I Just Wanted to Slack Off, But I Was Forced to Become Hokage

Chapter 17: The Big Sucker's Generous Gift!

"Vice-Chief Inuzuka, you've heard of me?"

Hearing the undisguised friendliness in Inuzuka Tsume's tone, Nara Keisuke felt a little puzzled. He considered his memory to be quite good. Today should have been his first time meeting Inuzuka Tsume. He could let it slide with that fairy-like cat girl from earlier; her good attitude could be chalked up to "soliciting customers." But this female vet from the Inuzuka clan, this senior, this vice-chief...

Inuzuka Tsume gathered the remaining clean bedsheet from the patient bed, frowning slightly in discomfort, before tossing it directly into a nearby trash can. Perhaps the lingering "cat smell" on the sheet had irritated this staunchly loyal dog person...

"Don't forget where you are, Little Nara. This is the Beast Rearing and Therapy Class."

Inuzuka Tsume clapped her hands and gave Nara Keisuke a warm smile, revealing a pair of rather sharp canine teeth.

"Senior Keiko took very good care of me before she retired. Speaking of which, if she hadn't retired, this vice-chief position wouldn't have been mine!"

So it's a connection through Keiko...

Nara Keisuke understood.

"Oh, right, Little Nara, remember to put away that incense stick you have."

Inuzuka Tsume walked towards the desk in the corner of the room, not forgetting to add, "Although Nekomura comes from a black-market merchant clan, I have to admit that the quality of the goods she sells is very guaranteed, countless times better than Manten-dō. The ninja tools she sells are especially good; even the Uchiha clan places special orders from her."

Ninja tools?

Nara Keisuke looked down at the incense stick in his hand. Although the sharpness of [Shadow Sewing Technique] was no less than that of a standard kunai, as a B-rank ninjutsu, casting it consumed a lot of Yin Release chakra. Therefore, supplementing his skills with a certain degree of weaponry had long been included in Nara Keisuke's strength development plan. Not to mention he had previously developed the C-rank jutsu [Invisible Air] based on [Camouflage Concealment].

But could that cat girl from earlier provide ninja tools that met his requirements?

With the thought of "it might come in handy someday," Nara Keisuke carefully stored the incense stick away. Mhm, it's definitely not because he wanted to see that fairy-like golden silk cat girl again...

"Thank you for the guidance, Vice-Chief Inuzuka."

"You're way too polite, kid!"

Although the words weren't very courteous, judging from the bright smile on Inuzuka Tsume's face, she was quite pleased.

"Actually, the relationship between our two families could have been even closer. When Hana was born last year, I wanted to arrange a marriage with Senior Keiko, but she refused." (Hana, as in Inuzuka Hana)

Nara Keisuke lowered his head, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Although Inuzuka Tsume had a wild hedgehog-like hairstyle, she was not yet twenty years old. Not yet twenty, and already a mother... Nara Keisuke could only marvel at the precociousness of ninja. At the same time, he was also marveling at Inuzuka Tsume's frankness.

A childhood betrothal wasn't out of the question. One of the First Hokage's goals in establishing Konoha was the hope that the village could break down the clear boundaries between the ninja clans. Moreover, neither the Nara clan nor the Inuzuka clan were "Kekkei Genkai clans." As secret art clans, the two families didn't place as much importance on their bloodlines as one might think, unlike the Uchiha or Hyūga.

But at the end of the day, who ever heard of a "childhood betrothal" with a ten-year age gap?

Sitting behind the desk, Inuzuka Tsume continued the topic, a nostalgic look on her face.

"Senior Keiko said you matured early and don't really like underdeveloped little girls. You prefer older sisters, especially—"

"Slander! This is absolute slander!"

Nara Keisuke's eyes widened, and he interrupted her. Before Inuzuka Tsume could finish, his face had already turned red, the veins on his forehead bulging as he argued, "I don't like little girls... or older sisters! ...Can an adult even understand a child's preferences?"

"Well, whatever. I admit I don't really understand kids. Even Hana is mostly taken care of by my ninja hound, Kuromaru."

Inuzuka Tsume shrugged, skipping the topic.

"Where were we? Manten-dō? Right, the Manten-dō military ration pills! Little Nara, doesn't your family run pharmacies? Why did you think of buying military ration pills from Manten-dō?"

Inuzuka Tsume's train of thought jumped so much that Nara Keisuke had some trouble keeping up. Before he could explain, she continued, "The military ration pills from Manten-dō, aside from being very filling, are far inferior in quality and effect compared to others, and they digest especially quickly."

Previously, Nara Keisuke's chakra reserves were pitifully low, so he did have a certain lack of knowledge regarding military ration pills. After a moment of silence, he took the initiative to ask, "Are there different kinds of military ration pills?"

"Of course!"

Inuzuka Tsume took out a dark pill from her equipment pouch.

"For example, my family's military ration pills have some dog food specially added—uhm, let's ignore this example! In short, among the military ration pills produced by various families, if you only consider the effect, the Akimichi clan's pills are definitely the most potent!"

The Akimichi clan's military ration pills? Nara Keisuke thought for a moment. Is she talking about the "Three-Colored Pills"?

For the Akimichi clan, who were part of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, Nara Keisuke's knowledge far surpassed his knowledge of the Inuzuka clan. He knew that the Akimichi clan possessed a special family secret medicine—the Three-Colored Pills. The green spinach pill, the yellow curry pill, and the red chili pill. Each pill was stronger than the last, but their side effects were also more severe than the last. Especially the final red chili pill, the intense negative consequences after taking it could even be life-threatening!

