Chapter 112: The Eve (Double Length Chapter)
After sleeping soundly through the night, Taichi woke early the next morning feeling refreshed and energized. Once he finished his usual training, he planned to visit Yōhei and Saori.
Yesterday had been far too exhausting—so much so that he hadn't even had time to tell them about Captain Yamaguchi being seriously injured and hospitalized. If he put it off any longer, it would really be inexcusable.
After tidying himself up, Taichi headed straight for Saori's home. It was still early; the streets were nearly empty, and the morning sunlight scattered softly across his hurried footsteps.
He gently knocked on Saori's door.
The one who opened it was a smiling woman in her early thirties. Her features bore a clear resemblance to Saori.
"Good morning, Auntie. I'm Matsushita Taichi, Saori's teammate. I've come to see Saori about something," Taichi said politely, doing his best to make a good first impression.
"Oh my, so you're Taichi!" the woman said warmly.
"I'm Saori's mother—just call me Aunt Keiko."
Before Taichi could react, she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside, talking nonstop.
"Saori mentions you all the time at home, you know!"
Then she suddenly stopped, circled around Taichi, and examined him from head to toe, the smile on her face growing brighter and brighter.
"Mm~ what a handsome young man."
Without waiting for a response, she continued enthusiastically,
"You know, our family originally wanted to have a boy too—just for fun. Who would've thought we'd end up with a girl instead?"
At this point, Taichi was completely stunned.
He never would've guessed that Saori—usually so quiet and reserved—had a mother with such a… distinctive personality.
From the moment he stepped through the door until now, Taichi had managed to say exactly one sentence.
"Oh, right!" Keiko suddenly clapped her hands.
"You came to see Saori, didn't you? Come on, I'll take you to her."
Before Taichi could object, she dragged him deeper inside and called out loudly,
"Saori-chan! Come out! Look who's here!"
"Who is it, Mom? Why are you always making such a fuss?"
Saori's voice drifted over, followed by hurried footsteps. She soon emerged from the side yard.
Seeing Saori approach, Taichi felt a little awkward—his right hand was still firmly held by Aunt Keiko. All he could do was give a small wave with his left hand.
"Taichi!"
Saori exclaimed in surprise, quickly stepping forward and pulling his hand free from her mother's grip.
"Mom! Why do you keep grabbing people like that?!"
"Oh? Is little Saori jealous?" Keiko teased mischievously, then winked exaggeratedly.
"Alright, alright, I won't disturb you two while you whisper secrets. Bye-bye~"
"Mom—!"
Saori protested, but Keiko had already disappeared at lightning speed.
"…Sorry about that," Saori said awkwardly.
"My mom's personality is a bit… um…"
She trailed off, unable to find the right word.
"Haha, I think Auntie's great," Taichi said sincerely, a trace of longing in his eyes.
"With a mom like that, everyday life must be pretty fun."
A family like this—warm, lively, and close—was something he'd always yearned for but never had.
Though… the way Aunt Keiko had looked at him earlier felt suspiciously like she was evaluating a future son-in-law, which had made his skin crawl a little.
Noticing the expression that crossed Taichi's face when family was mentioned, Saori suddenly remembered—he was an orphan.
She quickly changed the subject.
"So, Taichi, what brings you here?"
"Oh—right!" Taichi slapped his forehead.
"I almost forgot the important part. Captain Yamaguchi was seriously injured during a mission and is currently hospitalized. I came to tell you—we should go visit him together."
"What?!"
Saori gasped, disbelief written all over her face.
"How is the captain now? Is he badly hurt?"
"He's fine now," Taichi reassured her.
"Let's go find Yōhei first. I'll explain everything to both of you at once."
"Alright—let's go now."
Saori didn't hesitate. She grabbed Taichi's arm and headed out, calling back toward the house,
"Mom! Taichi and I are heading out—we've got something to do!"
"Hey! That girl—Taichi just arrived and you're already dragging him away. You didn't even let him have a sip of water!"
