After a brief whirlwind of chaos, peace finally returned to the small room.
Tsunade lounged casually on the bed, Yakushi Nono tidied the food on the table, and Nara Shikadan was chugging water, trying to calm his restless mind.
"Shikadan, come eat. It's ready."
Yakushi Nono set out three small stools around the dining table. She first waved Shikadan over, then bowed slightly toward Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, I'm sorry we can't offer proper hospitality. Time is limited."
"No, not at all. I'm the one who is imposing ."
Tsunade returned the greeting with polite composure, no trace of the teasing, playful version of herself from earlier.
After a few simple pleasantries, the three sat down at the table. A rare warmth settled over the room.
"Itadakimasu!"
Shikadan was the first to dig in, stuffing a large mouthful of food into his mouth. A familiar system prompt appeared.
[While eating... your Stamina attribute has slightly increased.]
'It wasn't an illusion before! Eating really does boost [Stamina]!?'
Shikadan's excitement spiked. He immediately increased the speed and frequency of his eating.
'Eating restores physical energy... Of course! It's so logical it's beautiful!'
Tsunade noticed his enthusiasm and tried a few bites herself. Her eyes widened in delight.
"Nono! This is delicious! You're amazing at cooking!"
"Tsunade-sama, you flatter me. It's just simple home cooking."
Nono smiled gently, placing more food into Shikadan's bowl before asking, seemingly offhandedly:
"By the way, Tsunade-sama, what were you doing just now?"
"I was about to check Shikadan's body."
Tsunade took another bite. The rich flavors made her eyebrows arch with pleasure.
"Didn't he just graduate from the Ninja School? Twelve is really too old for a Genin!"
Back during the Warring States period, it wasn't uncommon for children to go to war as soon as they could stand.
After Konoha was founded, things improved—slightly. Tsunade herself had graduated and become a Genin at the age of six.
In this current era—Year 48 of the Hidden Leaf Village—some "genius" children still graduated early, but the standard age was nine. Later, this would be pushed even further to twelve.
Yet Shikadan had only just graduated at twelve. Combined with his earlier mutterings about a "weak body"…
Tsunade had grown quite curious. Performing a body check-up was her way of paying him back for what had happened earlier.
"I see…"
Yakushi Nono let out a quiet sigh of relief, the tension from that earlier misunderstanding finally dissipating.
"So, what did you find?" she asked.
As a skilled medical ninja herself, Nono had long noticed Shikadan's physical issues—but had never been able to pinpoint a cause. If Tsunade, Konoha's top medical expert, had any insight, that could change everything.
"Nara, give me your hand."
Tsunade put down her chopsticks and held out her hand with authority.
Shikadan paused mid-bite, slightly reluctant, but obediently extended his left hand.
Tsunade grasped his palm. Her warm, Yang-based chakra, brimming with life, flowed into his body and began a thorough internal examination.
As expected from the Nara clan—Shikadan's physical fitness and cell activity are shockingly low for his age. He's more like a five- or six-year-old who just entered the academy!
The deeper she probed, the more Tsunade's brows furrowed.
His chakra reserves are practically nonexistent! How did he manage to deal with that Jonin-level spy earlier? Ah... the Nara clan's Shadow Secret Technique. A special Yin-style jutsu that likely doesn't rely on conventional chakra flow…
Tsunade let go of Shikadan's hand and fell silent, deep in thought.
To be honest—
Shikadan's condition wasn't all that complicated.
It was classic "physical weakness," or more precisely: extreme deficiency of physical energy.
She could easily write up a detailed, scientifically sound treatment plan.
The real problem? Implementation.
Physical conditioning requires time, discipline, and above all—a cooperative patient and stable environment.
The most basic part of the regimen would require Shikadan to stop using all chakra-based techniques temporarily, so his body could properly recover.
But that was impossible.
The Third Great Ninja War was looming. Shikadan had just graduated, and as a reserve Genin of Konoha, it was almost guaranteed that he'd be sent to the battlefield.
In those conditions, how could he afford to not use ninjutsu?
Sending a kid like Shikadan to war would be no different than sending him to die.
With chakra levels this low, can he even perform a proper Transformation Technique?
Tsunade's heart sank.
She'd already seen too many young ninja sacrifice their lives before they even had a chance to live.
Shikadan, still too focused on his food to notice, kept eating happily.
But Nono had been watching Tsunade's expression the whole time.
Seeing the frown deepening on the face of this medical legend, Nono felt a cold weight drop in her chest.
'Even Tsunade can't fix Shikadan's body…?'
She tried to change the subject.
"Shikadan, I forgot to ask—have you been assigned to a ninja team yet?"
If she knew his team leader, she could perhaps pull some strings...
"Ninja team? We just graduated today. Team assignments are tomorrow."
Shikadan, though reluctantly turning his gaze away from the food, still managed to answer calmly.
"But I can tell you ahead of time—there won't be a team for me."
"Huh? Why not?"
Both Nono and Tsunade looked surprised.
Ordinarily, new Genin were assigned to three-man squads under a Chunin or Jonin leader. These teams stayed intact even as their members rose through the ranks.
It was only in rare cases—death of a teammate, special assignment—that a ninja might remain solo.
Shikadan answered coolly.
"Ninja teams are usually formed based on complementary abilities—for example, the classic 'Ino-Shika-Cho' formation."
He took another bite of food.
"Everyone at the academy knows about my body's issues. Naturally, I wasn't placed in a fixed team.
"Because one—I'd be dead weight. And two—I'd put myself in unnecessary danger."
As much as Konoha underplayed the value of Genin lives… they weren't stupid.
They wouldn't knowingly send an at-risk child into a squad and jeopardize everyone else.
Compared to the infamously brutal "Blood Mist Village," where students had to kill classmates to graduate, Konoha was still relatively humane.
Nono hesitated. "So…"
"So, I requested a different assignment. The school has arranged for me to enter the Medical Department."
Shikadan put down his chopsticks and extended his right hand to Nono.
"Sister Nono—from now on, we're colleagues."
Nono took his hand reflexively. Her oval face couldn't hide her astonishment.
"Medical Department? But Shikadan… your medical ninjutsu—"
"With your chakra reserves, how can you be a medical ninja?!"
Tsunade cut in, grabbing Shikadan's poor hand again and squeezing it repeatedly.
"Medical ninjutsu requires advanced control and tons of Yang chakra!"
"I wasn't assigned to emergency care or the autopsy unit," Shikadan replied, gently tugging his hand free.
"Let me reintroduce myself. I'm a reserve Genin of the Medical Department, Animal Taming and Recuperation Class."
"…A veterinarian?"
Tsunade's beautiful face crumpled in disbelief.
"Your family doesn't raise cats, or dogs, or bugs—oh wait, your clan does raise deer!"
The Nara clan had a long-standing tradition of deer-rearing—and they were also responsible for maintaining Konoha's medicinal herb supply through their private forest.
But within the clan itself, there was an even deeper truth:
Being a ninja was just a job, raising deer was life.
Before retiring, Shikadan's mother had also worked in the same department, specializing in deer care and medicine.
Now, Shikadan was carrying on that legacy.
Nono finally relaxed.
Of all the Medical Department's subdivisions, the Animal Taming and Recuperation Class was by far the most peaceful—so much so that even she, an elite Jonin in the department, barely heard of them.
Tsunade, on the other hand, stared at Shikadan with renewed interest.
Watching him eat so enthusiastically again, she tapped her chin thoughtfully.
An intern in the medical department, huh…
Maybe there's another way to approach this problem…