"If you think the military ration pills from Manten-dō aren't very effective," Inuzuka Tsume said, enthusiastically extending her hand to Nara Keisuke. "We can trade pills. Besides ninja hound food, my pills also have some other stimulating substances added, which can more effectively squeeze the cells to extract more chakra."

"No, thank you for your kindness." Nara Keisuke shook his head, refusing Inuzuka Tsume's enthusiasm. On one hand, he didn't like eating dog food. On the other hand, although Inuzuka Tsume was not satisfied with the pills from Manten-dō, according to her introduction, their pills contained no stimulating substances, were extremely filling, and didn't harm the cells... They might be more suitable for him!

Inuzuka Tsume withdrew her "special military ration pill" mixed with dog food, not without regret.

"Actually, it's good to change flavors once in a while."

After a pleasant chat, the relationship between Nara Keisuke and Inuzuka Tsume had become much more familiar, and he began to get to the point.

"Vice-Chief Inuzuka, this is my first day reporting to the Beast Rearing and Therapy Class..."

"Right! Speaking of which, why did you still come to work?"

Nara Keisuke was very confused by Inuzuka Tsume's interrupting reply. He slowly let out a: "Hmm?"

Could it be that because I stepped in with my right foot first when I entered, I'm going to be fired on my first day of work?

"It's like this. Lady Tsunade came to the Beast Rearing and Therapy Class this morning and used her authority as the department head to transfer your ninja file."

Inuzuka Tsume spread her hands.

"So strictly speaking, you are no longer a member of the Beast Rearing and Therapy Class."

So I was thinking too far ahead.

Nara Keisuke adjusted his sunglasses. He had been fired before he even started.

...

Standing outside the main gate of the Medical Department, Nara Keisuke looked up at the sky. The warm sun made him feel a bit dazed.

Should I go find the big sucker now? According to Inuzuka Tsume, he was now Tsunade's direct subordinate. In normal times, Nara Keisuke could act like a "freelance ninja," forming his own teams to take on missions and gain experience. But Tsunade had direct authority over him. Once Tsunade encountered a mission, she could call him, the tool man, over to help take the blame at any time.

In other words, in his profession as a "ninja," Nara Keisuke was now more than half-bound to Tsunade.

Nara Keisuke would be lying if he said he wasn't stunned by the big sucker's move. Especially since she hadn't mentioned a single word about it before! But from another perspective, Tsunade's move had also liberated him from the laborious life of a conventional "ninja tool man."

Between "working at the Beast Rearing and Therapy Class" and "doing missions with Tsunade," Nara Keisuke definitely preferred the latter.

'So, is this a shock? Or a surprise?'

Nara Keisuke looked towards the Hokage's Office from afar. The big sucker should still be in the Hokage's Office discussing important matters with the higher-ups. He thought for a moment and chose to go straight home. Back to the top-floor apartment next to the academy that temporarily still belonged to him.

The Konoha Medical Department and the Ninja Academy were not far apart. In less than ten minutes, Nara Keisuke was back home. The first thing he did upon returning was not anything else, but to take out the black scroll Tsunade had given him earlier.

Entering the quiet study, Nara Keisuke unrolled the scroll and carefully read its contents. The elegant handwriting was imprinted on the white paper of the scroll. The dense content showed the effort the writer had put into it.

'I feel like I've seen this handwriting somewhere before...'

Nara Keisuke finished a rough reading of the last word on the scroll, feeling a little puzzled.

'And isn't the secret art [Super Beast Scroll] supposed to be possessed by Root? Where did Tsunade get this scroll?'

Nara Keisuke's confusion only lasted for a short while before the message that popped up on the panel interrupted his thoughts.

[Detected B-Rank Secret Technique [Super Beast Scroll]. Learn?]

'It seems that even for conventional scrolls, the <

Nara Keisuke didn't hesitate and chose to learn it directly.

[B-Rank Secret Technique: Super Beast Scroll]

Jutsu Description: Accept the infused will, and even a false life will become a dancing beast.

Jutsu Effect: Use ink infused with Yang Release chakra to draw various animals on paper and grant them active "life." The generated animals depend entirely on the user's will.

Jutsu Evaluation: You should try to draw something that doesn't exist in reality!

Author's Note:

A big thank you to all the reader for reading this fanfiction!!

—

Regarding [Super Beast Scroll], let's discuss it here.

[Super Beast Scroll] is a special ninjutsu mastered by Sai, a new member of Team Kakashi (Team 7) and a member of Root, in the Shippuden arc.

The "Sha no Sho" databook describes it as a B-rank ninjutsu, with the effect of drawing active beasts with a brush and ink.

The question I want to discuss is whether [Super Beast Scroll] belongs to Yin Release or Yang Release.

Yin Release creates form from nothingness.

Yang Release gives life to form.

From the performance of the ninjutsu, [Super Beast Scroll] undoubtedly belongs to the category of Yin Release, creating ever-changing beasts with ink as a medium.

However, according to the "Jin no Sho" databook, Sai has no talent for Yin Release... his chakra natures are "Water, Fire, Earth, Yang," so [Super Beast Scroll] seems to be a Yang Release ninjutsu.

The original manga doesn't mention the nature of [Super Beast Scroll], and the two conclusions summarized above conflict with each other, so I can only come up with my own.

Note, this is a personal setting. You could also call it a fan-canon setting.

[Super Beast Scroll] is Yang Release.

(End of Chapter)