A Senju Tale: Change of Fate - 32 Coming to Terms

(Sorry for the delay guys. I won’t go into much detail but depression is not a good time. Enjoy the chapters)

It was a beautiful day. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky. The sun heated the cool winter air. It made for quite a pleasant feeling.

As Nawaki walked through the camp to return to his quarters, he noticed that the camp was quite lively. Everyone that was not occupied with meetings or other tasks were enjoying the weather. Lots of people gathered around fire pits and we’re eating breakfast. Cheerful voices could be heard in conversation. Morale was running high because of the quick win the previous day.

Nawaki arrived back at his quarters. He opened the door and entered. He looked around and noticed that it was awfully clean. Someone must have come by while he was knocked out to clean up the mess he made. His sword, flak jacket, and equipment pouches were all laid down on the table he made.

He took a deep breath and then started to take off his clothes. He felt dirty and needed to wash himself. He used a water style jutsu to fill a bucket with water. He then grabbed a rag from his inventory and soaked it in the water. Starting with his face, he wiped himself down.

The cool water felt extremely refreshing. He felt the tension that stressed his body wash away. Before getting dressed, he grabbed a towel and dried himself off. He took all of his dirty clothes and tossed them into his laundry sack. Then he got dressed before laying down in bed.

Then there was a knock on the door. He called out, “Come in.” The door opened revealing a tall intimidating man. He had two scars across his face and wore a head covering with a Konoha forehead protector.

In a deep voice he said, “Good morning Nawaki. My name is Morono Ibiki. I’m here to do your psychological evaluation.”

Nawaki sat up and was shocked. He thought to himself, ‘Holy shit. This is the Ibiki. Wait, why is he here. I’m not supposed to get tortured right?’ Kensho laughed at this.

He then said, “Hi Ibiki. Please, take a seat.” Ibiki closed the door and turned back into the room. He walked over to Nawaki’s table and gripped a chair. Spinning it around to face his patient, he sat down in a relaxed position.

He flipped open a notebook and then said, “I have been assigned to you for a psych eval. You ever done one of these before?”

Nawaki shook his head. Ibiki then continued, “In that case, I’ll explain how it’ll go down. Essentially, we are going to have some talks, just the two of us. Our sessions will continue until I can make the decision that you are fit to return to the field. Until then, I suggest you find some way to keep yourself busy. Any questions?”

Nawaki thought for a moment as he took it all in. He then said, “Nope. Let’s get this over with.” Ibiki chuckled and then said, “Alright. How are you feeling today?”

Nawaki sat back and leaned against the wall. He slowly tilted his head back and sighed as it rested on the wall. He then said, “That question is not so easy to answer.”

Ibiki started jotting down some notes and then said, “That’s okay. Take your time.” Nawaki took a deep breath after hearing this.

After regaining his composure, he said, “Physically, I feel great considering how I was doing yesterday. But up here, I feel conflicted. It kinda feels like I made some huge mistake a long time ago and it’s coming back to haunt me now. It’s making me question my values and goals in life.”

Ibiki continued taking notes and without looking up asked, “Can you tell me about those values and goals?”

Nawaki sighed and closed his eyes. After a moment he opened them and said, “Well, they all kinda fall under one thing. I hate war. I hate killing. All I want is for the endless cycle of hatred to stop. I’m starting to think that it’s impossible. After just one battle, I’m already doubting myself.”

Ibiki raised his brow and said, “It seems like you have a lot on your mind. I read the report on the ambush. Tell me, what goes through your head when you kill an enemy?”

Nawaki looked up at the ceiling and said, “I feel guilty and remorse. I feel for the people that they are leaving behind. Having to end a life goes against my beliefs down to the very core.”

Ibiki took some more notes and said, “Well, I would like for you to try something. Instead of harping on the losses, focus on the comrades that are saved and protected due to your actions.”

The two continued their talk for a while and Ibiki left. Once he was gone, Nawaki laid down and thought about everything. After a few minutes, he stood up and got out of bed. He got dressed but left his sword in his quarters.

One he was ready, he headed over to the field hospital. As he approached the building, he saw Ikuko out front ordering around some genin. They were organizing supplies.

Nawaki smiled and said, “Ohayo Ikuko san.” Hearing the voice, she turned and smiled after seeing Nawaki. She then said, “Ohayo Nawaki kun. What can I do for you?”

Nawaki looked around and then said, “I was told to find a way to keep myself busy. What can I help with over here?”

Ikuko sighed in relief and said, “You’re timing couldn’t be any more perfect. There are a few patients inside that need to continue their treatment. Could you take care of them?”

Nawaki nodded and headed inside the building. It turns out that there were quite a bit more than a few patients. He turned to the wall and grabbed some medical charts.

