Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 19 Reunion

"Dr. Liusha, thank you so much for making this trip." The old woman held the young man in white's hand and thanked him profusely. She even tried to stuff a few eggs into his suitcase, but gave up when the young man insisted on refusing.

The young man gave several dietary instructions and carefully explained how to take the prescription before leaving with peace of mind. He hadn't gone two steps before he was stopped by the next patient. By the time he finished moving the last bit of the way, the ingredients for dinner were readily available. He took out the items from his medical kit, cleaned the vegetable leaves from the lining, and then hurriedly went to the kitchen to cook a dinner that was too much for one person to finish.

Summer nights on the island are rarely windless, and the wind chimes at the gate jingled incessantly. But at a certain moment, the young doctor looked up and saw a figure wearing a straw hat slowly approaching through the open gate. His eyes lit up, and he immediately went to greet the person, warmly leading them into the room.

"I've been waiting for you for so long, Crow! You must be tired from your journey. Let's eat first! I made some desserts, I don't know if you'll like them." Liu Sha didn't give the visitor a chance to refuse, shoving chopsticks into Crow's hand and starting to serve him food.

"...Long time no see, Dr. Liusha." The visitor took off his straw hat, revealing a similarly young face. He seemed to have a hard time refusing kindness, and in the end, he picked up the bowl.

The two people playing role-playing games with each other are Shisui and Itachi.

Three years ago, Shisui, armed with a half-understood medical book, traveled alone to the Land of Hot Water. He worked as a traveling healer for several months, only managing to learn, through practice, how to treat common ailments. But what kind of place was the Land of Hot Water? Nestled between the Lands of Lightning, Fire, and Water, and an island nation, it was incredibly poor and rife with bandits. Doctors were a rarity in the Land of Hot Water, and skilled traveling healers were even rarer. Surprisingly, Shisui built a reputation over those few months and quickly settled in a village.

He hadn't forgotten that his primary mission was to gather intelligence on the Land of Water, so he chose a port closest to it. However, he never expected that his reputation would actually bring such unexpected benefits. For example, he actually encountered Itachi disguised as himself at the clinic.

He adopted the alias Liu Sha, only growing his hair long and applying some eye makeup to conceal some of the Uchiha's distinctive features. Itachi, on the other hand, used the alias Karasu, and was noticeably taller, but his appearance remained largely unchanged, except that he concealed his tear troughs.

When the two met, Shisui was sweating bullets, a little afraid of being recognized, yet also a little expectant. But Itachi just stared into his eyes for a long time before uncomfortably closing them.

"Doctor, do you have any painkillers?"

Itachi didn't recognize him, but his voice was gentle, with a hint of fatigue and trembling.

Shisui frowned, forcefully pulled Itachi's wrist, pressed it on the table to take his pulse, and sure enough, he heard a chaotic pulse.

He's badly injured! What mission did Akatsuki send him on? His eyes seem blurry; did he use the Mangekyou Sharingan recently? Damn, he looks so haggard. Why is he taking a mission for a rogue ninja organization so seriously? The Mangekyou Sharingan shouldn't be used so frequently! Just let his teammates fight!

At this moment, Shisui was unaware that Itachi's teammates were actually fighting even harder, and some had even recently passed away. He only knew that Itachi's health had indeed deteriorated significantly, and he was so anxious that he scratched his head and racked his brains to write the best prescription he could currently write.

“Painkillers only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. Your body is too deficient; you should focus on strengthening your body first.” Shisui rambled on as he got the medicine and wrote a recipe. Fearing that Itachi wouldn’t take the medicine properly, he even made the herbs into honey pills overnight.

"Sir, I know you're always on the go and probably don't have time to brew the medicine, so this will make it easier for you to take it. Be sure to take it every day!"

Itachi took the medicine and left, but Shisui remained worried. He used Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique for the first time, returning to the base that night to have the First Hokage examine him again. The Mangekyou Sharingan-induced illness was a chronic ailment of the Uchiha clan, and the only person confirmed to have been cured was Shisui. He had his own eyes gouged out and been given new ones—a near-miraculous ability that only Naruto could perform. Naruto had tried to teach Hashirama, but his teaching method left even Hashirama, whose thinking was most compatible with his, completely confused. Furthermore, the Edo Tensei technique depleted Hashirama's life force, preventing him from learning it either.

Perhaps revealing Itachi's identity would indeed pressure him into treating his eyes, but Kurama refused—solemnly refused! He even nearly sprouted a tail from Naruto's body, startling everyone. Then they realized that Naruto's body simply couldn't withstand such miraculous power; after the last treatment, he almost went to report to the Pure Land.

Now, even if Naruto didn't mind, Shisui didn't bring it up again. Itachi's health wasn't beyond saving; he was confident he could protect his best friend. If Itachi didn't come back after this treatment, Shisui was prepared to pack his bags and search the world for him. He would never stand by and watch his best friend ruin his health, never!

Thankfully, Itachi kept his promise and returned for a follow-up appointment. This time, his condition was much more stable, and his mental state was better. However, a certain burly man at the door was particularly annoying. After that, Itachi stopped bringing that guy along, even though he knew that the guy named Kisame Hoshigaki was actually nearby.

Is this surveillance? Does Akatsuki actually not trust Itachi?

"This medicine is milder, and Mr. Karasu's health has improved a lot." Shisui unconsciously rubbed his fingers together as he took his pulse. The days of being apart so often made him think back to his last few years in Konoha. Itachi had joined the Anbu, while he served in the guard unit, and they were always separated like this. Every time he saw Itachi, he couldn't take his eyes off him, and he couldn't help but stroke the little guy's hair. A long time ago, he could take this as love for his younger brother, but now Itachi had grown up, and he was almost as tall as him. Yet he still couldn't look away, and each time he had to do his best to suppress his restless hand.

Shisui had been an adult for a long time, and he knew his feelings had changed. But love is unstoppable; he couldn't control it.

Itachi nodded, calmly adjusting his sleeves. When facing the doctor, he usually lowered his eyes, burying his emotions deep within them, only occasionally raising his eyes to scrutinize him closely.

They did the same thing as before: simply go to the doctor, buy some medicine, and then wave goodbye.

"Mr. Itachi, you still haven't made a move?" Kisame Hoshigaki grinned, not quite understanding. "You haven't been pretending lately. If he reports our itinerary to the Land of Water, that would be very troublesome."

"...He won't." Itachi pressed down his straw hat, put his black robe with red clouds back on, and remained as cold as if he had never shown any gentleness just now. "I cast a genjutsu on him."

"It's good that you know what's going on." Kisame released Samehada, abandoning his impulsive thoughts. That guy's medical skills were at least decent; Itachi looked much better, so let him live a little longer.