MTL NOVEL Chapter 9: Chapter 9
"I believe you have some questions for me."
Touko also seemed to not know where to start, so she settled for, "You-You are not Haruka? But how is that possible? I have known her for her entire life, and you look exactly just like her. How is this even possible? And where is the real Haruka?"
Haruka sipped a little bit of her tea trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. But nothing came to mind and so she decided to tell the truth, or at least what she knew of it. "I don't understand how this happened either. All I know is that I come from another world. On the night I died, I woke up expecting to be in hell, but instead I found myself here in the body of Uchiha Haruka. I believe she died of her injuries and I took her place for some reason. We seem to share the same first name, and our faces are identical, that may have something to do with it."
Touko took her time digesting the news. It sounded crazy. It was crazy. But it also was reality. Finally she said, "So you reincarnated? And you have no idea how?" Haruka gave a slight nod, holding Touko's gaze. Finally the older woman sighed and said, "I believe you. I witnessed too much on that night not to. That stunt you pulled on the Chinoki shinobi wasn't something sweet and shy Haruka would have been capable of. It wasn't something a lot of experienced shinobi would have been capable of. But nobody else can know about this. They will think you're crazy and even if they don't they wouldn't be as understanding as me."
Haruka gave a dry laugh. "I wasn't planning on shouting it on the streets either. But Himiko seemed to trust you enough to talk freely in your presence, so I trust you too. To some extent. And I need at least someone on my side if I'm going to get through this.".
Touko nodded seriously, silently agreeing to offer her help. Then she tilted her head to the side, curious, and asked, "So who are you then?"
That, believe it or not, was a harder question to answer, but she gave it a try anyway. "Well, my birth name was Haruka, but I'm much more used to being called 'Two'. It was both my name and my rank in the organization I used to work for. I was seventeen years old when I died. No family, besides an adoptive brother and a nephew. I used to work as a surgeon, so I have experience in medicine. And I should also mention that I was a spy and an assassin for the earlier mentioned organization. A career of ten years, give or take."
Touko's eyes were wide, and her eyebrows were up to her hairline. When she digested the information she just received she started asking. "A spy and an assassin? Is that like a shinobi?"
Haruka answered, "I never thought about it that way, but the two job descriptions seem to overlap a bit. Although we never took protection jobs like you seem to do here. And we never got into open wars like the clans in here too. Our existence was a secret and if the public came to know about it, it would have caused an uproar. And we only worked for the government of our nation."
Touko seemed to understand the rough description she was giving her, and Haruka chose to stop at that. There was no need to talk more about that part of her life. All Touko needed to know was that she had some useful skills. But she also had to make sure the healer knew something. "The biggest difference between my old world and here is Chakra. We didn't have that. Taijustsu, as you saw, I can handle. But all that ninjutsu and genjutsu stuff is foreign to me. The only jutsu I know was taught to me by Himiko and even that I struggle with."
Touko's eyebrows shot up once again. "No chakra? I can't imagine living in a world without chakra."
Haruka snorted. "Trust me it's possible. And in a way it's kind of better like that, because the human race had to get creative to survive. And well let's face it, to fight its wars. My point is that our advancement in the fields of research and science is leaps and bounds ahead of yours."
That seemed to get Touko's full attention. She kind of guessed where Haruka was going, and so she asked seriously, " You said you were a surgeon. I believe that's some sort of healer. I heard the term before, but surgery is not a developed practice here."
Haruka was glad they were getting to the important stuff this fast. She was liking Touko more and more by the minute. The woman seemed to roll with the punches and not mind how strange the situation was as long she got something out of it. And Haruka had plenty to give. "I don't like the word healer, I prefer doctor. But, yes, I was a surgeon. And not just any surgeon,one of the best in the country. With the prizes and diplomas that come with it. And I want to use my training here. I have knowledge that this world will probably take centuries to get to. But I'm also under no illusion that it's enough. Chakra production and the use of jutsu must mean that there are some serious differences in the anatomy of the humans here. And let's not talk about all the complications that follow on the cellular and molecular level. That's where you come in. I believe that if we combine both our knowledge, we could revolutionize the world of medicine, and make some real contributions. So what do you say?"
