บท 235: Chapter 235 - Quest: Heal Jin 01

"It's Jin. He's in a serious state. It's not looking good."

Daichi closed his eyes and internally groaned. 'It seems I can't wait any longer. But my samples aren't ready yet... Guess I have to take the specimens I currently have and make it work.'

The Genin opened his eyes and spoke. "How is he?"

Kensei sat down on the porch and replied. "He's in bad shape. He's coughing up blood and is too tired to even speak. Tsunade is already there and is treating him but… There is not much she can do at this point."

"I see."

The old ninja turned to his grandson. He wanted to speak but the words were stuck in his throat. Daichi saw the man's struggle and replied to the unasked question.

"I'm going to the capital with you. I need to see him. I might have a way to help."

Kensei narrowed his eyes and was silent for a few seconds. "Does it have anything to do with the small lab you had me set up near here?"

"Yeah. Come on." Daichi took his grandfather to a nearby shed in their yard and opened the door.

It was a small laboratory that Daichi had his grandfather build. It had several medical equipment and Kensei could see multiple plants in small pots on one side, sealed inside a temperature controlled shelf.

Daichi looked at the miniature shabby lab and smiled. 'Up until now this was enough but going forward this lab and its items will be insufficient. Still I'm gonna miss this place.'

After becoming a Genin Daichi and his clones had spent a lot of time here examining various materials and creating new medical pills and refining his medical ninjutsu.

Kensei looked at the small lab and was impressed. It was the first time he entered the laboratory after it was built. 'Everything is kept so neat and orderly. If I didn't know any better I would have thought the kid had some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder.'

There were several scrolls on a nearby table and Daichi opened the shelf and took all the small potted plants and sealed them into the scroll. He turned to his grandfather and spoke. "Let go Gramps. We better hurry."

Kensei nodded and two after reporting to the Hokage about their departure, soon left the village walls.

—-

It was noon by the time Daichi and Kensei had reached the Fire Capital. They made their way to Jin's villa but before Daichi took another step Kensei raised his arm and stopped the boy.

He looked at his grandson and spoke in a serious tone. "Daichi, do you have a way to cure Jin?"

The Genin was silent for a few moments and then truthfully replied. "No. I don't have a cure for him."

"What exactly is your intention here? What exactly is his chance of survival?"

The boy sighed and replied. "It's slim. I have a few ideas on how to help him but nothing concrete. I have a few theories in mind but I have to examine him first. And his chances of making out of this is… very low."

Kensei closed his eyes and let out a breath of air. He looked at his grandson and nodded in understanding. "Let's go see him."

The two met the guards outside and were soon escorted in. As the two came near the entrance they saw someone coming out. Daichi's eyes widened and a smile was on his face.

—-

"Arrh…" A man groaned in pain as a needle was inserted into his arm to take his blood.

"Please bear with it for a few more seconds." Shizune spoke as she took the man's blood sample.

Tsunade was near the door looking at the whole scene. Her phobia had lessened from before but it was still present.

A second later Shizune was done with her work and headed into the next room with the vial of blood.

The female Sannin walked up to the man on the bed and gave her verdict. "It's the same herbs but I've tweaked the formula of the pills. They should take effect and reduce the pain soon."

Jin could only give a shallow nod as a reply. Tsunade spoke again. "This is only a stop gap measure. I've done the best I can. Even with these new pills you only have 3 or 4 months left. 5 if you're really stubborn." The blonde woman said with a smirk.

There was an almost imperceptible smile on Jin's face as he heard that. But he couldn't make a single sound.

Seeing the man's state, Tsunade's small smile also disappeared. "I'm sorry."

Jin looked at the woman and tried to smile. He understood that she did her best but he was well aware that even she had her limits. The man closed his eyes and went to sleep so he could ignore the pain his body was in.

Tsunade sighed as she looked at the sleeping man. She left him alone and went outside to get some fresh air. At that moment she saw two people coming towards her. She expected Kensei to be here but she was surprised to see her student.

"Hey sensei. Been a long time." Daichi greeted his teacher with a smile.

