Chapter 122 — A Corner of the World (Double Length Chapter)
When Taichi reappeared in the Emergency Department, he was already wearing the uniform of an official Konoha doctor.
The moment Nonō saw him like this, she froze—then covered her mouth in shock.
"Where did you get those clothes?" she whispered urgently, pulling him into a corner. "And that ID—"
She grabbed the badge from his chest and examined it closely.
"It looks completely real…" She looked up at him, visibly alarmed.
"Taichi, you can't forge things like this. Don't you know? Even though the hospital doesn't seem to have many ninja, it's under constant ANBU surveillance. You can't make this kind of mistake!"
Taichi smiled helplessly.
"Sister, of course not. It is real. Director Fujita personally helped me get it."
Nonō studied his expression carefully. Seeing no hint of deception, she finally let out a long breath of relief.
Warmth welled up in her chest almost immediately afterward. She knew exactly why Taichi had done this—to ease her burden, and to stay with her through the New Year.
"Thank you, Taichi."
"We're family," Taichi said brightly, his smile warm and sincere. "Why would you thank me?"
"Come on," he added, already turning toward the ward.
"They're about to get overwhelmed over there."
---
With Taichi's help, the efficiency of the Emergency Department increased noticeably.
He assisted nurses with bandaging wounds, distributing medicine, and stabilizing patients—his movements calm, precise, and practiced.
Before long, everyone noticed it.
This young doctor in a white coat handled cases with astonishing skill. He was fast, decisive, and his treatments were remarkably effective.
Soon, two pretty nurses began following behind him, acting as his dedicated assistants. With proper support, Taichi's efficiency climbed even higher.
The once-overwhelmed medical staff finally had room to breathe, and the tense atmosphere in the department eased significantly.
"Bandages," Taichi said.
The nurse handed them over instantly.
His hands moved like dancing butterflies, wrapping a patient's wound cleanly and neatly in seconds.
"This patient has gastric bleeding," Taichi said calmly.
"I'll stop the bleeding for now—send him to Internal Medicine immediately afterward."
Green light flared from his palm as he placed it over the patient's abdomen. The Mystical Palm Technique surged with dense chakra, and within seconds, the vomiting of blood stopped. Even the patient's complexion visibly improved.
The nurse stared in awe.
That level of healing—there were only a handful of doctors in the entire hospital who could match it.
Patient after patient came and went.
Nonō glanced over during a brief lull, a small smile tugging at her lips—before being pulled away again by another emergency.
By eight in the evening, the chaos finally subsided.
Nonō removed her stained white coat and rubbed her temples tiredly.
Taichi handed her a cup of hot tea. She murmured her thanks, and the two walked out of the hospital side by side.
The night wind was biting. Nonō instinctively drew her coat closer—
—and Taichi held out the gift he'd bought earlier: a soft, warm scarf.
"Happy New Year, Sister Nonō."
Her eyes lit up.
She accepted it eagerly and wrapped it around her neck on the spot. The warmth against her skin was pleasant—but it paled compared to the warmth in her heart.
Chatting softly, they made their way back to the orphanage.
As soon as they opened the gate, children's laughter greeted them.
Taichi's shadow clone was playing hide-and-seek with the kids, who ran about gleefully.
Nonō blinked, then looked from the clone to Taichi and laughed.
"You really are good at using shadow clones."
Taichi scratched his head and released the clone.
In an instant, a full day's worth of memories flooded back—building snowmen, teaching hand seals, laughing with the children.
He couldn't help smiling.
"Looks like my clone had more fun than I did."
The look in Nonō's eyes softened.
"The children were incredibly happy today," she said gently.
"That's all thanks to you."
Taichi shook his head, then formed hand seals again, creating another shadow clone.
"Let them play a bit longer. I'll head home first."
The clone didn't even get a chance to speak—several children immediately dragged it away to continue their games.
Taichi said goodbye to Nonō and left the orphanage.
Snowflakes drifted lazily through the night sky.
He exhaled a breath of white mist, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. The day had been exhausting—but helping Nonō and making the children happy made it all worthwhile.
---
Back home, Taichi picked up pen and paper.
He'd nearly forgotten to send New Year's greetings to Tsunade—something he absolutely couldn't neglect.
He wrote several hundred words, expressing his respect and gratitude to his teacher, apologizing sincerely for not sending greetings earlier.
Then he packed up the New Year's gifts he'd bought—food, daily necessities, plenty of things.
Naturally, there was a portion for Shizune as well.
Everything was sent together through Katsuyu.
