Only when the Left Minister seemed somewhat composed did Satoru cautiously release his grip on the official's shoulder. The man's trembling subsided, but his breathing remained ragged and labored.
"I could infect you," he croaked hoarsely, barely shaking his head. His face was pale, dark circles under his eyes.
"No problem, I'm just a shadow clone," the young ninja's calm voice rang confidently, contrasting the room's sickly atmosphere. "It's crucial you tell me everything in order: what happened to you, how did you end up like this?"
"I... I don't quite understand myself," the Left Minister began, his voice weak and quavering. "Some time ago, many of the Daimyo's vassals came down with what seemed ordinary colds. At first, no one paid much attention, but then... those infected's conditions deteriorated rapidly. Soon many were afflicted." As he spoke, the official sniffled repeatedly, looking truly exhausted and pitiful.
"Who was the first to fall ill? Do you know?" the youth pressed insistently. "And what's causing this strange cold? Did the doctors identify it?"
"The first one...? Who can tell now?" The minister spread his arms helplessly, wincing in weakness. "Though, I suppose hospital records might have something. Of course, doctors tried to find the cause... but their prescriptions had no effect; no one recovered. This whole thing seems highly suspicious to me—the entire court has been mowed down by this severe cold," he finished with a heavy sigh.
The young guardian nodded thoughtfully.
"Good. You need more rest. Get well."
Leaving the gloomy house of the Left Minister, rife with the scent of illness, the youth turned to Jizo waiting outside:
"Looks like we can't avoid a visit to the local hospital. We need to review all recent records on this 'cold' and find out who treated these people. Something's fishy."
"Hm, I'll guide you," his companion, well-versed in the Daimyo's city, soon led him to the hospital building. Though it resembled a modest, rundown rural clinic more than a capital hospital.
"No Medic Ninja here at all?" Satoru couldn't hide his genuine surprise, eyeing the shabby structure.
"Alas, no. The local nobility still distrusts shinobi in many matters," the other shinobi explained, shaking his head. "They prefer old ways, relying on time-tested methods. For any ailment, they'd sooner turn to herbal decoctions and infusions than modern medical techniques."
The young shinobi pondered briefly, and the picture clarified. Whether this Daimyo's city or his native Konoha, this world was a bizarre mix of progress and archaism. On one hand: radio communication, advanced construction tech, even primitive ancient computers. On the other: transport and banking lagged shockingly, causing endless hassles.
Medic Ninja, facing poisoning, first used potent antidotes neutralizing most toxins. External poisons via wounds or skin were extracted with chakra. Only deep-embedded residues required prolonged restorative treatment.
But in a hospital without qualified Medic Ninja, care was incomparably inferior. Doctors relied on traditional, often outdated diagnostics and treatments. Lengthy, hours-long exams meant by the time a remedy was found, time was lost, and patients beyond help.
The Daimyo's city hospital was just such a traditional facility. Endless queues of weary patients, harried doctors in threadbare robes... The scene evoked a strange familiarity in Satoru, dimly recalling hospitals from his distant past world.
With Jizo, the young ninja methodically scoured corridors and offices for the right doctor. Growing anxious, they noted many in the hospital—waiting patients and even staff—were clearly infected. Symptoms matched those of the sick ministers: weakness, fever, runny nose.
"This is all very strange... Definitely not a regular cold," the youth muttered, suspicions mounting. The hospital air felt stale and heavy.
"That doctor in the white robe," his partner subtly pointed to a middle-aged man hurrying down the hall. "He handles all infectious cases, as far as I know."
Satoru strode quickly to the indicated office. Waiting until the doctor vanished inside, he gestured to his squad mate, and they slipped in silently after him. Once in, Satoru locked the door from within. The sharp, acrid stench of disinfectant hit them, tickling their throats.
Evidently, the physician had just liberally sprayed it to decontaminate the small room.
"You... who are you?! What do you want?!" The doctor recoiled at the door's click, eyes wide with fright and surprise.
"Stay calm," the young ninja said evenly but authoritatively. "We're from the Twelve Guardian Ninja organization, tasked with protecting Lord Daimyo. We're here on two urgent matters and expect your full cooperation in the investigation."
Hearing of the Twelve Guardians, the doctor visibly relaxed, though tension lingered in his stance.
"The sudden sharp rise in flu cases lately... yes, there is a certain explanation," he said more confidently. The doctor approached an old metal filing cabinet and rifled through folders until extracting a thick, worn kraft paper envelope.
"This is the first patient's file from last month who caught this strange illness," the medic handed it to the young shinobi.