"Daichi? I'm surprised to see you here."

"I came to check up on Jin. Gramps told me you'd be here. Is Shizune senpai here too?" Daichi asked.

Lady Tsunade nodded. "She's running some tests inside."

The three went inside and discussed the situation.

"Were you able to help him?" Kensei asked the older medic ninja.

"I was able to create some modified pills but that won't help for long. He has at best 4 months."

"I see…"

"Can I examine him, sensei?" Daichi asked his former mentor.

Tsunade looked at her student and spoke. "Shizune is currently performing a risk assessment to predict the patient's disposition and the next course of action."

"I can help her. I might have an idea as to the problem. I'm not sure but I need access." Daichi was serious about examining Jin but he didn't want to overstep on a patient she's looking after.

Tsunade looked at the boy and then sighed. A moment later she slowly nodded her head.

"Thank you sensei." Daichi had a smile and went inside.

"Good luck."

The leaf ninja headed inside and quickly found Jin's room. He quietly made his way to the sleeping man and placed his hands over his chest.

They glowed green a second later as Daichi carefully examined him. The Genin medic scanned Jin right down to his cells and took note of the damage that was being done to his body.

'His muscles have severely weakened. He has a fever but that seems to be slowly going down… Hm… It seems sensei was able to stabilize the heart, blood pressure and breathing before I got here. She's healed some of the damage done to the liver and boosted the kidney functions. That's good… The new pills he took are working well… Hmm… Good. I have some time then.'

Daichi examined the sleeping man for a while and collected as much information as he could. Once the first part of his work was done he headed to the small lab setup inside the villa.

'Wow. Rich people really are different. His own medical lab with most of the latest tools. This place makes mine look like a dump.'

At that moment inside the lab Shizune was working on the blood sample and analyzing it. 'I can't find anything even now. But based on Lady Tsunade's notes, this man was definitely poisoned. But without a way to identify the foreign particles it's no use.'

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Shizune turned her head to look at the newcomer and was surprised to see Daichi. A big smile was on her face as she greeted her fellow student.

"I didn't know you were coming, Daichi. But I guess I should have expected this. Your grandpa is close friends with him." Shizune spoke, smiling.

"Yeah. I examined him last time I was here. Thought I might take another look."

Shizune nodded and both of them got to work.

Daichi opened the quest list and looked at the one he was currently attempting to complete.

[Quest Created - 'Heal Jin.']

[Jin is diagnosed with an incurable disease and doesn't have much time left. Even Tsunade Senju could not find a permanent cure. Identify the cause of his illness and aid him.

Time limit: Find a permanent cure within 12 months or a treatment that will increase his lifespan in 16 months.]

[Conditions:]

[Perform the correct diagnosis and identify the real cause of his illness.]

[Create a treatment that will increase his lifespan by at least 5 years or more.]

[Bonus:]

[Completely heal Jin and save him from the illness.]

'I diagnosed him in the third week of last January. It looks like his condition has been deteriorating day by day. I need to act soon.'

Daichi also noticed another detail in the quest.

'It looks like the quest was right about how much time Jin had. This confirms beyond a doubt. My system can see the future. I need to keep this information in mind at all times. Don't know when it will come in handy.'

The genin ran several tests on the new blood taken and nodded to himself. He also analyzed the new pills his teacher created for Jin and as he examined them his plans on finding a way to extend the man's life and even find a cure became more and more of a reality.

'So that's it… My theory was right. Tsunade sensei's new pills prove it.'

"So find anything we missed Daichi?" At that moment Tsunade came in and asked her student.

"Maybe. Your new pills have proved a hypothesis of mine." Daichi said with a smile.

Tsunade and Shizune were surprised to hear that. "What are you talking about Daichi?"

"The reason you couldn't come up with a cure or know what the poison that infected him is because you haven't come across it. Or the plants that were used to create it." Daichi replied.

"That's impossible. Remember our time at the Three wolves mountain. I spent a lot of time going over every herb and flora that was there. The people of that region grow almost all plants from all around the world. A poison as unique and powerful as this… It would have only been possible to create it with the herbs available there. And I would have found it if it was there."