Saori pretended not to hear, already pulling Taichi down the road.
And just like that, the quiet morning marked the calm before the storm.
When Aunt Keiko finally chased outside, Saori and Taichi were already nowhere to be seen.
"That little rascal," she muttered with a grin. "But she's got good taste!"
---
Passing through Konoha's central district and continuing south toward the village's outskirts, the two eventually arrived at the Uchiha clan compound. This was Taichi's first time setting foot in Uchiha territory.
Contrary to his expectations of tight security, the area wasn't restricted at all. Non-Uchiha were free to come and go, and among the people walking the streets were plenty of ordinary civilians.
"It's not much different from the rest of the village," Saori observed as she looked around. "Just more Uchiha clan members, that's all."
The atmosphere felt lively, even warmer than other districts.
Taichi glanced sideways at her, curious.
"So which version did you believe before coming here? That the Uchiha are arrogant, cold, antisocial, full of ambition… or that they're a cursed clan?"
"Uh—!"
Saori's fingers fidgeted together as her face instantly flushed crimson. Thankfully, she was walking half a step behind Taichi, so he didn't notice.
"…A bit of everything," she admitted softly. "It's just things people say."
"That's just rumors spread by certain people in the village who fear the Uchiha," Taichi said calmly.
"What clan doesn't have a few good-for-nothings?"
He sighed inwardly. As one of Konoha's founding clans, the Uchiha's eventual fate was nothing short of tragic. Of course, the clan wasn't without its own problems—but that tangled mess couldn't be unraveled in a single sentence.
Fortunately, that future was still far away.
---
They soon arrived at Yōhei's home. Seeing that it was even larger than Saori's house, Taichi laughed.
"Wow. You two really come from rich families. One house bigger than the other. Meanwhile, I'm stuck in a tiny apartment."
Saori chuckled but didn't argue. From her perspective, Taichi never seemed short on money—if anything, he spent more freely than either her or Yōhei.
Knock, knock, knock.
The door opened shortly after, accompanied by Yōhei's voice.
"Who is it?"
When he saw who was standing there, his words caught in his throat. After staring for a moment, he finally reacted.
"Taichi? Saori? Why are you two here? Did I get the training date wrong?"
"No," Taichi said directly.
"We're here to take you to visit Captain Yamaguchi. He was seriously injured during a recent mission and is currently hospitalized."
"What?! When did that happen?"
"Come on. I'll explain on the way."
Yōhei quickly informed his family, and the three of them headed straight for Konoha Hospital.
Along the way, Taichi explained as much of the situation as he could. When Yōhei and Saori learned just how severe the injury was—nearly half of the captain's right waist destroyed—they couldn't help but gasp.
When they heard that Captain Yamaguchi had still managed to make it back to Konoha alive, their respect deepened.
And when Taichi finally told them he was out of danger, both of them let out a long breath of relief.
"Taichi, you should switch careers and become a storyteller," Yōhei joked.
"You had me sweating just listening to you."
Before entering the hospital, they bought some flowers and fruit. Taichi then led them to Captain Yamaguchi's ward.
---
Captain Yamaguchi was awake, though his face remained pale. His teeth were clenched tightly, giving him an expression that looked almost hateful to anyone who didn't know better.
The door creaked open, and a head peeked inside.
Seeing the captain gritting his teeth, Yōhei—who'd planned to crack a joke—panicked instead. He rushed in, flung the door open, and hurried to the bedside.
"Captain! What's wrong? Are you in pain? I'll go get a doctor!"
Yamaguchi was startled—he'd been lost in thought and hadn't noticed Yōhei enter.
"Yōhei… Saori… Taichi," he said weakly, forcing an awkward smile.
"I'm fine. Don't worry."
"But—" Yōhei began, only to be interrupted.
"Taichi, check him!" he urged, suddenly remembering that Taichi was a medical ninja.
"No need," Taichi said calmly, glancing once at the captain's complexion.
