Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Gamer. Please support the official release.
Inoichi stopped his jutsu and exhaled heavily as his palms left from Tsunade and Daichi's temples.
"We're out," Inoichi sighed. His voice was steady but it carried the faint edge of chakra strain. With his work done, the Yamanaka left the chamber and joined the others watching anxiously.
Daichi, who exited from Tsunade's mind, let out a small breath of air and opened his eyes. Shizune was watching him as her hands glowed faintly over Tsunade's abdomen. "You're back. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah." Daichi nodded and glanced at the monitors and then his gaze went to his fellow apprentice. "Talk to me."
Shizune immediately reported their patient's current status. "Pain index is dropping on its own. Regeneration markers are up—twenty, twenty-eight… thirty-five and climbing and no tissue necrosis."
Daichi checked the enzyme trace and the hormone regulator. "The serum hasn't targeted any other cells, right?"
"Not even a little." Shizune's voice was tight and hopeful all at once. "It's working."
Daichi looked at the monitors and nodded to himself. 'Vitals are stabilizing, chakra flows have evened, and the initial violent fluctuations in her chakra pathways have begun to calm down.'
The next hour unfolded with steady progress. Each set of readings brought stronger confirmation: organ strain had reduced, chakra variance was dropping, cellular stability was forming where there had once been massive instability.
[Skill Health Manipulation has leveled up.]
Daichi glanced at the notifications without slowing down his work.
After an hour of close observation, he ran his final scan and sighed in relief. "Wonderful. Her body is adapting quickly. Based on the regenerative markers and chakra variance, she should be completely healed within a week."
Shizune let out a trembling breath of relief. "A week… It's even faster than our prediction models." Her shoulders slumped but her eyes brightened for the first time in days.
The boy gave a small smile. "Yeah… I'll leave her in your care for now but my shadow clone here will keep you company. Keep monitoring her vitals. If anything changes, I'll come back immediately… Oh and one more thing."
Shizune looked at him puzzled.
Daichi looked at her and smiled. "She has a message for you. She asked me to tell you to not worry. She'll be on her feet soon."
"Yes! Thank you, Daichi" Shizune's voice cracked and she smiled as tears began to fall from her eyes. She was happy and became determined to work even harder as she tended to her teacher.
The Genin smiled but didn't say another word. He quietly left the small treatment chamber and took off the sterile coat and gloves and placed them in a bin.
The moment he left the treatment chamber, the quiet spectators quickly came near him. He saw the anxious looks on the old Hokage and Jiraiya's faces and almost laughed.
"How is she?" Hiruzen didn't wait another second and asked.
"Her body is finally responding. My serum is finally functioning exactly as intended. As long as nothing unexpected happens, Lady Tsunade will make a full recovery." Daichi replied with a small smile.
Hiruzen closed his eyes as the tension in his posture finally loosened. Jiraiya visibly relaxed and his shoulders slumped. "Thank god…" He spoke with great relief.
Even Kakashi and Inoichi exhaled a breath of air they'd been holding. The Yamanaka leader was glad that he was here to help them in such a timely manner.
"What's the timeframe for full recovery and awakening?" The masked Tobirama asked the Genin directly just to make sure.
"Well, based on the current estimates, the serum will complete full integration in about seven days. Her body will be entirely healed within a week. Waking up on the other hand… That'll take a bit longer." Daichi replied calmly.
"But she will wake up, right?" Jiraiya asked with a slight concern.
Daichi smiled and nodded. "Yes. Most definitely. Her mind will need a bit more time to heal but she'll wake up soon. Don't worry."
Hearing the confident words from the boy lifted everyone's mood.
[Reputation massively increased with Tobirama Senju.]
[Reputation increased with everyone in the room.]
'It looks like your granddaughter is going to be just fine. Rest easy brother. We did it.' Tobirama closed his eyes briefly and then looked at the boy and gave a single solemn nod. "Well done."
Jiraiya's shoulder eased. "Around a week, huh."
"Approximately," Daichi said.
"Good work, Daichi." Hiruzen's voice was deep, calm, but laced with relief. "You've done more than anyone thought possible. You really are a miracle worker. I'm glad I put my full faith in you."
