Uchiha Patriarch !

Nonō Yakushi opened the window, letting a chilly morning breeze carry dust into the room. Looking out, the world outside seemed so barren. The rocky mountains were nearly devoid of any greenery, with a somber and monotonous color that felt oppressive. There were small patches of green in the village, but they only made the vast expanse of dull, dark hues feel even more desolate.

This was Iwagakure.

One of the most prosperous areas in the Land of Earth.

"It can't even compare to Konoha!" Nonō Yakushi adjusted her oversized glasses, sighing for what felt like the thousandth time. The longer she stayed undercover in Iwagakure, the more she missed every tree and blade of grass at the orphanage she had established in Konoha. No matter how humble the orphanage was, it still felt like home, the place she longed for the most.

"Doctor Shiso, you're up early again!"

Across the street, the fried meat pie shop had already opened. The cheerful and boisterous owner, a plump woman, was sweeping the dust from the front of her shop. Due to the lack of vegetation, the northern wind often swept dust into Iwagakure, forcing residents to clean the streets and rooftops daily.

But the dust wasn't the worst problem.

The villagers' biggest fear was a natural disaster known as the "rock rain." Sometimes, the fierce northern winds would hurl "small" rocks into the air, causing these chicken-egg-sized stones to fall like rain. 

Foreigners might find this an interesting sight, but to the locals, it was one of the most dreaded disasters. If not for the fact that most of Iwagakure's buildings were made of stone, the frequent rock rains would have destroyed the village many times over. Even so, each rock rain still caused significant damage.

"Good morning, Doctor Shiso!"

"Doctor Shiso, my father says the medicine you prescribed worked wonders!"

Neighbors and passersby warmly greeted Nonō Yakushi, and she returned each greeting with a gentle smile. In Iwagakure, she was known as Doctor Shiso.

After so many years of being a spy, Nonō Yakushi had learned many things. She found that infiltrating a village wasn't that difficult. Whether it was Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, or any other village, none had a strict and comprehensive residency system. While the villages kept detailed records of their shinobi, there were also many residents who weren't shinobi.

The simplest example was those who had entered the ninja academies after Tobirama Senju established them, yet failed to become qualified shinobi. These individuals, lacking combat skills, were not even useful as cannon fodder on the battlefield. Every village had tried to deploy them in combat, only to suffer disastrous results.

Instead of aiding the combat units, they often hindered them, and every village had paid a price for this mistake.

As for logistics work, it required clever minds, not individuals who couldn't even graduate from the academy. These students, after reaching a certain age, would leave the academy and enter various professions. The chakra extraction techniques they learned in school were less useful than basic math unless they went into manual labor.

However, as the saying goes, there are always exceptions. Sometimes, a "golden phoenix" might emerge from the "chicken coop." For example, Doctor Shiso had gained quite a reputation in Iwagakure. She entered the ninja academy in her youth but was later diagnosed with a congenital heart condition during a physical exam, making it impossible for her to become a combat shinobi. As a result, she was expelled from the academy.

What the villagers loved to talk about was how Doctor Shiso, despite being expelled, never gave up on her ninja dream. Since she couldn't become a combat shinobi, she decided to become a medical ninja. Through treating her own illness, she met many doctors and eventually learned the most basic medical ninjutsu.

After enduring unimaginable hard work, Doctor Shiso succeeded. Four years ago, at the age of nineteen, Shiso gained recognition for her medical skills, even receiving praise from the Third Tsuchikage, who encouraged young villagers to emulate her dedication and strive to improve Iwagakure's medical capabilities.

This is the story that the villagers knew about Doctor Shiso.

Strictly speaking, the first half of the story was true. There was indeed a young girl named Shiso in Iwagakure. However, the real Shiso had no talent for medical ninjutsu. Despite years of effort, she couldn't even grasp the basics of healing.

Four years ago, Nonō Yakushi, under pressure from Danzo Shimura, had to return to her spy work. After carefully investigating, she found that Shiso's simple relationships and background as a former academy student made her the perfect cover.

She replaced the real Shiso, using expert disguise techniques and information extracted from Shiso's memories to perfectly impersonate her — becoming a much more outstanding version of Shiso.

After breathing in the dry, earthy air from the window as Shiso would, Nonō Yakushi made a simple breakfast. After eating, she lit incense at the shrine for her late mother before heading to Iwagakure's hospital.

