Chapter 357: Round Two

Chapter 357: Chapter 357: Round Two

I limped down the street, barely surviving Takemura’s wrath. He had punished me just as intensely as he had worried for me. At one point, I had almost subconsciously activated my seal formation at full power just to escape the beating.

I sighed, keeping my eyes glued to the dirt path. A heavy weight of guilt settled in my chest for making him and everyone else worry so much. Still, my current strength was the direct result of that reckless gamble, and I would use it to protect them. I would use it to keep the village safe from any harm so these people could continue living their peaceful lives.

Completely consumed by my thoughts, I failed to watch where I was walking and bumped right into someone.

The man stumbled back but remained extremely polite. "I am so sorry, I didn’t see you there! I am carrying too much stock to bring to the shop. Business is booming right now, you really should visit us. We are located..."

His sentence died in his throat as his gaze finally locked onto my face. His pupils shrank to comical proportions, and his expression instantly contorted into a mask of pure, unfiltered panic.

"The... the Tyrant..."

A prominent tick mark bulged on my forehead. I really hated that nickname.

"He is back!" the merchant shrieked, his voice trembling violently. He dropped the few heavy rolls of cloth he had just picked up next to the others directly onto the floor and immediately scrambled away. He kept his terrified gaze fixed on me as he literally crawled backward through the dirt. "We thought you were gone! You are alive, and you are even bigger now! My god, the peaceful lives we had..."

I groaned, rubbing my temples. "Do not overdo it. I only demanded a ninety percent discount from the original price the last time I bought something from you. Also..."

I trailed off, finally looking around and taking in the incredible scene of the lively market. The streets were completely transformed. Rare herbs and rich fabrics imported straight from the Land of Wind were displayed alongside exotic fruits and vegetables from all corners of the world. I had no idea what was going on or what had caused this massive economic boom, so I turned back to ask the merchant.

However, the moment I looked at the spot where I had just left him, the space was entirely vacant. A long, cartoonish trail of dust plumed into the air, marking the path of his terrified retreat deep into the crowded market.

I stood perfectly still. "Unbelievable," I muttered, shaking my head.

Searching for another vendor to interrogate proved useless. Every single stall owner in the vicinity was staring at me with a chaotic mixture of true fear and sheer bravery, completely tensed and readying themselves for an inevitable fight to the death over their merchandise.

Deciding to ignore them... for now, I turned on my heel and continued my walk toward the hospital. As I moved, I observed the people of Konoha. They seemed happier and more energetic than before, spending freely and buying entirely new luxuries. The Land of Fire was never a poor nation by any metric, but the current rate of spending was higher than usual. Not to mention the suspicious influx of strangers from other lands. They wandered the streets trying to blend in, but the obvious fish out of water expressions plastered across their faces completely outed them.

I reached the hospital only to find it buzzing with injured shinobi returning from various assignments.

"What is going on here?" I muttered to myself as I approached a frazzled nurse. "Excuse me, is Ayaka-san on duty?"

She gave a sharp jerk of her chin, barely looking up from her clipboard. "Yes, but she is taking a break in her office right now. Unless you are carrying a direct message from the Hokage, do not interrupt her break."

I bowed respectfully. "Yes, ma’am." Then I turned and headed directly for Ayaka’s office anyway.

I knocked on the heavy wooden door slowly. There was no immediate response, though I could vaguely hear the muffled sound of frantic, desperate chewing. I knocked again, much harder this time.

A heavy groan echoed from inside, followed by a voice teetering right on the edge of a complete mental breakdown. "I have been working for almost nine hours without a single water break! Let me eat in peace! I just want ten minutes, and then you can all continue to work me to death!"

I chuckled softly. "It is me, Ayaka-san."

I heard some sudden stumbling, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. The deadbolt clicked, and the door swung open to reveal a disheveled, exhausted Ayaka. She stared at me with a crazed, exhausted expression.

"Noa. You are finally awake."

I grinned, genuinely happy to see her. "Yes I am. May I come in?"

Ayaka looked around in a daze before realization fully dawned on her. She quickly stepped to the side. "Sure, sure, come in and have a seat."

She leaned out into the hallway, checking both directions as if terrified something might bite her head off, before pulling back inside and locking the door. She even formed a quick hand sign, erecting a specialized chakra barrier around the perimeter of the office.

I looked around, amused by the shimmering sphere of energy. It heavily resembled the security barrier in the Hokage’s office, although it was clearly an inferior version. "Why do you need a privacy barrier in a hospital office?"

Ayaka shrugged, walking back to her desk and aggressively grabbing a pair of chopsticks. "Sometimes the Hokage comes here. Sometimes the ANBU drop by to discuss, share, or inquire about highly classified medical information. The ANBU erected this barrier a while ago. Ignore all of that. When did you wake up?"

I leaned back in the guest chair. "Just earlier today."

Ayaka studied me with pure professional amazement. She wasn’t entirely shocked by my physical appearance, as she must have visited me on a daily basis while I was unconscious. The bodily changes were likely gradual enough for her to process over time. However, she could clearly sense the immense, dense chakra running through my newly coiled muscles and notice the sharp, energetic light in my eyes.

She instinctively extended her hand, coating her palm in a soothing green medical chakra, and touched my shoulder to check my internal status. She gasped softly.

"Incredible," she whispered. "Your chakra network is vastly stronger than when the seal was still forming."

I flexed my arm slightly. "Yeah. At that time, the seal formation was activating piece by piece. Now the entire formation is functioning in harmony. The full effect is much superior."

