After leaving the training ground, Tachibana had arranged to have lunch with Keiko Saigyouji near his home.
He decided to head home first, tidy himself up a little, and then go meet her.
On the way, Tachibana thought back to the “ninjutsu test” he had conducted with Mei Terumi that morning.
Although his Flying Water Shuriken had pierced through Mei Terumi’s Water Formation Wall, he wasn’t the least bit complacent.
For one thing, that single Flying Water Shuriken had consumed more than half of his chakra.
And Tachibana had no idea how long Mei Terumi had been practicing before asking him for help.
By then, she had only had enough chakra left to use Water Formation Wall one final time.
Secondly, Mei Terumi was still practicing Water Formation Wall.
His own Flying Water Shuriken, on the other hand, had been directly imparted to him by the system, meaning he had already mastered it proficiently.
Most importantly, Mei Terumi was still only a genin of the same age as him.
Sigh.
I still need to get stronger.
Just as Tachibana reached the entrance of the barbecue restaurant and was about to walk inside, two people came out from the opposite direction.
He happened to know one of them.
Actually, he knew both of them—though he knew one from his memories of the anime in his previous life.
The two were none other than Zabuza Momochi and Yagura Karatachi.
Since today was Sunday and Yagura happened to have no mission, he had spent the morning nearby giving Zabuza some extra training.
As it happened, they had chosen this place for lunch as well.
Zabuza recognized Tachibana at a glance.
After all, Tachibana had once been assigned as his hypothetical opponent.
Later, he had inexplicably gone off and become a Medical Ninja instead, so Zabuza had a fairly deep impression of him.
Zabuza had even specifically asked Yagura afterward whether there was any possibility that Tachibana had somehow discovered his plans.
Yagura had conducted a simple investigation and concluded that it was probably nothing more than a coincidence.
Zabuza had subsequently stopped paying attention to him.
He hadn’t expected to run into Tachibana again today.
But given Zabuza’s personality, he naturally wasn’t going to greet Tachibana or make small talk.
His gaze merely paused for a moment on the forehead protector strapped around Tachibana’s left arm before he walked straight past him and out of the restaurant.
“That boy just now…
He was the Tachibana Kenji you mentioned before, wasn’t he?” Yagura, who had also walked out of the restaurant, casually asked the question.
He had obviously noticed Zabuza’s little reaction.
Combined with Tachibana’s appearance, it wasn’t difficult to figure out who he was.
“Not important.
He’s just an insignificant person.” Although Zabuza said this, Yagura nevertheless committed the name Tachibana Kenji to memory.
Tachibana knew what kind of personality Zabuza had, so he naturally didn’t take the man’s indifference to heart.
He was merely curious about why Zabuza had appeared here together with Yagura.
But it didn’t matter.
Now that he had become a genin, the Ninja Academy’s graduation examination was destined to be completely irrelevant to him.
After entering the restaurant and walking only a few steps, Tachibana spotted a blue-haired figure already waiting for him.
“Aunt Keiko, long time no see.” Hearing Tachibana’s greeting, Keiko Saigyouji raised her head and gave him a faint smile.
“Indeed.
Things have been rather busy in the village lately, so I haven’t even had the chance to congratulate you on becoming a genin.” Keiko’s slightly doting, almost child-pacifying tone was something Tachibana had long since grown accustomed to.
He simply smiled and replied instinctively.
“You’re the hospital director, Aunt Keiko.
Of course you have plenty of things to take care of.” “You haven’t been assigned to a squad yet, so you’re still doing your internship at the hospital, right?
Are you getting used to it?” Keiko asked.
“It’s pretty good.
It’s much easier than the Medical Ninja training before.
And I’ve already started learning the Healing Extraction Technique.” As an elder, Keiko’s concern for Tachibana naturally extended to every aspect of his life.
The two chatted as they ate, with Keiko doing most of the asking while Tachibana answered.
