Inside the hospital room—
"Tangping, I brought Lady Tsunade to examine both of you. Surprised?"
Namikaze Minato entered the ward with Yamanaka Koji and Tsunade in tow, smiling as if he'd just gifted them a great favor.
And it was a surprise—
Just… not the good kind.
If it had been anyone else, Tangping wouldn't have minded.
But Tsunade, the absolute pinnacle of medical ninjutsu? She could definitely spot something unusual.
"Th-thank you, Teacher Minato!"
What else could Tangping say? He could only forgive the man.
After all, Minato's intentions were good.
Even though Tangping had already told him that Kōji's heart problem had been "taken care of,"
Minato clearly trusted Tsunade far more than some mysterious method of Tangping's—so he'd gone out of his way to ask her personally.
Now all Tangping could do was improvise.
The one saving grace was that the Warping Serum—that is, the "Adaptive Evolution" effect hidden within Tangping's blood—had completely integrated Kōji's second heart, erasing all traces of artificial modification.
In a world as bizarre as the shinobi world, having two hearts wasn't completely impossible.
If immortals like Hidan could exist, then someone being born with two hearts wasn't that unbelievable.
Tsunade began her examination.
Kōji had initially wanted to refuse, but after a subtle signal from Tangping, he relented.
Refusing outright would only arouse suspicion.
Letting Tsunade examine him was safer—at worst, she'd just find that his body was… unusual.
"Hmm?"
Tsunade's calm expression wavered slightly, a faint crease forming on her brow.
Minato immediately grew nervous, afraid she might've found something serious.
Only Tangping knew what was really going on—
She'd discovered that Kōji had two hearts.
That was definitely something unheard of in the ninja world.
Kakuzu had five hearts, sure—but those came from a forbidden technique.
This, however, was biological adaptation, something that looked completely natural.
"You two, step outside for a moment," Tsunade said.
It was a personal matter, and not something to be discussed with outsiders.
Tangping had already instructed Kōji earlier, when helping him lie down, so Kōji knew exactly how to handle it.
A lesser partner would've panicked, but Kōji was cool-headed and meticulous—he'd handle the questioning even better than Tangping expected.
After waiting outside the room with Minato for a short while, they heard Tsunade call them back in.
"Minato, his heart has been fully restored," she announced. "It won't affect his future as a shinobi."
That was all she said—no further explanation.
A ninja's body was classified information. Unless the patient wanted to share, Tsunade would never disclose more than necessary.
Next, it was Tangping's turn.
He wasn't worried.
Although his body was far from ordinary, everything about it appeared normal enough.
At least, there was nothing as conspicuous as an extra organ.
Still, for some reason, Tsunade's examination of him took longer than expected.
When it was over, she said evenly,
"You've been overexerting your chakra reserves. You need to rest and recover for a while."
She then laid out several treatment plans—each tailored specifically to his physical condition.
As expected of the medical ceiling of the shinobi world—her methods were meticulous, efficient, and effective.
After the examinations, Tsunade finally left the ward.
But Tangping's instincts told him something strange—
It felt like she'd taken a particular interest in him.
He wasn't sure if that was just his imagination.
In reality—
He was absolutely right.
Tsunade was intrigued.
Upon returning to Konoha, she'd discovered something that immediately caught her attention—
A healing serum.
And the developer? Tangping.
The information was classified—few people even knew of its existence. But Tsunade, of course, did.
That was why she'd offered to examine him herself.
And during that examination, she'd found something… interesting.
"Uchiha… Tangping," she murmured to herself later.
In the past, she might've wanted to take such a genius as her disciple.
But now? She had no such plans.
Still, she didn't mind giving him a little push forward.
After all, he was a Leaf shinobi—regardless of what his surname was.
Back in the ward—
Tangping remained unaware of her thoughts.
He was busy listening to Minato deliver a new piece of news.
"The Third Team is being disbanded," Minato said gently. "But if you ever have training questions, you can still come to me for guidance."
An unfortunate announcement, no matter how you looked at it.
After all, Minato wasn't just a rising star of the new generation—he was also tied directly to the Hokage's circle and was famously kind.
To lose a mentor like that was a huge loss.
But the reason was simple.
Their team had always been temporary.
Besides, neither Tangping nor Kōji could accompany Minato on missions for the time being, so disbanding made sense.
In truth, when the higher-ups wanted a team gone, they'd find a reason.
And when they didn't? Even three Jōnin could team up and no one would dare to split them—
just look at the Ino–Shika–Chō trio.
Of course, the newly formed Third Team had nothing to do with them anymore.
Their replacements were two Genin connected to the Senju and Sarutobi clans.
"Don't worry, Sensei," Tangping said with a grin. "If we ever have trouble with our training, we'll definitely come to you for advice!"
He wasn't shy about it at all.
Minato and Uzumaki Kushina were walking treasure troves—no way he was letting that opportunity slip by.
Thick skin was a survival skill. He'd milk every drop of wisdom he could.
"That's good to hear," Minato said with a smile before finally leaving.
Truth be told, he rather admired Tangping.
A pity the team had to be restructured.
"Can't believe Lady Tsunade herself examined us…"
Once Minato was gone, Tangping let out a breath of awe—
putting on the perfect act of a starstruck Tsunade fanboy.
At the same time, he began communicating with Kōji in secret—
by writing with his finger on the bedsheet.
They were in a hospital. There could be surveillance.
It was better to be cautious.
Better safe than sorry.
Through their silent exchange, Tangping learned how Kōji had handled Tsunade's questioning.
By combining a "forbidden jutsu mishap" with the "born-with-two-hearts" explanation, he'd passed inspection—and Tsunade had agreed to keep it confidential.
As long as it posed no threat to the village, she wouldn't interfere.
That was why Tangping wasn't too worried.
But then—something caught his eye.
"What's that? Did you bring those, Kōji?"
He pointed at the pile of scrolls and books by the window.
This room only had one occupant—him—and those definitely hadn't been there before.
"No…" Kōji shook his head.
The sudden silence between them was deafening.
Tangping's gaze fell on the topmost book.
[A Comprehensive Guide to Antidote Formulation]
It wasn't anything strange—just a medical text.
But the small line of text printed at the corner of the cover made his pupils constrict.
Author: Tsunade.
A book written by her.
And it wasn't available in any public library—this was highly restricted material, a precious collection of her own research.
It seemed she had noticed his progress in the medical field.
Instead of exposing him, she had quietly offered him help.
Tangping accepted that favor silently.
From here on, he would study these materials in depth, continue monitoring the changes in Yamanaka Koji and Hyūga Aotsuki—
and prepare for the storm that was about to break—
the Third Great Ninja War.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786