"Well you technically did." Daichi had a smile as he looked at his teacher. He began explaining what he meant. "The herbs you used to slow down the poison. Only you could come up with the combination needed to slow the poison down without even identifying it. But what if I told you those very herbs are the components used in creating the poison? Well, at least some of them anyway."

"But you just said that Lady Tsunade hadn't come across the plants that were used to create this poison." Shizune spoke out.

"I did. And that's also true." The boy had a grin on his face.

"Elaborate." Tsunade was silent as she looked at her student.

"I believe someone with some serious knowledge on the human body, plants and medicine created this poison. They took several dozens of plants and cross pollinated them to create new breeds. I believe the person behind this poisoning used cross pollination and genetic engineering on multiple varieties of the same species and did so with over a dozen specimens. And perhaps even further cross pollination could have taken place. He or she must have mostly used poisonous plants to make the toxin more deadly. But still the plants you used as herbs must have been used in this experiment. They must have been the key pieces. It's why the pills created from them were effective till now. They were fighting against an enemy invisible to all but them. It's just that they weren't strong enough to get rid of the poison."

The Sannin sat down in a chair and thought about it for a while. "Daichi, something like that would take a lot of time, focus, energy and resources to create. It's much easier to hire someone to kill the man." She said.

"Yes. That's true. But what if that would draw unwanted attention?... This way he would have died slowly without anyone knowing what had really happened… Regardless, this is the theory I have and I need to test it." Daichi replied.

"How?"

At that Daichi took his own scroll out and opened it on a nearby empty table. Over 2 dozen small potted plants appeared along with several notes. In it were plants and herbs that Tsunade recognized and some that she immediately didn't.

"I tried to create a few cross pollinated plants but they haven't fully matured yet. And even then, I still need to analyze their properties and DNA and synthesize their enzymes and analyze it to Jin's blood. The right combination might help in revealing the poison hidden in his body."

"That's like over a billion combinations!" Shizune exclaimed.

Tsunade's eyes widened as she heard that. "Even with all my free time, I've only been able to come up with herbs that could slow down whatever is attacking him… The one or multiple poisons responsible for all this. Daichi, finding out something like that… It would take a long long time. Time he doesn't have. And finding the right combination and permutations between these 27 specimens you have… How do you plan to do that? Jin doesn't exactly have medical equipment capable enough to do that kind of computational work and I doubt the hospital would lend us one."

"We don't need a computer. I'm going to do it." The boy said with a big grin.

The two female medics were shocked. "You can't be serious."

The smile disappeared from the boy's face as he looked at the other two. "I am. Deadly serious. It will take a few days, maybe a week but I believe I'll have an answer by then. Excuse me sensei. I need to prepare."

The two were in silence as they watched the boy exit the room.

Daichi headed outside and felt the wind blowing in his face. He sensed his grandfather coming and turned to the man. The old man knew of Daichi's miracle on the Minister's nephew and was hoping for one to happen now to Jin.

"Daichi, if you can do anything to help Jin... ple-"

"Don't! I don't ever wanna hear you say that word. Not to me… I'll do everything I can. I might have a way." Daichi smiled at his grandfather as he tried to reassure the man.

The old man nodded and soon left the boy to his thoughts.

'Intelligence, Wisdom and Vitality. They're the key.'

The gamer ninja let out a deep breath of air and made his decision.

----------------

Author's Note:

Two details for you my dear readers to keep in mind.

One! I'm not a botanist or a doctor or a scientist of any kind. I'm just an average person with average intelligence. I searched the internet and came up with this stuff. So try not to look too deep into the details and just enjoy the story.

Two. I'm hoping to complete this quest quickly and move on. I'll do my best with that. Canon is coming so close. I'm getting ready for that. I'm writing down some plot lines till chunin exams and refining them each day… I can't wait to write it.

Oh one more thing… Regarding Daichi's Tiger summon. I originally wanted Daichi to sign the contract after he became a Genin but so many things happened it would have delayed canon even further if i added that now. So I decided to give the summon test after Naruto's graduation…