"So what if it's embarrassing?" Ren lowered his voice and leaned closer to his father. "Even Lord Jiraiya, one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin, writes adult romance novels."
Tajima stared at him as if Ren had just revealed a forbidden village secret.
Ren continued before his father could interrupt.
"With the wars becoming more frequent, every major village is suffering from a shortage of shinobi. Konoha will eventually need to encourage people to settle down and start families."
He spread his hands with exaggerated reasonableness.
"Publishing romance stories during a time like this might be considered a public service. The village could even promote the books quietly."
"R-Really?"
Tajima's expression wavered.
For one dangerous moment, he appeared to be considering it.
Then suspicion entered his eyes.
He turned and glared at Ren.
"Wait. How do you know so much about those books?"
Ren went still.
Tajima leaned forward, looking increasingly alarmed.
"You haven't been secretly reading them, have you? Listen to me, Ren. You're far too young for that sort of thing. Children should focus on training and studying, not filling their heads with strange stories."
Ren remained silent.
His attempt to help his father plan for the future had somehow become a lecture about responsible reading habits.
The general store and publishing business were only rough ideas for now. Ren had indeed developed a sweet carbonated drink while experimenting with medicinal herbs, fruit syrup, and different methods of preserving liquids.
It did not taste as refined as the cola from his previous life, but it was still refreshing. Compared with the bitter teas and plain juices commonly sold in Konoha, the drink had potential.
As for books, Ren could create more story ideas than Tajima would ever need. They did not even have to be improper. Adventure novels, battlefield romances, dramatic tales about wandering shinobi, and exaggerated stories involving noble clans would all attract readers.
Those ideas had once been Ren's backup plan.
If he failed to become a shinobi, he could have opened a shop, sold drinks, or written stories using knowledge from his previous life.
That fallback was no longer necessary for him.
Tajima, however, needed a new purpose.
If his father agreed to open the store, Ren already knew how to make it successful. The best option would be to invite Tsunade into the business.
Ren could offer her a thirty-percent share of the profits in exchange for improving the drink's formula and lending her name to it. A product developed under the supervision of the greatest medical-nin in the world would require almost no additional advertising.
The slogan practically wrote itself.
Formulated under the guidance of Princess Tsunade—refresh your body and restore your spirit!
If Tsunade permitted them to use herbs or spring water associated with Shikkotsu Forest, the drink could even be marketed as containing ingredients from one of the Three Great Sage Regions.
Nobles would probably fight one another for the privilege of purchasing it.
Under normal circumstances, Tsunade would never agree to such shameless marketing. Unlike Jiraiya, she cared about maintaining at least some dignity.
Money might change her mind.
The Legendary Sucker was almost always short of gambling funds. Receiving a legal share of a profitable business would be better than borrowing money across the Land of Fire and leaving a trail of unpaid debts.
Ren could already imagine the negotiations.
Unfortunately, he had no time to refine the plan.
Just as Tsunade predicted, wounded shinobi began arriving from the southwestern battlefield within days.
The first convoy reached Konoha Hospital shortly before dawn.
The second arrived that afternoon.
By nightfall, every available bed was occupied.
Konoha's victory over Sunagakure had been purchased with blood.
The hospital corridors reeked of disinfectant, medicine, sweat, and iron. Stretcher wheels rattled across the floor without pause, while nurses shouted patient conditions over suppressed groans.
Some shinobi arrived with burns caused by Fire Release.
Others suffered from poisoned weapons, shattered bones, internal bleeding, or deep cuts filled with sand. Several had remained untreated for days while being transported from the battlefield.
The advanced medical classes were immediately suspended.
Every medical-nin in training was reassigned to emergency care. Retired specialists and personnel on leave were ordered back to the hospital.
Ren and Rin were placed under the supervision of experienced medical-nin, including Sarutobi Biwako and Nono Yakushi. Tsunade coordinated treatment plans and evaluated difficult cases, although her fear of blood prevented her from participating directly in many of the most severe operations.
Even with every available person working, they barely had enough hands.
Ren moved from one patient to the next.
