I don't own Naruto and I don't own The Gamer.
Don't worry if you don't understand some complicated words in a part of this chapter. Hahaha. That's the point.
Two days later.
"Tenteeeeeeen. Answer me."
"Huh?"
"Snap out of it. What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with me...?" She repeated the question dumbly. "Nothing. Nothing is wrong… if you think about it. I guess…"
"Then why did you mistake the sugar with the salt?"
"I… What?"
"Why did you put sugar instead of salt?" I repeated patiently, slowly putting my fork down.
"Huh… Why… It's better that way… right? Yeah! No..."
She looked at me confusedly. I shook my head as I considered her first messed-up dish.
It was really terrible, horrifyingly sweet and disgustingly slimy.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I don't know..." She sighed tiredly. "I... really don't know." She added when she noticed my deadpan look. "I'll just go… to sleep. Okay? Okay... Okay...?"
"...Okay?" I answered hesitantly.
"Okay."
She nodded slowly, stood up and left me alone at the table.
What was that? Problems with her team, again?
I washed the dishes thoughtfully and suddenly noticed a letter on the counter.
"What's that?"
I picked it up, reading:
To Farasuke-san
A letter for me? Why didn't Tenten notify me?
I hope it's not an Hyûga invitation… The seal certainly doesn't look like theirs.
I opened the letter. As it turned out it was another invitation, but not from the Hyûgas.
'
Farasuke-san,
As asked by one of our esteemed member, Yamanaka-san, you have been invited to attend the meetings of the guild of merchants, as the representative of the Farasuke family and of your shop.
The next meeting will take place tomorrow, at 10:00 am.
Cordially,
Sakamoto Hiroji, Upper Manager of the merchant guild
'
I hummed. So that was the meetings my mother went to sometimes. Should I go?
The day after.
Why am I here?
I was currently sitting on a chair, head hidden in my arms on a table.
Tables had been placed in a circle, and people were all sat in a similar way so that everyone could see each other. It was a meeting between merchants, and as the only remaining heir of the Farasuke family owning a shop, I was invited.
"Good morning everyone, let's pick up… uh... where we left off, and start the brainstorming!" A good-looking man with glasses stood up, wildly waving his arms around in unnecessary motions.
"But first, welcome to Farasuke-san, who has joined us for..." He looked at me thoughtfully, "the first time?" He asked me, to which I nodded. "The first time. As a replacement for… uh… his mother. My name is Sakamoto Hiroji and I will… uh, drive this meeting. Right. Please welcome Farasuke-san."
Clap. Clap. Clap. I stood up and bowed slightly to everyone.
"First on our planning is uh... the aftermath... of the battle a week ago. And... any ideas on what to remedy now that our economy is... disturbed?"
There were mutters of agreements all around.
"Sit straight!" Ino hissed next to me. She had been invited too, and had gone in her mother's place.
"Yeaaah." I groaned, leaning back in my chair.
Someone raised his hand.
"Considering what's expected of us… uh... merchants and... artisans, I think we need a new, uh... original... groundbreaking plan. That would innovate our... established thinking?"
"Hm. Hm." Everyone nodded.
Someone else spoke up. "That said, I think... I think a win-win concept is important... and, uh, critically vital for us. And the population of Konoha."
"Hm. Hm."
"We also need to... logically evaluate... a new uh… a newfound strategy by thinking... marginal new methods of, uh, strategizing." Another man scratched his head confusedly.
"Hm. Hm."
"Hey," I whispered, leaning towards Ino. "What the hell is going on?"
She shrugged. "No idea," she muttered, "They just share their ideas, I guess! But they act a bit weirder than usual… It was like that the last time too."
"Huh..."
"Ahem, everyone!" the guy with glasses from before, Hiroji-san, spoke up again, "Um… We should not... forget... the most important thing that we should be analyzing..."
Everyone looked at him with expectation.
"We need our uh... logical thinking to... match our ideas... by adapting...uh, a critical mindset?"
Huh? Aren't those the same thing?!
"From... the customer's point of view. Uh... we should consider the endeavor. From a user standpoint."
No, seriously, that's the same thing again.
Another man spoke up. "Then we should analyze... our current information. Right? And the various qualities and defaults of our uh... approach. Yeah."