Once finished, Taichi didn't overthink things. There was only one New Year's break in a year, after all.
That night, he allowed himself the rare indulgence of going to bed early—looking forward to another perfect day.
---
Far away, in the Land of Bears, Tsunade and Shizune were having a very different New Year.
The wind howled, and snow fell in sheets. The winter night was brutally cold.
Tsunade, wrapped in her signature coat emblazoned with the kanji "Gamble," hurried through a snow-filled alley, dragging Shizune along behind her. The shouts of debt collectors echoed faintly in the distance.
They ducked into a narrow, dimly lit side street.
"Damn it," Tsunade muttered.
"It's not like I won't pay—why can't they give me a few more days?"
Shizune hugged herself tightly, trying to conserve warmth, her voice trembling.
"Lady Tsunade… are we sleeping outside again tonight?"
Her breath crystallized against her scarf, frost forming as her exposed cheeks reddened from the cold.
"Stop whining!" Tsunade snapped irritably, running a hand through her blonde hair, dust from a wall still clinging to it.
"There's a hot spring inn up ahead. The owner owes me a favor—we'll stay there tonight."
When they finally pushed open the doors of the inn, red lanterns swaying overhead, Shizune's boots were soaked through.
The innkeeper's wife stiffened at the sight of them—clearly mistaking them for penniless drifters.
But the owner recognized Tsunade immediately.
He welcomed them warmly, spared no effort in hospitality, and even gave them the best room.
As he left, he smiled and said, "Happy New Year."
That single phrase broke the dam.
The door closed—and Shizune exploded.
"This is the seventh time this year!" she cried.
"Last month we were chased by the lord of the Land of Hot Water! The month before that, the Iron Country's casinos—!"
She yanked off her damp coat and threw it beside the brazier, then dumped all their remaining money onto the floor in front of Tsunade.
"This is all we have left! If you keep this up, we won't even have money to eat tomorrow!"
She sat down heavily with her back to Tsunade, seething in silence.
Tsunade sat alone by the window, staring at the heavy snow falling outside, her thoughts drifting far away.
Running from Konoha… dragging a child like Shizune along… telling herself she was protecting her—
But in truth, Shizune had been the one looking after her all this time.
Tsunade stared at her hands.
For a moment, she thought she saw them again—stained with the blood of Nawaki and Dan.
Her body began to tremble.
Outside, the world was celebrating the New Year in laughter and joy.
Inside, there were only two lonely figures.
After a long silence, just as Tsunade was about to speak—
A familiar summoning sensation arrived from far away, carried through the Shikkotsu Forest.
She let out a bitter chuckle.
Perfect timing.
She began forming seals.
"Summoning Technique—"
Halfway through, something felt wrong.
This wasn't the usual size of Katsuyu.
To prevent the technique from failing, Tsunade sharply increased her chakra output—
And the surge startled Shizune.
She turned around just as thick white smoke filled the room completely.
When the white smoke finally dispersed, a giant slug over a meter tall appeared inside the room. What drew even more attention, however, were the large bundles strapped to both sides of its body.
"T–This is from Taichi?" Shizune stammered.
Using a summoning beast to deliver messages was one thing—but this was the first time she had ever seen someone use one to deliver all this.
"Yes," Katsuyu said gently. "These are New Year's gifts Taichi-sama purchased specially for Lady Tsunade. And—" she turned slightly toward Shizune, "—there is also a portion prepared for little Shizune."
"Really?!"
Shizune jumped up with a cheer and hurried forward to help unload the heavy packages from Katsuyu.
Tsunade stepped closer as well, removing Taichi's letter from the slug's side. She walked over to the window and read it alone.
A familiar opening.
Familiar flattery.
Nothing fancy—just simple New Year's greetings.
Yet at this particular moment, those plain words felt unusually precious, unusually warm.
In all of Konoha, Tsunade knew many people—teachers, comrades, friends.
And yet, at this time of year, only her disciple had sent her a letter.
It wasn't that the others couldn't find her.
She had never hidden her whereabouts from Konoha.
Anyone who truly cared could have asked.
But in the end, the ones who remembered her were only Taichi—and the girl standing beside her now.
She folded the letter carefully and put it away. As she turned, she casually wiped the moisture from the corner of her eye.
Watching Shizune happily rummaging through the gifts, a warmth quietly spread through Tsunade's chest.
Should I send something back to that brat…?
---
The next morning, Taichi was forcibly awakened by his powerful biological clock—even though he'd planned to sleep in.
