Chapter 10: Chance Encounter or Intentional?
Konoha's hospital was large and unbearably busy. Kenichi figured it was only natural. The war had just ended, and there were still plenty of wounded who needed treatment.
The sharp smell of disinfectant hit him as soon as he stepped inside. His nose twitched. He didn't particularly like the scent, but he didn't hate it either. It was just another reminder that this was a place for the injured and dying.
The real problem was how to find the kind of patient he needed. Even Kenichi himself could not be sure whether cancer existed in the ninja world at all.
He had not watched that much anime in his previous life. What he remembered of Naruto was only the major story beats. The rest was vague at best.
And even if cancer did exist here, who was he supposed to ask?
Originally, he would have had one connection in the hospital: Tsunade, and possibly her disciples. But Tsunade had left Konoha after the Second Shinobi World War. As a result, Kenichi did not know a single person in this place.
Fortunately, money could solve problems that relationships could not.
After slipping a small "consultation fee" to a medical ninja, Kenichi finally got to ask his question directly.
"No cancer? How is that possible?"
The answer left him stunned. The medical ninja had never even heard of the kind of strange illness Kenichi described.
In this world, most injuries were external or internal trauma, or damage caused by ninjutsu. Occasionally, there were blade wounds and burns, but nothing like the slow, silent disease Kenichi was asking about.
Naturally, there were no such patients in the hospital.
The medical ninja added that he had only recently been assigned here, so he might not be fully informed, and suggested Kenichi consult one of the senior doctors.
After speaking with an elderly physician who had been practicing for decades, Kenichi confirmed it: within Konoha's current medical records, there were no established cases of the disease he was describing.
"It can't seriously be because of chakra, right? Or is it that people in the ninja world just don't live long enough to realize they have cancer?"
Kenichi muttered to himself as he walked out of the hospital. His mood was complicated.
In his previous life, cancer had been practically incurable. Once you were diagnosed, you were essentially waiting for death. If you had money, you could struggle for a while. Without money, sometimes the only choice left was whether or not to donate your body.
Yet in this world, cancer seemingly did not exist, or at least had never been recognized as such.
But Kenichi refused to believe it simply did not exist. His reasoning was simple: people here might be peculiar, but they were still human, not aliens.
It made no sense for humans in the ninja world to be completely free of cancer. The most reasonable explanations were that chakra suppressed cancer cells so effectively that they rarely developed to a noticeable stage, or that Konoha simply had not recorded such cases yet, or that the disease existed but had not been formally identified as a specific condition.
He had a feeling that if medical ninjutsu and primitive microscopes kept advancing, sooner or later someone would classify these strange cell growths as a distinct, deadly illness.
"If only Tsunade were here." Kenichi sighed.
As Konoha's most skilled medical ninja, Tsunade had seen countless rare diseases. If anyone might have encountered something similar to cancer, it would have been her.
"Oh? Little one, you know Tsunade?"
A slightly hoarse voice cut through his thoughts. Kenichi looked up and froze.
Standing in front of him was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Third Hokage?!"
Kenichi stared, stunned. Of all times and places, he had never expected to meet the Third Hokage here.
"Hehe, young man, don't be so tense. Strictly speaking, I am your teacher's teacher."
Hiruzen smiled. He was already old, but not yet the frail elder he would become in the future.
"I know, Third Hokage. My teacher said you are an extremely powerful ninja!"
Kenichi put on an expression of appropriate excitement. After so many years under Orochimaru's shadow, he had long since learned how to control his facial expressions.
At the same time, an intense wariness rose in his heart. He had no idea why the Third Hokage had suddenly appeared in front of him.
All he could do was play along and take things one step at a time.
"Haha, you little rascal, I doubt your teacher said anything like that. He probably called me a grumpy old man instead."
Hiruzen laughed and patted Kenichi on the shoulder.
Kenichi forced a smile. Orochimaru really had said something along those lines. But that was something Orochimaru was allowed to say. Kenichi definitely was not.
"Were you feeling unwell today? Is that why you came to the hospital?"
Hiruzen asked casually why he was there, then took his leave as naturally as he had appeared, leaving Kenichi completely baffled.
Kenichi walked away with an excited expression still plastered across his face, the perfect image of a young ninja thrilled to have met a living legend. It was only when he returned home that he dropped the act.
"Something's off."
He frowned.
He had never met the Third Hokage before. Someone that important should not have any reason to personally approach a nobody like him.
On top of that, this was a sensitive time. Power was about to change hands in Konoha, yet Hiruzen did not look concerned about the transition at all.
After checking his clothes carefully and finding nothing suspicious, Kenichi still felt uneasy. In the end, he even burned the clothes that Hiruzen had patted, just in case.
If Kenichi was a honey badger, then Hiruzen was a lion king at the end of his reign. Even an aging lion king was still a lion king.
There was no reason for Hiruzen to target him personally. Unless the real target was the teacher standing behind him.
"Maybe he just wanted to stir the pot a little?"
Kenichi could not be sure, but the possibility was there.
When Orochimaru came to find him later, Kenichi eagerly recounted his encounter with Hiruzen from start to finish, his expression and tone perfectly mimicking an overzealous fanboy of the Third Hokage.
Orochimaru said nothing. After giving Kenichi a long look, he simply motioned for him to follow.
"Teacher, are we going out on a mission?"
Kenichi was not surprised. Orochimaru often used missions as an excuse to leave the village, conduct experiments, or capture test subjects. He assumed it would be the same this time.
"Yes. During the previous war, a small squad of ninja defected. We are going to find them."
Orochimaru's voice was calm, as if he were discussing the weather.
Kenichi blinked.
There was a mission like that?
A standard team usually consisted of three members: a captain and two subordinates. The captain's strength was at least chunin level.
Which made one thing very clear.
His teacher intended to take him on a mission where the targets were trained, battle tested defectors.
That was not what he had been expecting at all.
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