Chapter 48 — A Medical Ninja's Training
Inside the hospital library, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura were sitting together. A huge mountain of books was stacked in front of Sakura.
Sakura wanted to curse.
All she did was ask for some help and give Ren a hug. Other than that, she hadn't done anything.
But Ino and Hinata were still holding a grudge over it.
'Waaaaaa, Ren save me!' she cried in her heart.
She had no time to cry out loud.
Bonk!
Ino smacked Sakura on the head with her fist.
"Owww!"
Sakura clutched her head.
"What was that for?"
Ino put a hand on her hip.
"You stopped circulating your chakra," she said in a deadpan tone, pointing at the fallen leaf on the ground.
"Pick it up and start again."
Sakura's eyes blurred with tears.
"That's just bullying. I have to memorize all these herbs and keep the leaf stuck to my forehead with chakra at the same time. That's ridiculous."
Hinata smiled sweetly.
"Well, you wanted to become Ren's student, so you have to handle at least this much training. And we've only just started. After this, we'll be having combat training."
Sakura's face went pale.
"No way! You want me to fight you two?"
Hinata shook her head.
"As a medical ninja, you have to follow the three basic rules of medical ninjutsu."
Ino raised one finger.
"First Rule: No medical ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until their allies are dead."
Hinata smiled as Ino raised a second finger.
"Second Rule: No medical ninja shall ever step onto the front lines of the battlefield."
Ino looked directly into Sakura's eyes.
"No matter the reason."
Sakura gulped.
Ino raised a third finger.
"Third Rule: No medical ninja shall die until they are the last of their platoon."
Hinata and Ino smiled sweetly at Sakura.
"So we're going to make sure you're strong enough to follow those rules."
A chill ran down Sakura's spine as she looked at their sweet smiles.
'Waaaaaa, Ren, you bastard! Come and save me from these Demon Queens!' Sakura screamed in her heart.
---
After hours of chakra control and theoretical studies, the three girls headed toward a training ground near the Forest of Death.
Hinata smiled as blunt kunai appeared in her hands.
"So, we're not here to train your combat strength. We're here to train you on how to stay alive no matter what."
Ino grinned as Sakura's face went pale.
"Thirty minutes of survival, Sakura, or you'll have to do one hundred push-ups."
"Wai—"
Sakura wanted to protest.
Whoosh!
A blue blur flashed past her.
Sakura froze, unable to react.
A warm liquid flowed down her cheek.
She slowly reached up and touched it.
Her hand trembled as she looked at the crimson liquid.
Blood.
Her blood.
She slowly turned around.
A shuriken was embedded deep into the tree behind her.
"Your time is on, Sakura. Run, or get cut by shurikens."
Ino's voice snapped her back to reality.
Sakura immediately bolted toward the trees.
Hinata and Ino exchanged glances.
Villainous smiles appeared on both their faces.
Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!
Four shadow clones appeared around them.
"Mission: Hunt Sakura begins now."
The clones and the real Hinata and Ino disappeared.
What followed was the most terrifying thirty minutes of Sakura's life.
She saw her life flash before her eyes countless times.
She truly thought she was going to die from this ridiculous training.
But she had no time to complain.
She ran.
She hid.
She used every trick the Academy had taught her.
Anything just to survive.
---
Meanwhile, in Tanzaku Town, Karin and Akari stayed with Tsunade and Shizune while searching for them.
They had no idea that the women they were searching for were living with them.
Tsunade was so amused that she had even stopped going gambling for a few days.
Instead, she happily helped Karin and Akari search... for herself.
Tsunade sighed dramatically.
"Well, looks like we couldn't find the woman you girls were searching for."
Her tone was filled with sadness and exhaustion.
Karin smiled sweetly.
"No need to worry so much, Sister Tsuna. It's not like we're in some kind of emergency. It's fine even if we don't find her."
Akari nodded.
"Yes. No need to be so stressed about it. Even if we can't find her, we're at least having fun."
Tsunade nodded seriously.
"Well, if you say so. But don't worry. I can feel it."
"The woman you're searching for is definitely nearby."
"My sixth sense is screaming it."
She said everything with a perfectly straight face.
Shizune pinched herself, trying not to laugh.
Tsunade's acting was simply too good.
Poor Karin and Akari didn't even know that the woman they were searching for was with them all along.
And because of those two, Tsunade hadn't gone gambling.
Instead, she was having fun teasing them.
So Shizune was completely supportive of it.
With Tsunade staying away from gambling, they actually had money to stay in inns and eat proper meals.
She nearly cried remembering all the times they had slept outside because Tsunade had lost everything gambling.
And now, with Karin and Akari—two fully loaded rich girls—they didn't even need to worry about money.
Karin tugged on Tsunade's sleeve.
"Well, enough searching for today, Tsuna-nee. Let's go have some fun."
Tsunade's body stiffened at the way Karin called her.
But looking at the sweet girl dragging her along, she simply bit her lip and followed.
Akari also dragged Shizune and Tonton away for shopping.
---
Back in Konoha, near the training ground...
Sakura was panting heavily as Ino and Hinata healed the injuries she had sustained during training.
"You two are demons..."
Sakura muttered weakly.
She was on the verge of tears.
'Whoops... looks like we went a little too far?'
Ino and Hinata exchanged guilty glances.
"Well, don't worry. We'll adjust your training tomorrow," Hinata said softly.
Ino nodded.
Both girls genuinely felt guilty.
Just then, they both turned toward a direction.
Sakura noticed the change and followed their line of sight.
Then she saw him.
"Yoo!"
Ren waved as he walked toward them.
"Looks like you guys are having fu—"
Before he could finish...
Whoosh!
A pink blur shot toward him.
Ino and Hinata blinked.
Their faces instantly darkened with anger.
"Waaaaaa! Ren, help me! Those two are trying to kill me!"
Sakura hugged Ren tightly while complaining about everything Ino and Hinata had made her do.
Though Ren had seen her coming and could have easily dodged...
Sakura's sudden hug completely caught him off guard.
The same was true for Ino and Hinata.
Neither of them had expected Sakura to hug him again.
As Ren listened, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He looked toward Ino and Hinata speechlessly.
Both girls awkwardly looked away.
Their cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment.
They were angry because Sakura dared to hug Ren again.
And embarrassed because... this time they really were in the wrong.
Ren sighed and gently patted Sakura's head.
"Well... sorry about that, Sakura."
He then looked at Ino and Hinata.
"You two went too far this time."
"You should've let Sakura get used to high-intensity training first before starting this type of training."
Hinata and Ino looked at each other.
Both sighed before bowing toward Sakura.
"I'm sorry. We were wrong," Hinata said.
Ino added,
"We weren't trying to bully you or anything."
"We were just slightly angry and went too far."
Ren smiled and nodded.
"Well, then rest up."
"Sakura, your tasks for now are simple."
"First, completely memorize the books Ino and Hinata gave you."
"Second, continue your physical training with Ino and Hinata."
Sakura nodded.
Her cheeks were bright red.
She had been too emotional and hugged Ren again.
Now he was patting her head.
It only made her blush even harder from embarrassment.
Ino and Hinata glared at her.
"This bitch..."
Both thought at the same time as veins popped on their foreheads.
Ren turned toward Ino and Hinata.
"You two, since you're busy training Sakura, you should also take it easy."
"Get some proper rest. Just do some work out with Sakura. You guy's have been traning hard." Ren said with a proud and worried tone.
Hinata and Ino nodded.
Small smiles appeared on their faces.
'So this stupid guy still cared about us.'
Both girls thought the exact same thing.