Naruto: The King Behind the Curtain

Konoha Hospital.

"Wooooof!"

"Tachimaru, just hang in there a little longer!"

In the ward, a large orange dog lay on the bed whining in pain. Its eyes were fierce but softened slightly whenever the tall ninja beside it leaned closer.

The tall ninja gently stroked its fur, glancing at the dark green wound on the dog's abdomen with pained guilt in his eyes.

"Gaku Inuzuka, please try to keep him calm."

"Yeah, we can't even get close enough to examine him like this!"

The medical ninjas around them looked helpless. They barely got close before nearly getting bitten. How could they possibly apply medicine without being torn apart?

Gaku Inuzuka understood their difficulties and offered no complaints, continuing to soothe Tachimaru instead.

At that moment, a reassuring voice came from outside the door.

"My apologies, I used Flying Thunder God to bring you here urgently."

"It's fine. Saving lives is a medical ninja's duty anyway…"

Seiki entered side by side with Minato. Minato gave an awkward smile and added, "Well then… what do you think about saving a dog?"

Seeing the situation inside the ward, Seiki sighed helplessly. "Looks like I'll have to play veterinarian for today."

Without another word, Seiki walked straight toward the dog.

"Wait, be careful—" Before Gaku Inuzuka could finish speaking, he saw his own dog whimper affectionately under the child's touch, completely betraying him.

"What just happened?" Gaku stared blankly. Even among Ninken, his Tachimaru had a notoriously short fuse—and now, while injured? How could he be this gentle with a stranger?

Smiling apologetically, Seiki said, "Please step outside for now, non-essential personnel."

Gaku pointed at himself. "Me? Non-essential?"

Minato casually slung an arm around him and dragged him away. "Just let Seiki focus on treating him."

Outside, Gaku still appeared worried. "Minato, do you really think this will work?"

After all, he had just heard the kid say he was an amateur vet!

Minato grinned. "Don't worry. Seiki is Lady Tsunade's prized disciple!"

Gaku's eyes lit up. "You mean *him*? I've heard his medical skills are second only to Lady Tsunade!"

Patting Gaku on the shoulder, Minato added, "This is your chance to get to know Seiki. Don't miss it."

Gaku nodded gratefully. In the dangerous world of ninja where danger lurked everywhere, having a powerful medical ninja ally was incredibly valuable!

"I definitely will…"

Creak!

The door opened, and Seiki stepped out.

Gaku hurried forward, asking anxiously, "Doctor Seiki, how is Tachimaru doing? Has his condition stabilized?"

Seiki answered calmly, "All better."

Gaku gaped. "Already?! But that was poison made by a Jonin of Sunagakure!"

Smiling, Seiki gestured toward the room. "Why don't you step inside and have a look yourself?"

"Oh right!" As Gaku prepared to rush in, he suddenly stopped and bowed deeply ninety degrees. "Thank you so much!"

Smiling faintly, Seiki thought to himself—this was truly the greatest pleasure of being an elite medical ninja.

No need to worry myself — there'll be plenty rushing in just to hand me some glory, and I'll even get their thanks as a bonus!

Minato still looked slightly apologetic. "Sorry for dragging you over so suddenly."

Seiki smiled helplessly. "Minato-aniki, with our relationship, you really don't have to say things like that, right? Although next time, please clarify things earlier. When I saw you panicking like that, I thought something had happened to Kushina!"

Minato gave an awkward chuckle. "Gaku Inuzuka has always been looking out for me. Tachimaru was poisoned while covering us."

Seiki picked up on the hidden implication. "A temporary alliance?"

Minato nodded, clearly frustrated. "We had three jonin working together this time — shouldn't have been a big problem. But who could've guessed we'd run into over ten Suna jonin the moment we infiltrated? Without the Flying Thunder God Technique, we might not have made it back alive!"

Speechless, Seiki thought this couldn't even be called bad luck anymore — it was borderline cursed.

"But choosing this moment to infiltrate... Are you saying Hokage-sama wants you to find out whether Sunagakure has recovered the Kazekage?"

"Probably," Minato replied casually, then suddenly became alert. "Wait a second, Seiki! How did you know about the Kazekage's disappearance..."

"We picked up some inside information during our last mission."

"Oh..." Before Minato could continue, Asuma came running from afar.

"Seiki! Big news, huge event... Eh, Minato-senpai is here too?"

Looking at Asuma's clumsy appearance, Minato found it strangely familiar — was this what happened when a father finally let loose?

Without waiting for Minato's reaction, Asuma excitedly said, "All five great ninja villages have agreed! And eleven small countries have already confirmed participation."

"In other words, this could be the largest Chūnin Exams since the birth of the ninja village era!" Asuma proudly declared. "And best of all, Konoha gets to host this one!"

So the Third really approved using those jutsu as rewards... Seiki wasn't surprised by the Hokage's decision — hosting the Chūnin Exams indeed strategically benefited Konoha's current situation.

What really blew his mind was how bold the Third actually was — offering kinjutsu as actual prizes.

If a few techniques once belonging to the Second Hokage were leaked unintentionally, even if it made sense in the grand scheme of things, Danzō would tear him a new one without mercy.

"For my current self, boosting physical strength and expanding chakra reserves matter most right now. I already have too many techniques — unless it's something extremely powerful like a five-sense-controlling technique, regular ninjutsu aren't worth wasting much effort on. My interest in the Scroll of Seals is merely about building knowledge reserves, preparing for future kekkei genkai development."

"Compared to the rewards, I actually care more about the Chūnin Exams themselves!"

Seiki sighed, feeling emotional — he was simply too young. His youth itself would become the biggest obstacle standing between him and his goals.

"That's exactly why I must rise to fame as early as possible. Using these Chūnin Exams, I will make my official debut onto the shinobi world stage!"

Thinking about this, even Furui Seiki's normally tranquil mind couldn't help but tremble slightly.

As for the assassinations that came with fame—he could care less. In fact, he kind of hoped they'd pick up!

With the [Flying Thunder God Technique] and his own [Medical Ninjutsu] to back him up, there were still many people in this world who could defeat him, but practically no one who could completely kill him anymore.

Not to mention, his secret aces went way beyond just those two.

Beside him, Asuma waved his arms discontentedly. "Huh? Seiki, are you even listening?"

Seiki smiled apologetically. "Sorry, you really caught me off guard with that story!"

Asuma forcefully patted his shoulder. "Then listen carefully this time—old man said he wants you to... cough, cough, he says only one of us can walk away as number one!"

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