While carefully examining the patient's condition, Haruno Shō treated him with practiced medical skill, explaining the situation to the two people beside him as he worked. Suddenly, he shifted the subject and asked about Izumi's schooling.
"N–No! I mean—yes!"
Izumi stared fixedly at Shō as he tended to her father's broken body. Startled by the unexpected question, she blurted out her answer in a panic.
"We originally planned to enroll her in the Ninja Academy next year…"
"As for chakra extraction, my husband has already taught her the basics!"
Fujimoto Hazuki knew her daughter was nervous, so she jumped in with a few supplementary explanations to cover her daughter's gaps in knowledge.
"Very good."
"Izumi, do you know your chakra nature?"
Even as he continued applying his healing technique to Fujimoto Kai, Shō kept speaking gently to the little girl beside him.
"Father said I have Water, Earth, and Fire!"
Izumi thought for a moment, then looked toward her father on the bed. Her eyes were red from crying."That's what he told me… those are my chakra attributes."
Five in total—Yin, Yang, and three elemental natures: Water, Earth, and Fire.This girl's talent was far greater than Shō had expected.
Silently marveling at the treasure he had just discovered, Shō maintained his warm smile and praised her softly.
"Haha, it seems our little Izumi is quite a prodigy."
Izumi's cheeks instantly flushed a delicate red. She looked both shy and delighted—adorably so.
"Alright. For now, we'll continue with conservative treatment. Once your father's body stabilizes, I'll proceed with the next stage."
Shō withdrew his hands from Kai's body and gave the mother and daughter a reassuring explanation.
"Thank you so much for your help!"
"Thank you, big brother Shō!"
The Fujimoto mother and daughter bowed deeply again, their gratitude overflowing.
Naturally, Shō couldn't stay by Kai's side all day—there were many other patients waiting. After packing up his tools, he headed to the next bed. Halfway there, he suddenly turned back toward Izumi.
"Izumi, would you like to come with me and experience a medical-nin's daily work?Or would you prefer to stay here and watch over your father?"
Before Izumi could answer, Hazuki quickly made the decision for her.
"Izumi, I'll take care of your father. Go on—catch up with your teacher!"
"I understand, Mom!"
And so Izumi followed behind Haruno Shō, observing his daily routine at the Konoha Hospital until the end of the day.
Time passed quickly, and night eventually fell. Shō walked down the quiet hospital corridor, exhausted from a full day's work. Suddenly, he turned to the girl beside him.
"How do you feel?"
The question took Izumi by surprise, but she quickly gathered herself and spoke honestly.
"Um… Brother Shō, you worked so hard today.""But you were amazing! You treated so many patients all by yourself…""If only I could be as capable as you someday."
Shō chuckled softly, then rested a gentle hand on her head, his tone encouraging and warm.
"As long as you're willing to learn and keep working hard, you'll definitely become just as good—maybe even better."
"Mm!"
Izumi nodded hard, as if making a silent promise to herself.
Another week flew by. The once overwhelmed Konoha Hospital had finally returned to its usual calm. Most patients, unless severely injured, were now well enough to go home.
On this particular day, the Fujimoto family arrived at the Haruno residence dressed formally. They had two purposes: to thank Shō properly and to formally request that he take Izumi as his student.
"Thank you very much!" ×3
"There's no need to be so formal. This is my duty. Besides, I did charge for the prosthetics…"
By now, Kai had been fitted with the simple prosthetic limbs Shō crafted for him—enough to get through daily life. But after losing so much of his body, his ninja career was effectively over.
"Izumi, you must listen to Lord Haruno Shō from now on. Learn well."
"Yes, Father…"
Because Shō's application for Special Jōnin had been approved by the Third Hokage, he was now officially a Special Medical Jōnin of the Hidden Leaf. As a mere Chūnin, Kai had no choice but to address him respectfully as dono—"Lord."
"Kai, how do the prosthetics feel? Have you gotten used to them?If anything needs adjusting, tell me right away."
Shō remained genuinely concerned for Kai—not only because of his injuries, but because… over the past week, under the guise of treatment and prosthetic customization, Shō had collected a considerable amount of Kai's blood and tissue.
One of the few remaining samples of Senju lineage in all of Konoha.
"Thank you for your concern," Kai replied sincerely."The craftsmanship is remarkable. They fit me perfectly."
He was truly grateful. Shō's prices had been unbelievably low—far from matching the actual value of such precious prosthetics.