Chapter 276: Everything Is Abnormal
Konoha Hospital.
Evening's afterglow filtered through floor-to-ceiling windows, plating the entire building with a warm orange-pink halo.
The setting sun no longer blazed intensely, gently washing over pale beige walls, spreading long light spots across gleaming floors.
As the sky gradually darkened, the light spots took on faint purple tones—so gentle they seemed unlike a hospital, instead resembling a courtyard softly embraced by dusk.
Shizune sat in the director's office, irritably handling official business. Her beloved pet pig had long since vanished without a trace, dead somewhere unknown.
Previously, Mizuki had sought her out, wanting her to lead the "Wood Release Sacred Body Hero Trial" activity. But she'd sternly refused.
What ridiculous "hero trial"?
Could changing the name alter human experimentation's fundamental nature?
Shizune had studied under Tsunade. She knew something of Orochimaru and Danzo's past activities, clearly understanding how extremely difficult "Hashirama cell" fusion truly was.
Given Konoha Village's current situation, recreating Yamato's miracle was absolutely impossible.
She'd earnestly advised Mizuki for quite some time but still couldn't persuade him. Ultimately she could only protest by claiming illness and refusing to work.
But who knew that Mizuki fellow would actually invite some so-called "divine doctor" from the Land of Fire's capital, forcibly pushing forward this plan.
If he continued recklessly like this, how many village residents would die!
Shizune had wandered outside with Tsunade for years. She actually possessed little prestige within the village and couldn't convince others to support her. She could only watch them act recklessly, thinking that after this batch all failed, she'd unite other clans to force Mizuki to abandon this unreliable plan.
Knock knock knock
A series of chaotic footsteps suddenly disrupted Konoha Hospital's tranquility.
"Lady Shizune, Lady Shizune..."
Someone jogged to the entrance. Without even knocking, they burst straight through, calling out with joyful amazement:
"Wonderful news, Lady Shizune!"
"The Wood Release Sacred Body Hero Trial succeeded!"
"Someone has already successfully fused with Wood Release cells, becoming a Wood Release ninja!"
"What?" Shizune rose abruptly, face full of shock. "How is that possible?"
The visitor rattled off the situation, leaving Shizune stunned repeatedly.
"Results achieved within just one day?"
"Public appearance in the village tomorrow?"
"What kind of joke is this!"
"How could such absurd events occur?"
"Lady Shizune, this news has already spread throughout the village. Moreover, the successful trial hero is currently at the trial chamber. If you don't believe it, you can go see for yourself!"
Without another word, Shizune tossed aside all documents in hand, rose and swiftly exited, heading toward the "trial chamber."
Upon arrival, she discovered a massive crowd already gathered—all wanting to visit the "trial hero."
Divine Doctor Jakuen had already gone to rest. The gate guards dared not offend anyone, only smiling apologetically while repeatedly explaining:
"Though Oda-kun passed the trial, his physical stamina is currently greatly depleted. He needs much rest."
"Tomorrow Oda-kun will publicly appear anyway. Everyone meeting him then won't be too late!"
Shizune frowned, pushing through the crowd while calling loudly:
"I'm a medical ninja. His depleted stamina—I can help him rapidly recover. Surely that's acceptable for entry?"
Others didn't truly care about any "trial hero"—they merely wanted to verify authenticity. Seeing Shizune step forward, they immediately chimed in supportively.
"Exactly! We won't enter, but having Lady Shizune go in to examine Oda-kun shouldn't be problematic?"
Now the guards had no choice but to let Shizune enter.
Shizune strode quickly through the door. Her gaze swept around, immediately spotting body bags arranged side by side in the laboratory corner. Her frown deepened further.
However, now wasn't the time to concern herself with this. She walked directly through the laboratory toward the rest room at the rear.
Through the glass door, she indeed saw someone sleeping inside. Quite a few medical ninja surrounded him recording various data while discussing heatedly.
Seeing Shizune push open the door, everyone hastily paid respects.
Shizune waved her hand, stepped forward, and began carefully examining this Oda-kun's various data.
She was an extremely skilled medical ninja. With just one glance, she confirmed this Oda-kun's current physical condition was excellent—exceeding ordinary shinobi—and his physical constitution was still slowly improving.
"This... the fusion truly succeeded!"
Shizune's hands trembled. She completely couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She took a deep breath, calming her emotions before turning to ask a familiar nearby shinobi.
"May I see the detailed medical treatment plan?"
"Oh, of course." That shinobi hastily handed over the medical plan in hand, speaking with reverence: "Divine Doctor Jakuen himself is extremely magnanimous. He doesn't mind us learning from him at all. All operations were conducted openly before us without any concealment."
"Lady Shizune, your timing is perfect. We just discussed for ages but couldn't understand the methods in this medical plan. Please explain it to us."
Shizune accepted the medical plan. After briefly flipping through, she frowned deeply.
"What is all this?"
"Did you take the wrong report?"
"Eh?" That person hastily craned his neck to look, then smiled apologetically: "No mistake. This is it."
"This medical plan is utterly fantastical. We're shallow in talent and learning—truly cannot comprehend it. Please help interpret, Lady Shizune."
Shizune's brow remained tightly furrowed. The more she read, the more confused she became.
"This—this is clearly complete fabrication!"
"How can anyone remove a person's liver and inject Wood Release cells in the original location?"
"Oh, Divine Doctor Jakuen seemed to mention in passing that the liver is an immune organ. Removing the liver can reduce the body's resistance to foreign cells, facilitating cell fusion."
"What nonsense?" Shizune felt her entire worldview crumbling. "This is utterly absurd! If resistance decreases, wouldn't Wood Release cell erosion become even stronger?"
"But according to instrument data, after removal, Wood Release cell erosion speed decreased!"
The more Shizune examined these so-called "treatment methods," the more she felt this was completely fabricated—absolutely impossible to achieve.
Yet peculiarly, those instrument data proved even more abnormal—consistently producing normal results everywhere.
"Something's wrong. This treatment plan definitely has problems. That Divine Doctor Jakuen certainly has problems too!"
After reaching this conclusion, Shizune looked up to find all medical ninja staring at her with strange expressions.
***
70+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces