Naruto: I Have Cursed Spirits!

[Wake-up protocol: ACTIVATED]

[Training schedule: Commencing]

Early in the morning, Shiratori was jolted awake by the system's notifications. He sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.

System, reduce notification volume.

[Volume settings: ADJUSTED]

[System entering quiet mode]

Only then did he feel like the world had finally quieted down. He took a deep breath, washed up, and headed to the living room for breakfast. What he didn't expect was that Jiraiya had given him a huge surprise.

As he opened the bedroom door, he immediately saw Tsunade sitting on the tatami mat. In that instant, he almost felt like doing a victory dance.

Jiraiya, you absolute legend!

This is incredibly effective!

His legs nearly went weak with excitement. He looked toward Jiraiya, who gave him a smug smile. His eyes brightened, and he ran over to hug Jiraiya tightly.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei!"

Thank you for calling in the perfect teacher!

Thank you for setting up this opportunity!

Jiraiya hadn't expected such an enthusiastic reaction. He patted the boy on the back, feeling genuinely pleased with himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nagato watching them with an odd expression.

Was that... envy?

Nagato observed as Shiratori hugged Jiraiya. A subtle pang of jealousy rose in his chest. He remembered how comforting Shiratori's embrace had been when he was scared and confused. It felt like having someone who would always be there, no matter what happened.

Tsunade looked on in surprise at Jiraiya and the child in front of her. She hadn't expected Jiraiya to be so attached to these kids. From his expression, it was clear just how much he cared about them.

When she'd received Jiraiya's urgent message yesterday, asking her to rush to Ame, She had feared the worst. She'd raced here overnight, only to discover he wanted her to teach a child medical ninjutsu. If he hadn't been so earnest in his request, she might have punched him and left immediately.

"Alright, alright," Jiraiya said, gently extracting himself from the hug. He ruffled Shiratori's hair and made the introduction:

"I may not know medical ninjutsu, but this person here is one of the best medical-nin in the world."

"Wow!" Konan and Yahiko gasped appropriately.

Shiratori looked at Tsunade with interest: "I remember you! You helped treat Jiraiya-sensei when we first met. Your medical skills must be incredible!"

Faced with sincere admiration from the children, even someone like Tsunade, who had heard countless compliments, couldn't help but feel delighted.

She crossed her arms and looked away, trying to maintain her stern demeanor.

"Why do you want to learn medical ninjutsu?" she asked, fixing Shiratori with a sharp look.

Her tone wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't hostile either. Still, Shiratori could tell this was a test. He considered his options. The obvious answer would be "to save people," but that was exactly what everyone said.

Too generic.

Too naive-sounding.

Instead, he went with something more practical. "Because I'm tired of watching people die when I could help them."

"Tired of watching people die?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, showing genuine interest now.

That wasn't the answer she'd expected.

"Yeah. I've seen too many people get hurt, and all I could do was stand there. I hate feeling useless."

Tsunade studied him carefully. There was something in his eyes, not the bright idealism she usually saw in wannabe medics.

She thought he would say he wanted to learn medical ninjutsu to save people. She was already prepared to be annoyed.

Why?

Because that was the answer she heard so many times before.

She decided to push further.

"Medical ninjutsu isn't just about healing cuts and bruises," she said. "Sometimes you'll have to make impossible choices. Sometimes you'll fail, and people will die anyway. Can you handle that?"

Shiratori met her gaze steadily. "I'd rather try and fail than not try at all."

Tsunade felt a flicker of approval. At least the kid wasn't spouting nonsense about saving everyone.

But she had one more test.

Her eyes shifted slightly. She hesitated for a moment. Poking at a child's wound like this seemed a bit cruel, but she couldn't help hoping for an answer that went deeper.

"There's something I need to know," she said, her voice growing serious. "How did your family die?"

The room fell silent. Jiraiya's expression grew concerned as he watched Shiratori's reaction.

For a moment, Shiratori's composed mask slipped. His jaw tightened, and his hands clenched briefly into fists.

"Ninjas killed them," he said quietly. "During a raid on our village."

Tsunade nodded grimly. She'd seen this story too many times.

"Then answer me this," she said, leaning forward. "If you encountered those same ninjas, badly wounded and dying, would you save them?"

Yahiko's face darkened with anger. What kind of question was that? It was like asking someone to betray their own family.

Konan placed a hand on Yahiko's arm, silently telling him to let Shiratori answer.

Nagato watched intently, wondering what his friend would say.

Tsunade wasn't surprised by the long pause. After all, this was a question even she couldn't answer.

Actually, that wasn't true, she could answer it. And her answer was: No, she wouldn't.

She couldn't do it.

Shiratori raised his head and looked straight at Tsunade,

"Yes," he said finally. "I would."

Tsunade frowned. She didn't believe it. It sounded like the kind of answer someone would give just to impress her.

A look of dissatisfaction appeared on her face.

"That's easy to say—"

"No, it's not easy," Shiratori interrupted. "It would be the hardest thing I'd ever do. But I'd do it anyway."

He paused, seeming to gather his thoughts.

"I'm not going to pretend I'd forgive them or that I wouldn't hate every second of it. But letting them die wouldn't bring my family back. It would just make me the kind of person who lets people die when I have the power to save them."

Tsunade stared at him, taken aback by the blunt honesty.

"Besides," Shiratori continued with a slight shrug, "dead enemies can't suffer with the knowledge that they owe their lives to someone they tried to destroy. There's a certain... satisfaction in that."

Worst case, he could always kill them after treating them.

Maybe he could even earn two batches of emotional energy that way.

One for gratitude, one for hatred.

Profit!

The room was dead quiet.

Tsunade blinked, then stared at the child in front of her in astonishment.

Unbelievable!

These words actually came out of the mouth of a child?

Her gaze instinctively shifted to Jiraiya, who smiled and nodded at her. Only then did she understand why he regarded this child so highly.