"Hmm, the current, uh..." The woman speaking seemed to be concentrating intensely. "bizmeth! Doesn't match our new flagitation... if we want to move forward though... in a rhetorical manner. What should we do? I don't want to be a... leighster."
'Bizmeth'? 'Leighster'? 'Flagitation'? What the hell are those words?
"We'll need to reschedule!"
Huh?
"But we should try to vote for a new approach in the scheduling method first. Let's plan a logical process for that."
"Hm! Hm!"
What the hell was going on? Why couldn't I understand anything even though I had 155 Int?
I sighed and planted my head into my arms again.
The current guild of merchant didn't seem to be functioning well. All they did was 'planning how to strategize the new process for an approach of a plan'.
Which meant they talked about nothing. They did nothing. Big words. Complicated words. Empty words. There was no way the guild of merchants was composed of people like them.
"Hmm. Maybe we decided on something too specific." I heard someone speak up.
Huh? We decided something? When?
"I have no idea what we're actually doing." I declared lowly to Ino, to which she could only shrug back helplessly.
"We need to think larger… bulkier... What do you think?" Hiroji-san asked Ino confusedly.
"Uh… I guess! Sure, why not!" She agreed with a fake smile.
He snapped his fingers lazily in response.
"Excuse me," I raised my voice, exasperated, "I don't think we have time to decide on 'larger' things. We need to reestablish our damaged economy by rebuilding the most important shops at the very least, like the food ones, and make sure we-"
"No, no! You've got it all wrong!" He smiled indulgently at me. "In a brainwashing- I mean, uh, brainstorming session, we don't reject... ideas that others think of!"
"But you just rejected mine," I argued, crossing my arms.
"If time and; uh, personal restrictions make it more... difficult to think larger, then we should have uh... a discussion on how to... remove these issues. We should not jump... on solutions and fall into… uh... rabiatorism?"
"Uh-huh..." I nodded tiredly.
"Let's think about a... logical solution... on how to make it happen!"
"Um… How about bringing in more towns... from uh, around the area?" Someone proposed.
Oh, come on. Don't be ridiculous.
"Sounds good! Right?" Someone else agreed.
Huh?!
"No, no, no!" I protested loudly, rising up from my chair. "You can't invite other towns in Konoha right now, not before we rebuild more shops and get more military troops back in function, otherwise the other hidden-villages will know-"
I stopped myself as I noticed everyone glaring at me.
It was like they were screaming 'don't break our fun' or 'you're annoying'.
"U-uh… I mean..."
I gritted my teeth. It seemed they wouldn't listen to someone speaking normally. Very well, two could play that game.
"My earlier proposal is logically sustainable considering our strategic resources; a more gathered mindset with surrounding towns would cause us to remove our existing leverage and customer synergy, as several plans and processes would influence their critical approach to our stream-like… uh... bizmeth.
...Don't you agree?" I waved my arms around for good measure.
There was a silence as Hiroji-san scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"I see. Indeed... We should avoid uh... teaming-up with towns then. But… what about small villages?"
My eye twitched. "No no, wait! We would lose the initiative in a meaningful way! To avoid more eyeballs and maintain constant vigilance with a clear mind, we need to strengthen our current partnership transparently by... materializing a strategic and new bound from, uh, the current meta!"
"What are you talking about?!" Ino hissed, eyes wide.
"I don't know!" I whispered back.
"True, true..."
We both gaped as we turned to the man who was nodding pensively. He actually understood that?
"Then how about the uh... farms and other... campaign productions?"
I face-palmed. Ino sniggered besides me as he continued.
"By working on our simultaneous... product lines, we can arrange a new meeting for us to discuss … uh… different logical strategies with the farms to... boost our critical... mindset and uh... crystallize an original... connection. That way, we should be able to... appeal to them while also meeting our ends, it's a win-win!"
"Yes! Right?"
"That's... for sure?"
"Y-yeah."
"Ugh..."
I covered my face with my hands, more falling on my chair than sitting on it.
I gritted my teeth as I looked back up at the dumb man leading this meeting.
"If I may ask..." Everyone quieted down as they looked at me. "Why exactly do you reject the idea of focusing on rebuilding the main shops and waiting for our military resources to improve back to their usual level?"
