Teaching Tenjiro was easier than I expected.
When I first saw him, his mannerisms and appearance screamed delinquent, punk, and thug. I thought teaching him anything would be a massive headache, but once I actually started, I didn't get that vibe at all.
His desire to heal the sick was genuine, and his passion was so intense that if I taught him one thing, he‘d charge in demanding ten more.
He wasn't dim-witted either; he absorbed everything I taught him instantly and made it his own, making the instruction quite rewarding.
And so, I taught him everything I could—patient classification, viruses, bacteria, physical structure, anatomy, and the importance of cleanliness and sterilization.
I shared every bit of medical knowledge I possessed.
Of course, I‘m no expert, and I don't have the depth of a 21st-century resident physician. However, this is the distant past—a time when leprosy is called a 'divine curse,' and when people catch pneumonia or pulmonary edema, they can do nothing but pray. The very concept of 'medicine' hasn't even been established yet.
My handful of knowledge isn't enough to synthesize penicillin or anything that advanced, but even with that meager amount, I can save a truckload of people here.
"Master!"
"Don't call me Master… No, forget it. Call me whatever you want."
I‘ve rejected everyone who tried to call me 'Master' except for Shiryu, Jomon, Rasatsu, and Myoren. It‘s likely a trauma of sorts. Or maybe I just dislike the title.
But I allowed it for this guy. He follows and trusts me like a loyal hound; I figured I could at least grant him this much.
After I became his 'Master,' I taught him in earnest for what ended up being three years. Now, not a single patient remained in his medicine shop—which he had given the self-indulgent name of 'Kirinden.'
Every dying patient who had come here was now fully recovered and had left Kirinden with a smile. I patted the shoulder of Tenjiro, who was looking around the empty ward with a sentimental expression.
"This concludes the lectures on human anatomy. From here on, you must discover the rest with your own hands."
"I‘m damn well grateful for everything!!"
I smiled in satisfaction at Tenjiro‘s vigorous response and nodded.
"Alright, let's go dig some dirt."
"Ouh!"
"Wait, aren't you going to ask why we‘re suddenly digging dirt?"
"Huh? Didn't you say three years ago that we were going to build a hot spring?"
He remembered that?
The more I see of this guy, the more I like him.
"You really remind me of Shiryu."
"Shiryu…? Never heard that name. Is it someone famous?"
"Ah, I guess you wouldn't know the name."
I suppose after over 100,000 years, unless you‘re from the Shiba clan, an outsider wouldn't remember it. Looking at it this way, a truly vast amount of time really has passed.
I smacked my lips at the relentless passage of time and shrugged.
"Maybe you‘ll recognize him if I call him the Founder of the Shiba Clan?"
"The Founder…"
Tenjiro froze like a statue at the sudden tidal wave of information. It looked like his brain was working overtime to process what he‘d just heard.
"…Just how old are you, exactly!?"
"What‘s the point of counting? It‘s meaningless. Just assume I'm older than anyone else you know; it's easier that way."
"You're like a grandfather… no, an ancestor at this point, aren't you?"
"Listen here, brat. I don't have kids. I'm not even married, so how could I have children?"
As I let out a deep sigh, Tenjiro chuckled confidently and jabbed his thumb at his chest.
"Aren't disciples the children of one's heart? I'll be your son."
Seeing Tenjiro‘s playful grin, I let out a smirk and whacked him on the back of the head!
"Dammit, that hurts!"
Hearing what had now become his signature line, I let out another long sigh.
"You look older than I do, you bastard."
"Dammit, that hurts!!"
"What the? I didn't even hit you that time, why'd you make the noise?"
"My heart hurts! My heart!! I was already self-conscious about looking old!"
"If you look old when you're young, you'll look young when you're old. Look on the bright side."
And besides, your face is going to stay exactly like that forever. Only your hairstyle will change.
I swallowed the words that would have been a leak of heavenly secrets and patted his shoulder as he sighed deeply.
"Master, you've looked like you're in your mid-twenties for over 100,000 years. You really shouldn't be the one saying that…"
"Well, I'm an outlier. You shouldn't compare yourself to me."
"Haa… I suppose that's true."
He‘s quick to concede; I like that about him. With that thought, I led Tenjiro toward the mountain. I had originally planned to conscript Yahagi for labor too, but in the last three years, he had gotten married and set up a household. So, it was just Tenjiro and me building the hot spring.
Actually, there was one more.
"Greetings."
"You‘ve been hovering silently beside us for three years, so I thought you were a ghost. Turns out you were a living person after all?"
I glared at the man who had been watching us gloomily from behind—just like that bastard Jomon—wondering what whim possessed him to speak up now. The man bowed his head low.
"I apologize for that. However, I felt it was not my place to recklessly intervene, so I chose to observe instead."
"Cut the crap. You think I don't know your type? You were just testing the waters while staying eloquent with your words."
He gave off the same vibe as Jomon did back in the day, which immediately soured my mood. I clicked my tongue and scowled. At that, the man gave a bitter smile and nodded. Is he smiling?
"Yes. I was testing the waters. I needed to determine whether an entity who easily shatters the boundaries of the Three Worlds and remains unaffected in a place filled with the Miasma of Hell was a threat or not."
This is… a new pattern.
