"What a strange person."
That was Kurama Yakumo's assessment of Hyuga Kiyonari.
"I should go. If I don't get home soon, Mom will worry."
She packed up her easel and handed him the "Ultraman" drawing. "Talking with you was pretty enjoyable. I hope you write that story soon."
"I will. But…" Kiyonari took the rolled drawing and blinked. "Could you draw illustrations for me too?"
"Mm… let's talk about that next time."
But Yakumo didn't realize that this "next time" would come so quickly.
A week later.
Kiyonari followed a doctor to the door of a hospital room.
Through the small window in the door, he could see Yakumo lying quietly on the bed, her face so pale it looked almost bloodless.
Inside the room, besides Yakumo, were her father—Kurama Murakumo—and her teacher, Yūhi Kurenai.
As Kiyonari pushed the door open and entered, Murakumo immediately stood up to greet him.
"Um… you're Hyuga Kiyonari, right? May I…" He hesitated, then asked, "Can you contact Tsunade-sama? The hospital can't find the cause of Yakumo's illness."
Kiyonari shook his head gently. "I'm sorry, Kurama-san."
"Even if I can contact my teacher, with the border situation so tense, she has no time to return to the village. And with… with Yakumo's current condition, she probably can't endure a long journey to seek treatment elsewhere."
Murakumo's face immediately filled with heavy disappointment, but he still wouldn't give up. "Then you…"
"I haven't mastered medical ninjutsu," Kiyonari answered honestly.
At that moment, Yakumo on the bed seemed to be stirred by their voices and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Kiyonari, surprise appeared on her pale face.
"Hyuga… Kiyonari? I didn't expect you to be Tsunade-sama's student."
Kiyonari walked to the bedside. "How do you feel?"
"I'm okay… just a bit tired," Yakumo forced a smile. "I always feel exhausted. I don't want to do anything."
Then Kiyonari's next sentence made hope flare again in Murakumo's eyes.
"I brought a doctor. Let it take a look at you—okay?"
"Mm."
Kiyonari stepped back, formed hand seals, and pressed one palm to the bed.
Poof!
As white smoke dispersed, a slug about the size of a fist appeared in the room.
"Kiyonari-sama, why have you summoned me? Is there danger?"
"No, Katsuyu-sama," Kiyonari said, pointing to Yakumo. "Please help diagnose this patient. Her body is weak, but the doctors here can't find the cause."
"I understand." Katsuyu slowly crawled closer. "Please allow me to examine her."
Kurenai added, "Yakumo's daily life is okay, but as soon as she trains even a little, she becomes exhausted—whether it's taijutsu or genjutsu practice."
When Katsuyu's feelers touched Yakumo's arm, a gentle chakra fluctuation spread outward, and Kurenai fell silent.
The examination lasted about five minutes. Throughout it, Katsuyu remained quiet, and the old father's heart tightened more and more.
As the saying goes: it's not scary when the doctor smiles—it's scary when the doctor's eyes go serious. The same thing applied here.
Finally, Katsuyu withdrew her feelers. And Kiyonari somehow saw an expression like "surprise" on a slug's face.
"The cause has been found. But strictly speaking… it can't really be called an illness."
"Then what is it?" Murakumo asked urgently.
"Her Yin Power is simply too strong," Katsuyu said slowly. "I've seen countless humans, but I've never encountered someone with Yin Power as abundant as hers."
"Yin Power… isn't that a good thing?" Kurenai asked, confused. Strong Yin Power meant exceptional talent in genjutsu.
The Kurama clan specialized in genjutsu and inherited a bloodline limit called "Five Senses Manipulation." Though the clan had declined, every few generations a prodigy would appear—someone far beyond their peers. Yakumo was one of them. Yet none of their predecessors had shown a problem like this.
Katsuyu's feelers swayed from side to side as she explained, "Strong Yin Power and excessively strong Yin Power are two different things. Like a bag—if you force it to hold far more water than it can contain, the bag itself becomes extremely fragile. Her body cannot bear a soul this powerful, and that's why she appears physically weak."
The diagnosis shocked everyone. For a moment, the whole room fell silent.
"Then… is there a way to treat it?" Murakumo asked the key question.
Katsuyu couldn't help sighing. "This isn't an illness. What is there to 'treat'?"
Yakumo reached out a finger, gently touching Katsuyu's feeler, and pleaded, "Katsuyu-sama… I want to become a ninja. Can you help me?"
"…Alright," Katsuyu finally relented. "I can use natural energy to condition your body, and at the same time remove part of your excessive spiritual energy, easing the burden on your body. But this process must be extremely slow and gradual—otherwise your body won't be able to withstand it."
"Then do it!" Murakumo blurted immediately. "As long as Yakumo can get better, anything is fine!"
"I'll say this again." Katsuyu's feelers raised, and her tone turned grave.
"She isn't sick, and this isn't treatment. I'm only helping her maintain a relatively balanced state and temporarily easing the load. But given the nature of her soul, in about one or two months, her condition will return to what it is now."
At that, Kiyonari asked, "And after that? What happens when she grows up?"
"It won't improve much," Katsuyu replied. "As the body grows, the soul also grows. That's how all life is."
After thinking a moment, Katsuyu added, "In fact… this situation isn't life-threatening. Life doesn't kill itself. As long as she doesn't engage in physical activity, she'll be fine."
Hearing that, Murakumo's expression shifted through a complicated arc—hope to disappointment, then back to hope.
He looked at his daughter on the bed, an indescribable bitterness rising in his chest. "Yakumo… Katsuyu-sama also said it. As long as you don't do physical work, you'll be fine. Becoming a ninja… your body simply can't handle it."
Yakumo didn't answer right away. She turned her eyes to the ceiling, her gaze hollow. In the quiet, only the faint hum of medical equipment could be heard.
Give up becoming a ninja?
Yakumo asked herself—and in the very next second, she had already made her decision.
"But I have a reason I must become a ninja."
~~~
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