques handed down by the Uzumaki clan that could help."
"Really? That would be wonderful!" Mizuki replied happily.
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