Ayaka slowly withdrew her hand. "This feels like something only Lady Tsunade could achieve. Or..." She paused for a dark moment, her voice dropping. "Orochimaru."

I raised both hands in a quick gesture of surrender. "I promise you, I have not experimented on anyone but myself."

I laughed, but she did not share the humor. Instead, she gave me the exact same dangerously stern look Takemura had worn earlier in the day.

I decided to quickly change the subject. "By the way, what is going on with the village? Why are there so many people from outside? Which trade route suddenly became so active, and why is there so much money flowing around? Why are things more expensive now?"

Ayaka sat down behind her desk, picked up her bento box, and took a massive, aggressive bite of rice. She chewed quickly before answering.

"I am sure you must have some idea," she said, gesturing with her chopsticks. "But our trade with the Land of Wind has increased immensely. On top of that, we have secured a massive influx of exclusive mission contracts from both the Land of Grass and the Land of Waves as of late. Konoha essentially holds a monopoly on those routes right now."

She took another bite of grilled fish, swallowed hard, and continued. "Because of those exclusive agreements, our shinobi are bringing in a lot of money. More trade is safely passing from the Land of Waves across the Land of Fire and into the Land of Grass, and vice versa. That means a massive spike in lucrative escort missions. All that newly acquired wealth is being spent right here in the village, attracting foreign merchants who are assured the safety of their investment in the Land of Fire by that Yamanaka council member. This increases demand, which in turn drives up the prices of everyday goods."

I nodded slowly, piecing it together. "The village is moving incredibly fast. But are the other hidden villages really okay with Konoha getting this rich and powerful so quickly?"

"Well, no," Ayaka replied bluntly, taking a sip of water. "They started acting out. There have been border skirmishes and territorial disputes, which is exactly why there are so many shinobi visiting the hospital on a daily basis. However, the casualty rates are actually much lower than expected."

"Why is that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"A few reasons," she explained, finally setting her empty bento box aside. "I am sure you remember the Hokage ordering mandatory extra training for all active squads. That is an order the Third Hokage would have never given, simply to avoid making the other hidden villages anxious and on edge. However, this new Hokage does not really care for them."

She smiled a dangerous smile, as if impressed by Fugaku, before continuing. "Not to mention the high-quality weapons, armored shinobi clothes, and equipment the Yamanaka clan previously provided. They have also become much more active in speeding up communication and coordination between the village and its shinobi, and between different squads, using their network. But the biggest factor? The Uchiha clan has fully joined the standard operations outside the village. They are incredibly powerful shinobi, you know."

I laughed out loud, instantly thinking about Shisui. "That they are, indeed."

Ayaka glared at me, her tone shifting from informative to strictly business. "Speaking of strength, you owe me a fortune. I had to provide highly specialized, heavily concentrated IV nutrients just to save your life. They benefited your physical growth immensely, not to mention the extra off-the-clock care I had to provide to ensure your body could actually handle the strain."

She crossed her arms, giving me a severe look. "Those IV solutions were synthesized for elite, high-level Jonin. They are horribly expensive. I had to dip heavily into my own life savings to purchase the needed amount after I noticed the regular shinobi medical supplies were not enough to keep the process going."

I extended my arm, looking closely at my newly refined, densely packed muscles. "Yeah, I noticed the growth." I looked back at her. "Just out of curiosity. If you had not provided those specialized nutrients, would I have survived?"

She sighed, playing with her hair for a moment as she tried to arrange it. "You would have been unconscious for much longer, that is for sure. And that is considering you had already exceeded your initial recovery estimate. Bad calculation on your part, by the way."

I rubbed the back of my neck in sheepish agreement as she continued. "But if I had to make a professional guess, I would say your survival rate would have been around sixty percent."

I exhaled heavily, the gravity of her words sinking in. I stood up and bowed deeply to her. "Thank you for saving my life, Ayaka-san."

Ayaka smiled softly, the severe look fading. "I am glad you survived, Noa. I still remember the very first day I saw you after the Nine-Tails attack. You have come such an incredibly long way."

I scratched the back of my head, feeling a bit shy from the praise, before getting down to business. "So, exactly how much do I owe you? I need to know the total so I can start arranging high-paying missions to clear the debt."

She thought for a moment, pulled out a clean sheet of paper, and started writing. She put down a single digit. Then a zero. Then another zero. My polite smile began to strain. She added a comma, followed by three more zeros. I tried to swallow, but a heavy gulp stubbornly refused to go down, getting completely stuck in my throat. She paused, hummed quietly to herself, and then kept going. The string of numbers trailing across the page was starting to look less like a hospital bill and more like the annual military budget of a small nation. Finally, she capped her pen and slid the paper across the desk to me.

I picked up the sheet. My eyes locked onto the ink. My breathing completely stopped.

I carefully folded the paper, placed it back on her desk, and slid it directly back to her.

"Can I pay this with an installment plan?"

Ayaka frowned. Knowing my reputation perfectly well, her guard instantly shot back up. "Not really. But in your specific case, given the circumstances, I am willing to offer one. How many months do you need?"

I laughed nervously, taking a slow step backward toward the door. "How about a thirty-year plan?"

Ayaka shot to her feet. Viscous, menacing green chakra boiled up around her, expertly coating her clenched fist. The entire room seemed to turn dark, leaving only her eyes shining an ominous green through the gloom with a terrifying, homicidal rage.

"Wow," I squeaked out. "You look exactly like Takemura-ojisan when he gets angry. How amaz.."

Before I could finish the sentence, the world went completely dark.