I thought he was the type to craft devious schemes in the dark like Jomon, but I was wrong. Since he flat-out admitted, 'I did it because you're scary, lol,' I didn't have much of a retort. Even if it were me, I‘d avoid a monster like myself out of fear.
"So, coming out like this now means you've decided it‘s okay?"
"I have decided to place my trust in your character. If I have caused offense, I apologize once more."
Seeing his sincere apology, I thought for a moment before sighing. Well, at least he isn't a total creep like Jomon.
"Normally, when you meet people, you start with an introduction and a greeting. You‘re grown, yet you lack common sense."
The man‘s eyes widened, and after grasping my meaning, he gave a light chuckle and bowed.
"Using 'Ura' for 'Inlet' and 'Hara' for 'Field'... then 'Gen' for 'Source' and 'Shin' for 'Examine.' I am Gensin. Urahara Gensin. I look forward to your kind acquaintance."
I thought he felt strangely suspicious; so he's of that Urahara bloodline. No, wait. Technically, that Urahara guy is of his bloodline.
"I happened to be short on hands, so this is perfect. You, follow us."
"Pardon me, but what about tools…?"
"Here. Use this."
When he asked for tools, I threw him the shovel I was holding. Good. Now I can sit back and rest. Don't call me cowardly—I taught medical skills for three years without charging a single cent for tuition. I think I‘ve earned the right to work him a little.
Why draft Gensin, you ask? Consider it a 'Contempt of Nether King' tax. Honestly, for stalking us for three years, letting it slide in exchange for some digging is a very generous sentence.
And so, we arrived at the summit of Mount Osore. Quite a lot had changed over these past three years.
First, the Hell Gate. The fully completed gate had become invisible and untouchable to anyone without an Ouken.
In its place, a shrine had been built on the site of the gate.
Of course, given what was 'housed' inside, we couldn't put any Buddhist statues or anything like that in there. Aside from a massive torii gate, it was empty—an anomalous building that felt more like a movie set than a place of worship.
"Heeh, things have changed quite a bit here. There was nothing but the altar the old man used for rituals before."
"Anything will change given three years."
To me, it‘s but a fleeting moment, but to the people living here, it must feel quite long. As I was admiring the shrine, Gensin, who had been wandering around the perimeter, approached me.
"By the way, has the miasma of Mount Osore been resolved?"
The one who answered wasn't me, but Tenjiro.
"Hey, do you think Master would suggest this without considering that? Stop whining and start digging. Or what, are you saying you're too scared of the toxins to do it now? Hah!?"
"I believe there‘s a misunderstanding. I wasn't trying to complain. It‘s just that, if any toxins remain, I wanted to… research them a bit."
He sounded so much like Jomon that it was almost disgusting. I scratched my head and shrugged. In truth, the toxins of Mount Osore had been fully purified a year ago.
No matter how poor Ise‘s stamina was, she lived on the mountain and performed purification every single day. There was no way it would take ten or twenty years.
"It's gone. The purification was finished a year ago."
"Is that so? How disappointing."
I let out a hollow laugh at the sight of Gensin, whose motivation had suddenly plummeted to zero.
"Why do you want to research that miasma anyway?"
"Just as medicine becomes poison in excess, and poison can be medicine when used correctly… I wondered if that miasma could be used for healing if managed properly."
"And your real motive?"
"I don't know when it might happen, but if that miasma ever causes a problem again, I want to have a countermeasure ready."
Are people born geniuses and then become weird, or are weird bastards the ones who become geniuses? I let out a deep sigh at Gensin, who confessed his reasoning without a shred of hesitation.
"Come to Hell sometime later. You'll be able to research things to your heart's content there."
"That is the best news I've heard yet. Hell, huh? I have indeed wanted to visit at least once."
"Real motive?"
"I am completely serious about that."
He really is a freak. I didn't want to deal with him anymore, so I waved my hand and urged him to get back to digging.
After several weeks of diligent digging, a bubbling sulfur hot spring was finally completed.
"Master, this hot spring… a normal person wouldn't be able to enter this."
"It might be a bit hot for an average human."
"No, the water itself is so acidic that if a normal person got in, their skin would literally melt off."
"I didn't know that. Well, it doesn't really apply to me anyway."
If I'm fine in magma and lava, what's a little acidic water? Oh, but it‘ll probably be great for scrubbing off dead skin.
I shrugged and submerged myself in the spring. As the hot water felt like it was drawing all the impurities out of my body, I let out a long breath and relaxed my muscles.
"Urgh… this is what a bath should be…. I feel reborn…"
"Does it feel good?"
"Feels like every impurity is leaving my body. You want to hop in too?"
"No, I‘ll pass. My skin is sensitive."
"Real motive?"
"I don't want to get into a bath that will skin me alive."
As I chuckled and traded trivial jokes with Gensin, Tenjiro, who had been watching us, suddenly widened his eyes.
"…That's it!"
It seemed Tenjiro had realized something while listening to our conversation. He hurriedly bid me farewell and rushed back.
Several years later, news reached me that Tenjiro had developed and had been inducted into Squad 0.
As for what I was doing during all that time…?
"Ahh, this is the life…"
I‘ve been soaking in this hot spring for years now.
I was just thinking about whether I should build a grand public bathhouse while I‘m at it.