Without delay, he opened it. Skimming the first page of the medical history, he froze, a chill running down his spine. The name in the documents truly shocked him: the first infected a month ago was none other than Tenzo—Daimyo's personal bodyguard and confidant.
"Tenzo?! He had this?" Satoru snapped his head up, eyes boring into the doctor. "Why no inpatient treatment? No isolation?"
"Lord Tenzo is fully recovered," the physician hastened. "He poses no infection risk and naturally resumed duties."
"Recovered?" the youth asked skeptically. "How quickly? What is this illness? Regular flu?" Questions poured out, not giving the doctor a moment.
"Oh, far from ordinary cold or flu," the physician shook his head. "It's a special, previously unknown flu strain with extremely high contagiousness." He paused, gathering thoughts. "Notably, this patient fully recovered in just three days. And even at onset, by his account, it was very mild, almost asymptomatic."
"As if he was pre-vaccinated against it," the doctor added, his face showing lingering professional puzzlement and curiosity.
"And the other patients?" the young ninja persisted.
"Alas, the others were not so lucky," the doctor sighed. "Having become infected, they experience severe weakness, muscle pains, aches throughout the body. Moreover, as I already mentioned, the virus is highly contagious. At the moment, except for the mentioned shinobi, none of the sick have recovered. We can only provide symptomatic treatment, easing their suffering. However," here he perked up a bit, "fortunately, no fatal cases have been registered so far."
"That's how it is... I think I'm starting to understand something," Satoru said thoughtfully, his gaze turning distant. Thanking the doctor for the information, he asked no more questions. Now all the threads of this tangled case, all the indirect clues and suspicions, converged on this figure.
"If ordinary people can't recover from this illness, but the lord's bodyguard is recovering so incredibly quickly... that's highly suspicious," Jizo noted as they left the doctor's office.
"Maybe we should talk to him directly right away?"
"Of course! Let's go to him without delay!" one of the Guardians replied decisively. An insistent premonition told him that he and his partner were missing some important detail, the key to unraveling this mystery, but what exactly—he couldn't yet put it into words.
Satoru dispersed his shadow clone, which had been staying with the sick minister all this time, and together with the experienced guardian, they easily found Tenzō's quarters.
"You want to know if I have anything to do with this whole story with the illness?" the room's occupant met them with a completely impassive expression, his voice even and cold. "I can say only one thing: I don't know. Yes, I did catch this ailment, but after three days I was completely healthy. Probably, the virus had only a minimal effect on my body. I have nothing more to add. Why I got infected and where—I have no idea. My daily routine is unchanged: I'm constantly with Lord Daimyo, performing my duties, and nothing more."
Jizo and the young man exchanged quick glances and frowned in sync. They had hoped so much that talking to the Daimyo's bodyguard would shed light on the situation, but instead, their investigation had hit another dead end.
"Well then, in that case, we won't keep you any longer or bother you," Satoru said, trying to make his voice as neutral as possible. There was nothing to be done, and he and Jizo had no choice but to leave Tenzō's room.
Already at the threshold, as they were about to leave, Tenzō suddenly gave the young ninja a very strange, intent look. In his dark eyes, for a split second, something flashed that made the young man tense up inwardly. That gaze seemed... unusual, full of hidden meaning.
"Satoru, we need to go, quicker," his partner urged quietly, noticing his comrade's hesitation.
Satoru, however, lingered for another moment, as if trying to decipher the unspoken message in the bodyguard's gaze, before finally leaving the room.
As soon as they were in the corridor, Jizo turned to his partner at once.
"Satoru, this Tenzō is definitely lying. I can feel it in my gut. He's clearly hiding something from us, some important information."
"Suppose he doesn't want to talk. What can we do then? We can't beat the truth out of him by force," the young ninja rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking.
"We can try to find out everything ourselves," the second guardian suggested with a gleam in his eyes. "The plan is this: we'll wait a bit, I'll create a shadow clone to distract our target, lure him out of the room on some pretext. And the two of us can sneak into his quarters unnoticed and thoroughly search the place. We're bound to find something interesting, some lead."
"Hm, that's a great idea! Bold, but it might work," the young man nodded approvingly. "Let's do it."
He and the other ninja patiently waited some time, hiding in the shadows of one of the corridors. Then, making sure no one was nearby, his ally formed the necessary seals and created his shadow clone. The clone, following instructions, went off to execute the diversion, managing to lure the unsuspecting Tenzō out of his room.
As soon as the goal was achieved and Tenzō was out of sight, Satoru and Jizo slipped into the now-empty quarters of the Daimyo's personal guard like two shadows, without the slightest noise.