After looking through them, he smiled. They were all minor injuries so this would be a piece of cake. Before he started, he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state. He quickly entered sage mode and was ready.

One by one, he cared for the injured. With his boosted healing abilities, the recovery times were greatly reduced. One more session and most of them would be healthy.

However, one of the injuries was a bit complicated. The notes written in his chart listed various, acute, pains across his arms. After a physical examination, Nawaki concluded that he was suffering from nerve damage.

After the diagnosis, Nawaki was distraught. In the world he came from, there was not much to do in terms of treating nerve damage. He decided he would attempt to repair the neural pathways using natural energy.

He put one hand on the ninja’s shoulder and the other hand on the wrist. He circulated natural energy and felt the flow. He could immediately tell that the chakra pathways were significantly weakened compared to the rest of the patient’s body.

Nawaki continued to circulate the energy until the flow felt more stable and smooth. He released the man and said, “You’re gonna need to take it easy for at least a week. Your arm is in pretty bad shape so no training and no heavy lifting. Come back in a few days for a check up and another round of treatment.”

The man thanked Nawaki and admitted that he has been having these issues for a few years. Recently, the pain had been getting worse so he decided to get it checked out.

It took Nawaki about 3 hours to get through all of the patients. Once he was done, he decided to go procure some lunch. Since he had some time off, he would cook up something nice instead of eating the standard rations.

The forest that surrounded the camp was home to plenty of wild animals. Unfortunately, there was not much in the way of wild crops since it was winter.

Nawaki stood in a tree. Below him was a turkey. It wasn’t just any turkey. This one was fat as fuck. Thicker than a Snicker. Baby got back.

Nawaki pulled a kunai out of his pouch and waited for the right moment. The turkey bent down and was inspecting something in the grass. In that instant, Nawaki threw the kunai and nailed the turkey’s head to the ground. It was killed in one blow.

He smiled and jumped down to collect his bounty. After returning to camp, he got to work. He plucked all of the feathers, cut off the neck, and gutted the insides.

Before he did this, he took out a stove from his inventory, ignited the coals, and started heating it up.

Using a sharp knife, he cut some slits into the skin. Nawaki reached into his inventory and took out his cooking kit. From the kit, he took out salt, pepper, and olive oil. He poured some oil over the bird and rubbed it in. He also spread it under the skin using the slits he cut. He then rubbed the salt and pepper all over the bird and also packed some of it under the skin.

It was now time. Placing the seasoned bird onto the grill, it sizzled from the heat. Nawaki allowed it to cook for 4 hours. Once it was done, he created wooden prongs from his hands and lifted the turkey off the grill. He placed it onto a wooden cutting board and started carving it.

As he was doing this, several Konoha ninja started surrounding him as they salivated from the delicious smell. Nawaki noticed this and laughed as he invited them to join him for a meal. They offered up some of their personal alcohol stash to contribute to the meal.

Nawaki created some wooden cups, plates, and utensils with his wood release and started serving the turkey. Once he finished distributing the food, he was handed a cup filled with sake.

They all thanked him for the food and they dug in. Nothing was said as they all scarfed down the turkey. Aside from the occasional moan and burp, utter silence. The group set up a fire pit in the middle of the group and set it ablaze. For the rest of the day, they all drank and told each other stories.

A few days passed. Nawaki had gotten friendly with a bunch of the ninja that were also at the encampment. Each day he could go out and hunt some wild animals and cook up a delicious meal. Each time he would return with a different animal. They enjoyed deer, bear, boar, turkey, and rabbit. Gradually, more and more people joined the group. Some even started joining Nawaki on his hunt.

For the ninja that had nerve damage, Nawaki gave him another round of treatment and started him on a physical therapy routine. Another few days passed and the guy was back in good health.

Over that week, Nawaki and Ibiki continued having their sessions. He was finally cleared to return to the field but would still have to get a debrief following every mission.

About an hour after Ibiki told Nawaki that he was cleared to get back into the field, there was a knock on Nawaki’s door. He called out saying, “Come in.”

The door opened revealing a genin. He said, “Koryu Taichou needs you in the command center. Please come with me.”

Nawaki sighed. Koryu didn’t even give him time to breathe after his evaluation. He got up and put on his flak jacket. He then strapped his sword to his back and followed the genin through the camp.

When the two arrived at the command center, the genin stayed outside and Nawaki headed in. He entered the war room and said, “Yo.”

Koryu looked up from the planning table and sighed in relief. He then said, “It’s good to have you back. I’m glad you’re okay. Toka would kill me if anything happened to you.”

Nawaki chuckled and said, “That she would. That she would. Anyways, what can I do for ya?” Koryu looked back down and the map and motioned for Nawaki to come over.

After Nawaki walked up to the table, Koryu said, “We have some reports on where Kumo’s encampment is possibly located. It’s time to crash their party.”