Like the ninja academies, Iwagakure's hospitals and medical ninja system were also modeled after Konoha's. However, this imitation wasn't very successful. Lacking a solid foundation in medical ninjutsu, Iwagakure's hospital was more like a large village clinic compared to Konoha's city-level hospital. The doctors and nurses were few, and the medical standards were limited.

The hospital's only advantage over Konoha's was its size. The Third Tsuchikage, with grand ambitions, had allocated a large area in the village's central district to build Iwagakure's hospital, hoping to surpass Konoha in medical prowess. However, he hadn't mentioned this project in almost a decade, and he hadn't set foot in the hospital in just as long.

After all, as the Tsuchikage, he had personal medical ninja attending to him and didn't need to visit the hospital.

"Doctor Shiso."

"Good morning, Doctor Shiso!"

From the moment Nonō Yakushi stepped into the hospital, people greeted her continuously. Although "Shiso" was technically a 23-year-old, there were so few experienced medical ninjas in Iwagakure that it took Nonō Yakushi only four years to become one of the hospital's top doctors.

As for whether the 31-year-old Nonō Yakushi had any trouble passing herself off as a 23-year-old, the answer was no.

As a legendary spy, much of Nonō Yakushi's success was due to her medical expertise, which may have been second only to Tsunade's. Using medical ninjutsu, she could adjust her appearance and even convincingly simulate a congenital heart condition.

This allowed her to pass Iwagakure's inspections and work at the hospital.

Pretending to be a 23-year-old was no problem for someone as skilled as Nonō Yakushi, who excelled at maintaining her youthful appearance.

"You're doing well."

"Your recovery is going well. After a bandage change, you'll be ready to leave the hospital. Just don't stay outside too long in the wind."

"The documents the director asked for — I'll submit them soon."

After exchanging pleasantries with patients and colleagues, Nonō Yakushi finally reached her office. However, when she opened the door, she found someone already there: a small girl sitting in her chair, skillfully disinfecting a wound on her arm with iodine.

The black-haired, black-eyed girl looked delicate and cute.

In Yakushi Nonō's memory, the window she had closed before leaving yesterday was now wide open. It was clear how the girl had entered the room.

Seeing this unexpected guest, Nonō sighed in resignation and approached her with concern. "Kurotsuchi, how did you get hurt again?"

"Injuries are part of training! You wouldn't understand, Sis Shiso, because you're not a ninja!" The girl responded with a bold tone, skillfully extending her arm. Nonō began healing Kurotsuchi's scrapes and bruises using the *Palm Healing Technique*.

"Who are you underestimating, kid? I'm a medical ninja now," Nonō said, pretending to be angry.

"Well, it's different! You're not a combat ninja, Sis Shiso. I've been practicing the Earth-Style Hardening Jutsu lately. Every day, I have to smash into stone pillars. Until I fully master it, I'm bound to get hurt." Kurotsuchi explained the cause of her injuries.

"But you're pushing yourself too hard! Don't think I can't tell just because I'm not a combat ninja. This is self-destructive training. Most of these injuries are from overworking yourself. Kurotsuchi, you're on a path of self-destruction!" Nonō's expression turned serious.

"…I don't have a choice! I need to get stronger, quickly. Only by becoming stronger can I teach that idiot Deidara a lesson and make him apologize to Grandpa. Ever since Deidara's incident, Grandpa hasn't rested properly for a whole month." Kurotsuchi lowered her head, speaking softly.

Deidara. Nonō had heard that name many times. In fact, every villager in Iwagakure knew of Deidara, the nine-year-old kid responsible for a series of terroristic explosions in the village—the first in over fifty years.

Nonō didn't know much about Deidara's background, but she knew he was the Third Tsuchikage's disciple and a famed genius. She had encountered both Deidara and Kurotsuchi through her work a few times.

Just over two months ago, a series of explosions occurred in Iwagakure. Initially, they only caused property damage, but soon people began getting injured. Under the Tsuchikage's orders, the village police investigated and discovered that the culprit was none other than the Tsuchikage's nine-year-old disciple, Deidara.

In the end, given Deidara's age, the Third Tsuchikage chose to exile him from Iwagakure, but significantly, Deidara was not expelled as the Tsuchikage's student. Nonō suspected the Third Tsuchikage still harbored hopes that Deidara would return and admit his wrongs.

But to Nonō, that was wishful thinking. She had interacted with Deidara, Kurotsuchi, and Akatsuchi, recognizing that Deidara had a deeply rooted obsession with explosions. Nothing—family, village, friends—could compete with his love for destruction. Expecting him to apologize was futile.

