The next morning, the peaceful air of Konoha was broken by the loud complaints of one very annoyed Sakura Haruno.
"Sukuna, I swear if this is another prank like last time then I'm gonna punch you." She chided with clear annoyance on her face.
"Ah, I told you it's not a prank, okay? Just shut up and follow me." Sukuna grinned and dragged her along even harder.
To Sakura's frustration, despite her above-average strength, she couldn't do anything to stop Sukuna. She could only let him drag her when he wasn't listening—and today was one of those days.
Once they arrived, Sakura blinked, staring at the big building in front of her. She read the board at the entrance.
"Why did you drag me all the way to the hospital?! Did someone we know get admitted or something?" Sakura asked, confused but still trying to pull her arm free.
"Stop whining, brat," Sukuna said, tugging her without mercy. "And no, no one's admitted here. You're coming with me whether you like it or not."
'For no reason…!' Sakura's forehead twitched. Meaning this was a prank after all.
This idiot had dragged her all this way when she could've been spending time with her Sasuke-kun.
"Why me?! Go alone!" She resisted harder, trying to get free, but there was no escaping Sukuna's hold.
"Because I asked the old man to get both of us into the hospital," Sukuna replied calmly, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Huh? Dad's in this too?" Sakura was even more confused now.
Could it be that he suspected one of them wasn't actually his child? Gasp.
Sakura's eyes flicked to the idiot dragging her, hesitation flashing across them. She always thought something was off about her brother, but to know he was adopted…
Needless to say, an eight-year-old's imagination was wild.
'Wait, then why's he dragging me with him? Could it be he thinks the same about me…?' Her irritation boiled again.
"Huh?… no. I'm not talking about Dad."
"Nani? Then who?"
"The Hokage, you idiot."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Wait… what?! You're calling the Hokage what?!"
Sukuna just shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. Sakura's forehead throbbed again. But she reined her temper in.
"What exactly did you ask him?" She needed to know what kind of trouble her brother had landed them in this time.
"That I wanted to work in the hospital," Sukuna said casually. "And that I wanted you there too."
"You—WHAT?! Why me?! And since when do you wanna be a medic-nin? You don't even know how to do the Clone Jutsu!" Sakura stomped her foot. "And why did you drag me into this?!"
"Because you've got good chakra control," Sukuna said with a grin. "And because we're twins. We shared a womb, why not share hardship? I suffer, you suffer. Right?"
"Fuck you… let me go!" Sakura shrieked, earning curious glances from passersby.
"Oh? Where the hell did you even hear that word?" Sukuna was genuinely interested in how his sister had picked up such unsavoury language.
"You keep shouting it in your sleep. 'Fuck you, Gege! Fuck you, Kishimoto!'" She shrugged.
Sukuna went silent after that. How come he didn't know he talked in his sleep? And how come Sakura of all people had managed to spy on him without him realizing?
He urgently needed to do something about this.
"And Mom says this often to Dad at night…"
Another pause.
"Ah… Sakura…" He turned to his sister with a strange look on his face.
"Huh…" She blinked, wondering if she'd said something wrong.
"…Nothing. Let's just continue." He decided to give her the talk later. For now, time to go.
Sukuna walked up to the front desk like he owned the place and handed the nurse the paper Hiruzen had given him.
The nurse raised a brow. "The Hokage's seal, huh? Alright, follow me. The head doctor will see you."
Sakura groaned. "We're dead. We're so dead."
"Don't worry, we're in a hospital. There ain't no safer place on earth than this. Full might of Konoha's doctors stand between us and death." Sukuna gave a cheeky grin.
"I'll tell Mom," Sakura gritted her teeth.
"What, that you pee in your futon and now it's drying back—" Before Sukuna could finish his sentence, Sakura clamped his mouth shut, her face red as a tomato.
Her glare was dangerous enough to melt steel, silently screaming:
'You're a dead man, Haruno Sukuna. A dead man.'
Sukuna just gave a teasing wink and dragged her inside with him.
They were taken into an office where a stern-looking man sat behind a desk. His face was wrinkled, his glasses low on his nose, and his expression screamed that he didn't have time for children.
"So…" the doctor said, eyeing them both like troublesome brats. "You two are the Hokage's special request."
"Yes," Sukuna said simply.
"Why do you want to work here? Hospitals aren't playgrounds. We heal shinobi, deal with poison, trauma, war injuries. This is not a place for children."
Sukuna smirked. "That's exactly why I want to be here. You've got things to teach. I've got things to learn. Perfect pair. And since when did age become an issue in chasing dreams?"
"So, you want to become a doctor?" the head doctor asked.
"NO!" Sukuna decisively shook his head.
The man nearly fell out of his chair. Did this brat not just say age shouldn't stop him from chasing dreams?!
"Then why? If you don't want to be a doctor, then why be here?" He asked genuinely.
"Because it's important to know how to heal if you learn how to kill. We're gonna be shinobi soon. I'd rather know how to save my own life and my partner's life before stepping out of the village, you know?"
This was a very practical answer. The head doctor blinked, not expecting something this straightforward or genuine.
