Chapter 174: One Word to Silence the Room
Uchiha Akira brought a subdued and thoughtful Kabuto back to the Uchiha Clan Territory. He had Uchiha Kenji, who was rapidly becoming his most trusted clan aide, arrange a secure and quiet place for Kabuto to stay.
The young man was given a new set of clothes, a room of his own, and a stack of introductory medical texts. His life, in a single day, had been irrevocably altered.
The next day, at the same time, in the new, sterile, and still-being-organized office of the Konoha Hospital Director.
Tsunade sat behind her new desk, which was already buried under scrolls, medical journals, and anatomical charts. She looked at Yakushi Kabuto, who stood before her, posture perfect, hands clasped respectfully behind his back.
"Kid," Tsunade said, her voice gruff. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade," Kabuto replied, his voice calm and clear.
"Very good."
Tsunade didn't smile. She reached to her side and casually opened a thick, heavy tome titled Advanced Chakra Pathology.
"Page 37," she said, not even looking at him, her finger tracing a line on the page. "Regarding the five avoidance strategies for the minimal collateral damage caused to surrounding healthy cells by the Chakura no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel) when excising necrotic tissue. What are they?"
Shizune, standing nearby holding a stack of files, nervously held her breath.
That question... it's too tricky! she thought, panicking on Kabuto's behalf. Those five strategies are only mentioned briefly in the annotations of a sub-chapter! They're extremely easy to overlook!
"The first," Kabuto replied without a second of hesitation, "is to utilize In'yushōmetsu to rapidly regenerate surrounding cell tissue while excising, minimizing the damage threshold."
[Inorin's Note: In'yushōmetsu (Yin Healing Wound Destruction) is an advanced medical ninjutsu where the user attacks a healthy part of their own or another's body with their chakra scalpel, forcing the body to begin rapid cell regeneration, which can then be applied to a wound.]
"The second," Kabuto continued, his voice a steady, academic monotone, "is to change the form of the Chakra Scalpel, transforming it into a high-frequency spiral, and using the centrifugal force generated by the rotation for precise, non-tearing excision."
"The third is to pre-saturate the healthy surrounding tissue with a 'dummy' chakra signature, making it 'invisible' to the cutting edge of the scalpel..."
Kabuto recited all five strategies word for word, including the complex theoretical reasoning behind the fourth and fifth.
Shizune's jaw dropped.
Tsunade's eye twitched. Her finger flipped several dozen pages. "Page 158. Regarding the three primary causes of abnormal, chakra-induced blood cell proliferation and their corresponding inhibition theories."
Her voice was slightly hurried, annoyed.
"The first cause," Kabuto answered instantly, "is prolonged exposure to high-density, impure natural energy, leading to unstable cell nucleus structures. Its inhibition theory is based on using Fūinjutsu (Sealing Jutsu) to construct a miniature, temporary barrier within the patient's circulatory system to isolate and filter the invasion of natural energy."
"The second cause is cellular 'imprinting' from a foreign chakra source, such as a Tailed Beast's. The inhibition theory is..."
Kabuto's answer was still perfectly fluent, without any hesitation. He was a machine.
Flip.
"Page 302. Symptoms of Jiongu thread rejection syndrome."
[Inorin's Note: Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear) is the forbidden jutsu used by Kakuzu, allowing him to use the threads from his body.]
"Headache, localized necrosis, chakra-network calcification, and..."
Flip.
"Page 441. The required antidote composition for the Sand's 'Three-Day Paralysis' poison."
"Crushed sekkisō root, the dried liver of a black salamander, and..."
THWACK!
Tsunade abruptly slammed the massive book shut. The sound echoed through the sterile office like a gunshot.
Shizune jumped, dropping a scroll.
Tsunade stared at Kabuto, her expression unreadable.
"You... are very good..."
After a long, tense pause, Tsunade finally spoke these words. They sounded like they were dragged from her throat.
He's not 'good', she thought, her mind reeling. He has a perfect, eidetic memory. He didn't just read the book; he absorbed it. In one night? This... this is the kind of talent that's terrifying.
"From today onwards, you will stay by my side. You will be my personal assistant. You will not speak unless spoken to, you will do exactly as I say, and you will forget the word 'sleep'. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Yakushi Kabuto bowed deeply, a full 90 degrees.
