The Devil of Konoha: Starting as a Medical Ninja

Chapter 99 When did the Hokage arrive?

"This is not a decision I can make. I will tell him, and how he chooses to proceed will depend on his own thoughts."

Kudo Yuuya gave a wry smile. Ever since Hiroji developed the new healing and regeneration technique, he had lost all interest in medical ninjutsu.

Even though he is now capable of performing resurrection and regeneration on his own, he has not yet regained his original conscientious attitude.

During this period, he became even lazier because he was in charge of treating Uchiha Sasuke. He would often disappear after finishing treating Uchiha Sasuke.

"That's good."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded and didn't say anything more. He certainly wouldn't have done this if Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki hadn't gotten into trouble.

However, the situation with Team 7 is quite complicated right now. Sasuke Uchiha is still in the hospital, and Naruto Uzumaki has just been released from the Root base.

As for their teacher, Kakashi Hatake, his strength after losing his Sharingan remains an open question.

As for the guy who was just there to make up the numbers, his parents went to the ninja academy yesterday because he wasn't mentioned during the class assignments. These things made Hiruzen Sarutobi have to be more careful.

Putting aside everything else, the Uchiha clan's only heir and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki certainly cannot die during the mission. The only medical ninja in the entire Hidden Leaf Village who can guarantee their survival is Hongzhi, who can perform the Regeneration Technique in a way that others cannot understand.

As Kudo Yuya's disciple, if her teacher disagreed, this matter would certainly not be able to be accomplished.

At least Kudo Yuya has softened his stance, but as for whether he can persuade Hiruzen Sarutobi, he's not entirely confident.

However, during his previous conversation with him, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that the guy had a high level of ideological awareness and that there was a high possibility that he could be persuaded.

Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived outside Sasuke Uchiha's hospital room with mixed feelings. Although he had already told Kakashi about it, he still needed to notify everyone individually.

Of course, he hasn't informed Naruto yet, since Naruto hasn't successfully mastered Shadow Clone Jutsu, so from a certain perspective, he can't graduate.

Arriving outside Uchiha Sasuke's hospital room, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the scene inside and felt that something was amiss.

Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously shook his head, then continued looking into the ward.

This time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was certain he wasn't mistaken. The medical ninja named Hiroji was currently dozing off in Sasuke Uchiha's hospital room, while Sasuke, who should have been lying there, was exercising on the floor.

At this moment, Sasuke Uchiha was soaked in sweat, but he was still training like crazy.

Upon seeing this scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately felt his blood pressure rise. Was this the scene that should be in a normal hospital ward?

The door to the room was pushed open, but the shadow clone, with its eyes closed, still didn't open them. No matter who came, it wouldn't be so bored as to cause trouble for Hiroji.

Even Kudo Yuya wouldn't say anything!

"Lord Hokage!"

However, Sasuke Uchiha's words the next second made the shadow clones feel that something was wrong. What did that old guy Hiruzen Sarutobi want to do here?

"You seem to be recovering well. You can rest assured about graduating from the Ninja Academy. In two weeks, you will participate in the Jonin Captain Exam with your teammates. This period should be enough time for you to recover..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi tried his best not to look at Hiroji lying on the hospital bed, but instead stroked Sasuke Uchiha's somewhat prickly head and spoke with a kind expression.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Although he felt a little strange, Uchiha Sasuke still thanked him respectfully. If he had to wait another year at the Ninja Academy, he would never have been able to seek revenge!

Having received the Hokage's assurance, it was natural to express one's gratitude.

"Um……"

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, released Sasuke Uchiha's bald head, and then looked at "Hongzhi" beside him.

"How long are you going to pretend to be asleep?!"

Compared to his previous kind demeanor, Hiruzen Sarutobi was now somewhat angry. Wasn't it a bit too much for a medical ninja to be sleeping so openly here?

While your talent and skill are indeed top-notch, you can't waste them like this!

"When did the Hokage arrive?"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, the shadow clone opened its eyes in confusion, stretched, and then looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi standing to the side with some surprise.

"Come with me!"

Upon seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened, but considering what was to come, he refrained from losing his temper.

Although I hate to admit it, that's the truth. People who excel in a certain area receive preferential treatment, and Hiroji is such a person. At least among medical ninjas, he is a high-ranking figure.

Those who are family know their own situation. Hiruzen Sarutobi knew perfectly well that even his former student Tsunade could not complete that new healing and regeneration technique. To put it bluntly, because of the existence of this ninjutsu, Hiruzen would be forever engraved on the monument of medical ninjas.

Even in the entire Hidden Leaf Village, such a medical ninja would be a remarkable figure.

A moment later, on the rooftop of Konoha Hospital.

The shadow clone looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi gazing into the distance and had the thought of kicking him down, but that was just a thought; actually kicking him would be too much.

"The boy who once devoted himself to studying medical ninjutsu has become lazy."

Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't criticize him directly; his tone was somewhat regretful. The development of medical ninjutsu was beneficial to Konoha, which was why Hiruzen Sarutobi cared about Hiroji. It was also because of this that Hiruzen Sarutobi felt somewhat disappointed after seeing what had just happened.

It's a real shame that a genius who should have continued to reach new heights in this field has become so lazy.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Developing a completely new medical ninjutsu is impossible in a short time."

Meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi's murky gaze, the shadow clone calmly said, "The level of medical ninjutsu has indeed been put on hold for a while. Hongzhi also plans to amaze Konoha Hospital again after some time, but not now."

"It's good that you have your own plans..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had originally wanted to say something, felt somewhat gratified at this moment. Since Hiroji had spoken, it proved that he had not completely fallen into depravity.