They talked about everything from his previous training on the island to how his recent life had been going.
Time gradually passed amid their back-and-forth conversation.
When Tachibana had nearly finished eating, he suddenly asked, “Aunt Keiko, is there going to be a war soon?” Keiko froze for a moment.
She looked at Tachibana’s face, which somehow seemed strangely familiar.
Although Kirigakure had not participated in the previous Shinobi World War, the child’s parents had died on a mission because of that war.
Now the village had already issued its notice.
Another war was about to begin.
As one of the first batch of Medical Ninjas being developed as part of the village’s pilot program, Tachibana would inevitably become involved in the war.
I wonder if it was really the right decision to make him a Medical Ninja.
Keiko silently wondered to herself.
Seeing Keiko fall silent, Tachibana didn’t rush her for an answer.
After all, he already knew that the Land of Water would inevitably enter the war this time.
His question was merely an opportunity to learn more about the village’s current situation.
As the director of Kirigakure Hospital, Keiko might not belong to the village’s highest leadership, but if the village was preparing to enter the war, the medical personnel would certainly receive corresponding assignments.
Tachibana’s guess was correct.
Keiko had recently received notice from the village and had been busy with preparations for the coming war.
She didn’t hide anything from him.
Instead, for the first time, she treated Tachibana like an adult and spoke bluntly.
“Yes.
War is coming soon.
The village is already communicating with the daimyō.” After a brief pause, Keiko continued, “The Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are already at war.
The Land of Earth has also issued a declaration concerning the Land of Fire.
At present, only we and the Land of Lightning are still watching the situation from the sidelines.
But within the village, the voices in favor of joining the war are practically unanimous.” Tachibana had expected as much.
He simply replied to Keiko, “Thank you, Aunt Keiko.
I’ll make some preparations.” “Tachibana, I want you to remember something.
You’re not just a shinobi.
You’re also a very talented doctor.
No matter what happens, make sure you stay safe.” Keiko stared directly into Tachibana’s eyes, her expression serious.
As an ordinary civilian, she had no way to interfere with the village’s assignments for shinobi.
All she could do was remind Tachibana to take care of himself.
“I know, Aunt Keiko.
I’m the one who’s most afraid of dying!” Tachibana answered with a smile, but his tone was firm.
I’m a man who’s going to live all the way to the end of the story!
The two finished their meal and returned to the hospital together.
Meanwhile, Mei Terumi, who had trained with Tachibana that morning, was also discussing the coming war with someone.
“Teacher Ao, if the village enters the war, will you still lead our squad?” The normally expressionless girl looked worriedly at her jōnin leader.
“I probably will.
Even if war really breaks out, the village won’t casually break up squads that already work well together.” Ao didn’t take Mei Terumi’s concern particularly seriously.
As one of the village’s younger jōnin, Ao wasn’t yet considered a critical combat asset requiring special deployment.
Under such circumstances, squads would generally continue operating together and accept missions as a unit.
“But Jōda and Hokawa, those two idiots, were injured so badly again this time.
If the village starts issuing wartime missions…” Seeing that his most valued student was still worried, Ao changed the subject.
“You said the genin who trained with you this morning used a technique I’d never seen before to break through your Water Formation Wall?” The moment the subject came up, Mei Terumi’s attention was immediately diverted.
She spoke indignantly.
“Those two idiots, Jōda and Hokawa, were injured last time, and we saw that guy when we went to the hospital.
He even said he was a Medical Ninja.
We never saw him use any medical ninjutsu, but his Water Release attacks were ridiculously powerful.” Ao also remembered the black-haired boy.
After all, Tachibana’s handsome face was rather distinctive.
He simply hadn’t expected that the boy was also one of the Medical Ninjas the village had only recently begun developing.
Ao’s curiosity was piqued.
“What was his name?” “His name is Tachibana Kenji.
It doesn’t sound like the name of a Medical Ninja at all!”