The man hummed. "I didn't say I was opposed… but I think... sharing the same plan while involving the most people possible... will give rise to better discussions and brainwashing sessions." he blinked. "I mean, brainstorming sessions. Hahaha. Silly me." He laughed awkwardly. I just stared coldly at him as I wondered if they were all actually brainwashed. "Ahem… We need... a strong image combined with, uh, a strategic mind and a... combined logical approach… No need to be… erinaceous."
"No," I cut him, and he looked offended, "We don't even need to work together actually. We should-"
"We do!" He interrupted me, "Having all our ideas merge into a… uh… an empowered... synergy is-"
"What synergy? The way things are going, we won't get anything done. Why are you so fixated on this discussing system, on these brainstorming meetings?"
"We talk about our ideas, each giving his own opinion and we reach a… uh, a consensus to... calibrate our thinking on the process…? We are all… uh… sesquipedalians and funambulists here. Right? We're not snollygosters."
"Uh… Yeah!" Someone agreed.
"I... guess?" Another frowned.
"I don't think so," I said dryly.
A clock ticked ominously on the wall.
"You have an overwhelming ego," I started ranting to Hiroji-san, whose eyes widened in offense, "all of you, and you refuse to admit all your mistakes and errors, sweeping them aside. Hence all this nonsense. These empty words. You want to give the impression that you are actually doing something, all the while you could blame the others when their ideas are not good enough, and hide behind complicated words."
I paused, looking at each person. "This feels like a big miscommunication. How about actually deciding something for a change instead of playing dictionneers? How did it become like this?"
"Then we should reconsider this… uh, acrimony and... start over." Someone said.
"If you all you do is play merchant under false pretenses, take it somewhere else!" I snapped. "You've all done nothing but spout meaningless nonsense! You pretend to be smart with complicated words, is that really so fun? You're mistaking vague, complicated words for actual answers, while never lifting a finger and taking actual decisions! How can we move forward like that? Stop wasting our time!"
As I finished talking, I decided to check if they were truly brainwashed.
I activated my eyes.
Every merchant had black mana in their head.
'What the hell is that?' I frowned and [Observe]d a merchant.
Status effects: [Confusing Curse], [Light Brainwashing]
Someone placed mana in their heads to confuse them? How long had it been there?
The mana weakened, as the merchants considered my words, glancing at each other confusedly. Eventually, it faded into nothingness, and I knew they finally understood what I just said, as both status effects had disappeared.
Whatever it was, it was weak enough to be cured by something as simple as common sense.
"Y-you're right… I'm sorry." The man with glasses stated and he truly seemed ashamed. "I don't know how that happened… We usually are a lot more efficient."
"It's... all right..." I said, frowning.
If the merchant guild members were under a confusing effect, it would be easy to influence the decisions of the guild just with one opinion. And no one noticed because they used complex words that only they could understand.
"If I may ask, what is the most recent decision you agreed on?" I asked warily, a unpleasant feeling in my gut.
"The construction of a shrine," Hiroji-san answered, and then frowned. "Hm? It doesn't seem to be that good an idea anymore…"
"A shrine?! We have other priorities!" I scoffed as I checked everyone again with [Observe]. No one seemed to be affected anymore. "Seriously, why would anyone suggest that. Which deity would it be dedicated to?"
"Uh… I don't… know." The man admitted, and everyone shared uneasy glances.
"You don't know," I repeated, disbelieving. Hiroji winced.
I take it back. That curse must be pretty powerful to influence them so much.
"Who suggested that?" I questioned.
"I don't remember..."
"I remember," Ino spoke up, "It was Tenten."
"Pardon?" I turned my eyes on her. She had been the only one unaffected by the mana.
"It was Tenten." She insisted. "She owned a shop too, remember?"
"Yes… But she's not here… Why is she not here?" I asked everyone.
"She was there last time." Someone pointed out and mutters exploded in the room.
"This is preposterous!"
"Someone manipulated us"
So she was under a confused curse too? That would have explained her behavior for the past couple of days. Someone had to have influenced her, she couldn't be behind that.
"Regardless," I shook my head, and raised my voice, " Quiet! Let's not waste any more time. Everyone agrees that we should focus on rebuilding the shops and restore our resources?"
Nobody argued, all ashamed. Some were still a bit confused, but not because of a curse.
"Good! You should report what happened here to your father, Ino. No, everyone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go."
I stood up and stomped out.
Hours Later.
"Where is she?"