After getting ready, he opened the door and was greeted by a world draped entirely in silver. Overnight snowfall had transformed all of Konoha into white.
The streets were still empty. Thick snow blanketed the road, untouched by a single footprint.
Surrounded by such a pristine scene, Taichi suddenly felt playful.
He closed the door and began walking forward through the snow, step by step. After each step, he turned back to look—checking whether his footprints were straight, whether they were clear.
It felt like he had returned to early childhood—carefree days spent doing nothing but playing.
An empty street.
Deep snow.
Straight footprints.
All reflecting the liveliness in his heart.
---
[Comprehension in progress: Advanced Meditation +1000]
[Mental state elevated: Spirit +1]
A refreshing sensation surged from deep within his mind—like drinking ice-cold water on a scorching summer day. It sent a pleasant chill straight through his body.
Taichi snapped out of the blissful trance and looked at the gains from just a few steps, his joy deepening further.
Insight.
Realization.
Epiphany.
Each brought immense rewards—but each came only by chance.
With high spirits, Taichi arrived at his riverside training ground and began his usual advanced taijutsu practice.
But today felt different.
Perhaps lingering insight, perhaps enhanced control from increased Spirit—his movements flowed smoothly, naturally, like water following its course.
Seizing the moment, Taichi trained taijutsu, then kenjutsu, and when he felt the opportunity slipping away, even fire-nature transformation.
He rotated through all three disciplines until the sun climbed high overhead, and that immersive, nature-blending sensation finally faded.
Checking his status, Taichi realized that just one morning's training equaled over a month of normal progress.
---
[Advanced Taijutsu training: EXP +500, insight improved]
[Advanced Kenjutsu training: EXP +500, insight improved]
[Fire Nature Transformation training: EXP +500, insight improved]
Sheathing his short blade, Taichi looked at the churned, muddy training ground and burst into hearty laughter.
After venting his joy, he headed back toward the village. It was already noon—time to think about lunch.
The morning's snow had been shoveled aside by diligent villagers. The earlier pristine white was gone, replaced by bustling streets filled with New Year cheer.
Holding his growling stomach, Taichi debated whether to go to Ichiraku Ramen or a barbecue restaurant, when a familiar racket erupted ahead.
"Even winter can't extinguish my burning youth! Kakashi, let us have a passionate showdown!"
Guy's booming voice carried halfway down the street.
"Idiot. Who wants to spar with you during New Year's break?"
Kakashi's deadpan eyes rolled so hard they nearly vanished.
Taichi looked over and immediately spotted Guy up front—his green jumpsuit painfully conspicuous on the crowded street.
Obito flailed animatedly beside him, making Rin laugh behind her hand. Kakashi walked ahead of them with visible disdain, as if afraid Obito's stupidity might be contagious.
"Yo! Isn't that our busy man Taichi?!"
Obito spotted him first and waved wildly.
"Come judge this! Kakashi says my new ninja pouch is ugly!"
Kakashi snorted.
"It is ugly. That orange frog design is so bad it could scare the Hokage. What kind of real ninja uses that?"
"You don't know fashion!"
Obito jumped in outrage, brandishing the pouch.
"I'll fight you!"
"Obito, stop it!" Rin quickly pulled him back.
"There are so many people watching!"
Taichi laughed as he walked over.
"You two really are a pair—arguing wherever you go."
Kakashi and Obito glanced at each other, then huffed and turned away.
"So where are you headed?" Taichi asked Rin and Guy.
"We were just about to find somewhere to eat," Rin replied gently.
"Want to come along?"
"I'm starving anyway," Taichi nodded, briefly glancing at Obito's truly awful frog pouch and barely holding back a laugh.
The five of them walked along the shopping street, bickering all the way.
Obito insisted on squeezing between Kakashi and Rin, only to get shoved aside repeatedly. Guy kept proposing taijutsu matches, all of which were unanimously rejected.
"Guy, it's New Year's break," Rin soothed him.
"Take a rest for once."
"Exactly!" Obito chimed in.
"If you want to compete so badly, how about an eating contest? We're going to eat anyway!"
Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"Did you forget you almost ate yourself to death at the barbecue last time?"
"That was—an accident!" Obito flushed.
"This time I'll win!"
Taichi chuckled.
"Perfect timing—Ichiraku Ramen's right there. Let's compete with ramen."
Everyone turned to look.
For a moment, Taichi could swear he saw three blazing fires of competitive spirit erupt—
Guy.
Kakashi.
Obito.
All burning at once.