Boys his age only cared about flashy ninjutsu. This was the first boy he had seen who cared about medical jutsu.
Sakura, for the first time, looked genuinely interested. Her glare at her brother softened.
She remembered how Sukuna had one day suddenly brought her a copy of the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
So this was the reason. He was just looking out for me.
Her earlier glare turned into a pout, finally understanding her brother's intention.
'Hmph, he's still annoying.'
The head doctor sighed loudly. The boy's intentions were admirable, but learning medical jutsu was no easy feat. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he muttered, "Fine. Let's put this foolishness to an end quickly."
It would be better if these kids learned early that not everyone could become a medic-nin. No point in giving them false hope.
He motioned for them to follow him and brought them to a room where a man lay injured on the bed. His arm was bandaged, but blood seeped through. His breathing was uneven, and his face was pale.
"See that? We deal with this kind of case on a regular basis," the doctor said, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "Why don't you and your sister here tell me what's wrong with this patient? Impress me and I might give you both a chance."
Sakura turned pale. "W-what?! I don't know anything about this stuff! I'm just a kid!"
"Exactly my point…" the head doctor rolled his eyes. Was he speaking another language for them not to get it until now?
Sukuna ignored her panic and walked to the patient's side. He checked the man's breathing, pressed his fingers lightly on his chest, and then studied the wound. "Fractured ribs… at least three. Internal bleeding, probably small vessels ruptured. The cut on his arm's infected. And his fever's starting."
The doctor's eyes narrowed slightly, but he quickly scowled again. "Correct. How do you know that?"
Sukuna said flatly, "Simple, I diagnose."
Sakura peeked at him nervously. "Y-you really know all that?"
'How the hell you know that?' was what she really wished to ask, but she kept her mouth shut.
"I didn't come here without preparation, you know… look at this."
Then Sukuna placed his hands over the man's wound. A soft white glow spread from his palms. Sakura gasped, the doctor froze, and the patient let out a sigh of relief as the bleeding slowed and the pain eased.
"What—" the doctor stammered. "That's…!" He himself didn't know what it was. It looked like the Mystical Palm Jutsu, but the aura was different, and so was the color.
Sukuna smirked, nodding. "Mystical Palm Jutsu… learned it a little while ago. That's when I knew I had the talent to learn from here. I don't ask much, just let me help out and see how you guys do things. I'll catch things myself. That's all."
Sakura's jaw dropped. "Whaaaat?! Since when can you do that?! You were lying back then when you asked me to heal you, weren't you!" Her mood immediately got wild again.
"I learned it after that," Sukuna said. "As I said, this shit is useful."
"You're impossible!" Sakura threw her hands in the air. "Completely impossible!"
Huffing, she finally placed her own hands over the man's ribs and, to the doctor's astonishment, the green light appeared—faint but steady. This time it was definitely Mystical Palm Jutsu.
The head doctor's jaw nearly hit the floor. "You… you too?!"
Sakura hesitantly nodded. "I learned it before when this idiot here bought the technique for me."
"You're welcome," Sukuna muttered.
"Don't you dare take credit for my genius!" Sakura snapped, irritated.
The doctor, however, was frozen in place. He slowly adjusted his glasses, stared at both children again, and muttered, "How old are you two again?…"
"Eight," both chorused.
Then, after a long pause, he finally let out a shaky laugh. "Alright… alright. You win. Guess Hokage-sama had a better eye for talent than I gave him credit for. He sent me prodigies." The man looked thrilled by the prospect of teaching both Sukuna and Sakura.
A hint of expectation lingered in his mind. Could Konoha again have someone like Tsunade Senju? He could see the possibility in these two twins.
Sukuna smirked. "Told you."
Sakura puffed her chest proudly. "See? We're geniuses!"
"You screamed the whole way here," Sukuna deadpanned.
"SHUT UP!" Sakura yelled, smacking his arm.
The doctor chuckled despite himself, shaking his head. "Fine. Both of you will work here. I'll teach you what I can… but don't blame me when you realize how much work this actually is."
Sukuna's grin widened. "Knock yourself out."
'Wait a minute, how come I got roped into doing this again… when did I agree to work here…' Sakura suddenly found herself questioning.
Something was very wrong here. Sukuna just grinned at her with his trademark smile.
As for why do this? Simple—he wished to improve his RCT. Only then could he lift the restriction he had on his Mangekyo.
He needed targets to use his RCT, and what better place than the hospital?
While learning how to heal others with more efficient use of his RCT, he could apply the same logic to his eyes—being able to heal his MS even if he was using them beyond the current 50% power limit.
The current setup he had was usable; it was no worse than what Obito himself used all his life. However, the real power of what Kamui could do could only be used when he could wield both the short-distance and long-distance abilities of Kamui simultaneously.
It would take time, a long time. He was no Shoko Ieiri, able to heal others with high efficiency—something needed to heal his MS, since they weren't his own body parts and were thus treated as healing someone else.
So yes, it was going to take time and it would be hard, but he was going to do it.
As for why Sakura? Some might ask.
Sukuna could only answer—why not?
'Let's make Sakura a bit more useful from the start, shall we.'
xxx
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