"Uzuki-kun, do you still remember the experiment I mentioned last time?"
Here it comes.
Shimizu's heart gave a small jolt. It seemed Orochimaru had already noticed that something was off with his blood.
"I remember," he replied calmly. "What about it?"
"Following the same method as before, I refined several more samples of the 'Wood Release serum'…" Orochimaru's expression carried a rare hint of confusion. "I originally expected the results to surpass the previous batch…"
"But every single one failed."
Now that's what should have happened…
Keeping his thoughts to himself, Shimizu played along. "How could that be? Did something go wrong in the process?"
"At first, I assumed there was an error in the procedure as well," Orochimaru said slowly. "So I used the second sample of your blood and repeated the refinement."
"And it still failed."
At this point, his golden, slit-like pupils locked onto Shimizu as he spoke each word deliberately. "I am certain there were no mistakes in my method… which means the issue must lie with your blood, Uzuki-kun."
"…What?" Shimizu feigned surprise.
"Judging from the results of the two experiments, the samples might as well have come from two entirely different individuals," Orochimaru murmured, licking his lips faintly as his eyes narrowed. "Yes… it's as if you became a different person altogether."
Shimizu frowned slightly, meeting his gaze head-on. "I don't follow. What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Then I'll be direct," Orochimaru said. "I need more experimental material."
So he wants to investigate what's changed in my blood…
No problem.
"Sure, I can help with that," Shimizu agreed without hesitation, then added, "But you'll have to wait—at least until I've recovered from my injuries."
"You've seen my condition."
"…Then I hope you recover soon."
"Who wouldn't?" Shimizu let out a faint sigh. "Being stuck in this body is suffocating."
Orochimaru chuckled softly, then suddenly asked, "You truly don't know what happened to your body? What caused this… change?"
Shimizu met his gaze without flinching. "I'm perfectly fine. What could possibly be wrong with me?"
"Perhaps it's related to some mark left behind by the Sage of Six Paths?" Orochimaru speculated.
Shimizu couldn't help but feel exasperated. "Why do you always have to tie everything to something so vague and mystical?"
Surviving a Tailed Beast Bomb—the Sage of Six Paths.
Abnormal blood—still the Sage of Six Paths.
Even Shimizu himself hadn't thought that far, yet Orochimaru, ever the obsessive researcher, seemed determined to chase every possibility, no matter how speculative.
"…Very well," Orochimaru said at last. "Then I hope that the next time we meet, you'll have fully recovered."
With that, he left.
And just as he did, Megumi arrived.
She glanced at Orochimaru's departing figure before casually tossing a bundle of cherry blossoms onto Shimizu's lap. "Here, for you."
The flowers lay there in a crooked, uneven cluster—small, underdeveloped, and clearly plucked without much care.
Did she just grab these randomly…?
Honestly, zero sincerity.
"…Thanks."
"What did my teacher talk to you about?" Megumi asked directly.
"Nothing important."
"I saw you two talking for quite a while, and you're telling me it was nothing?"
"Go on, go on—kids shouldn't stick their noses into adults' business," Shimizu waved her off, already thinking about how to deal with the potential fallout. Given Orochimaru's obsession with Wood Release…
If he ever realized it was truly out of reach, there was a real chance things could turn ugly.
They had only just established a connection—was it really going to fall apart like this?
"I'm not a kid. I'm a ninja, okay?" Megumi retorted.
Shimizu decided to shut down her curiosity in one shot. "Talk to me again when you've become a jōnin."
"Really?"
"I wouldn't lie."
"Then it's a deal."
Heh… by the time you become a jōnin, who knows if you'll even remember this?
Shimizu glanced at her, a little puzzled. "Since when are you interested in things like this? Weren't you always indifferent before?"
Megumi's expression shifted slightly.
"That's because… my brother is gone," she said quietly. "From now on, I can only rely on myself."
Alright… better not bring up her pain again in the future.
Because at the same time, it was a wound in Shimizu's own heart as well.
"By the way… you knew your teacher was here, so why didn't you go say hello?" he asked.
"I've been looking for him for over a month, and he's been ignoring me the whole time…" Megumi puffed out her cheeks, clearly annoyed.
Shimizu could more or less guess the reason. For the past month, Orochimaru had probably been holed up in his secret laboratory, completely absorbed in researching his so-called Wood Release. Why would he have the time—or patience—to deal with a kid?
"And besides…" Megumi hesitated, her voice trailing off as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
"And besides?"
"…Forget it. It's nothing."
"What is it?"
"Ask me again after you've recovered."
Oh? Playing games now?
"Fine."
I'll remember that. And when the time comes, I'll get an answer out of you.
Yet as time continued to slip by, by the time early summer arrived in June, Shimizu had long since forgotten about it completely…
Because during these months of recovery, he had once again immersed himself in training—at least, in the ways he still could.
He had first tried to find books explaining the chakra pathway system, but most of them were either vague or overly generalized, offering little real insight.
Left with no better option, he shifted his focus to studying the fundamentals of Wind Release and Earth Release. Even if he couldn't actively perform jutsu, there was nothing wrong with strengthening his theoretical understanding.
Compared to his solid foundation in Water Release and Lightning Release, his grasp of Wind and Earth was practically nonexistent—he was starting from scratch.
Without a strong foundation, even slight misunderstandings in a technique's structure could lead to deviations in execution, ultimately affecting everything—power, precision, duration, even chakra consumption.
Any one of these details could become decisive in future battles.
And if he wanted to become a true master of ninjutsu, these basics were indispensable.
That was why Shimizu placed such importance on theoretical groundwork.
As for the Flying Thunder God Technique…
That was practically a heavenly script.
He still couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Shimizu, Lady Tsunade will be coming by in a bit~" Sara Imadegawa peeked her head in through the door, lowering her voice as she spoke.
"Got it," Shimizu replied without even looking up from his book.
Seeing his indifferent reaction, she frowned slightly. "Did you not understand what I just said?"
"Hm? You said Tsunade-senpai would be coming, right?"
"I mean—you might finally be discharged!"
Discharged?
Ah, right—June 18th.
Today was his final comprehensive check-up. If everything was confirmed to be in good condition, he would officially be allowed to leave the hospital.
Which also meant… he could start molding chakra again.
Of course, if his recovery wasn't up to standard, he'd have to stay another week.
"Got it."
"…That's it? You don't sound excited at all."
After waiting for so long, what excitement was there left to feel?
"No. Better to just focus on recovery. Only once I'm fully healed can I leave."
"Ah? Lady Tsunade, you're here?!" Sara's surprised voice came from the doorway.
Moments later, Tsunade pushed the door open and entered.
"Tsunade-senpai," Shimizu greeted.
"Let's hope this is the last check-up," she said flatly.
Shimizu studied her for a moment. She looked… a bit worn out.
"I hope so too."
The examination only took a few minutes.
The result?
His recovery was excellent.
He was finally cleared to leave the hospital.
"You brat… should I say you're lucky, or just cursed?" Tsunade remarked.
"You took a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on and survived, only to end up bedridden for months…"
"I'd say I'm lucky…" Shimizu replied.
In that situation, just surviving—and with all his limbs intact—was already a luxury. What were a few months in bed compared to that?
"Heh… next time, you might not be so lucky."
With that, Tsunade turned and left the room.
For some reason, watching her hurried departure, Shimizu couldn't shake the feeling that…
She looked like she was barely holding herself together.
...
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