I couldn't find Tenten, even after looking for her everywhere with my World's True Vision, or searching for her chakra signature, she was untraceable.
I was currently meditating in front of my house, using eyes and chakra sense to search for her, for no result.
"Kurota!"
I turned to the source of the voice.
"Kurota-kun. I see you are doing some youthful meditation." Gai grinned. "Did you think about... Jiraiya's proposition?"
"No. Where's Tenten?"
"She's with Yamanaka-san." He smiled sadly. "She's been very... stressed lately. Ino invited her."
"I see." I sighed. The Yamanaka clan would probably dispell the confusion curse if she had one, as I only used words and common sense the whole guild of merchants. "I hope she'll be okay…"
I blinked. Wait a second…
How could she be at the Yamanaka's? I didn't sense her there. I hurriedly checked again with my eyes. No, she wasn't there. Not was she with any Yamanaka. She was still nowhere to be found.
I turned my gaze on Gai, suddenly suspicious. Could it be?
I narrowed my eyes, concentrating on his head. It was scattered in small particles, but there was black mana there.
"You got brainwashed," I stated casually, and the particles weakened.
"What are you talking about?" He laughed. "I'm not..." He frowned, clearly thinking back on something. The particles completely disappeared. "I… Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did I say that?" He wondered. "I didn't see Tenten or Ino today… Genjutsu?"
I stayed quiet, growing more worried by the second. I closed my eyes and this time I focused on finding people with black mana in their brains.
There didn't seem to be anyone else at first glance.
"You should report that to Yamanaka-san too," I suggested.
This affair was dangerous because it might reveal the existence of mana to Konoha. Now, maybe that wasn't a bad thing, but I still remember Ruri's words.
'There has to be a reason why nobody in this world has mana. I suggest you find out why... I don't think it's natural.'
This was dangerous, it was best to be cautious. There was something behind it all, that made me feel revealing mana to the world would be a terrible idea.
Gai shook his head. "Yes. Yes, I'll pass to the Yamanaka's... Anyway… As I told you, you should prepare to travel with Jiraiya-sama."
"I told you. I'm not going." I rolled my eyes, to which he winced.
"Actually… It's an order from the council… They asked me to warn you. They want to see you tomorrow."
Crap.
The day after.
"This is stupid. I'm not going to travel with Jiraiya."
The council of Konoha sighed as they exchanged glances. Danzô was one of their members.
"We have received information from Jiraiya. It seems an organization called Akatsuki is trying to kidnap you. Do you have any idea why?" The old man named Homura asked.
"Of course," I answered. "They said they needed one of my technique to heal one of their friends. They were rather polite about it actually."
Even now, I had a clone staying by my mother's bed to heal her regularly.
"Yes," the woman nodded. "We cannot allow that to happen. Furthermore, in sight of the power of your jutsu, we have established that you were too important to risk. Konoha is very vulnerable these days, constantly traveling with a sannin by your side, would not only make it hard for them to track you, but also assure your protection."
"Naruto is already with him." I frowned. "Do you really want to put all your eggs in the same basket?"
The council fell silent as Danzô hummed quietly.
"Jiraiya didn't ask for our permission before taking the Kyûbi," He eventually mused. "Without Hokage, the power-balance is destabilized and our shinobi are disorganized. We sent Jiraiya on a mission to find the best candidate for the position of Hokage, as fast as possible." His expression shifted for an instant, before going back to stoic. "For him to take the Kyûbi with him was not a bad decision per see..."
His expression was impenetrable as he stared at me.
"It is true that not having the two of you at the same place would be preferable, as Akatsuki is after you both," He smirked, "Which is why we have a proposition. We will allow you to stay in Konoha."
He paused, considering my reaction. I merely nodded for him to continue, waiting for the catch.
"In exchange, you will teach your medical technique to our best medic-nins."
I expected that much. I wasn't really against it, as it could only do good to have such healing power at our disposal, but I'd prefer to finish the mana rarity quest first.
"It cannot simply be taught," I argued, "You need to have extensive intelligence, knowledge, and experience, as well as being in decent physical shape and also meeting certain prerequisites. Honestly, I have yet to meet someone who could fit the requirements."
Requirements being, specifically, 45 Int, 50 Wis, and 30 Vit. For me anyway.