Touko's eyes were positively shining. Haruka knew that she had already made the sale. The old healer smiled and said, "Of course I'm in. You might already know this, but medicine is my whole life. I got into this field when my husband died more than twenty years ago of an injury that could have been healed if we had the skill the Senju clan has. I'm not really book smart and I started learning a bit late, but I did my best and strived to keep this clinic going even after my old sensei died. But I think you already guessed how the Uchiha behave regarding medicine. They don't care about giving funding until they need you to bring back the dead, and when you say that you can't, they blame you for being incompetent. The new generation seems to be different and a lot of them are questioning the old methods and values of the clan, but for the elders who make the decisions, if you can put bandages and fix broken bones enough to send the shinobi back to battle again, then that's good enough."
Haruka frowned. She had already guessed the inclinations of the clan, but hearing her suspicions confirmed only upset her. This was going to be more of an uphill battle than she thought. But another thing got her attention too. "What do you mean by the skill the Senju have? I know that, here, they are public enemy number one, but that's all I got. How are they better than the Uchiha in medicine?"
Touko looked worriedly at the door. She got up, opened the door and flipped the closed sign, and closed it back again. Then she came back, picked up her half full cup of tea, and went to the backroom, gesturing for Haruka to do the same. Curious, she followed her, cup of tea in hand too, because it would be a shame to waste such a good brew.
The back room was a rudimentary laboratory. It was really big with shelves all over the walls. Three walls were full of pots and jars that probably had medicine in them, while the fourth was full of books and scrolls. The room was illuminated by a large window with a sink underneath it. Although underneath that sink was a large bucket, so she guessed that the waste disposal system here was the same as in her house. The door was kind of in the middle of the wall and so the room seemed to be divided into two almost symmetrical halves, with two large island counters smack in the middle on each half, and two stools per counter. She was led to sit in one of them by Touko, and knew she was waiting for an explanation.
The older woman sighed and said, "Trust me it doesn't matter if someone overhears us talking about reincarnation, they will just think that we are crazy or under some genjutsu. But if we are heard praising the Senju over any matter, we will be burnt alive while the kids cheer. This lab is more private, and since we are going to work together, you have to get acquainted with your new workplace."
Haruka agreed with her. The Uchiha were quite dramatic in nature, no need to rub them the wrong way.
"So the Senju?" she reminded Touko. Another heavy sigh.
"Well I guess I should start by telling you more about them in general. They are more known as 'the Senju clan of the forest.' Likely because some of their ancestors had a kekkei genkai called the Mokuton. It's the ability to combine Doton and Suiton to make wood, and vegetation in general, grow. However most think that it's just a legend, as no Mokuton user has been seen in decades, maybe centuries.
Another one of their specificities is their strong life force. Only rivaled by their cousin clan the Uzumaki. They are to the Senju, what the Kaguya are to us, but let's leave this for another time. Like I said, an exceptional life force, that gives them large chakra reserves and the ability to heal faster or hold on longer in case of grave injuries.
"Moreover, they have a different approach to clan life than ours. More sociable, more outgoing, while our clan tend to stick to ourselves and value our clan members more. They also don't look down as much as we do on non shinobi, which led to a lot of their clan members choosing civilian lives, especially in the fields of agriculture and medicine.
"What I am trying to say is: Thanks to their farmers they are almost independent when it comes to food, and so that's money saved. And the noisy bastards, with their outgoing personalities have become like the patron saints of the farmers of the Land of Fire, almost rivaling the daimyo in that regard, but not quite. That brings in a lot of money. The money is used mainly on the shinobi's equipment and training. Even their evil spawns get fitted armors by this point. And they have enough money left after that to invest in medical research and fancy rare-plants-growing. Their medics are the best in the nation. Even the Nara with their enormous pharmacological knowledge go to them when they are stuck. Sometimes even the Uchiha have to go through the black market to get some of their salves at an exorbitant price. And better medics combined with their freakish bodies means better life expectancy. They have thrice as many elders as we do, which is like twelve to fifteen people at best, but that's still something when the average death age in a shinobi clan is somewhere near thirty years old. And let's not talk about the fact there are twice as many of them as there are of us. It's like they grow on trees or something. But a large chunk of that are civilians, as I said, so it kind of evens out on the battlefield."
