Although Uchiha Genka was his mother, the thought of her witnessing his current state felt incredibly awkward.
"It's nothing. I'm just here to visit the hospital," Chiba replied casually.
Hearing this, Genka nodded, about to believe her son's words. However, she suddenly noticed that not only were Chiba's clothes slightly wrinkled, but there was also a faint hint of lipstick at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, she smiled knowingly. "Oh? I thought you came here to see Tsunade-sama."
"..."
"Alright, you got me, Mom."
Seeing her son admit it, Genka felt a sense of satisfaction. After all, she knew her son well enough to understand his thoughts without him even saying anything.
However, she didn't press further on the matter. "I won't ask about your personal business, but since you're here, you're just in time. The hospital is short on manpower. Come and help."
Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Chiba's wrist and pulled him in one direction.
"Huh? Mom, what's going on? The hospital is usually busy, but it never lacks staff, right?" Chiba asked, confused.
Genka explained, "It's because of the Chūnin Exams. Most of the injured patients coming in now are from Konoha and Iwagakure. Since yesterday, a steady stream of wounded individuals has been brought in."
"The Chūnin Exams..." Chiba murmured, recalling that Orochimaru had them sign a 'consent form' before entering the Forest of Death.
Presumably, these injured participants were either too weak or lucky enough that their opponents showed mercy and didn't kill them outright.
While lost in thought, Chiba found himself standing in front of a room. Before entering, he glanced at the sign on the doorframe:
Emergency Room
As he stepped inside, Chiba was taken aback by the sight before him. The emergency room was packed with patients, each lying on a bed with a medical staff member attending to them. However, what puzzled him was that all the injured participants appeared unconscious.
"Mom, how badly were they hurt? Why are they all unconscious?" he asked.
"Oh, they're not critically injured," Genka replied. "They were administered anesthesia before arriving here."
Chiba frowned. "Anesthesia? Isn't that only used for surgery?"
Genka chuckled. "We do this for two reasons: first, to alleviate their pain, and second, to ensure a quiet environment for treatment. Imagine dozens of patients screaming in pain—it would be impossible to focus."
"..."
Though Chiba wasn't entirely sure about the logic behind it, her explanation seemed reasonable.
"Alright, enough standing around. Get to work," Genka instructed, pulling Chiba over to a patient's bed. "If you know how to use the Mystical Palm Technique, then help with the healing."
Nodding, Chiba activated the technique, and a soft green glow enveloped his hands as he began treating the injured participant.
As he worked, he examined the face of the person lying before him. There was something oddly familiar about this individual, but he couldn't place them immediately.
"..."
After a moment, realization struck.
Wasn't this the unlucky guy he had knocked out and robbed in front of the tower in the Forest of Death?
He distinctly remembered taking the Earth Scroll from this person.
But something didn't add up. He hadn't struck this guy particularly hard—just enough to knock him and his teammates unconscious.
Before he could ponder further, the unlucky participant let out a low groan.
"..."
Moments later, the injured participant slowly opened his eyes. "W-where am I...?"
"You're in the hospital. How do you feel? Any discomfort?" Chiba asked.
The participant ignored his question and immediately asked, "Where are my teammates?"
Chiba felt a twinge of irritation. How was he supposed to know? He was just a temporary worker here.
"No idea. I'm only helping out today," Chiba answered with a shrug. "By the way, how did you end up so badly injured?"
The unlucky guy sighed and, seeing no reason to withhold information, began to recount his ordeal.
"Something strange happened yesterday. My teammates and I had already gathered the required scrolls to pass the second exam, and we were close to reaching the finish line. Out of nowhere, a powerful gust of wind swept through, and before we knew it, we all lost consciousness."
"When I finally woke up, the scroll was gone."
"So, my teammates and I decided to ambush teams near the finish line and steal their scrolls instead. That's when we encountered two members of the Hyuga Clan. Since their team only had two people, we figured it would be an easy fight."
"But... we got completely destroyed."
At this point, he paused, clearly embarrassed.
Three against two, and they had still lost miserably. If his friends heard about this, they would never let him live it down.
What puzzled him, however, was that the doctor in front of him showed no sign of mocking him.
Of course, Chiba wasn't surprised at all. After all, how could an unnamed NPC hope to defeat Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi?
The unlucky participant and his team had truly terrible luck. Of all the potential opponents they could have chosen to rob, they had to go after two named characters from the original story—one of whom was the future father-in-law of the main protagonist.
...
By the time Chiba left the hospital, it was already evening.
Looking up at the sky, Genka turned to him and said, "Chiba, you worked hard today. How about we eat out instead of heading home?"
Chiba nodded, feeling the exhaustion set in. "Sure."
"Then let's have sushi. I haven't had it in ages," Genka said with a nostalgic smile.
She reminisced about the last time she had sushi—it was with Chiba's father. More than a decade had passed since then, and now their son had grown into a fine young man.