A/N - A very happy new year to all of you guys, may 2026 be your best.
-x-
The disturbance on the little ducklings' faces was as obvious as the bruises left behind by him on them in today's training session, when neither seemed to concentrate.
No doubt this was the outcome of what happened in Wave. Him pushing them to get their first kill.
Many might think that what he did was excessive, that they didn't have to go through that experience, that they were still kids.
He, however, didn't think he did anything wrong. They were Shinobi. It doesn't matter what their age is or how new they were in this line. The day they started taking missions, they were responsible for their own life and death.
They needed to learn that sometimes to live, one must kill. It wasn't just his own half a decade worth of experience being a bounty hunter talking, but also Ryomen Sukuna's own experience.
So yes, he didn't think he did anything wrong.
As for comforting them, he wasn't their nanny and neither did he have the required skills. He already asked them to talk to either him or Kakashi about the matter if they desired, but above that he couldn't do anything for them.
The matter of fact was that they had to overcome this reality by themselves. No one truly could help them besides themselves.
Naruto and Sakura were taking things the hardest. Sakura shaken, while Naruto still defiant about killing. The knucklehead thinks that there are ways to solve problems without bloodshed.
Perhaps if this was an Anime with his name blasted on it, aimed at 90s kids who like peaceful Shonen where there is a happy ending for everyone and barely any casualties to boot.
He, however, had seen Jujutsu Kaisen.
Thanks to Ryomen's memories he was no foreigner to bloodshed, gore, and war. By that extension, he had also seen all the ugly sides of human beings that there was to see.
So no, he didn't think Naruto would be playing an Anime Protagonist anytime soon. Especially in a world like this, not until some insane level of Plot Armor worked for him behind the scenes.
Now that maybe could happen, but until then, he wished for all of his ducklings to grow up and become eagles, knowing how to hunt for themselves and look out for themselves.
The blond was stubborn though. Sukuna would give him that. He could only wish that experience and time would make him mature over time.
As for Sasuke and Karin, they were better than the last two, much better.
Sighing, he waved his hand to indicate that today's training was over and left, not planning on helping them out over this matter anymore.
Time is the best medicine for this kind of thing.
Now that he was done with his healthy everyday bullying of his fellow genin, he made his way to get himself some Ichiraku Ramen.
He didn't used to like the dish that much, but that damn Naruto had to make him addicted after years of easy and quick refueling after hard training.
Curse him!
Still, he took great relief in the fact that when it comes to Ramen Addiction, he was still much better than the said blond, or his fellow redhead Uzumaki girl.
"Now that I think about it, Karin shares almost an equal amount of blame for this ridiculous craving I have developed over time as much as Naruto did." Sukuna murmured with irritation.
Ichiraku wasn't that far away, just ten minutes and he was already there until he could see the Ichiraku stall in front of him.
Few steps and he would have his fill.
Few steps which would require him to pass that damn Anbu who suddenly came between him and his food.
Few steps and he'd get his damn noodles, no matter that the said Anbu was now kneeling and facing him. That definitely didn't fare well for him, like ever.
"Sukuna-san, your presence is required in the hospital. It's urgent."
'Fuck… there goes my breakfast.'
~o~
By the time Sukuna arrived at Konoha Hospital, albeit with a lot of grumbling on his part, he found two nurses spotting him like they spotted the man with the free Wi-Fi password and grabbed him with both hands.
"Oi, let me go."
"Aizawa-san said to bring you directly to him the moment you arrive." The nurses were relentless as they dragged him forward against his will.
They were the women who took care of him, Karin, and his sister when they were little. From learning from them to asking them to sneak snacks while that grumpy Aizawa wasn't looking. They did all of that for them, so he couldn't even think about using force against them.
Giving in to his fate, he just let them drag him. But not that easily, he would make them work for it.
Rather than showing resistance, he just dropped all efforts altogether, meaning no effort in walking by himself either.
Needless to say, by the time he arrived, the three nurses who dragged him were panting, cursing him Kami knows what.