By this point Touko was almost puffing smoke out of her nose in anger. Haruka had understood what she meant so she decided to stop her rambling. "Ok, I get it, no need to say more. But if they are so wealthy and clearly better fighters and strategists than us, how the hell are we keeping up with them and calling ourselves their rivals? And why have no steps been taken to remedy this situation?"
Touko looked at her with an almost comically outraged look. "Who said anything about them being better fighters? I will have you know that we kick their asses as much as they kick ours. Things are at a standstill. We win once; they win once, with no clear better. That's why the Uchiha are feared and also in high demand. Only we can hold them back.
And don't forget about our kekkei genkai. You only just awakened the Sharingan, and don't know how to use it, but in able hands its destructive power is greater than anything you know. Someday, you might get to see Tajima-sama fighting Butsuma, the leader of the Senju and their strongest fighter. At this point, he has to invent a new jutsu every time he thinks about facing Tajima-sama if he wants to keep his life, and even that gets copied instantly.
As for your question about why we did nothing about the current economic situation, well, it's because of our eternal problem, worse than the Senju in some regards: The elder council. The old schmucks think that, because they made old bones by always hiding and cowering on the battlefield, they can lord over us and keep us going towards our demise. And they have a strong tool in their hands: the Uchiha's respect for traditions. Anytime someone tries to deviate in a way that will take away some of their power they whip it out. And sadly it works most of the time. They are the reason why we keep encouraging everyone to become shinobi instead of branching out. And now, to our shame, sometimes we even buy products from merchants we know are supplied by the Senju and their minions. Otherwise we will have to go out of the land of Fire to get a freaking tomato. "
Touko sighed loudly. Her tone had risen to a level Haruka didn't think she was capable of. It spoke of her frustration. After getting her composure back, she continued softly, "But it's not all bad. The younger generation is starting to wake up and every day they have less and less power. There's Uchiha Taka, a newly retired shinobi of fifty years on the council now, and he is all for change. And even I fought to get a seat, even if I had to threaten to stop giving them their arthritis medicine to get it. Some of the merchants had the idea of selling the weapons we made a few years back, and they are a huge hit because of their quality. Hopefully, with the new mines we have now, we can increase the quantity of our goods and get some real income, not just live on the money we get from missions."
Haruka pensively said, "I guess that if they control agriculture, we might get our hands on industry. That could help." The two of them fell into a heavy silence each to her own thoughts.
Haruka knew that the situation of the clan was bad, but she had never guessed it would be that bad. The Uchiha might think that they are the Senju's equals but they clearly weren't. Results on the battlefield didn't matter. They were sitting on a ticking bomb and they had no idea. She wasn't an expert on the matter, but in her last life she had been ordered to date a politician, the head of a small new popular party, to keep an eye on him. The guy was a political beast, but he liked to hear himself talk and thus she had learned quite a bit from him. Enough to analyze this situation that is.
In this world, industry wasn't really developed, just artisans with small shops here and there that took forever to make something that could have been made in bulk, in a few seconds, in a factory. So the main sectors were agriculture and trading. Agriculture was the source of everything that mattered here. Food and clothing. And right now, the Senju had control over it. Somehow, they haven't come to the realization that they didn't need to fight the Uchiha, they just had to cut them out. If their access to food and clothing material was gone, they would have to start getting it from elsewhere, other countries that were also barely struggling to feed their own. That costs more money than they could afford, and earns more enemies that they could handle. All in all, the Uchiha would have to either surrender, starve to death, or go into a suicidal battle to beat the Senju once and for all, which clearly they couldn't do, or they already would have. Shit, they are in so much trouble.
The good news, however, was that it wasn't all lost. Clearly, the battle-centric mind frame of the clans was working in their favor. She didn't think that this world was capable of birthing the kind of analytical mind that could do the math like she just did yet. Especially not in a warrior clan. And even if it happened, it would take a decade or so for such a plan to be thought of, get the leaders and elders approval, and then to get the merchants and farmers to implement it secretly so as not to tip off the Uchiha early. If, in the few years that are coming, they could work in the sector of the industry they might be saved.