For a regular person to learn that technique, he would also need to have a Mana Affinity. Plus, I was pretty sure the requirements the skill book showed to me was the strict minimum. Which meant it would still take years for a normal person to learn the Mind Heal.
"Surely it is not..."
"To give you an idea," I cut the woman who tried to speak up, "Even an old monk I met who had spent his life studying and meditating, barely met the requirements."
"Then why were you, a mere twelve-year-old genin..."
"Thirteen, actually."
"… able to master such a technique?"
"That's because I'm an unprecedented genius." I smiled.
"You have passed a secret IQ test when you were at the academy," Danzô took out some papers and tended them to me. "While the results showed you were rather smart, it was still nothing special."
I scanned the papers, and my eyes quickly went down to the result. 131 IQ.
As expected. Well, I'll give them the excuse I prepared, a half truth.
"I'm not sure, but I think I unlocked a bloodline two weeks before the academy."
There was a heavy silence as the three stared at me, waiting for more. It seemed they had already come to such a conclusion, and expected to give them more details.
However, before I could continue, we heard some muffled noise outside the room. Voices were coming towards us.
"Y-you can't! They have an important reunion, you must not interrupt. If you want an audience, just take an appointment and come back lat-"
"Nonsense!" Another voice shouted, "I have already gone through too much paperwork today!"
Someone slammed the door opened.
"Worry not, Kuro-chan, I have the answer!"
Everyone turned to the door, and I widened my eyes as I recognized the woman.
"Mom?!"
"Not quite!" My aunt laughed as she sat by my side in a weird position.
"Aunt Sakiko?! What are you doing here? How did you..."
"I met Hitomi-chan, she filled me in on the situation," she grinned and nodded to each member of the council. She met my clone? "Now, I believe you..."
"This is a private meeting," Danzô cut her, "Leave this room immediately."
"I'm family, I'm family," Sakiko waved her hand derisively, "I can answer your questions! This is about Kuro's unexpected genius, huh?"
And she listened to us, too? Must be that perception thing again.
Danzô narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but thankfully the old woman cut him.
"This is unexpected. What can you tell us that he can't?"
"I know about our family's bloodline."
I blinked. What was she talking about? Did she know my plan? I sat there in silence, hoping she knew what she was doing.
"Speak," the other old man urged, eyes suddenly twinkling.
"Once it activates, our mind becomes special. It allows us to think rationally and logically, a clear, peaceful state of mind in any situation. Thus, it favorites learning and boosts our already good intelligence. Right, Kurota?"
Gamer's Mind?
...Roll with it.
"Sure..."
"Hitomi told me yours activated two weeks before the academy graduation. Does that match what you know?" She turned the three members of the council.
"It certainly explains lots of things," Danzô acknowledged, contemplating the woman by my side, "But not everything. There are still unexplained, suspicious facts, and you could also be lying."
"This is not a trial," I said, earning a glare from Danzô, "This is a meeting to discuss whether or not I should travel with Jiraiya. The answer is no. But," I rapidly added before they got a chance to argue, "even if I cannot teach my jutsu, I can still use it on others. I can heal lots of people if I stay here, you just need to trust me. It is not an exhausting technique, I could do it all day."
The reason why I didn't heal people was to keep the skill secret. Now that they knew about it, there was no need to hide it anymore.
"Hmm… It is true that numerous civilians and shinobi suffered lots of injuries," The old woman mused.
"We do not know what his jutsu exactly does, we cannot take the risk," Danzô replied dryly. "The fact that sensors can't feel any chakra during its execution is another unknown. Our doctors will never accept such a suspicious jutsu to be used on their patients. We should study it, and attempt to replicate it."
"You. can't." I denied categorically. "It's not a power you can inject or transplant into someone, like the sharingan with Kakashi. It has to be understood by your brains. Anyone can do it, it's not a matter of genes. It's a matter of brains."
"That's what you say," Danzô replied coldly, "You could lie to protect the secret of your technique."
"The facts are," Homura interrupted, "This young man's mother is still alive and pregnant even though she should have died from her injuries. Should we really forbid the use of such a technique when its effects are so clearly positive? We are missing a lot of potential value. We also recently received two owners of the sharingan, Kakashi Atake and young Sasuke Uchiha, in our Hospital a couple days ago. They are in a deep coma. Perhaps Kurota-kun can try to heal them? He could try it with mundane injuries to begin with."
