I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 336: A smile can erase all grudges—this is a required course for adults, but it's all superficial.

"What's wrong with you? You caught a cold? Let me tell you, I don't know how to treat a cold, you need to see a doctor."

In Tsunade's academic office, she looked at her disciple who was sneezing repeatedly, and moved her chair away in disgust, afraid that Tatsuma might infect her with some kind of virus.

Although her physical condition is so good that it's very difficult for her to get sick, she might get sick during periods of injury or illness due to physical weakness, but catching a cold is very unpredictable.

Even the most physically fit person may wake up one day to find their nose blocked, with uncontrollable bronchospasm causing a cough, accompanied by weakness and fatigue.

Moreover, even the best doctors or the most skilled medical ninjas don't really have any good solutions for the common cold.

If there are no serious complications, you don't even need to take medicine for a cold. Keeping warm, drinking plenty of water and getting plenty of rest are the best remedies.

Feeling annoyed by his teacher, Tatsuma rubbed his nose. He didn't feel any itching, and his airway remained clear even after a series of sneezes. He frowned and said:

"Perhaps it's because I've been traveling between the two countries recently, and my body is having trouble adjusting to the difference in climate. After all, late autumn in Konoha is quite dry, while the Land of Water is very damp and cold."

Chenma wasn't sure either. If he had only sneezed once or twice, he could have argued back and even made up stories about someone cursing him.

However, blaming others for a series of sneezes is a bit unreasonable; it's more likely that there's something wrong with one's own body.

After all, he hadn't had a proper rest since returning from the Land of Water last night. The contrasting climates of the two places, coupled with his less-than-ideal lifestyle, made it quite normal for him to catch a slight cold.

He came to Konoha Hospital today not to help Tsunade, but mainly because his inhibitor was damaged by Hozuki Gengetsu, and he needs to get a new one made.

Although a solution has now been found to prevent Wood Release from going out of control, it is still unknown whether the God Tree cells have other harmful effects. Moreover, after inhaling the inhibitor, the body's ability output efficiency can be improved significantly, making it a decent combat item.

However, after he finished using the hospital equipment, Tsunade grabbed him. There were two main issues. One was the specific course schedule for the next semester. Tatsuma had given Tsunade a general direction, but she was struggling to refine it.

Just then, Tatsuma came running over, so there was no harm in using his labor. The second thing was the year-end summary of the medical ninja training project. After all, this project was funded by the daimyo, so the progress and results needed to be seen by the daimyo.

Nonou, Jabami, and their cohort were on a pilot program, so they weren't included in this project. However, this current cohort, which is about to graduate, represents the official project outcome, and Hiruzen Sarutobi has been urging them to complete it since last month.

For Tsunade, this year-end summary was like optimizing a modified version of the Minor Ailment Extraction Technique for Tatsuma. Tsunade had been working on it for a month and had only written a title; she hadn't even finished the table of contents yet.

Tsunade didn't care whether Tatsuma could actually write this stuff or not; as long as he could write it better than her, that was enough. Coincidentally, Tatsuma really could.

Writing a project summary report after eight years of hard work, only to be criticized by my own boss, brought back that long-lost sense of familiarity.

"Achoo!"

Tatsuma sneezed again, and simply tore open a tissue to plug his nostril. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Tsunade taking disinfectant from a nearby cabinet. A vein throbbed on Tatsuma's forehead as he said:

"Teacher, that's going a bit too far!"

"As doctors, we need to pay more attention to hygiene than others!"

Tsunade spoke righteously, then sprayed disinfectant into the air, found a few masks, tossed them to Tatsuma, and said, "Use them sparingly; these are teaching materials for the next five years."

As an outstanding medical ninja, Tsunade almost never wears a mask, only teaching others how to wear one at the very beginning of her training.

She still maintains the same stance: "Do as I say, not as I do."

In fact, Tatsuma also has a habit of not liking to wear masks, even when healing others. This is a habit he developed on the battlefield where conditions were not so good. Also, when he was helping Tsunade detoxify and prepare poisons, wearing a mask was very inconvenient for his work.

However, this time, Chenma still obediently wore a mask. He didn't know why he caught a cold, but colds generally lead to a decrease in the body's immunity, so it was good to be careful in a place like a hospital.

Tsunade stayed for a while before going to class, while Tatsuma continued working. Tsunade was still somewhat conscientious and even brought her lunch.

By the afternoon, Tsunade had finished her teaching duties for the day, and Tatsuma finally managed to come up with a detailed schedule for the courses. He also completed the table of contents and overview for the project report, which would be finished in another day.

"Knock knock knock~"

"Teacher, do you have a moment?"

A gentle voice came from outside the door. Tsunade, who was supervising the work, said cheerfully, "Come in!"

Nono pushed open the door and entered. Her eyes lit up immediately. Although she was wearing a mask and her hair didn't look very curly, Nono recognized Tatsuma at a glance.

She struggled to shift her gaze to Tsunade, handed her the scroll, and said, "Teacher, I've finished copying it. I'll study it carefully when I get back. Please keep the original."