A small, almost imperceptible smile finally appeared on his tense face.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage Building, in the highest conference room.
The atmosphere was heavy, cold, and utterly silent.
Both sides of the long conference table were filled with Konoha's elite. They were the Jōnin Commanders, the heads of various departments—Logistics, Intelligence, the Academy, ANBU, the Barrier Team. They were the pillars supporting the entire village's operation.
Every single person sat upright, their heads bowed, not daring to make a sound.
Their gazes, subtly, fearfully, glanced at the man sitting at the head of the table, in the Hokage's chair.
Uchiha Akira. Konoha's Godaime Hokage.
He was reading a report, and the only sound in the room was the soft shing of him turning a page. No one dared to clear their throat. No one dared to shift in their seat.
Finally, he placed the report down.
"Everyone is here."
His voice, calm and quiet, made several of the Jōnin flinch.
"I called you all today because there is something to announce."
He picked up a stack of documents and tossed them onto the table. They slid across the polished wood.
"This is the village's budget proposal for the next quarter. Take a look."
A Jōnin closest to him quickly, and with fumbling hands, picked up the document and respectfully passed it around.
A ripple of shuffling paper filled the room, followed by a sudden, sharp intake of collective breath.
Gasps of disbelief echoed in the silent conference room.
Expressions of profound, utter shock appeared on everyone's faces.
"This... how is this possible!"
A Jōnin in charge of the Logistics Department—the man responsible for supplying every kunai, flak jacket, and explosive tag—couldn't help but exclaim. His face went pale.
"To allocate thirty percent of the village's total budget to the Medical Department?!"
"And to allocate another large special fund to the orphanage?! The one that was just rebuilt?!"
"Hokage-sama!" the man said, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and professional indignation. "This... this is absolutely unacceptable!"
His words, spoken aloud, broke the dam of fear. The room immediately resonated with others.
"Yes, Hokage-sama! With all due respect!" another Jōnin, a battle-hardened combat commander, spoke up. "While the Medical Department is important, it doesn't need this much money, does it?"
"My shinobi's combat equipment hasn't been updated in three years!"
"And intelligence gathering!" the head of T&I chimed in. "My department requires a lot of funding to rebuild our networks after the... recent instability. We're blind out there!"
"If so much money is invested in the Medical Department and the orphanage, how will our other departments operate? We'll be defanged!"
In an instant, the conference room erupted. Voices of opposition, now that the seal was broken, rose and fell.
"This is madness!"
"We're a military village, not a charity!"
"Thirty percent is financial suicide!"
This was not their fault. They were not being insubordinate for the sake of it.
Konoha's finances, for decades, had never been ample. Every ryō had to be spent wisely, stretched thin.
Although, thanks to Akira's... decisive actions... the funding from the Fire Daimyō had increased significantly, it couldn't possibly withstand this level of extravagance!
In the eyes of these pragmatic, war-time shinobi, investing such a large sum of money into "soft power" like medical care and welfare was simply a colossal, naïve waste.
Wouldn't it be better to use that money to train more combat ninja? To develop more powerful Ninjutsu? To fund the border patrols?
Tsunade, who had been summoned to this meeting, sat in a corner of the conference table. She listened to these dissenting voices, her expression turning somewhat grim.
She knew this would happen.
Her own, much smaller vision from back then had ultimately fallen through precisely because of these people—these same short-sighted, combat-obsessed fools.
She hadn't expected that after so many years, these guys' minds hadn't improved at all.
Just as she was about to stand up and unleash her Senju rage on them, Uchiha Akira, sitting at the head of the table, simply raised his hand.
He didn't speak. He just... raised his hand.
The conference room, which had been buzzing with panicked arguments, instantly fell dead silent.
It was as if a switch had been flipped.
Everyone's gaze, filled with terror, refocused on Akira.
"Are you finished speaking?"
Uchiha Akira's voice still betrayed no emotion. It was calm, flat, and colder than the winter wind.
"If you're finished, then it's my turn to speak."
"First."
He held up one finger.
"This budget proposal is not for discussion with you."
"It is for informing you."
His words were slow, deliberate, and landed like hammer blows.
