He had already decided to go to Might Guy for an advanced course of training and would even switch to wearing a green jumpsuit for a while to strengthen his body.
What Kiyoshi had, Asuma Sarutobi must also have.
He would focus on both Ninjutsu and Taijutsu!
***
The busy sushi restaurant was enjoying a rare moment of leisure today.
"Sister, we have so few customers today," Atsui said while wiping down tables.
Many people had gone to watch the results of the Chunin Exams. After all, ordinary people didn't get many opportunities to watch ninja battles.
It was only around the Chunin Exams that they could satisfy their curiosity.
As Atsui wiped the table, his arm moved, and the word "Hot" on his tattoo was covered with a special pigment.
This was a tattoo his parents had given him to commemorate his name; "Atsui" meant "hot."
Such tattoo culture was prevalent in the Land of Lightning.
"Yes," Samui nodded lightly, then asked her brother about another matter.
"How was the entrance exam for the Ninja Academy today?"
The Ninja Academy had recently begun issuing pre-admission tests.
To become a student, one had to know the most basic method of kneading chakra and have some ability to control it.
The exam required children to perform the simplest Genjutsu and Ninjutsu—techniques so crude they weren't even E-rank.
In reality, it was just a simple utilization of chakra.
"It went well," Atsui said confidently.
"That's good." Samui nodded, revealing a slight smile.
Atsui was her only living relative, so Samui cherished him deeply.
She smiled for a moment, then thought of someone, and her smile faded.
Kiyoshi Uchiha was also in the Chunin Exams today. Several orders had already been issued from above, instructing them to bring Kiyoshi Uchiha back as soon as possible.
However, progress had been slow.
Every time other comrades tried to approach Kiyoshi, he would push them away with various excuses, insisting only on dealing with her.
A layer of worry and anxiety gradually clouded Samui's face. If they failed to recruit Kiyoshi soon, they would be punished by the higher-ups.
Samodo had also been constantly urging her to hurry.
But the thought of Kiyoshi made Samui feel uncomfortable.
"Take this cloth to the back and wash it." Samui handed a wiping cloth to her brother.
"Okay." Atsui immediately nodded, shaking his short blond hair as he ran to wash it.
Samui, meanwhile, rubbed her shoulder, feeling sore.
Sometimes, being large wasn't always a good thing.
Due to the effects of gravity, carrying a watermelon was more tiring than carrying an apple.
"Samui, don't forget the village's instructions." Samodo emerged and saw Samui sitting on a stool, distracted by the sparse crowd outside the window.
"Yes." Samui snapped out of it and bowed her head.
In her mind, however, she recalled Kiyoshi's excessive behavior last time, such as offering to help support her when she was too tired…
***
A few days after becoming a Chūnin, Kiyoshi received his ninja flak jacket, along with some shuriken and other equipment.
At the same time, a familiar guest arrived at his home.
"Please have some tea." Kiyoshi pushed the brewed tea toward Hazuki Uchiha.
It was still the old teacup from before.
Although he had a little money now, Kiyoshi wasn't planning on spending it on such things.
He wanted to buy a sealing scroll with a larger storage space, which would easily cost tens of thousands of Ryo to start.
Therefore, Kiyoshi was still quite financially constrained.
"Um… thank you." Hazuki Uchiha looked at her reflection in the tea with a complicated expression.
She had decided never to come to Kiyoshi's place again, yet here she was.
"What, is it still not to your taste?" Kiyoshi asked, looking at Hazuki, who was holding the teacup.
"No, no, it's perfectly to my taste." Hazuki Uchiha quickly explained.
Thinking of Yamada Ōhiro still lying in the hospital, a surge of courage rose in Hazuki's heart.
Fortunately, Kiyoshi's tea wasn't too hot, and she quickly drank it all.
Kiyoshi watched her drink in silence.
Only after she finished did he slowly say:
"May I ask, sister Hazuki, what brings you here?"
"I… I want to ask you to perform a small surgery for Ōhiro." Hazuki Uchiha explained Yamada Ōhiro's current situation to Kiyoshi, hoping he could help with the surgery.
"That's hardly a small surgery, sister Hazuki." Kiyoshi slowly took a sip of tea and calmly addressed the anxious Hazuki Uchiha:
"Are there truly no other suitable candidates?"
"Not for the moment." Hazuki Uchiha cursed Kiyoshi internally for not just saying if he was unwilling. If there were other suitable candidates, why would she come to Kiyoshi?
"Oh." Kiyoshi nodded, then gently stroked the White Snake's head.
The White Snake comfortably squinted her eyes, lazily lying in Kiyoshi's hand.
Hazuki Uchiha buried her head, staring at the bottom of the teacup, waiting for Kiyoshi to continue.
However, after a long wait, Kiyoshi offered no further words.
She raised her eyes and found Kiyoshi playing with his snake.
A wave of disrespect-fueled anger instantly surged through Hazuki Uchiha. She took a deep breath and said:
"I wonder if you'd be willing, Kiyoshi? Didn't we settle our past issues? If you heal Ōhiro, I will pay you double the surgery fee."
"Is that so?" Kiyoshi's expression remained unhurried.
Double the market price was already a very generous offer.
Because after the surgery, subsequent medication would also be required.
In the Hidden Leaf Hospital, the village offered no subsidies.
The Nara clan owned vast territories where they generations of their clan raised sacred deer, along with various other medicinal herbs.
This was private property of the Nara clan. The Hidden Leaf Hospital cooperated with them, purchasing large quantities of medicinal herbs.
Since the Nara clan was one of the famous ninja clans—a secondary power next to the few great clans—and even had two allied clans, the Akimichi clan and the Yamanaka clan.
Their monopolized business was impossible for ordinary ninjas to disrupt.
Naturally, the prices remained high.
As for the Akimichi clan, they also joined the Nara clan in this monopoly.
The Akimichi clan was responsible for providing unique medicinal formulas and secret medicines to process the herbs.
"Even if I heal him, the subsequent medical treatment won't be cheap. Can you afford it?" Kiyoshi asked.
The medical technology in the Hidden Leaf right now was pre-Third Great Ninja War!
It was nowhere near as advanced as in later generations, so naturally, the role of medicine was much more significant.
In the official novel *Sakura Hiden*, there was a Root member named Gid. Danzō Shimura entrusted him with most of the Root's funds.
This was because the man was extremely sensitive to money and skilled at earning it.
The reason for all of this was Gid's impoverished background.
His father had an illness that required medication, but the medicine was too expensive. So, his father lied, pretending to take the medicine when he wasn't, and eventually died from the illness.