"Even if that's your goal, pushing yourself like this won't make you stronger. You're still growing, and these injuries will cause long-term damage. If you keep this up, next time it won't just be scrapes—you could end up hospitalized for months if you hurt a bone!" Nonō half-advised, half-scolded, sounding like a doctor genuinely concerned for her friend's well-being.

"But... if I don't do this, I can't beat Deidara!" Kurotsuchi bit her lip, on the verge of tears.

"The Tsuchikage will handle Deidara. You've already said how worried he is. If you end up in the hospital too, won't that just add to his stress?" Nonō's logic finally broke through Kurotsuchi's stubbornness.

Kurotsuchi widened her eyes, taking a moment to process it all. "This... this is so complicated!"

Kurotsuchi looked a bit defeated, realizing that no matter how hard she tried, she might never bring Deidara back herself. The best thing she could do for her grandfather now was to stay out of trouble.

"Don't worry. When you're older, and a true ninja, you'll be able to help the Tsuchikage." Nonō smiled warmly, carefully checking Kurotsuchi's injuries. Once she confirmed they were all healed, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Phew! All done! Kurotsuchi, remember to train within your limits. Overdoing it will only backfire." Nonō breathed a long sigh of relief. She hadn't forgotten that she was pretending to be "Shiso," a young doctor with a congenital heart condition. Even though she was a medical ninja, using healing techniques took a toll on her body due to her heart problem.

"Sis Shiso, are you okay?" Kurotsuchi asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired. Don't worry," Nonō replied, taking a heart medication from her pocket. She swallowed one, her pale face gradually regaining color—though in reality, she hadn't taken the pill, only palmed it in a sleight of hand.

"It's been a while since I've exerted myself like this... I guess I really won't be fighting on any battlefields. Looks like I'm just meant to be a village doctor," Nonō joked.

"Sis Shiso, is your condition really that bad?" Kurotsuchi asked, worried.

"I'm not sure. Maybe someone like Tsunade of the Sannin from Konoha could fix me, but here in Iwagakure... we don't have the technology yet," Nonō explained.

"Konoha again, huh?" Kurotsuchi suddenly remembered something. "Oh, Sis Shiso, if you don't have anything important to do, it's best not to go out for the next couple of days. I overheard Grandpa and Dad saying there's a dangerous Konoha spy in the village, and they'll be searching for them. Even the hospital will be checked, so just a heads-up in case you get startled."

"A Konoha spy?" Nonō looked visibly shaken. "Is there really a spy in the hospital? Should I take a few days off?"

"I told you, Sis Shiso, don't worry. This has nothing to do with you. The hospital's just being checked as a precaution," Kurotsuchi reassured her.

However, Nonō's mind was far from at ease. She knew Kurotsuchi well—having interacted with her for two years now. Due to her "heart condition," Nonō never engaged in anything violent and stayed away from intense situations, working mostly in internal medicine and pediatrics.

This "innocence" made Kurotsuchi sure Nonō couldn't possibly be a Konoha spy.

Yet, in truth, Nonō felt the danger closing in. Iwagakure rarely involved the hospital in its spy hunts, as medical ninjas were vital resources, carefully vetted before employment. Nonō herself had spent enormous effort to pass these security checks.

Now, however, the scope of the search seemed to imply something more—perhaps a sign that Iwagakure had found a clue, and she feared being exposed.

She couldn't afford to wait much longer.

She had already sensed changes coming, and Kurotsuchi's warning only confirmed it. Nonō knew about the upheaval in Konoha—the fall of the Third Hokage and the death of Danzo. She still had contacts within Konoha, which allowed her to keep up with the situation.

The death of Danzo gave her hope for survival. In her latest message, she had even expressed a desire to return to Konoha, a thought she never would've entertained while Danzo lived.

Now, with her cover at risk in Iwagakure, she began planning her escape. She had gathered vital intelligence by posing as "Dr. Shiso" and gaining access to people like Kurotsuchi. However, fleeing would be dangerous, with the possibility of being pursued relentlessly by Iwagakure ninjas.

"I wonder if Konoha will send help…"

Nonō thought carefully about her options. All she could do now was hope that Konoha, changed by new leadership, might offer her a way back to safety.

"Kurotsuchi, thank you! I won't be going anywhere for the next few days," Nonō said with a smile, masking her inner turmoil.