Industry was a fickle thing. It wasn't exactly essential, but if you can come up with products that facilitate people's lives, and then slowly work your way up into luxury goods, the people will start getting used to it and at some point your once luxury products become essentials that people refuse to part with. Like faucets. People can always get their water from wells or rivers free of charge, but someone who does that instead of just paying the utility bill is labeled crazy.
Haruka was thinking about how to get the Uchiha to stop wasting time and get to work, but she was stuck. Touko already had her hands full with keeping these idiots alive and well, and she didn't want to add to her worries just yet. If she was reincarnated as someone older, like a teenager or something she might be able to do something. Clearly anyone above ten years old held a bit of authority in this place, but she was only five. She would have to put a pin on this matter for later.
She looked at Touko, who was still deep in thought, probably trying to cast a curse on the Senju or the elders, if you could trust the gnashing of her teeth. Amused, she said, "So, medicine?"
That seemed to snap the healer out of it. She went back to her usual laid back self and said, "Yes, medicine. If you are already a doctor then you know a lot more than what I was initially expecting. But, for the sake of the clan, we will still say that you are my apprentice. Depending on how fast we go and how much we can actually achieve, I was thinking I will start spreading the rumor that you are some sort of medical genius. Our clan loves geniuses. They are already calling both your brothers that. That way it wouldn't be too strange if you start helping around in the clinic faster than expected. But first, I need to test your knowledge. Not that I doubt you or anything, after all I believed you when you said that you were some sort of seventeen teenage reincarnated assassin in the body of a five years old girl. But you understand that I can't let you touch patients if I don't know you can handle it."
Haruka smiled sweetly and said, "That goes without saying. But first, it's lunch time and I'm starving. Could we go grab a bite? Your treat. After all, you are my sensei now."
Touko gave a not so classy snort, "I see that you won't be an easy student. But there is no need to go anywhere. I live right upstairs. We can cook something for ourselves. I still remember the food you made last time I visited your house. You seem to be quite the chef." Haruka didn't mind, and so they went upstairs.
The second floor was divided into two separate sections each with its own door. One she already knew was a second ward with beds and medical supplies that was used when there weren't enough beds down stairs. The other she stepped into for the first time. It was a small but neat apartment. Touko lived alone and she spent most of her time in her clinic, so she didn't need much space. They happily worked in the small kitchen, and Haruka finally knew where the fish she had practiced on came from. Touko kept an aquarium in her kitchen with six or seven mid-size fish at all times. She told her that she practiced chakra healing on them, and cooked them when she was done. They didn't look happy about it.
That got them into talking about experiments and, while Touko admitted that she didn't experiment much because she didn't know how to, she seemed fascinated when Haruka told her about some of the research she had done. In her last life, her medical career had influenced her style as an assassin, and so aside from the sanctioned research she did at the hospital, she was also granted a fully financed laboratory by the organization, to work on her poison making research. She had come up with some gems in there, and did everything from cooking meth at one point (infiltrating a drug cartel to kill it's leader was never easy), to reverse engineering a vaccine made by a neighboring country and slipping the results in the lab of some idiot who thought he had stumbled upon it by accident.
During and after lunch they continued their enthusiastic talk about medicine, and by the end it had become clear that Haruka was going to be doing most of the teaching in the future. She also learned that, thankfully, the previous Haruka was literate as were most kids of the clan, so it wouldn't be weird if she brought some reading material home. When Touko showed her the books, she was familiar with the hiragana and katakana, as well as half the kanji. The other half she would have to either infer from context or the similarities with the ones she knew; or she could always ask Touko. The difficult part was that most of her knowledge was in English and that she will have to translate it in order to impart it and compare it to the one of this world.
They were interrupted several times by people coming in to get treatment and pick up prescriptions. The news that the clan head's daughter was becoming Touko's apprentice was spreading like wildfire, and some people even came in to check for themselves, and then left thoughtful. When the sun started setting, she bid Touko goodbye, leaving the woman to process the happenings of the day, and rushed home with some anatomy books she had wanted to go over in the hours between dinner and bedtime.