Seiki didn't "know" the truth about hemophobia, yet he still urged strongly, "You're none other than Lady Tsunade, one of the legendary Sannin. You're Konoha's greatest Medical Ninja! You must be able to overcome this damn hemophobia!"
Tsunade remained in her dejected state, "What's the use of having great medical skills? They can't even save this hopeless world, and not even save those I cherish."
Seiki fell silent for a moment before his voice turned heavier, "I don't know what kind of setback you've experienced, nor do I have the right to urge you to forget your pain, but from the perspective of a Medical Ninja, we must stay strong! If even we give up, then this world will truly be without hope!"
"Life's tough for everyone in this world—no one's got it easier than anyone else. Many students in my class lost their families during the war, but these aren't reasons for us to abandon hope—or rather, precisely because of their sacrifices should we treasure the present even more."
Seeing Tsunade remain silent, Seiki seized the opportunity and pointed at the door while speaking, "Mizuki has already lost his family, lost his friends, and now... must he lose the only dream he had left too?"
A flash of conflict crossed Tsunade's eyes, but she finally shook her head and said softly, "I'm sorry."
"I was wrong. Perhaps you are indeed the strongest Medical Ninja in Konoha, but definitely NOT our greatest one!" Seiki looked like his idol had shattered, saying bitterly, "Such a cowardly Lady Tsunade is truly disappointing!"
"Don't speak disrespectfully towards Lady Tsunade!" Shizune rushed in angrily, protecting Tsunade like a mother hen shielding her chick, glaring furiously at Seiki, "Tsunade-sama must have her own reasons for doing this!"
Tsunade placed her right hand on top of Shizune's head, sighing with a bitter smile, "He's right—I really am a coward."
Shock spread across Shizune's face as she turned to Lady Tsunade, "Lady Tsunade… you..."
Tsunade gave a slight shake of her head, exhaled heavily, then locked her sharp gaze onto Seiki, "I may be a coward, but... Do you really have the courage to bear everything?"
"I don't know." Seiki pursed his lips briefly before lifting his head, determination burning intensely in his eyes as he looked straight into Tsunade's gaze, "But I have the belief to protect everyone!"
"Fine then, I'll guide your training myself, and then YOU will perform the surgery on him!"
"Me...perform the surgery?"
"You'd better think carefully—the consequences of failure could be fatal!" Tsunade fixed Seiki with calm eyes, "Other than me, the success rate of anyone else in Konoha performing this surgery won't exceed thirty percent. For you, I expect nothing less than a minimum fifty percent chance of success."
Seiki once again lapsed into silence. At that moment, Mizuki entered as well, his voice trembling with emotion, "Class President, accept her offer! Only you won't cause me any doubt whatsoever!"
Tsunade instinctively recalled the situation Shizune mentioned yesterday and inwardly thought, "Indeed, what enviable trust!"
After a heavy pause, Seiki nodded firmly and looked at Lady Tsunade, "Lady Tsunade, I'll follow your guidance from now on!"
...
The next morning — just before dawn.
Seiki lay on the narrow wooden bed, thinking to himself, "Even for a calm guy like me, it's not easy to get angry. Luckily, nothing big happened yesterday."
Though he still hadn't managed to help Tsunade overcome her fear of blood, this didn't surprise Seiki.
After all, in the original story, Tsunade had experienced both the temptation of Beten and the lure of the Impure World Reincarnation before finally making her decision and overcoming her fear of blood.
Seiki knew his words couldn't match Beten's, so he aimed lower—if Tsunade could just perform the surgery with his help, that'd be enough.
"As for Mizuki's change of heart, that was actually a pleasant surprise. People like him, once they change their minds, often prove more reliable than others."
"People drowning in darkness hold onto the tiniest bit of light even tighter!"
...
"...That wraps up today's lesson on 'The Extension and Expansion of the Will of Fire'. Make sure to go over everything carefully after class. These contents were personally designated by the Hokage for inclusion in the promotion exams. Alright, class dismissed."
"Aww! So much to memorize!"
"When I become Hokage someday, my first act will be abolishing all exams!"
"And I'm gonna hunt down every one of these authors and give them a good spanking too!"
"Err... This book was written by the Third!"
"Oh, then never mind."
Amidst the rising complaints, Asuma looked particularly embarrassed.
After all, this was the old man's masterpiece, one he even enjoyed rereading privately at home during his free time.
Trying to shift attention elsewhere, Asuma deliberately called out, "Seiki, how's Mizuki doing now?"
Yes, it was time the classmates realized their contributions.
Hearing his shout, others suddenly remembered there was one invisible student missing from class today.
"That's right! Mizuki still hasn't come to school today!"
"I figured it out! He must be slacking off. I got beaten by my parents yesterday but came to school anyway."
Asuma spoke seriously, "Don't say such things carelessly. Mizuki's injuries are pretty severe. The hospital said he might not be able to become a ninja anymore."
"What? How could it get to this point?"
"Though Mizuki is kind of an unlikeable guy..."
Asuma waved his hand, "But don't worry, Seiki took him to see Tsunade-sama yesterday. Surgery might've already been completed. Right, Seiki?"
When everyone turned to look at him, Seiki shook his head gravely, "Due to certain special circumstances, Tsunade-sama cannot perform surgery on Mizuki."
Upon hearing this, Asuma also grew anxious, "What should we do then? Maybe I should go find the old man. He's the Hokage, surely he'll have a solution!"
"Calm down first," Seiki tried to pacify him. "Though Tsunade-sama can't perform surgery on Mizuki, there's still me."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Tsunade-sama will guide my training, and then I'll perform the surgery on Mizuki."
Hearing Seiki's statement, the students in the classroom relaxed.
In their opinion, their class monitor was much more reliable than that Tsunade-sama.
"Whew, what a relief. Now that the class rep's involved, Mizuki's totally getting reinstated."
"I nearly had a heart attack! That pissed me off. I could seriously go beat up those third-years all over again."
"Exactly! Mizuki almost flunked out of the ninja academy! We should totally drop by and mess with those losers again!"
"Asuma Sarutobi, Seiki Shimaseki..."
Just as everyone was excitedly plotting how to beat up the third-years, a few inconvenient voices chimed in.
Then, several menacing glances snapped toward the classroom door.
Their eyes met. Shuunen, standing at the doorway, couldn't help but break into a sweat. Had he just misheard? These first-years actually wanted to beat up the third-years again!
What's with those ruthless stares? Are these first-years even human? Freaking demons or something?
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