Chapter 54 Medical Ninja

"You are stalking me, do you know that?"

"This is reconnaissance, stupid."

“That’s stalking.”

"No one asked for your opinion, Shino."

"Then why are we here?"

"I need a scapegoat."

"Okay, you're right. But you're such a troublesome guy. And you actually betrayed me!"

Shikamaru shrugged and said nonchalantly:

“She gave me meatballs.”

"Matsuko? Is that why you dragged me here?!"

"Don't expect to bribe me with balls." Ino said unhappily, "Also, all of you shut up and stop disturbing my concentration!"

Ino hid in the bushes, looking at Haruno Sakura in the distance, feeling very unhappy.

She had been seeing Haruno Sakura going to the hospital often recently. Sometimes she went there directly after school. She really had no idea what was going on.

What made her even more angry was that she didn't know when Haruno Sakura got together with Sasuke's gang, and seemed to have become good friends with Sasuke. The two of them were whispering in class, which made Ino feel jealous.

No, I have to find out the situation! She made up her mind, thinking that Haruno Sakura must have mastered some great secret.

She ran to ask Shikamaru, but that guy actually told her to ask Naruto!

Shikamaru refused to tell her the reason, so Ino decided to take revenge on him and forced him and Akimichi Chouji to hide in the bushes to monitor Haruno Sakura.

Of course, Akimichi Choji wouldn't refuse her as long as she bought him snacks.

After a while, Haruno Sakura appeared at the end of the road.

She didn't tie her hair into her usual straight ponytail today. Instead, she tied her hair up high and secured it with a leather rope. She looked like she had just finished training, and she had a confident smile on her face that Ino had never seen before, which made Ino even more upset.

Sakura Haruno walked to the hospital entrance and greeted a medical ninja. The older woman responded to her with a smile and even helped her open the door. This was really a blessing in disguise. The medical staff of Konoha Hospital were notoriously expressionless. What happened today?

"She comes here almost every day, so of course the staff know her." Shikamaru explained as if he could see through her thoughts.

"But what is she doing here?"

"I heard that she wants Sensei Ryouta to teach her medical ninjutsu." Akimichi Choji said casually while chewing potato chips.

Ino stood up suddenly;

"Ryouta? Is she crazy?"

"Maybe," Shikamaru said noncommittally, "But if Ryouta-sensei hasn't scared her off yet, I don't think he will in the future."

Ryouta, the boss of Konoha Hospital, a top medical ninja, a former jonin, has a hot temper, is difficult to approach, and is one of the scariest people Ino has ever seen.

She had only met Ryouta once. Four years ago, when her father returned from a mission, his leg was chopped off at the root. The elder used special ninjutsu to protect the severed limb and sent it back.

Ino's father stayed in the operating room for more than six hours, while she and her mother waited anxiously outside.

When Ryouta came out of the operating room with a tired look on his face, he completely ignored Ino and her mother, and walked straight to the elder and said in a tough tone:

"He cannot go on any mission within a month and needs to receive regular treatment, no exceptions! If I see his name on the duty roster, I will cut off his other leg too!" After saying that, he turned and left without even looking at them.

"Are you guys saying bad things about me?"

Sakura Haruno's voice suddenly rang in her ears, startling Ino.

She exclaimed, jumped up suddenly, and almost sat on Akimichi Chouji.

Fortunately, Akimichi Choji was quick to catch her and prevented Ino from falling.

Haruno Sakura stood in front of them with her hands in her pockets, a sly smile on her face.

Ino felt embarrassed and annoyed, and her face turned red.

"Who said anything bad about you, Big Forehead!" she stammered, trying to calm herself down.

Haruno Sakura was not angry, she just smiled and looked confident, which made Ino even more uneasy.

Who are you? Ino cried in her heart, is this still the Haruno Sakura she knew? The little girl who hid and cried because of the color of her forehead and hair?

The current Haruno Sakura is confident and calm, exuding an indescribable aura that makes Ino feel strange and jealous.

"Okay," Haruno Sakura said easily, as if Ino hadn't just scolded her, and then turned to look at Shikamaru, "Can I spare you a few minutes? I want to ask you something."

Shikamaru was stunned for a moment, and before he could react, Haruno Sakura continued:

"I want to learn medical ninjutsu from Ryouta-sensei. I heard he likes a special kind of coffee. Do you know what it is?"

"Why are you asking him this?" Shikamaru asked in confusion.

"I wanted to cater to his taste," Haruno Sakura smiled slyly, "I asked around, and Mr. Ryouta can't resist this kind of coffee."

"Then you have to ask my father. He knows more about this. Come to my house after school tomorrow. He happens to be back from the Sand Village."

Haruno Sakura smiled happily and winked at Shikamaru:

"Great! Come to my house this week for curry. I'll cook it myself this time!"

Shikamaru said with a bitter face:

"Can you guarantee that the curry you make this time won't be so spicy that it makes me question my life?"

Haruno Sakura snorted and made a face at him:

"You wish! But considering that you helped me, I will consider using less chili."

"Curry?" Choji Akimichi on the side suddenly became excited.

Shikamaru smiled and patted his head:

"I'll bring it to you next time."

"No need, I'll make some more and you can take it back and eat it slowly." Haruno Sakura said gently, then looked up at the sky, "It's getting late, I have to go, see you tomorrow!" After that, she turned and ran away.

Ino stood there, staring blankly at Haruno Sakura's back, feeling mixed emotions, not knowing what she was thinking.

******

Kakashi had just walked downstairs to the apartment building when he was almost bumped into by a little girl.

The girl had bubble gum pink hair, so it was obvious which class she was from. She ran past Kakashi in a hurry, full of energy, and her destination was probably the training ground.

"What on earth did Iruka-sensei feed these kids?" Kakashi muttered to himself as he used the instant body movement technique to arrive at Genma's apartment.

Speaking of which, he is only 50% sure that he can find Xuanjian. After all, this guy is rarely seen on his days off, but he is definitely not at the place where he is on standby, so there are only a few places left for him to go.

As soon as Kakashi appeared on Genma's balcony, he knew that he had come to nothing - Genma's chakra signal was very weak, and it seemed that he had never come back at all.

This leaves only two possibilities: either Xuanjian went to Iruka's place for a free meal, or he was hanging out with Leitong.

As for going to Lei Tong to find someone, Kakashi never even thought about it.

Fortunately, Xuanjian was finally found at Iruka's house, but Iruka himself was not there.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted Xuanjian standing outside the window.

"Yo," Xuanjian responded weakly, his arms still resting on his eyes, not wanting to move at all.

"Are you seriously injured?" Kakashi walked into the room and asked softly.

He leaned against the wall next to Xuanjian, observing his injuries calmly.

Xuanjian's chest was almost completely wrapped in bandages, and his right hand was fixed by chakra threads, making him unable to move.

Kakashi thought he should just stay in the hospital, but he felt hypocritical saying that, so he just kept quiet.

"Two died." Xuanjian's voice was low and slow. He stuck out his tongue and licked his dry lips, a little action he would only do when he was nervous.

"Chunin, we are all rookies. We were ambushed while on a mission. Luckily I arrived in time, otherwise..."

"It could have been better, couldn't it?" Kakashi said mercilessly.

Saying comforting words at this time will only make him feel hypocritical, so it is better to tell the truth.

"Do you think I don't want to?" Xuanjian sat up suddenly, grabbed Kakashi's collar, and said angrily, "If I hadn't been injured, those two brats wouldn't have..."