He disinfected wounds, controlled bleeding, maintained the Healing Technique, prepared antidotes, and monitored chakra networks damaged by enemy ninjutsu.
In one room, he helped remove fragments of metal from a shinobi's shoulder.
In another, he maintained healing chakra over a ruptured artery while a senior medic repaired the surrounding tissue.
Several patients had been poisoned by Sunagakure puppeteers. Their skin had turned gray, and their breathing weakened with every passing minute.
Nono identified the poison while Biwako directed the preparation of an antidote. Rin helped stabilize the victims as Ren monitored their pulses.
There was no opportunity to think about fatigue.
Every time Ren felt his concentration slipping, another stretcher arrived.
Every time a patient stabilized, someone called for assistance from another room.
Hours blurred together.
Day became night, then morning, then night again.
Ren slept in fragments whenever he could—ten minutes against a wall, half an hour beside a supply cabinet, or briefly with his head resting on folded arms.
Rin refused to complain.
Her face grew pale, and dark circles appeared beneath her eyes, but her hands remained steady. She moved between the treatment rooms, comforting frightened patients while applying medical ninjutsu with exhausted determination.
On the third night, a shinobi began convulsing during a blood transfusion.
Rin noticed the reaction first.
She immediately stopped the transfusion and called for assistance while Ren checked the patient's chakra flow. Together, they stabilized him before the reaction became fatal.
Biwako offered them a single approving nod before sending them to the next room.
That was all the recognition anyone had time to give.
The emergency continued for several days.
Surgery.
Blood transfusions.
Detoxification.
Chakra-network repair.
The hospital swallowed every drop of energy they possessed.
By the time the last critical patient's condition stabilized, Ren felt as though he could fall asleep while standing. His chakra reserves were nearly empty, his eyes burned, and every muscle in his body ached.
Rin leaned against the corridor wall beside him.
Her face had lost almost all its color, and her eyelids kept drifting shut. She looked as though a gentle breeze might knock her over.
Around them, the surviving medical personnel wore the same hollow expressions.
Biwako stepped into the corridor.
Despite her own exhaustion, her posture remained dignified and composed. As the wife of the Third Hokage and an experienced medical-nin, she understood that everyone needed more than a simple dismissal.
"You all performed admirably," she announced. "Because of your efforts, many shinobi who would otherwise have died will return to their families."
The exhausted personnel lifted their heads.
"Everyone who participated in the emergency treatment will receive an additional payment of fifty thousand ryō."
A faint murmur passed through the corridor.
"Now go home," Biwako continued. "Eat, wash, and sleep. A reduced jōnin team will remain here to monitor the patients. If the situation changes, we will send for you."
No one needed to be told twice.
The medical-nin began filing out of the hospital.
Ren and Rin had barely taken a few steps when Tsunade called after them.
"You two, wait."
They stopped and turned.
Tsunade approached with her arms folded. Her expression was stern, but approval softened her eyes.
"You both did well. Rin, you noticed that transfusion reaction quickly. Ren, your Healing Technique remained stable even after your chakra reserves fell below a safe level."
Praise from Tsunade was rare enough to restore a little of their energy.
"Thank you, Lady Tsunade," they answered together.
"Don't become excited." Her expression sharpened. "You pushed yourselves too far. Medical-nin who collapse become additional patients, and I have no intention of treating you because you were too foolish to rest."
Ren and Rin immediately straightened.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
She nodded, satisfied.
"Go home and sleep. This Saturday, come to my residence at nine in the morning."
Rin blinked.
"Your residence?"
"Yes. Don't be late."
Tsunade turned away before either of them could ask another question.
Ren watched her leave, curiosity cutting through his exhaustion.
She had promised to teach him something new if he performed well. He had assumed the lesson would take place inside Konoha Hospital.
Inviting both of them to her home suggested that the technique was either private, dangerous, or too valuable to demonstrate in a public training room.
Whatever Tsunade intended to teach, it was clearly not part of the ordinary medical curriculum.
Ren and Rin briefly visited Tajima before leaving the hospital. Rin came along as the daughter of a family friend, although Tajima's knowing expression suggested that he viewed her visits with increasing amusement.
