Chapter 119 - Seek the Hidden Truth of the Necklace

It was the last day of April. Daichi had spent everyday training in the hospital and improving his basic medical skills. He also didn't neglect his other chakra training.

The day was coming to a close and Daichi was just about to complete his shift when an emergency occurred.

"Lady Tsunade! We need your help." A nurse at the hospital barged into the room. She had a patient with her that seemed to be in agony.

"Lay him down." Shizune and Daichi laid the patient down on the examination table.

"He came in with severe pain in his abdominal area. We ran a diagnostic and sensed abnormal chakra fluctuations."

"We'll take it from here." Shizune told the nurse and after giving them the relevant information she left.

"Well Daichi, you're up. He is in pain and his chakra network is behaving erratically. So identify the problem quickly and solve it or Shizune will step in." Tsunade spoke at that moment.

Daichi nodded and looked over at the patient. He ran a medical diagnostic jutsu created by Tsunade and quickly identified the problem.

"He has a parasite in his abdominal area and it's leeching off his chakra. He needs surgery." Daichi spoke and quickly put on the gloves and took a clean scalpel.

The room they were in was clean and was capable of such a situation. Daichi prepared the patient and he cleaned the area and cut into the person's body. He quickly reached the intended area where the parasite was laying and carefully cut it out. It wiggled and sent the drops of blood on its body flying everywhere. Daichi placed it in a container and quickly closed the wound. He was calm the entire time and moved with precision. His high dexterity helped in making it a perfect surgery with no mistakes.

"Done." Daichi said. He called the nurse back and she took the unconscious patient out of the room.

It was only then that Daichi turned around to look at his mentors. He saw a few drops of blood on Tsunade's hands and she was shaking like a leaf. Shizune calmed her down in a low voice and quickly wiped the blood of her master.

Tsunade looked at the two people in the room. Her eyes fell on Daichi and she felt like a failure at that moment. 'How pathetic! At this point a child is a better medic than me.'

"I need some air." With those words she quickly left the room.

Daichi sighed at the scene. 'Trauma like that… It's not something that can be overcome with ease… Well unless you befriend the protagonist of the series…'

His eyes then went to Shizune. Even though he knew the reason he still asked. "She has hemophobia doesn't she…? What happened?"

Shizune let out a small breath and looked sad at that question.

"It was something that happened a long time ago… She had two great loves in her life. The two most important people to her. The first was her brother. Nawaki Senju. He had dreams of becoming Hokage. On his twelfth birthday after learning his goal, Lady Tsunade entrusted him with the green gem necklace and hoped he would achieve his dreams… The necklace once belonged to her grandfather, the First Hokage. So she thought Nawaki deserved it. He died the day after in an unfortunate accident during a mission…"

Daichi nodded slightly and didn't speak. 'If I remember right, then his body was blown up and the only thing that was intact was the necklace.'

Shizune continued without knowing Daichi's thoughts. "It took a long time for her to recover from that. The second person she loved was my uncle. Dan Kato. He too had the same dream of becoming Hokage and he was the second person she entrusted the necklace to. Shortly after, during the second world war his team was ambushed and he was gravely injured. Lady Tsunade couldn't save his life and he died in her arms… From that day she became afraid of blood… She holds onto the necklace because it reminds her of her loss."

"So that necklace represents the two great losses of her life huh… If she wants to recover and move on then she should entrust the necklace to someone else." Daichi said this because he wanted to see if he could cure Tsunade of her phobia. And he felt that the person who should have the gem was Naruto. Daichi had no interest in becoming Hokage and he had no interest in getting the green gem from the Sannin.

Shizune shook her head hearing that. "It's not that easy. There is more to that necklace. Lady Tsunade believes it is cursed. She believes anyone who wears it other than her will die. So she won't give it up to anyone."

Daichi crossed his arms as he thought about that detail. 'Right. There is that…'

At that moment an unexpected quest box appeared.

[Quest Created] - 'Seek the Hidden Truth of the Necklace.'

[Tsunade and those around her believe there is a curse on the first Hokage's necklace that would kill anyone who wears it other than Tsunade Senju. But is this the truth? Investigate what happened in secret and find the hidden truth of the necklace. ]

[No time limit.]

[Once you've found the truth, you have two options.]

[Option 1:]

Reveal the truth to Tsunade.

[Rewards:]

15000 Exp.

Reputation might increase or decrease with Tsunade, Shizune and possibly others.

[Note: Revealing the truth to Tsunade will have unknown consequences.]

[Option 2:]

Keep what you've learned to yourself.

.

[Rewards:]

15000 Exp.

[Failure:]

If you are caught investigating the incidents then certain dangerous individuals will have their eyes on you.

[Possible death…]

.

[Accept] Y/N

After telling the story Shizune left the room to find her master but Daichi was standing still staring at the quest box. He read the contents and was astonished.

'What the hell…? There's more to the story behind what happened…? And the failure part of the quest… Certain dangerous individuals and possible death… So does that mean…'

Several thoughts went through Daichi's mind and he came to a conclusion. 'The death of Nawaki Senju and Dan Kato… They weren't accidents. It was both planned… Two assassinations disguised as accidents.'

After thinking about it for a few more seconds Daichi accepted the quest despite the risks. He was far too curious now. He decided he would think about it more once he got home.

