Konoha's Tatsuya

Several more days passed quickly, and Tatsuya devoted all his time to the daily training and practice of his clan's secret techniques. He maintained a relentless, high-intensity schedule. He hadn't even been this driven during his college entrance exams.

If it weren't for the fact that in the dangerous ninja world, a lack of sufficient strength could mean losing one's life at any moment, Tatsuya might have already found a way to switch careers. With his superior knowledge, wouldn't it be better to develop some business in the ninja world and become a wealthy, secure merchant?

One day, after a night's rest, a revitalized Tatsuya arrived at Team 31's usual meeting point, as he always did.

At the meeting point, Team 31's sensei, Ichikawa Shin, and Sakawa were already waiting. However, this time, there was an unfamiliar person standing beside Ichikawa Shin.

"Ichikawa-sensei," Tatsuya greeted, approaching and bowing respectfully to Ichikawa Shin. His gaze, however, couldn't help but drift towards the person beside his sensei.

This was a burly man of about forty, with long brown hair and a full beard.

Meeting Tatsuya's gaze, the middle-aged man smiled warmly and nodded in acknowledgment. He appeared to be a very kind person.

"Where did Ichikawa-sensei find another guy with such a fake smile?" Tatsuya wondered, turning his gaze back to Ichikawa Shin and muttering inwardly.

Smiling on the outside, cursing on the inside!

Tatsuya hated dealing with people like this. Who knew what kind of twisted schemes they were plotting behind those fake smiles? Their sensei, Ichikawa Shin, was exactly that type, and Tatsuya really couldn't stand having another one around.

"This is the client for today's mission. Once Teru arrives, I'll take you all on a C-rank mission," Ichikawa Shin explained with a smile, seeing Tatsuya's gaze shift to him.

Tatsuya understood. When he heard that they were going to be performing a C-rank mission, his brow furrowed tightly. This was Tatsuya's first C-rank mission.

The D-rank missions Team 31 had taken on previously were mostly extremely tedious, everyday tasks, and generally didn't involve any life-threatening danger. However, C-rank and higher missions were different. There was always a chance of combat occurring during the mission, and injuries or even death were common.

At the thought of potential combat, Tatsuya instinctively wanted to back down. He wasn't a native who had grown up in this world from childhood. Although the original owner of this body had fought in the Third Shinobi World War, Tatsuya, having transmigrated, couldn't yet view going to war and killing as a matter of course.

Beside him, Sakawa was clearly excited. For Sakawa, a higher-ranked mission meant more rewards and merit, a deeply ingrained source of honor for ninjas in this world.

Soon after, Yuuhi Teru arrived. Ichikawa Shin briefly explained the mission details and then led them out of the village.

During the Third Shinobi World War, both Sunagakure and Iwagakure had invaded the Land of Fire, causing immense damage. Now that the war had just ended, many villages within the Land of Fire had not yet recovered from the trauma of war.

According to Ichikawa Shin's introduction, the middle-aged man was a skilled physician from the village. He had been commissioned by the village to go to Kikyō Castle to provide medical treatment. Team 31's mission this time was to escort and protect this middle-aged man.

Ichikawa Shin didn't provide much detail about the middle-aged man, and Tatsuya and his team didn't ask too many questions. He was just an ordinary physician, not worth paying too much attention to.

After leaving the village, Team 31 hurried on their journey, covering half the distance in four days.

As night fell, Team 31 prepared to rest near a village road.

Throughout the journey, Team 31 had remained vigilant. Ichikawa Shin guided the three inexperienced rookies while constantly scouting ahead. The Land of Fire, having just emerged from war, was far from peaceful. They could encounter remnants of enemy ninjas or rogue ninjas at any time.

Tatsuya's mind was also highly focused, constantly comparing the knowledge he had learned with reality, quickly familiarizing himself with various ninja survival skills.

After a simple dinner around a campfire, Ichikawa Shin directed Yuuhi Teru and Sakawa to set up traps in the surrounding area. Tatsuya and the middle-aged physician remained by the fire.

"You're very diligent, sir, reading even while traveling. What book are you reading?" Tatsuya asked, noticing the middle-aged man engrossed in a book.

During the past two days of travel, whenever the middle-aged man had a moment to rest, he would take out a book and study it intently. This had piqued Tatsuya's curiosity.

"Hehe, this is a medical text," the middle-aged man replied, holding up the book for Tatsuya to see. A warm smile graced his face. "Medicine is a very profound field of study. A person could spend their entire life and only learn a fraction of it. I want to seize every opportunity to learn more, so I can help more people. Of course, this is also thanks to your diligent protection, which allows me to focus so intently."