The third nurse joined them midway when she noticed the valiant effort of her fellow sisters.
However, unlike what Sukuna thought, they didn't take him to Aizawa's office, but rather to an operation room.
His lazy dead-fish style immediately changed when he saw where the nurses brought him. A little guilt at how he was acting rose inside him, which he masterfully suppressed before entering the room.
Sukuna pushed open the doors of the operation room without thinking much, expecting another routine day of helping with surgeries and healing practice.
He was your go-to healer when it came to regeneration. For someone who can close wounds faster than the attacker could perform them, he had a different reputation in the hospital.
But the moment he stepped inside, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward him. The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the air, metal tools clinked, and bright lights glared down on the patient's table.
Sukuna frowned immediately after entering the room, because he didn't smell much blood. This meant most likely he wasn't here for flesh-related wounds, which were no problem for him.
But if it was something else, then even he couldn't do much.
The first one to greet him was Aizawa of course, complaining about his laziness.
"There he is. Late again."
"Kid, can't you ever come in time? Do you know how important every second is in this line of work?" Aizawa shouted mid-operation.
Sukuna mostly ignored the man. By now he had been too used to this man's constant chiding at him.
Yes, even he had to agree that what the man said was true, however, that didn't mean he'd come running here every time someone got his intestines hanging out of his gut.
He too had a life.
"What is it, old man? I told you not to call for me outside emergencies. I'm no longer part of the medic corps, why do you keep dragging me into these things? Can't you give me some rest?" Sukuna muttered equally irritated. This was his hunger speaking.
"And let you waste that medical talent and the years of hard work I did to make you a medic? Over my dead body, brat.
Now get over here this instant." Aizawa all but roared.
Seriously, the man got no chill.
And the fact that he even bothered berating him this much meant that whatever they were doing wasn't an emergency.
Sukuna didn't even get the chance to open his mouth before Aizawa snapped again.
"Why in the sage's name are you standing there making faces at yourself? Get your ass over here before I throw you out of the hospital."
Sukuna didn't even argue. He just sighed and walked closer, ignoring the nurses who were whispering among themselves. He even saw a nurse handing over a pouch to another which suspiciously looked heavy with Ryo.
He wondered what they bet on him this time. Perhaps that he will finally cause Aizawa to have an heart attack or that Aizawa really kick him out the hospital.
More importantly, here all nurses bring his big sister, its it normal for big sister to spoil their younger brother, I don't know, perhaps a pouch of Ryo. If nothing then at least sponsor his visit to Ichirachu...
Aizawa huffed before pointing toward the other table on the side, where someone lay covered in blood-soaked bandages.
"Look at her. Apparently, she was from your class if I'm not wrong. She's in bad shape. Multiple stab wounds though not lethal, chakra exhaustion, and on top of that she isn't waking up.
My best guess is she was hit by a powerful Genjutsu and now is under coma." Aizawa said as he pointed at the girl lying helplessly on the operation table, out cold.
Sukuna's eyes narrowed when he heard those words: 'his class, girl, and genjutsu.' And when he looked at the patient, his entire body froze.
His breath stopped.
His footsteps halted completely.
The world around him went quiet, the voices fading out as if someone had stuffed cotton into his ears.
Because lying there… unconscious, pale, barely breathing…
Was Kiyomi Uchiha.
Aizawa noticed his silence and frowned.
"What? Do you know her?"
Sukuna didn't answer at first. His eyes were fixed on Kiyomi, and for once, there was no smirk, no sarcastic remark, no annoyance. Only shock.
Finally, he forced out a quiet reply.
"Yeah… I know her."
Aizawa raised a brow, surprised. "Well, then hurry up. At least deal with the flesh wounds first."
Sukuna nodded and stepped forward, hands already glowing with cursed energy as he prepared to start the procedure.
But inside, a single thought echoed through him.
"What happened?" He asked.
~o~
A/N : The Story is changing so don't expect a lot of cannon events going exactly the same okay.
xxx
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