He washed up and stepped out of the room. He saw a much calmer Tsunade and Shizune waiting for him along with the head of the hospital Dr. Karuizawa.

"I'm impressed young man. You passed the month without any problems. You treated every patient correctly. A perfect record. Which is unheard of for a trainee… and even some doctors." The man spoke with a large smile.

[Reputation increased with Karuizawa, Tsunade Senju and Shizune.]

"Your basic training has now come to an end. If you wish to practice your medical arts you are welcome here."

Daichi gave a small polite bow and thanked the man for the opportunity. 'Thanks to Tsunade's books I know every part of the human body, the problems that can arise and how to treat them efficiently and correctly. And with the Gamer's Mind keeping me calm and my absolute recall skill treatment is no problem. Add in my 'observe' skill and diagnosing and accurately identifying a patient's illness was easy too...'

Once Karuizawa left, Daichi turned to his two teachers.

"Come on brat. Let's go. We're celebrating tonight. My treat." Tsunade said with a smirk and led the way. They made their way to the red phoenix restaurant and this time went to the First floor.

They found a quiet private spot and gave their order.

Tsunade looked at Daichi and was deeply impressed with his skills and talents. She never met a child with as much raw potential as him. 'He didn't make a single mistake throughout the month. He was able to correctly identify the problem and solve it every time. Even I made mistakes when I started out. But then again I didn't have the knowledge he had. But still. To apply that knowledge into practice correctly… His potential is vast.'

"You've completed your training for the first month and performed the tasks perfectly. I have to admit. You have some skill. You know… You could become an excellent medic and spend your days in minimal danger and lead a comfortable life if you become a medic at the hospital here." Tsunade said as she looked at the boy.

"I know. But that's not the life I want… And you already know that."

The Senju merely smirked at that reply.

"Take a few days off to rest. After that we'll get started on the advanced stuff. It will only get difficult for you from this point forward."

Daichi nodded. 'Finally… I'll be able to learn medical ninjutsu and can master it much faster thanks to my perfect control. Based on the speed, I should be able to learn everything she can teach me in the next couple years.'

The food soon arrived and everyone enjoyed themselves.

"So Daichi, what are your plans for the next two days?" Shizune asked the boy.

Daichi paused for a moment and thought about it. After a short while he had an answer. "I'm thinking about starting on the first step of the change in chakra nature for lightning. Since I have the next few days off I'll be able to start on that and complete it in a month or two."

The slight Sannin smirked and looked at the boy. "You really think you can master the first step in just two months while training in medical ninjutsu and completing your daily academy assignments…!?"

"Yes. I would have mastered it in less than 2 or 3 weeks if I had nothing to do but as you've said, I have plenty on my plate already. That's why I said two months…" Daichi had a smirk on his face as he replied.

"You're a cocky little brat aren't you?"

"You're only now figuring that out?" Daichi looked at her and took a bite of his food.

Tsunade's eyes twitched as she looked at the smug grin on the boy's face. 'Why this little…'

Shizune awkwardly laughed looking at the scene. 'Daichi… Please don't antagonize Lady Tsunade. I really like this restaurant.'

"Don't you have anything else to do? Don't you have any hobbies?" Tsunade asked him as she drank some sake.

"Well… I cook when the mood hits me and I occasionally paint… But... now that I think about it… I haven't had much time for those recently." Daichi pondered on that though. 'I need to enjoy myself. I can't spend all my time training even though I like it… I need to experience more in life…'

"Wait! You paint?" Shizune asked him.

Daichi nodded and Shizune made a request for a portrait of herself. Daichi accepted and told her he would make one in a couple weeks.

A couple hours later the small party winded down and Daichi went home.

When he got home he noticed that Kensei wasn't around. 'Must be on a trip outside the capital again… He's been going out a lot more, lately. Wonder why…?'

Daichi didn't think about it more because he had something else in his mind.

He completed his daily assignments and just laid in his bed. He thought about the recent quest that was created.

'Seek the hidden truth of the necklace. It's the first time I got a quest with different options like this. Not telling Tsunade and nothing happens, but telling Tsunade can create some kind of ripple effect… And what's more is the reward for telling her... My reputation might decrease…? How is that even possible? Just what kind of secret is it?'

Daichi went over everything he knew about the deaths and about the two characters.

'Nawaki Senju and Dan Kato. To the show they were just side characters that were created to move the plot forward. But this isn't a show… It's real life. At least for me…'

Daichi took a deep breath and thought about the situation.

'It looks like their deaths were planned murders instead of some accident that happened on a mission… So who would benefit from the death of a genin and a Jonin…? Is it the work of one individual or two individuals? Or is it an organization that's behind their deaths? Is Danzo involved in this? Both of them wanted to be Hokage… Is that the reason? No. Nawaki was just a kid. He wasn't a threat. And I doubt Danzo would order the assassination on the grandchild of the First Hokage… Still… can't completely rule him out.'

Daichi frowned as he looked at the ceiling of his room. 'There are too many variables. Dan, Nawaki, Tsunade, the Senju clan, Hokage, the necklace… There are too many things connected. But what was it that caused their deaths…?'

Daichi thought about it some more and made a decision. 'I need more information. In the meantime I need to come up with some theories that connect all the dots. I've seen the show in its entirety. The clue must be hidden in there somewhere…'