The moment he saw their exhausted faces, he ended the conversation.
"I'm not going anywhere," Tajima assured them. "Both of you look half-dead. Go home before the hospital admits you as patients."
Neither had enough energy to argue.
They returned to their neighboring homes and slept so deeply that Ren did not wake until the following afternoon.
The rest of the week passed quickly.
When Saturday arrived, Ren and Rin met early in the morning and walked toward the old Senju clan residence.
The Senju were no longer the enormous power they had been during the Warring States Period. At their height, they had stood beside the Uchiha as one of the two strongest clans in the shinobi world.
Their decline had many causes.
The most obvious was Hashirama Senju's death.
The First Hokage had represented an overwhelming portion of the clan's military strength. Once he was gone, the Senju lost the power that had made every other clan fear them.
Their traditions had also changed after Konoha's founding.
The Senju were among the first clans to abandon strict marriage within the clan. Over the following decades, many descendants married into other families, established separate households, and stopped using the Senju name.
The clan's bloodline had spread throughout Konoha, but its central household had gradually emptied.
Now, only a few members remained within the old compound—along with one extremely dangerous golden-haired heiress.
The heavy courtyard gate opened with a low creak.
Ren and Rin stepped inside before closing it behind them. The sounds of the village immediately faded, replaced by rustling leaves and flowing water.
The courtyard was peaceful.
Ancient trees rose above a pond covered in drifting leaves. Sunlight filtered through the branches and scattered golden patterns across the stone path.
Tsunade sat cross-legged on the wooden veranda beside a low tea table.
Without her flak jacket and hospital clothes, she appeared unusually relaxed. She wore a simple pale yukata, while her long blonde hair had been loosely tied behind her head.
A few damp strands rested against her cheek, suggesting she had recently bathed.
Shizune knelt beside her, carefully pouring hot water into a teapot.
Tsunade glanced toward the newcomers.
"You're here."
She motioned toward two cushions opposite her.
"Sit."
Ren and Rin removed their sandals and joined her at the table. Shizune greeted them with a friendly smile before placing cups of tea in front of them.
Tsunade did not waste time on conversation.
She reached beside the table, lifted a thick scroll, and sent it rolling across the polished wood with a flick of her wrist.
The parchment unfolded between them.
Detailed diagrams of the human body covered its surface. Muscles, organs, blood vessels, and chakra pathways were illustrated with incredible precision, surrounded by dense handwritten explanations.
Rin leaned closer.
"What is this?"
Tsunade placed one finger beside the title written along the scroll's edge.
"The Mystical Palm Technique."
Both students stiffened.
"This is an A-rank medical ninjutsu," Tsunade continued. "It allows the user to send highly refined healing chakra directly into an injured person's body, accelerating cellular recovery and repairing damage far more effectively than the basic Healing Technique."
Rin stared at the scroll.
An A-rank technique carried enormous significance. Until now, most of the ninjutsu she had studied were C-rank. She had barely encountered anything at B-rank, much less a technique normally entrusted to experienced medical jōnin.
"The Mystical Palm Technique requires exceptional chakra control and a detailed understanding of anatomy," Tsunade warned. "Attempting it carelessly can worsen an injury instead of healing it."
She glanced toward Shizune.
"Shizune has studied under me for two and a half years, and even she has not completely mastered it."
Shizune's cheeks reddened.
"Lady Tsunade, you didn't have to tell them that part."
"They need to understand the difficulty."
Ren barely heard their exchange.
A system notification had appeared across his vision.
[Giftable item detected.]
[Advanced Limited Skin—Healing Technique: Mystical Palm Technique]
Ren's pulse quickened.
Then a second line appeared.
[Warning: Advanced Limited Skins can only be gifted after the corresponding technique reaches the Attachment stage.]
Ren stared at the message.
His Healing Technique remained trapped at ninety-nine favorability.
The greatest medical ninjutsu he had encountered was lying directly before him, close enough to touch—but one final barrier still stood in his way.
Before Ren could obtain the Mystical Palm Technique, he had to complete the Healing Technique's special event.