Daichi bowed his head slightly. "Its no big deal. This was the last step on my part. Shizune will keep an eye on her and make sure she's stable. The rest depends on her body's adaptation process. I'm gonna head back to the lab. There are still some things I need to do."
"Aren't you going to stay here? I know you left a shadow clone but still…" Inoichi asked softly and with some concern.
Daichi shook his head. "I've done everything I can here. And my clone is just as capable as me. Also you're underestimating that medic over there." Daichi said as he gestured a thumb to Shizune who was meticulously noting down every detail and adjusting the treatment. "Don't forget. She's also her student. Shizune will handle whatever comes up."
"He's right, Inoichi. Aside from Daichi, that little girl is the best medic we got right now." Jiraiya spoke with a smile. His eyes turned to his sleeping teammate. "Now the rest depends on Tsunade."
"She's a strong woman. I have faith she'll pull through." Hiruzen nodded and smiled as he looked at the sleeping Sannin.
Jiraiya let out a booming laugh. "Oh she definitely will! Guess we better get some sake ready. She'll be clamoring for it the first thing she wakes up."
Daichi sighed and adjusted his sunglasses. A small smile formed on his face as he recalled the memories of his travels with her. "Honestly, I'd be less worried about the alcohol and more worried about the village treasury. You do remember her… legendary luck streak, right?"
"Oh yeah." Jiraiya had a big grin as he recalled her gambling. "Legendary isn't quite the word. 'Financial catastrophe' might be more accurate."
Jiraiya's words brought back memories of the younger days that the Third Hokage had tried hard to forget.
Hiruzen's face paled slightly as the realization struck him. 'Oh no… the casinos. The loan sharks. The… debts.' He groaned, shoulders slumping. "I suddenly don't feel very well."
Jiraiya smirked wickedly and patted his teacher's back. "Relax, sensei. I'm sure restraint herself."
'Yeah. Restrain herself. Right.' Daichi inwardly snorted and sarcastically thought to himself. He didn't believe those words and he could see that even Jiraiya himself didn't.
Tobirama's eyebrow twitched as he recalled the reports he read on Tsunade's gambling and luck. 'If she's anything like my brother, that won't be happening.'
Daichi looked at the Third Hokage and spoke with a small smile, "My advice Lord Hokage, hide the village funds."
Hiruzen shot him a weary look. "Don't even joke about that. Ohh, I can already hear the other two screaming in my head." The old kage could already picture Koharu and Homura nagging at him if something happened and he groaned tiredly.
The group chuckled softly and the tension slowly faded from the air.
Daichi kept a small smile and was calmly observing everyone. 'Finally. They needed this. They've all been on edge for so many days. They're only now starting to breathe easy.'
Daichi bowed lightly. "In any case, I'll head back to the lab."
Everyone was in a much better mood and now that they knew Tsunade was going to make a full recovery they moved on to other matters.
Inoichi and Kakashi were the first to take their leave.
"I will update Koharu and Homura about Tsunade's condition." Hiruzen spoke and the Second Hokage nodded. He along with Jiraiya stayed for a few more minutes and then after seeing nothing wrong, left the room.
Before leaving Hiruzen glanced at an Anbu hidden in the room. The masked ninja immediately appeared in front of the Hokage and kneeled.
"I want a status report on her condition every eight hours. And make sure no one other than authorized personnel get in here. This is the most crucial time. We can't let our guard down." Hiruzen gave the order and the Anbu ninja nodded. "Yes sir."
The Hokage took one last look at the treatment chamber and then left.
—-
As Daichi made his way to his lab, he looked at the system notifications.
'Alright. Let's see what you have for me.' The gamer ninja quickly opened the translucent blue window screen to check out his new skill.
[Mana - Spirit Link - Active(LV. 01): This is a skill that helps the user form a temporary link between the user's Mana energy and the target's mind(willing or unconscious). While linked, the user can share a portion of his Mana energy in a restorative form and stabilize the target's mental state.
MP Cost: Varies depending on the time skill remains active.
Duration: The current maximum duration for skill is 5 minutes.]
.
[Effects]
[Currently only one target can be linked at a time.
Allows emotional support, clarity, subtle strengthening of willpower and healing of the mind.]
.
[Notes]
[Current transfer rate: The user can only transfer up to 5% of his max MP/minute.