"What he's feeling is severe itching caused by newly regenerated nerves responding to stimulation."
He continued, explaining patiently:
"It's like when a wound heals and starts itching—except several times worse. It's a normal part of the body's adjustment process."
Then he added, almost apologetically,
"But yes… it's going to itch like this for two or three days."
Yōhei and Saori both shuddered. Even Captain Yamaguchi looked utterly miserable. An itch you couldn't scratch, couldn't stop—only endure.
Pure torture.
"Captain," Yōhei suddenly asked, eyes wide with curiosity,
"Since you lost a kidney… doesn't that mean you won't be… you know… functional anymore?"
Taichi rubbed his temples.
Did I really just hear that?
Since the Daimyo mission, Yōhei had become dangerously uninhibited.
Saori froze, then flushed deeply—she definitely understood what he meant.
Yamaguchi's face went pitch black. His chest heaved as he fought to suppress the urge to strangle someone.
"…I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," he said through clenched teeth.
"My injuries have been fully healed."
"Huh? But Taichi said half your waist was gone!" Yōhei pressed on.
"Did you use some forbidden technique? I heard there's a jutsu that lets you steal organs!"
At this point, Yamaguchi didn't just want to glare—he wanted to throw punches.
"Captain, calm down!" Yōhei quickly backpedaled.
"I was just trying to distract you. Don't you feel like it itches less now?"
Yamaguchi paused.
…It actually did.
But seeing Yōhei's shameless grin reignited the urge to beat him senseless.
He turned his gaze to Taichi instead.
"Seriously, Taichi… thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't just be missing a kidney—I might not even be alive."
"Captain, that's just my duty," Taichi replied modestly.
"And it wasn't my effort alone."
"Wait—Taichi," Yōhei exclaimed.
"You never told us you were the one who healed him! Your medical ninjutsu is already this strong?"
This time, he was genuinely shocked. He'd thought the captain would be permanently crippled—hence the joking.
But fully restoring such injuries was far more difficult than simply mastering an S-rank jutsu.
"Well, yeah," Taichi grinned openly now.
"You'd better stay on my good side. Lose a kidney, a lung, whatever—I'll be the one saving you."
"Get lost!"
Laughter filled the room, easing the captain's discomfort.
Unfortunately, since this was an intensive care ward, a nurse soon arrived to usher them out.
They agreed to visit again tomorrow and left the hospital.
---
They hadn't gone far when a figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
The three immediately tensed—Taichi's short blade was nearly halfway out of its sheath—until they recognized the man.
Only then did they relax.
"Senior Minato," Taichi complained bluntly, pushing his blade back.
"People have died from scare tactics like that. Showing up out of nowhere is dangerous."
"Sorry, sorry," Minato laughed awkwardly.
"It's urgent. I've been looking for you for a while."
He hadn't expected their vigilance—especially Taichi's. Even without fully drawing his weapon, the killing intent had been unmistakable.
"Senior Minato," Yōhei asked eagerly,
"Are you taking us on a mission?"
"I'm afraid it's only Taichi."
"Ah…"
Yōhei wilted like a frostbitten eggplant.
Saori, ever composed, stepped forward.
"It's a designated mission, right? Then go, Taichi. Don't worry about us."
"Alright. We'll be off, then."
As Taichi and Minato departed, Yōhei and Saori exchanged glances.
"We're still too weak," Saori said softly.
"When real trouble comes, we can't help at all."
Yōhei straightened immediately.
"Everyone starts weak. Taichi's strength comes from his effort. Maybe we don't have his talent—but we can still outwork our limits."
He clenched his fist.
"From today on, double training. One day, we'll be strong too."
Saori clenched her fist alongside him.
"Double training!"
---
Meanwhile, Taichi had already learned the mission details from Minato.
Assassinate the Sand Village envoy.
Prevent the Wind–Earth alliance.
And his role in the operation was clear—
Medical support.
The one who would keep the team alive.