"Then, sir, you are truly a role model for us youngsters!" Tatsuya said, feigning admiration, though he didn't believe a word.

When dealing with a phony like this, you couldn't take anything he said seriously.

After several days of interaction, Tatsuya was filled with suspicion towards the middle-aged man. He didn't know why, but although the man always acted very kindly towards them, Tatsuya felt uncomfortable whenever he smiled at him. This indescribable feeling was even more pronounced when the two of them were alone.

The middle-aged man smiled at Tatsuya's compliment, not saying anything, and continued to read his book intently.

"By the way, we've been traveling together for two days, and I still don't know your name, sir? You must be a highly respected physician in the village," Tatsuya inquired, his expression growing even more admiring.

"This is Shinno-sensei, a highly skilled physician," Ichikawa Shin's voice came from behind. He had returned with Yuuhi Teru and Sakawa.

Shinno!

Hearing this name, Tatsuya was greatly shocked. No wonder he felt a subtle sense of hostility and danger from him. It turned out he was Shinno, the remnant of the Sky Ninja Village, disguised as a physician traveling around.

The Sky Ninja Village had been defeated by Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War. Naturally, Shinno harbored deep resentment towards Konoha and its ninjas. Although he concealed it well, Tatsuya, with his keen perception, had detected it.

Tatsuya vaguely remembered that this guy later created a "Zero-Tails" and attacked Konoha with a flying fortress.

His shock was naturally reflected on his face, causing Shinno, who had been looking down at his book, to glance at him indifferently.

"Tatsuya, what's wrong? Do you know Shinno-sensei?" Ichikawa Shin, noticing Tatsuya's expression, asked curiously.

"Ah? So you're Shinno-sensei? I've heard of your great name even in the village! You're my idol! I want to learn medicine from you!" Upon hearing Ichikawa Shin's question, Tatsuya's mind raced, and he reacted extremely quickly. He took a brisk step towards Shinno, grabbed his right hand, and said with eyes gleaming with admiration.

Shinno was caught off guard and his right hand was firmly grasped by Tatsuya. His expression stiffened slightly.

Shinno almost cursed out loud! You want to learn medicine? Do you have to be so excited?!

Just as Tatsuya rushed towards him, Shinno thought he had been discovered and almost attacked. With his current strength, Shinno wasn't confident he could eliminate all of Team 31. Attacking would mean his identity was likely to be exposed. This was something Shinno didn't want.

"Tatsuya, you want to learn medicine? Didn't you always say you wanted to be a powerful ninja?" Sakawa said, looking at Tatsuya in disbelief.

"Tch! What do you know? Shinno-sensei isn't an ordinary physician. His medical skills are extraordinary! If I learn advanced medical skills from Shinno-sensei, I won't have to worry about getting injured on the battlefield! Only by surviving can I become a powerful ninja in the future," Tatsuya retorted disdainfully, still holding onto Shinno's right hand, his face filled with fanaticism.

At this moment, he fully embodied the essence of a crazed fan meeting their idol. Tatsuya, going full-on method actor, completely fooled everyone, including Shinno.

"Hehe, Tatsuya-kun, medicine isn't that easy to learn," Shinno said with a smile, having calmed down. He patted Tatsuya's hands.

He tried to subtly pull his hand free, but couldn't.

"Shinno-sensei, please teach me. I'm very smart," Tatsuya said, holding onto Shinno's right hand tightly, his eyes shining brightly at him.

Although this guy harbored ill intentions towards Konoha, his Body Activation and Body Regeneration forbidden techniques were valuable! He wondered if this guy had already developed these two medical forbidden techniques.

At this moment, Tatsuya had made up his mind to find a way to obtain information about these two forbidden techniques from Shinno.

Team 31's sensei, Ichikawa Shin, watched this scene with a grimace. Tatsuya's shameless behavior was truly embarrassing.

Yuuhi Teru, however, was silently mourning for Shinno. Seeing Tatsuya's actions, Teru knew that this guy was definitely up to no good again.

And so, for the rest of the journey, Tatsuya perfectly demonstrated to Shinno what it meant to be a "sticky nuisance," constantly testing the boundaries of recklessness.

"Wow, Shinno-sensei, is this a medical book about the human meridian system? What are these diagrams of the human body?"

"Shinno-sensei, the human meridian system is so complex! Can you explain it to me?"

...

Without any hesitation, Tatsuya grabbed a book from Shinno's side and began to loudly flip through it.

Shinno's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. He could no longer maintain his warm smile.