Tsunade took it and said nonchalantly, "It's fine. It was written by Tatsuma anyway. With his memory, even if he loses it, he can just write it down from memory."

The conversation turned to Tatsuma, and Nonou openly looked at him, finding something to talk about. She said, "Thank you so much, Tatsuma, for giving me another opportunity to learn medical ninjutsu. How about I treat you to dinner tonight?"

Tatsuma put down his pen, glanced out the window, then looked back at Nono, shook his head, and said, "There's no need for a dinner party. It's just a technique; it's normal for fellow disciples to help each other."

Tatsuma's answer was exactly what Nono expected. In fact, ever since the last time she had dinner alone with Tatsuma, Nono could feel the distance that Tatsuma was deliberately creating, but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Looking at Tatsuma wearing a mask, she felt somewhat unwilling but still tried to start a conversation: "Tatsuma, are you sick?"

"It's nothing, I'm just not used to the change of seasons."

Tatsuma behaved very politely, but the next second, he closed the notebook in his hand and said, "I just remembered, I haven't gone to report to the Third Hokage yet. Teacher, it's all your fault."

After saying that, only a silver glint remained where he stood; he had long since vanished. Tsunade was about to get angry when she realized something was amiss.

She glanced at the utterly dejected Nono, as if she had suddenly realized something. She stood up, ruffled Nono's hair, and said, "Go back. Being impatient with Tatsuma is the most useless thing you can do."

That kid is just like my second grandfather; he always feels there are more important things to do, maybe only when he loses his ideals will he realize them.

As she spoke, Tsunade raised an eyebrow at Nono, who blushed, feeling embarrassed that her thoughts had been seen through. But she was also very confused. Who should she believe, Kushina or Tsunade?

But is he the same as the Second Generation Lord? He is indeed very similar, not only in terms of talent and ability, but also in his helpful and selfless heart.

"If you want to understand Tatsuma better, learning about the Second Hokage first should be helpful, right?" Nonou looked at Tsunade and said, "Sensei, could you tell me about the Second Hokage's story?"

"My second grandfather was the busiest person I've ever met; he almost never had time for himself."

The teacher and student strolled away from the hospital. Tsunade recounted the story of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, from her perspective, while Nono listened attentively.

Inside the Hokage's office, Tatsuma did indeed come to report for duty. He had returned late last night and was unable to do so. Although he was a little late today, fortunately, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not yet left the Hokage's office.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi is a leader who knows how to recognize and utilize talent, he also takes care of his subordinates' feelings. Under normal circumstances, he does not choose to leave work early and will stay in the office a little longer.

After all, some tasks require decisions to be made around the time before or after the workday ends. If you leave on time, some urgent decisions will have to be postponed.

After listening to Tatsuma's explanation, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded without much reaction. After all, the report on the plan and arrangements had already been given, and with Tatsuma's abilities, there wouldn't be any surprises when he sent those spies in.

This is only the first step in a successful infiltration. The key lies in launching an intelligence network operation and establishing a smooth information chain. After listening to the report, Hiruzen Sarutobi said:

"You've worked hard, Tatsuma. Now you should get some rest. Are you feeling unwell?"

Chenma quickly took off his mask, almost forgetting, and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing, I've just been at the hospital all day, so I'm just doing as the locals do."

Tatsuma made a small joke, and Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed along in perfect unison. He then said, "Minato has also managed to restore some of the intelligence links that had lost their relay capabilities."

However, the national conditions of the two countries are different, and the intelligence directions that Konoha needs are also different in the two countries. The difficulty on his side is not that high, but the complexity is much greater, so it may not be that fast.

"It just so happens that there's been some progress on Hyuga's side as well. For the next period of time, I won't be assigning your team any operations, but if you have any ideas of your own, you can also take on some missions that you're confident you can handle."

Tatsuma nodded and said, "If you don't mind, Hokage-sama, I'd also like to rest for a while. I've participated in quite a few battles recently and have gained some insights that I need to process and reflect upon."

"Haha, how could I mind? Konoha will eventually be handed over to you young people. The faster you grow, the better we old folks can entrust you with this heavy responsibility."

"Lord Hokage, you are joking. You are the pillar of the village now, and no one can replace you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi greeted him with a smile, and Tatsuma naturally echoed his laughter. He could tell that Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to mend the slight unpleasantness between the two of them, and Tatsuma would not refuse.

After all, the last time he "offended" Hiruzen Sarutobi was to gain benefits for himself and his side. He is an adult at heart and will not decide his long-term attitude based on likes and dislikes. He will not hesitate to offend when necessary, nor will he be aloof when it is time to make peace.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was very satisfied with Tatsuma's understanding. After all, because of Tatsuma, the reconciliation he and Hyuga had built up over the years had become strained. If he couldn't get Tatsuma's attitude back to what it was before, he would suffer a great loss.

The two made up and buried the hatchet with a smile, but this made Lu Jiu, who was hiding in the dark, very unhappy. The happy family drama was the worst.

(End of this chapter)