However, his goal this time was not to hear these things. Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha were both test subjects and beneficiaries of the new regeneration technique.

A brand new ninjutsu is bound to have some problems, which is why Hiruzen Sarutobi convinced Yuya Kudo, and of course, it was also the reason he convinced himself.

Chapter 100 The future of Konoha is in your hands

The team of Class 7 is already very impressive, leaving aside the one who was just there to make up the numbers.

Sasuke Uchiha, the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan; Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and son of the Fourth Hokage; and Kakashi Hatake, the pride of Konoha.

If such a team were to suffer losses, it would be a devastating blow to the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

Now, this strongest medical ninja is needed to protect the lives of these people, even if it can guarantee that nothing bad will happen to them.

But if something unexpected really happens, then the entire new generation of Konoha will basically be doomed.

He had promised Minato Namikaze that he would take care of Naruto Uzumaki, and he had also promised Itachi Uchiha that he would take care of Sasuke Uchiha.

He had just assured Kudo Yuya that nothing would happen to Hiroji. If something did happen, not only would others not be able to forgive him, but even Hiruzen Sarutobi would not be able to forgive himself.

"I see you don't have much to do at Konoha Hospital, so why don't you spend the next year working with Kakashi? Firstly, you can learn some other things, and secondly, you need to keep an eye on Kakashi and Sasuke's bodies. No one knows the situation better than you, the one who performed the surgeries on them..."

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi said the words he had prepared long ago. Although it sounded risky, Hiruzen Sarutobi said them anyway.

Moreover, having just become a genin, he certainly wouldn't be taking on dangerous missions for at least a year, which means that Hongzhi's safety is assured.

As for what will happen a year from now, we'll see, but he'll most likely have to return to Konoha Hospital to continue working as a medical ninja.

"Taking care of patients? That sounds interesting."

The shadow clone did not refuse the matter. Although it was only for a year, Hongzhi was still looking forward to it. The more blood of Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, the better.

Hiruzen Sarutobi placed Hiroji right next to them, which was fantastic. Putting aside everything else, Hiroji would feel a little embarrassed if something unexpected happened to the two of them.

"In that case, I'll introduce you to your partner after Uchiha Sasuke is discharged from the hospital."

Finding Hiroji interesting, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately finalized the matter. If everything went smoothly, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki's safety wouldn't be a concern during the year most prone to problems.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Hokage-sama."

The shadow clone sincerely thanked Hiruzen Sarutobi for such a generous gift.

With that settled, Hiruzen Sarutobi left Konoha Hospital. With this matter resolved, he still had many other things to attend to.

For example, tell Naruto that he has a brand new opportunity to retake the exam, or go and see Iruka who came out of the Root last night.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had just returned the Book of Seals, received news of Iruka's release, which made him feel a bit of a headache. Even though Danzo was in his current state, he still managed to make him feel uncomfortable.

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi did nothing wrong to Iruka, he still needed to go and check on him, since Iruka was the one who had to teach Naruto Uzumaki about the Shadow Clone Technique.

As the Hokage, he certainly couldn't intervene directly in such a matter, as that would make some people feel it was unfair. But with Iruka, no one would have any doubts.

After all, in Iruka's class, only Naruto Uzumaki failed the graduation exam, so it makes sense for Iruka to give him extra tutoring now.

"It seems that Root misunderstood you before."

Upon seeing Iruka, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and spoke, which startled Iruka for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"If it weren't for the Hokage, he would definitely have gotten a beating."

Iruka sighed. Looking back, he was genuinely disappointed, but upon closer examination, even if Mizuki confessed, the Root members would still have reason to beat him up to confirm the truth.

"There's nothing we can do about it. You should know that Konoha has been a bit turbulent lately. The day Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals, the Anbu arrested at least fifty spies..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with some distress. He hadn't expected that while the Anbu were preoccupied with the sudden appearance of the lightning-attribute spy, so many spies would infiltrate the area.

If Naruto hadn't been taken away by Root, it might have caused even greater turmoil.

"If the Anbu (secret agents) are more cautious in this situation, the entire village will become much safer..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously looked towards the Hokage Rock in the distance, and Iruka's gaze followed. At that moment, Iruka suddenly felt that compared to those who protected Konoha in the shadows, the grievances he suffered seemed to have no reason whatsoever.

Root is a law-abiding organization. Its status is not as high as that of Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Root cannot simply release someone based on the Hokage's words.

Moreover, if it weren't for the Hokage, he might have been delayed for a while longer until Root had thoroughly investigated his ancestors for three generations before he could be released.

Thinking of this, Iruka's gaze towards Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to contain a crystalline liquid.

"You just understand."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was just pondering how to start the conversation, looked at Iruka's self-satisfied expression and remained silent for a moment before uttering these common words.

Although it's unclear what Iruka was thinking, it seems there's no need to keep fooling him anymore; now he can carefully teach Naruto.

"You know about Naruto's identity. Whether he can grow up will determine whether Konoha can stand up to other ninja villages that also have Jinchuriki. Although his talent is poor, the future of Konoha is in your hands..."

Before Iruka could react, Hiruzen Sarutobi shoved a huge hat on Iruka, making him burst into tears of excitement.

"I will certainly live up to the Hokage's expectations!"

As expected, Iruka agreed with tears in his eyes, to which Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Tell Naruto that no one blames him. Let him prepare well for the make-up exam in ten days. This is his last chance to catch up with his peers. If he passes, he can face the Jonin exam with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura in half a month."

After giving some more detailed instructions, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly walked towards the Hokage's office, amidst Iruka's admiring, excited, and grateful gaze.