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Daichi quickly opened the quest box and looked at his next set of tasks.
[Quest Created - Identify the Culprit.]
[An unknown party has poisoned Leorio. Find out the person/people behind this.]
[Conditions:]
Find out the identifies of the main culprits.
Get a sample of the original poison.
.
[Rewards:]
[20000 Exp.
+1 Intelligence Stat.
+2 Dignity Stat.
+1 Charisma Stat.
Reputation increases with the Client.
Reputation massively increases with Genma Shirunau, Hiruzen Sarutobi and people in Fire Capital.
Opening the 3rd Quest - 'Cure Leorio Mayima'.]
.
[Failure:]
[Failure to open the Quest - 'Cure Leorio Mayima'
Reputation decreases with everyone.
Possible wrath of the Fire Daimyo.]
.
[Accept Y/N]
'Yeah, l had a feeling this is what the quest was going to say.'
With a sigh he accepted the quest and thought about how to proceed best. 'Since this is a custom built poison created with his DNA as the specific target, I need the original sample of the poison to create a permanent cure.'
The Genin sat in a nearby chair and thought about the best plan. After thinking things through he had an idea. 'I need to make sure whoever did this thinks their plan has worked and their guard is down.'
Having made a decision he took a deep breath. 'Here's hoping everything goes according to plan. Time to face the music.'
Daichi went outside and told the family that the child they looked after and saw as their own had passed away.
'I need to take control of the situation before any unknown variable appears.'
Daichi quickly used Mana Puppetry on the 3rd Minister. 'How did this happen? Ask him for an explanation.'
[Target has accepted the suggestion.]
"How? How could this happen? Was there nothing you could do?"
"I did everything I could, but the poison was too strong and I got here too late."
"Aren't you the student of the greatest medic in the world? How could you not save him?"
"I'm sorry. There are some things even I'm not capable of doing."
Daichi wordlessly stopped Genma from speaking for him. He inwardly sighed as he saw the reputation decrease notifications popping up. 'Time to move forward with the second Puppetry Target.'
Daichi's next use of the Mana skill was on the Minister's wife Lady Fuyi. 'Ask him to see Leorio.'
[Target has accepted the suggestion.]
"C-can we see him…?"
"Yes. Of course." 'I need to get these specific people inside the room before something out of my control happens. This will make things easier.'
"Lord Taji. I need to speak with you along with Dr. Karuizawa, Lord Yondu and you too, Genma sensei. The poison isn't contagious but there is something you should know about it." The group followed Daichi and entered the room and as soon as the last person was inside Daichi closed the door.
Everyone looked towards the bed and expected to see a dead body. But they were all shocked when they saw Leorio's chest moving up and down slowly and the monitoring machines indicating that he was alive.
"I would like to apologize to all of you here. I lied earlier."
Everyone turned around and looked at the boy who spoke. The Mayima family was too surprised to form words while the others just stayed silent and decided to hear the Genin's explanation.
Daichi looked at the Minister, his wife and Leorio's Fiance. "I'm sorry. It was not my intention to cause you all such pain but I had no choice. I apologize." Daichi bowed to the elderly couple and then straightened. "As you can see behind you, your nephew is still very much alive."
The three looked behind them and when they processed that their precious child was alive they had tears of joy.
[Reputation increases with everyone in the room]
At that moment Yondu stepped forward. "Why did you lie? What was the point of this?"
"There are two reasons. The first is that I needed to see the reactions of the guards stationed outside. Somehow without anyone knowing, a very dangerous poison entered your nephews system. So I suspect the possibility of a spy. Even if I had completely cured the poison and saved Leorio's life, if any of the Guards were the person who poisoned him, then his life would still have been in danger." Daichi explained.
[Reputation increases with everyone in the room.]
Yondu nodded his head as he heard that. "I see. That's a valid reason I suppose."
At that moment Dr. Karuizawa stepped forward and had a frown on his face. "Wait. You said 'even if you had completely cured the poison and saved his life. What do you mean? Isn't he completely healed?"
The joy the Mayima family was feeling quickly dimmed. They looked at the Genin and when they saw his serious expression they got their answer.
The young medic shook his head. "I'm sorry to say that he's not. The foreign agent introduced into his system is a very intricate, custom-built toxin that's coded to his genetic sequence and DNA structure."
Junko raised her hand. "Yeah, for those of us not a medic, could you dumb it down. What are you talking about?"