"Too risky." Danzô insisted. "Don't you see the potential such a technique would offer if we could unravel its secrets? Not only that, but we have witnessed some of his other original jutsus, they could change our place as a village in the world of shinobi. We just don't understand how it works yet. And there is the matter about that other suspicious girl which came walking in the village like a mill and left by using an other suspicious technique generating a portal... without chakra, again."
Aunt Sakiko raised an eyebrow at that.
"For now, we need to rebuild our village and heal our military force as fast as possible." Koharu declared. I exchanged a wary glance with my aunt, noticing the use of 'for now'. I hoped it didn't mean what I thought.
I'll have to prepare something just in case.
"We should let him try his technique on a proper injury in a controlled environment. The doctors reported that it could be a new type of medicine that had a lot of potential, and the few people he has healed have not suffered any side-effects, and have all been spectacularly revitalized."
"I can heal certain things that wouldn't normally be 'heal-able' too," I nodded. "But not everything." I grimaced as I showed my two missing fingers, causing my aunt to gasp in surprise.
"The council has voted," Homura smiled, "This is two against one, Danzô. Now, let's talk about the conditions and terms..."
Later.
Danzô had still continued to argue that I should not be left alone without protection, so now I would be accompanied at all times by an ANBU, even though the village was short on shinobi. As a consequence, I could not disappear in an Instant Dimension again to train Mind Heal.
Fortunately, I asked for Yugao-sensei to be the one affected to me.
"You got in trouble again, didn't you?" She smiled from behind her mask.
"You all keep assuming I'm the one getting in trouble. I personally think the trouble is coming for me." I replied.
We were walking towards the hospital. I checked every person I saw for black mana particles, but I had yet to find a Confusing Curse. Tenten was still nowhere to be found too, it was worrying me.
My aunt had gone to my house, deciding she would live there for the time being. She briefly said she would explain everything about this bloodline so similar to Gamer's Mind once I came back.
Danzô also wanted to have the Farasuke name recognized as a clan, as it was now official that we possessed a bloodline. Not sure how to feel about that, since it should be the Mifune clan, not the Farasuke. As the only remaining member and heir, I would get to be invited to regular parties, tea ceremonies, this kind of thing. It would also grant me a minimum of political power, as I would also be invited to strategic reunions and such. I'd even get a say in certain choices decided during these reunions.
Yay.
"Yo-you are here," A doctor recognized me when we arrived. "We have prepared various patients, all with increasingly worse injuries to test the limits of your technique..."
I ignored him, completely disregarding the conditions and terms the council had asked me to respect. Instead, I headed for my mother's room.
"Hey," I called my clone who was nearly sleeping, his head on his arms, reposing on the bed's side.
"Hm? What?" he blinked confusedly.
"Dispel. I need the experience now."
"All'ight..." he yawned and exploded in smoke.
[Mind Healing: Being's Restoration]'s level as increased by one!
"Don't you want to begin with the doctor's list?" Yugao asked, watching as I made another clone to watch on my mother.
"And have my technique studied? No, thanks, I'll start with Hayate-san. See if my current level is enough. After all, I agreed to heal people, not in a specific order. I'll heal everyone anyway."
She fell quiet, tensing as we made our way to Hayate's room.
I stopped beside his bed, put my hand on his chest, and released a Mind Heal.
The green light lit up the room, engulfing various parts of Hayate's body, searching for injuries. Eventually, the light expanded to engulf all his body and dissipated.
Then he opened his eyes.
And coughed.
"What… Where am I." He blinked warily and coughed again.
"Hayate!" Yugao took his hand. "You're okay. You were hurt and in a coma. Thank god you're okay."
"What… happened?"
We heard gasps around us. Various doctors and nurses were peeking in the room, not daring to enter for some reason. Probably because I didn't let them near my mother as a clone.
"Don't thank god," I smiled, feeling a bit cocky as I anticipated all the person I would heal today. "Thank me. Next patient…"
I started walking from room to room, healing each patient the best I could. Yugao followed me but didn't interrupt. She didn't want to bother me in my work and almost seemed shy.
At the fourth room, the hospital had become rather loud. Most of the patients insisted on following me to watch the healing process for the others, cheering every time someone got out of bed. Doctors tried to stop them and asked them to get back in bed to check if their injuries were truly healed, but most didn't care. Thank yous and grateful hugs kept showering on me.
