NARUTO: Ninja World Scientific Revolution

"Mirai-kun, why would you say that?" 

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Hyuga Mirai with confusion in her ruby-like eyes. She knew about Konoha's White Fang—he was her classmate Kakashi's father, a powerful ninja in the village. But today, after just returning to the village, Kurenai had heard something strange from Mirai that left her puzzled. 

Kiyo Hyuga also cast a glance at her cousin Mirai, though she didn't ask, instead waiting for her response. 

"It's because the rumors on the street suddenly stopped. Like that fruit vendor over there," Hyuga Mirai said, pointing to a fruit stall about ten meters away, and slowly continued explaining, "In the past, every time we passed by here, we'd always hear the vendor talking about Konoha's White Fang abandoning his mission. But today, after serving four customers, he didn't say a word. People only stop talking about something when someone dies, right?" 

Upon hearing Mirai's explanation, Kiyo and Kurenai instinctively looked around at the people on the commercial street. As they thought back, they realized that what Mirai said was true—there was an unusual quietness. Normally, by this time, they would have overheard merchants and civilians criticizing Konoha's White Fang, but today it was strangely silent. 

Kurenai, always one to argue, responded, "That doesn't necessarily mean—" 

"Rumors about him have been going on for over half a year. There's no reason for them to stop so suddenly today. If you don't believe me, you can ask around. I'm sure most people would say they don't want to talk about it anymore," Mirai cut in, shaking his head. 

Whether or not Konoha's White Fang had committed suicide had nothing to do with him. He had enough on his plate and no time to care about a high-ranking ninja's matters. 

Later, Kurenai set aside her doubts, and, following Mirai's lead, she decided to forget about asking the merchants further questions. Instead, she went with her team for a meal. However, her mind was far from the food; both Mirai and Kiyo noticed her distracted demeanor but said nothing. 

After the meal, the team disbanded, each returning home to rest. But Kurenai couldn't shake off the strange feeling about the conversation with Mirai, so she decided to visit Konoha's commercial street again. After buying a few apples from the fruit stall, she asked several passersby about the White Fang. 

"Konoha's White Fang? What does he have to do with us?" one of the vendors replied. 

"People just gossip. Nothing more. I don't want to talk about it now," said another. 

Kurenai received almost identical responses from four or five different merchants. She was confused and troubled. Could it be that White Fang really was dead? 

When Kurenai returned home, it was already quite late. Normally, after completing a mission, she would dine with her teammates, so her mother, as usual, didn't prepare dinner for her. But seeing the puzzled look on her daughter's face, Kurenai's mother, Yūhi Shin, couldn't help but ask, "Kurenai, did something happen?" 

"Father..." Kurenai set down the things in her hands, sat at the table, and after a moment's thought, asked, "Did Konoha's White Fang die?" 

Shin's face showed slight surprise, followed by a more serious expression as she asked, "Kurenai, how do you know this?" 

The news of White Fang's death had only come out yesterday. After his suicide, the Third Hokage had issued a gag order, and although White Fang was buried with honors as a hero, the information was still meant to be kept secret. 

"You're saying it's your teammate?" 

Kurenai hesitated but eventually recounted everything that had happened earlier that day, including her questioning of the people on the commercial street. 

"Your teammate is no ordinary person," Shin said after a long pause. Her face became very solemn as she continued, "Don't investigate this matter any further. The village has forbidden discussing it." 

"So, it's true..." 

"Kurenai!" Shin called out with a stern tone. "The Third Hokage has issued a gag order. Do not ask about it again." 

Kurenai froze. She had been merely curious about why Konoha's White Fang would commit suicide, but seeing her mother's serious attitude, she reluctantly agreed not to pursue the matter any further. 

In contrast to Kurenai, Hyuga Mirai wasted no time. After returning home, he quickly packed his things and headed out to the forest near the village to train. 

His control over the Yin Release chakra continued to improve. Mirai could now even sense the minute changes in his injuries as he treated himself. 

"It's time to apply for a laboratory at Konoha Hospital," Mirai thought to himself. After finishing his current B-rank mission, he would likely have a long period of rest. If not, he would apply to Akimichi Fuu. 

The team was not as obsessed with training as Mirai; they were still children. After months of fighting, Mirai could already sense that Kiyo was beginning to develop a violent streak. 

During the last few months of training medical ninjutsu using Shadow Clones, Mirai had gradually understood the principles behind Tsunade's Creation Rebirth technique. Chakra was a mixture of physical and mental energy. Normally, these energies would merge through hand seals to form chakra. Some Chunin or Jonin could refine chakra proficiently, allowing them to skip the hand seal step. 

However, the refining and transformation of Yin Release chakra required even more precision, and even skilled medical ninjas struggled to extract it instantly. If it wasn't controlled properly, chakra would be difficult to store inside a ninja's body for extended periods. 

But there were special methods for preserving Yin Release chakra. For example, through Sealing Jutsu. Just like how explosive tags could seal Fire Release chakra onto paper, Yin Release chakra could be sealed into medical talismans in the same way. 

"How strange. Why hasn't anyone thought of such a simple solution?" Mirai thought. 

This wasn't entirely his fault; Konoha's medical system was the strongest among the Five Great Nations, but it was primarily driven by Tsunade's efforts. From the end of the Second Great Ninja War to the beginning of the Third, in less than ten years, Konoha had managed to establish an excellent system for training medical ninjas. 

However, after Tsunade's lover died and she developed her hemophobia, the progress of the medical system had nearly come to a halt. After Tsunade's withdrawal, the system had stagnated. 

The Third Hokage and his advisors never made any moves to continue developing the medical system; their focus remained on producing more medical ninjas, which was a slow process. 

In a sense, Konoha's medical system had come to a standstill, unable to develop further. Without Tsunade's leadership, it was like trying to walk with two broken legs—crawling was possible, but any further advancement was out of the question. 

(End of Chapter)