Naruto: Chronicles of A Fire Ninja

Chapter 123: Secret

Though some of them found books written by Tsunade herself, she never mentioned Mitotic Regeneration in any of them. Kaida was starting to lose hope when one of his clones brought him a book. After handing the book to Kaida, the clone dispersed.

With the clone's memory now shared, Kaida and the rest of his clones smiled and began dispersing as well. Normally, with the number of books they had read, Kaida would have suffered a terrible headache from receiving all the memories at once. But thanks to the various resources he'd consumed over the past month to increase his mental power, all he felt was mild discomfort.

'These resources are working wonders for me. Without the Uchiha clan's resources, I doubt I would have progressed this quickly,' Kaida thought as he took the book to the librarian and asked, "Mam, can I check this book out?"

The librarian examined the book thoroughly, then registered it in her log under Kaida's name and position, listed as Mitsuru's disciple—still a higher rank than General Practitioner. Handing the book back, she asked, "So, did you find anything interesting?"

Kaida nodded. "Yes, but I'm not sure if I should even ask sensei. Still, it's worth a try."

A bit surprised, she asked, "What did you find that makes you say that?"

"This book contains information on jutsu used by various medical ninjas. The one used by Lady Tsunade is really interesting, so I want to ask sensei if I can learn it," Kaida replied.

The librarian nodded, understanding that a jutsu used by Tsunade herself would be important.

Kaida then said goodbye and headed home, but his thoughts were still uneasy. 'For the past month, I've been on high alert, fully expecting Danzo to make a move. The effects of my free treatment are showing—people aren't paying much attention to the rumors anymore since I gave them a reasonable explanation.

But even though things seem calm, I've painted a target on my back. And for some reason, Danzo hasn't made any preventative moves against me. Sure, the complaints from the other medical ninjas could be his doing, but this is Danzo we're talking about. He wouldn't do something so simple. Sigh... this constant vigilance is wearing me out,' Kaida thought as he arrived home with a smile on his face.

"Welcome back! How was your test?" Shisui asked as soon as Kaida stepped through the door.

Smack.

"At least let him come inside first," Hae said, smacking Shisui on the back of the head.

"The test was easy, brother. I'm now a General Practitioner," Kaida replied, smiling.

"Easy? It took six hours, and you're calling it easy?" Yomi asked angrily.

Kaida blinked in shock. 'Six hours? The test only took 40 minutes... oh, they must think it took longer because I went to the library afterward.'

Although he could let them continue thinking that, he decided to be honest. "Actually, the test only took 40 minutes. I spent the rest of the time in the library, searching for what I could ask as a reward."

"You... do you even know how worried Aunt was? She hasn't eaten since this morning!" Yomi said, clearly upset.

"I'm really sorry. I got too caught up thinking about the reward," Kaida said, bowing his head.

"Don't worry, Kaida. Yomi is exaggerating. It wasn't that bad," Hae said, trying to lift the mood. She then glanced at Shisui.

Understanding her look, Shisui said, "Yes, since you've achieved something so remarkable, let's go eat out tonight."

Everyone knew why Shisui was suggesting this, and the topic wasn't brought up again. Yomi, feeling guilty for yelling at Kaida, snuck over to him when no one was looking, kissed his cheek, and whispered, "Congratulations on becoming a General Practitioner," before running back to her room. Even though they'd kissed before, doing it with Hae and Shisui around felt different.

Kaida smiled at Yomi's antics and went to his room to freshen up for dinner.

...

After returning from the restaurant, Shisui looked at Kaida and said, "Kaida, since I ate a bit too much, how about we go for a walk?"

Kaida nodded and followed him outside.

"So, why are we out here?" Kaida asked after they'd walked a fair distance from home.

"Aren't you going to tell me why you've been so tense this past month?" Shisui asked.

"What are you talking about, brother? I'm not tense," Kaida replied with a smile.

"I think you're forgetting that I also have a Sharingan, and a much stronger one than yours. I can easily sense someone's mood from their movements. At first, I thought you were nervous about the test, but even after that, you've stayed tense, like you're on constant alert," Shisui said, stopping to look Kaida in the eyes.

Kaida sighed. "Brother, may I speak?"

The way Kaida phrased it was odd, but Shisui understood. He activated his Sharingan and scanned the area. He spotted a shadow moving and, before it could get away, used Body Flicker to appear behind it.

With his sword at the shadow's neck, Shisui said, "Who are you?"