"Sealing jutsu?"

  "Yeah." In a rare lull, Takagi Naohito finally found time to ask Jiraiya about sealing techniques.

  "I might need to use one soon, so I wanted to ask."

  "Well..." Jiraiya still hadn’t quite gotten over the fact that it was Takagi—a man—changing his bandages instead of a pretty nurse, but he was honest enough to answer anyway.

  "I'm not exactly an expert in sealing jutsu myself, but I know the basics."

  He reached into the pocket of the shirt draped over a nearby table, pulled out a scroll, unrolled it, and bit his thumb. With a swipe of his blood across the surface, a puff of white smoke burst out—and a massive shuriken appeared beside his right hand.

  "I can use that one too," Takagi remarked. This kind of sealing technique was familiar to him. "What I meant was other kinds—like ones that seal living things."

  "If you mean seals that work on living beings, I know the Five Elements Seal. But sealing something alive into a scroll? That’s beyond me."

  "I see." Takagi nodded thoughtfully. Then, in a voice too low for Jiraiya to hear, he muttered, "Looks like I’ll still need some battlefield-compatible cryotech."

  Unlike the standard Konoha mindset, Takagi knew that controlled low temperatures could preserve biological activity. But recreating the level of cryogenic tech he needed would take more than just skill and time—it would take luck.

  No point worrying about it now. He hadn’t even gotten approval to use the medical department’s b yet.

  "Jiraiya-sensei!"

  At that moment, the door to the hospital room slid open. A blond male ninja and a red-haired female ninja stepped inside.

  "Are you alright, Jiraiya-sensei?"

  "Oh, Minato and Kushina!" Jiraiya was pleasantly surprised. "Didn’t expect you two to have time to visit an old man like me."

  "Sorry, Jiraiya-sensei," said Minato with a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head. "Ever since I made jōnin, I’ve been swamped with work."

  Hearing that, even Takagi couldn’t help gncing over at Minato. He looked barely twenty—maybe not even eighteen.

  A jōnin before eighteen? A genius, huh? Made Takagi—still a chūnin-level medical ninja in his twenties—feel a bit inadequate.

  "Hey, just having you two visit is more than enough," Jiraiya said cheerfully. "Didn’t Chōza come with you?"

  "Chōza Akimichi’s still out on a mission. He couldn’t make it."

  "A mission, huh... You’ve all grown up. Real shinobi now." Jiraiya was still smiling. "Minato, you’re probably ready to lead a team of your own by now."

  "No, not quite yet."

  Minato was clearly being modest. That’s when Jiraiya finally noticed Minato’s right hand was gently csping Kushina’s left. There was no mistaking what that meant. He smiled knowingly.

  "I see. Well, take your time. No need to rush into it."

  For a moment, Takagi Naohito became a background prop, thoroughly ignored by the trio.

  Not that he minded. He was just a medical ninja, and he didn’t know Jiraiya’s students that well. He had nothing to contribute to the conversation—might as well sit back and watch.

  "Dr. Takagi."

  A nurse entered the room and handed him a document. "This is the medical department’s response to your b request."

  "Oh, thank you."

  Takagi had been waiting for this reply for a long time. He tore open the envelope eagerly and read the contents right there in the room.

  Approved.

  "Yes!"

  Even with his usual composure, Takagi couldn’t help blurting out an excited cheer. Under the puzzled gazes of the three others, he dashed out of the hospital room.

  Konoha’s medical b had the equipment he needed. That much was clear.

  But when Takagi returned to his office to pack up supplies for the b, he ran into someone he never thought he’d encounter so casually.

  Tsunade.

  "Lady Tsunade?" As the granddaughter of the First Hokage, she was not someone Takagi dared to treat casually. He greeted her politely. "What brings you here?"

  "Just checking on the doctors’ work around the hospital," Tsunade lied. In truth, she couldn’t admit she was feeling competitive. She wanted to see for herself what kind of person this "Dr. Takagi" really was.

  To her surprise, she recognized him. She could even recall his name. It was just that she’d selectively forgotten about him all this time.

  "Dr. Takagi, may I ask about something in your application? Specifically the part about cloned organs?"

  "Oh, that?" Takagi said casually as he brushed past her, more focused on packing than talking. "Well, as you know, the human body is made up of countless cells."

  "Of course. That’s basic knowledge for any medical ninja."

  "Cells form tissues. Tissues form organs. Organs connect into systems. And multiple systems make up the human body."

  Without breaking his stride, Takagi slid his office chair over to her. Tsunade sat down and listened quietly.

  "Without a vital organ, the body’s systems shut down, and death follows. In some cases, organ transpnts are necessary—there’s precedent for that in Konoha’s medical history, right?"

  "Yes," Tsunade nodded. "There is."

  "But humans are different from one another. Organs too. Forced transpnts often trigger immune rejection. That’s why I proposed cloning organs. I assume you understand the reasoning?"

  "Because using the patient’s own genetic material eliminates rejection. Right?" Tsunade tilted her head. "I’m familiar with that."

  She was, after all, a senior figure in Konoha’s medical corps. The fundamentals weren’t lost on her.

  "The question is—how exactly do you clone an organ?"

  "Simple. You use the differentiation capabilities of human stem cells. Guide them to become the target organ’s tissue cells, and then let the organ grow naturally."

  Takagi noticed Tsunade’s expression turning a bit strange. He couldn’t help but ask, "Lady Tsunade, don’t tell me... no one in