"What you need to do is not to raise objections."
"But to, unconditionally, execute it."
Uchiha Akira's words were domineering and left zero room for interpretation.
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly dropped to a freezing point.
The Logistics Department head, the same one who had spoken first, flushed a deep, blotchy red. He stood up, his chair scraping loudly. He was terrified, but he was also a proud man.
"Hokage-sama!" he said, his voice shaking but brave. "I admit you are the Hokage and possess the highest decision-making authority!"
"However, you cannot be so autocratic! This isn't Kiri!"
"This concerns the future of the entire Village! We have the right—the duty—to offer our suggestions!"
"Suggestions?" Uchiha Akira asked. A small, cold smile touched his lips. It did not reach his eyes.
"Do you mean your foresight, Logistics-Head-san, is greater than mine?"
"Or do you think... you understand how to govern this village better than I do?"
"I... I..."
The Logistics Department head was left speechless by Akira's words. His blood ran cold.
Of course, he wouldn't dare to say that.
Are you kidding? Compare foresight with this... this Kage. This killing god who had remade the entire power structure of Konoha in a single afternoon?
That wasn't just suicide. It was stupid.
"If you don't dare," Akira's voice suddenly turned cold, "then shut your mouth. And sit. Down."
The man collapsed back into his chair as if his strings had been cut.
"Second."
Uchiha Akira held up his second finger.
"You think investing money in the Medical Department is a waste? You think it's 'soft'?"
"Then I'll tell you. Listen."
"From today onwards, medical care will be one of Konoha's highest strategies. It is our new sword and shield."
"I will not only ensure that every four-person squad in Konoha is equipped with a medical-nin, as Lady Tsunade once proposed."
"I will also ensure that Konoha's medical standards surpass the entire Shinobi World, to a degree that they cannot even imagine."
He leaned forward, his dark eyes sweeping across their terrified faces.
"I want everyone to know that only in Konoha can they receive the best treatment. I want the Daimyō and nobles from other Lands—from Wind, from Water, from Earth—when they suffer from incurable diseases, to cry and beg us."
"I want them to offer mountains of gold, just for a chance to be treated by our doctors!"
"By that time," he asked, his voice a soft, dangerous hiss, "do you think money will still be an issue?"
The room was silent. He had, in one stroke, turned their argument about spending money into a plan for making it.
So... So Hokage-sama's goal was actually this!
To harvest the wealth of the entire Shinobi World with absolutely leading medical technology!
"As for the orphanage," Uchiha Akira continued, his voice unchanged.
"You see them as a drain. As victims."
"I see them as the future. They are victims of war, yes. But they are also blank slates, with no clan loyalties to divide them."
"I will give them the best education. The best resources. The best training."
"From a young age, they will develop a sense of belonging and identity with this Village—the village that saved them. They will be loyal only to Konoha, and to the Hokage."
"When they grow up, whether they become ninja or civilians, they will be Konoha's most steadfast and loyal members. They will be my new foundation."
"This is the most cost-effective investment, one that looks to the future. A future I will build."
"Now..."
Akira's gaze swept across the room again, locking on to each department head, one by one.
"Is there anyone else who thinks my decision is wrong?"
Absolute, suffocating silence.
"Very good."
Uchiha Akira nodded with satisfaction.
"Since everyone has no objections, then this matter is settled."
"Meeting adjourned."
Everyone stood up, their legs shaky, their minds reeling. They bowed deeply and prepared to leave, to somehow make this impossible budget work.
"Oh, right."
Uchiha Akira's voice stopped them at the door.
He seemed to remember something else, a mere afterthought.
"You don't need to worry about your own departments' insufficient funds."
"I have already spoken with the Daimyō of the Land of Fire."
"Starting next quarter, the Daimyō's mansion's financial allocation to Konoha... will be tripled."
"So, you will not receive a single ryō less of the funding you should have."
"In fact... there will even be a surplus for all ofS you."
He smiled, that same cold smile. "Do your jobs. Do them well. You have the money. Do not fail me."
They stared at him, dumbfounded.
The money... he had the money all along.
He wasn't reallocating funds. He was testing them.
He was testing their loyalty, and their vision.
And every single one of them had failed.
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