Current Mana transfer efficiency: 50%.
Overuse Warning: Linking to multiple trauma minds within 24 hours creates Echo Burden.
More powerful effects will be added at higher levels.]
Daichi walked quietly as he went through the details of the skill. 'So it's not just a spiritual lifeline. It also affects the body… So it's a biochemical stabilizer too. The mana transfer doesn't just recharge their mental energy, it might also affect neurotransmitter patterns... I see, no wonder her parasympathetic system kicked back online so fast.'
The Gamer ninja's eyes narrowed as he looked at the duration, transfer rate and transfer efficiency of the skill.
'So 5% of my max MP per minute, huh… Right now my max MP is 47400. At full 5% output, that's 2370 MP/min at my current cap. But this skill only has 50% efficiency right now, so sensei actually received ~ 1185 per minute as restorative energy. Just a few minutes of that was enough to get her brain to reconnect to her body's natural healing. This is an extremely useful skill. If I can raise the efficiency… No, not now. I don't need to rush.'
Daichi then carefully read the warning given at the end of the skill details. 'So if I overuse this before I level it up, it'll have a backlash on me huh? Hmm… What kind of negative feedback will I get? Eh. Not the problem for now. It's not like I'm going to test it to find that out.'
He looked at the other notifications and soon closed the message boxes. Daichi reached the heavy doors of his lab and nodded to the Anbu guarding it.
The Anbu ninja opened the laboratory and the medic ninja quickly made his way in as the door closed behind him. He moved to the area where some of the most advanced medical instruments were located.
Daichi reached into the inventory space and smoothly retrieved a sealed scroll from the dimensional slot. He opened the scroll and three small vials appeared in his palm, labeled with precise tags in his own writing.
Blood Sample – Dan Katō
Blood Sample – Nawaki Senju
Blood Sample – Tsunade Senju
The boy looked down at them with an unreadable expression behind his sunglasses. 'It's time to find out the truth.'
He opened and placed the vials in a specific spot and activated the chakra-microscope array, a circular frame of crystalline glass inscribed with seals.
Immediately dozens of small glowing seals extended outward, and covered the glass vials. It read both the physical and chakra components of the three blood samples.
Seconds later, with deft hands, Daichi placed a single drop of blood from each vial onto separate chakra-conductive slides.
As the machine conducted it's tests, Daichi became engrossed deep in his thoughts.
'Alright. Think it through. What do I already know about their deaths?... Nawaki died in an explosion on a battlefield and Dan bled out. Despite treatment, his chakra system collapsed under stress. Was it just some random unlucky coincidence or is there more?'
Daichi opened the system and looked at one particular active quest that has been open for years.
[Quest 'Seek the Hidden Truth of the Necklace.']
[Tsunade and those around her believe there is a curse on the first Hokage's necklace that would kill anyone who wears it other than Tsunade Senju. But is this the truth? Investigate what happened in secret and find the hidden truth of the necklace.
Once you've found the truth, you have two options. ]
.
Option 1:
Reveal the truth to Tsunade.
Rewards:
10000 Exp.
Reputation increases with Tsunade, Shizune and possibly others.
Note: Revealing the truth to Tsunade will have unknown consequences.
.
Option 2:
Keep what you've learned to yourself.
Rewards:
10000 Exp.
.
Failure:
[If you are caught investigating the incidents then certain dangerous individuals will have their eyes on you.]
[Possible death.]
'I've waited long enough. Now that I have all the tools I need, I should get this done.'
After a few minutes, detailed images of their blood began to appear on the monitor. 'Time to dig into the one thing even Tsunade never wanted to face.'
Daichi began conducting his tests on the samples one by one and the hours slowly passed away.
Meanwhile - With Tobirama.
The Second Hokage was back in his secret lab studying an entirely different curse. He looked at the subject lying unconscious in front of him as he went through his findings.
His latest discovery made him frown. 'It seems this isn't over yet… I need to summon Hiruzen and Jiraiya immediately.'
Author's Note:
If you enjoy my story then please take a moment to review and rate. A thumbs up always helps.
And if you are interested in reading ahead, then check out my
site. I’ve uploaded up to 30 additional chapters there…
https://www..com/MonkWithAPen
Comments