Shizune was beautiful.
That was Ishiki Kujo's very first impression the moment he saw her.
She was the same age as Kakashi, just two years older than Ishiki—still young, still with that clean, ageless charm.
But what made Ishiki like her even more… was her perfectly preserved babyface.
She was quiet too. When she saw Ishiki, she simply nodded with a gentle smile.
Ishiki returned the gesture with equal calm.
This surprised Renge, who'd been waiting all evening to see her little brother trip over his tongue. She'd even mentally prepared a laugh track.
Ishiki, as if reading her mind, shot her a look that said, Really? You thought I'd fold that easy?
After dinner, Ishiki didn't beat around the bush. He straight-up said he had medical ninjutsu questions and wanted to consult Lady Tsunade.
"You can ask me the general stuff," Shizune replied, voice soft and soothing. "I'm fairly good with medical ninjutsu."
"That's great," Ishiki smiled. "I built up a backlog of questions on the frontlines—especially about chakra scalpel techniques, how to assist patients with recovery, and the crafting of poisons and antidotes."
As he spoke, he got up and returned from his room carrying several well-worn notebooks.
On the battlefield, he'd encountered all manner of injuries. While Moody Blues had helped him absorb a lot during his time at Konoha Hospital, and he'd participated in surgeries alongside jōnin medics in the war camp, those interactions were more peer-level than mentorship—so he hadn't been able to ask the deeper questions.
Combining Yin Release chakra with Hamon produced incredible healing results, but some conditions couldn't be solved with life energy and accelerated cell regeneration alone.
As for chakra scalpel usage? He was still in learning mode.
And poisons? Definitely not his forte.
His real expertise lay in combining Mystical Palm and Ripple to boost recovery and natural healing.
At first, Shizune answered everything diligently.
But the deeper they went, the more overwhelmed she became. She was starting to feel hollowed out.
He's only thirteen, right?
How could he be this skilled?
His depth in medical ninjutsu, his diagnostic instincts, the precision of his analyses—it was like talking to a veteran medical jōnin, not a teenager.
Eventually, she couldn't answer some of his questions at all—especially those related to Mystical Palm's synergy with Hamon and its impact on tissue regeneration.
She hadn't even fully mastered the Mystical Palm technique herself yet.
"It's late already," Renge interrupted, clearly seeing that Ishiki could go on all night. "Shizune, stay over tonight—we'll sleep together."
It was already past 11 PM. If she didn't stop them, Ishiki would've kept grilling Shizune till dawn.
Ishiki blinked. "Is it really that late? Sorry for dragging it out, Shizune-nee."
"No worries." Shizune wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead and smiled. "If you want, I can ask Lady Tsunade about your later questions. I think only she might be able to answer those."
"Really?" Ishiki's eyes lit up. "Thanks so much! How about I treat you to a meal?"
"No need, really, it's nothing." Shizune waved her hands rapidly.
"No, no—deal's sealed," Ishiki pressed. "You free the day after tomorrow in the afternoon? I've got morning shift, I can pick you up."
Renge rolled her eyes so hard she could see her own brain. The sheer volume of her little brother's internal calculations was deafening.
Shizune didn't object, and Ishiki smiled wider. "Still got a few more concepts to wrap my head around. Alright, you two get some rest—I'll head to my room."
"Go on, go on, I already ran your bath," Renge called after him, dragging Shizune off toward the bathroom.
Ishiki shut his door with a smile still lingering on his face. But when he looked down, he found a familiar little pig staring up at him.
"Well hey, Tonton." He crouched and scratched her head.
His mind drifted back to earlier—Shizune, momentarily dazed from his barrage of questions, blinking in confusion.
That neat shoulder-length black hair, her soft white face tinged with fluster—it made Ishiki like her even more.
He liked that gentle, quiet vibe. Liked that they could talk deeply about medical techniques. It made the connection feel real.
He was still young, sure. But that just meant he had time to build something. Start slow. Ask her out. One meal at a time.
With that thought, Ishiki eyed his wardrobe. Nothing fit.
Thanks to training in Yang Release ninjutsu and physical conditioning, he'd shot up fast. Already past 180 cm. Most of his old clothes were too tight.
But he quickly tossed the thought aside and refocused on his medical notes.
What he didn't expect was that the very next afternoon… he'd see Tsunade herself in the hospital.
The Legendary Sannin of Konoha. The woman with fists that could crater mountains and hands that could snatch someone from death.
She wore an oversized coat, but it did nothing to hide her explosive figure.
"So you're the brat, huh? Not completely annoying to look at." That was the first thing she said as Ishiki entered her office.
Ishiki blinked, then glanced at Shizune, who stood beside her with Tonton in her arms.
"Lady Tsunade," Ishiki greeted politely.
"Shizune says you've got talent. You'll be sticking with me today. I've got some things I want to ask too," she said with no preamble.
Ishiki didn't quite get it, but he nodded. "Understood."
But instead of quizzing him, Tsunade loitered around the hospital a while, then got up to leave.
"Not going to check on any patients?" Ishiki asked, confused.
"Keep up," Tsunade said, not even glancing back.
Shizune gave Ishiki a helpless shrug and followed. Ishiki, naturally, had no reason to stay behind.
He wanted to see what Tsunade was up to.
He did not expect their next destination to be the Hyūga compound.
"Lady Tsunade," greeted a middle-aged Hyūga woman as they arrived. She looked pleased—something good must've happened recently.
"I'm here to see Koharu," Tsunade replied politely.
"She's with Yutai. I'll go call her. Please come inside and rest."
"No need. We'll wait here. I'm just checking in—I have other errands," Tsunade declined.
"Of course, of course. I'll go fetch her. Ever since Koharu lost her Byakugan, she's stayed within the clan compound. The clan head arranged a marriage for her, and she quit being a ninja recently."
The woman beamed with pride and ducked away to summon the girl.
And in that moment, Ishiki finally understood who Tsunade had brought him to meet.
His brow furrowed as he glanced at Tsunade—but he said nothing.
He simply followed her through the compound.
Silently, step by step, toward one of the victims of the Nine-Tails night.
One of the seventeen.
A former Hyūga kunoichi… now blind, retired, and about to be married off.
And Tsunade wanted him there.
Why?
He had a feeling he was about to find out.