When Hiroki spoke, Kimimaro paused and gave a slight nod.
Looking up at Hiroki, he murmured, "Hiroki Aniki..."
Seeing Hiroki didn't object to the nickname, Kimimaro asked, "Is something wrong?"
Hiroki remained silent, studying Kimimaro's face with intense scrutiny.
His complexion was extremely pale, nearly bloodless.
If previously his pallor had been due to prolonged imprisonment in a dungeon without sunlight,
Now that he was living a normal life, his skin should have regained some color by now.
"Kimimaro does nothing but train except when he eats or sleeps. You really should talk him out of it," Mei said before stepping away for a moment.
"Kimimaro, tomorrow I'm taking you in for a medical checkup."
Kimimaro showed a hint of confusion. "Hiroki Aniki, my body is fine."
Hiroki only shook his head, offering no explanation.
After surviving a Tailed Beast Ball and continuing such relentless training, he genuinely feared that the side effects of Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku might manifest sooner than expected.
The more one uses Shikotsumyaku and the higher its mastery level, the faster death approaches.
The next day.
Hiroki took Kimimaro to a hospital in Kiri for a full checkup.
"Hold on—can you even understand this?"
Snatching the report from the medic's hand, Hiroki smirked, "I understand it better than you ever could."
As he finished reading the report, worry flickered across his face.
Using hospital equipment, he extracted some cells from Kimimaro. Holding the test results, he brought Kimimaro back to their residence.
Seeing the two return, Mei curiously grabbed the report. "Whose medical report is this? Yours? These numbers don't match your body data..."
Hiroki gave her a half-smile. "You guys know my body data already?"
"Just for better treatment of your wounds," Mei replied calmly.
In truth, people in Kiri were quite curious how he had survived a direct hit from a Tailed Beast Ball unscathed.
Unfortunately, in the end, no unusual traits were found in his body.
They could only attribute it to luck.
"This is Kimimaro's report."
"All these indicators are far above average human levels. His body is much healthier than most." Mei remarked.
[Recognition from a decade-long fellow bookworm! Yeguoyuedu — an awesome book app recommended to me! Super easy and fun to use; I rely on its audio playback to pass time while driving or before bed. Download at .yeguoyuedu]
"That's not called healthy—that's dangerous," Hiroki countered.
Kimimaro stood silently, as if none of it concerned him.
Even though they were talking about his own body, he appeared indifferent, as if he knew nothing about it.
"The stronger a Kekkei Genkai is, the greater its side effects. For example, overusing the Sharingan causes blindness. His Shikotsumyaku also has its drawbacks..."
"What about the Byakugan's side effect?" Mei couldn't help interrupting.
Hiroki glanced sideways at her and continued, "It's exactly because the Byakugan is so mild that even the least skilled ninja start eyeing it greedily."
Compared to being gentle, it's more accurate to say the Byakugan's level is too low in the Ninja World. Without deeper abilities, there's naturally no excessive consumption either.
This sarcastic comment made Terumi Mei feel slightly embarrassed.
"Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku can control calcium concentration, generating bones. In other words, his body can produce unlimited bones as he desires."
"It might seem terrifying at first glance, but humans do have growth cycles. Even someone as powerful as Hashirama Senju couldn't escape natural laws."
"Each time Kimimaro uses the Shikotsumyaku, his lifespan decreases."
"The only thing that can buy him more time... is turning him into a Jinchuriki."
Hearing this, Terumi Mei felt a chill crawl down her spine and couldn't help but scrutinize Hiroki carefully.
So that was it. Was all that earlier talk just leading up to this? Was Hiroki after the Tailed Beast all along?
Regarding their relationship, although Hiroki Hyuga had been bedridden for several months, it didn't affect his importance in Kimimaro's heart at all.
Making Kimimaro a Jinchuriki wasn't much different from letting Hiroki Hyuga directly control the Tailed Beast.
"You're full of information today," she remarked with detached amusement.
"Actually, I'm also a Medical Ninja," Hiroki replied calmly.
A strange emotion stirred within Terumi Mei.
Strangely enough, she found Hiroki Hyuga rather straightforward.
The first time they met, he talked about helping her become Mizukage, obviously intending to use her to manipulate Kiri.
Now he was directly telling her he wanted the Tailed Beast.
He conducted himself with consistency.
His confidence carried the weight of someone who believed every desire was within reach.
Where did this confidence come from?
Shaking her head, she dispelled these odd thoughts.
"The living may be spiritually dead; the dead may still live in spirit." (A philosophical reflection from an ancient Chinese writer, often attributed to Lu Xun)
Shikaru was one of those men — alive, but treated as if he were long gone.
Right now, his only value was imprisoning the Three-Tails.
Once a suitable candidate was found to become the new Jinchuriki, extracting the Tailed Beast from him would allow Shikaru to die honorably.
Terumi Mei didn't respond. She excused herself with work and left.
She couldn't decide, nor would she lightly determine the Three-Tails' fate so easily.
Of course, she indeed was quite busy.
Genshi had been intensively grooming her, so naturally, Terumi Mei had been constantly learning how to handle administrative affairs under his guidance.
Watching her walk away, Hiroki allowed himself a quiet smile.
He had remained in Kiri far longer than planned — long enough to suffer serious injury over it.
Naturally, he didn't want to leave empty-handed.
He didn't know exactly when Kimimaro's bloodline disease would erupt in the original story, but now observing Kimimaro, he really did show those symptoms.
Therefore, he planned to make Kimimaro into a Jinchuriki first to extend his life by several years. Then he'd try persuading Kaguya to change her mind, not extracting all Tailed Beast chakra.
Finally, he'd look into any progress made by Shimon Hiruko — potentially using it to cure Kimimaro or at least greatly improve his constitution.
After Terumi Mei left, Kimimaro finally asked, "Big Brother Hiroki, what exactly is a Jinchuriki?"
"Do you remember that giant turtle that almost got us killed? By sealing it inside your body, you can gain its power. That's what it means to be a Jinchuriki — wielding its power." Hiroki explained calmly.
"A Jinchuriki?" Kimimaro murmured to himself.
"Kimimaro, from now on, your responsibility will be to protect me."
Kimimaro hesitated briefly, then firmly nodded.
"By the way, how's it going between you and Terumi Mei?"
After pondering for a moment, Kimimaro looked somewhat confused before shaking his head. "I don't know."
Hiroki remained silent.
From that answer, it looks like he was another one who had no idea what 'intimacy' even meant.
"No problem, there are many ways."
Konoha, Hokage's office.
"Hokage-sama, a message has arrived from Mount Myoboku."
"Mount Myoboku? Ah, from Jiraiya then." Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted the report handed to him by an aide, a pipe in his mouth as he opened the paper.
"Let me see what he wrote this time..."
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>