Eventually, I arrived at a small girl's bed. A woman was sat beside her bed, with a hopeful expression.
"P-please help us," She pleaded, hope filling her eyes. "A tumor is growing inside her head, she's going to die in a month..."
I raised my hand and used Mind Heal.
The light searched the small girl's body for a time before settling on its head. It intensified a lot, illuminating the room by his blinding light, and dissipated. The tumor's size had been reduced a little.
I cast the skill again, and again, and again, causing the mother to panic. After the twelfth try, the tumor was completely healed.
"Done," I declared simply.
They exploded in tears and hugged each other.
"Thank you so much! How could we ever repay you, we are forever in your debt!"
'Is it really all right to go around healing everyone like that?' I thought as the two grabbed my hand and thanked me profusely. Honestly, it felt a bit surreal.
It was surely not smart nor wise, as it would attract even more attention to myself… If this got out of the village, every injured people of the country, no, perhaps even the world would start a journey towards Konoha just so I could heal them.
Because, unlike hospitals, I healed for free. And I did it better too.
But it definitely was the right thing to do. Helping people. I was truly glad The Gamer's power came to me, glad I could be useful to people for something other than taking missions or killing enemies.
"Here," I touched the woman's shoulder and cast the skill again, healing the minor inconveniences in her body. "Next."
"Uoooh!" Everyone cheered again.
I kept advancing numbly through the hospital with a schooled expression, my Gamer's Mind raising an invisible wall between myself and the crowd. I would have started crying with them otherwise, as I was definitely not used to such affection and gratitude.
Some people, missing some limbs or important organs, or with other conditions or too heavy status effects, like complete blindness or paralysis similar to my mother's, I could not heal. At these times, I apologized profusely, promising I would keep trying as I perfected my technique.
Eventually, I healed Kakashi and Sasuke too. While the first was a bit surprised at the crowd following me everywhere, the Uchiha was a bit grumpy and jumped out through the window when people tried to cheer for him. It seemed seeing his brother again didn't do him any good.
Eventually, an afternoon passed.
And just like that… I healed the majority of the hospital.
I brushed my pants as I stepped outside, rather proud of myself. After cheering many times and even throwing me in the air, the patients had eventually reluctantly returned to their beds to be checked by doctors, but only after I promised to come to their celebration party.
Yay.
"Kurota-sama! Please heal my daughter!"
I blinked as I looked around me. Another crowd of people had waited outside the building and now surrounded me.
"Please heal my baby! He was born with a weak body!"
"I can't digest properly!"
"My legs have been weakened!"
"Sensei! I want to be healed too!"
"I scratched my thumb! Please heal me!"
Yugao stepped forward, protecting me from the crowd as I heard the familiar sound and saw a window open in front of me.
Ping!
A quest has been created.
Quest Alert: Heal 1,000 people!
Rumors have spread about your healing powers after demonstrating your skill in Konoha's hospital. Continue to display your ability to heal by casting a Mind Heal on one thousand persons!
People healed: 0/1,000
Completion reward: 1,000,000 XP, new title
YES/NO
A heavy sigh escaped me as I read the description.
I clicked on 'Yes'.
A/N: Thanks for reading. The inter-Celtic festival is going to happen this week in my town. It's a pretty big thing that I'm going to enjoy a lot, so it is possible there will be another delay for the next chapter. If there is, I apologize.
Omake :(Cannon)
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No! Shut up." Kisame groaned.
I groaned back to him as I walked with the two missing-nins in the forest.
"We could at least talk a bit," I complained, being bored as hell. "Like, let's do the game of twenty questions. Itachi?"
"What is it?"
"Why did you kill all your family?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"… You should shut up, brat." Kisame smirked.
I sighed.
"What about you? Why did you become a missing-nin?"
"The goal of Akatsuki appealed me."
"What, kidnapping children?" My eyes widened as I attempted a joke. "Don't tell me you're a pedo-"
He drew Samehada from his back, eyes suddenly threatening.
"Woa, woa! I was kidding!" I waved my hands and hid behind a nearby tree. "I came here in peace! Okay? So I expect to leave in one!"
"..."
"..."
"Piece," I added awkwardly, as they didn't seem to understand. "I expect to leave in one… piece. Haha... Get it?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"… Shut up, kid." Kisame smirked.
Dammit.