Daichi sighed and slowly answered. "The poison is specifically built so that it would infect Leorio and only him. To create a cure for such a custom poison, I need the original sample of the poison or something close to it. I need to analyze its makeup, biological agents and chemical structure to create a counter agent. Ie. A cure. That's the second reason I made such a public lie. I need the enemy's guard down and get a sample of the original poison. If he or she still has it. "
"So he's still in danger!?" Taji said as he looked at his adopted child.
"Yes. I'm afraid so." Daichi replied.
"May I examine him?" Dr. Karuizawa asked and Daichi nodded. The head of the Fire hospital came near the sleeping Leorio and placed his palms on top of the man. It glowed green a couple seconds later and he began examining the young man's condition.
"You said this poison was created specifically with Leo in mind. How is that possible? Create a poison that can infect a specific person and no one else?" Junko asked.
'That's a good question?' Yondu, Taji and Genma turned to Daichi.
"Well to do that one would need the target's DNA. It can be from anywhere. A strand of hair, from your tea cup, saliva… After that they would study the target's genetic make-up for deficiencies, allergies etc. Say lung disease or peanut allergy… They can even add their own twists to the toxin and make it more deadly. Then they would harness that genetic sequence onto a virus. Any virus would do and make sure it comes in contact with the target. That's why the tests here showed that he was positive for pneumonia and almost nothing else." Daichi replied.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"This custom built poison. How many people are capable of making something like this?" It was Genma who posed this question.
"Hmm…" Daichi thought about it for a few seconds and then answered. "To create something like this one would need an intricate understanding of hundreds of herbs, an in depth knowledge of the human body and a ton of experience. The people who are in this category… There are less than 10 in the whole world… Lets see, there is Lady Chiyo of the Sand village, the Ghost Walker of the Mist, Killing Dust of the Stone village, Sasori of the Red sand, Orochimaru… Lady Tsunade, Shizune Senpai and…"
"You?" Taji smiled slightly and finished Daichi's sentence.
The young Genin smirked and nodded. "Yeah."
"Since you know how to make one, then you would also know how to create a cure. The fact that my boy is still breathing when he should be dead is proof of that." The minister said. His impression of the boy greatly improved from before.
[Reputation increases with Dr. Karuizawa.]
"Yes. Indeed." Dr. Karuizawa suddenly said with excitement. Everyone turned to him. "You were able to heal the scars and damages his organs suffered and boost his immune system and increase his body metabolism. It's unbelievable. How did you even accomplish such a thing?"
"I created a special technique that allows me to heal the internal injuries even in such critical conditions. There was also a special drug I came up with that boosted the strength of his immune system so it can fight the poison."
'It seems I was wrong earlier. We didn't overestimate him. No, we underestimated his talents. He truly is Lady Tsunade's apprentice.' Yondu thought as he looked at the Genin.
The Jonin Genma internally smiled. 'Looks like you really can pull off a miracle.'
"Your reputation certainly doesn't do you justice." Taji said with a smile. He was grateful that his faith had not been misplaced.
"Thank you for saving him." Lady Fuyi smiled tearfully as she sat near her nephew and stroked his cheeks.
Daichi smiled for a moment but then the smile dimmed. "Well as I said. It's still too early to celebrate. I was able to stabilize his condition but he isn't fully healed. The medication I used to help him boost his immune system is a work in progress. It's a one time pill. It won't have anywhere near the first time effects if used again. We have 44 to 48 hours before the poison overpowers his body's defenses and starts its attack again. After that another 5 or 6 hours before he's in critical condition again."
Lord Taji and Yondu nodded as they understood the situation.
"How long will you need to create a cure once we find the original sample?" Yondu asked the Medic ninja.
"Hmm… I need to analyze its composition first. Then find the best agent to counter it and then synthesize the antidote. Should take me roughly 3 or 4 hours."
"So we have two days to find the person who did this and get a sample." Genma knew such a tight time frame was not good but it was the best they had.
''Attacking a family member of the Daimyo court. Whoever did it must have some serious guts. That and a shit ton of money and connections. So we're not dealing with an average individual or a group. This could be the work of factions of rival Daimyo of another country or someone else." Yondu spoke. The list of suspects that could do this wasn't long but each one was dangerous.
"Do you trust the guards outside?" Genma suddenly asked Taji.
"If this had been a couple days ago, my answer would have been a resolute yes. But now…" Since he didn't know who was behind the attack of his son, Taji had doubts about his men.
"I don't think there are any spies among the guards outside. I was keeping a close eye on their facial expressions and all of them seemed really angry when they heard Leorio died. So…" The Genin tried to speak in the guards favor.
'I can't say it's because of the reputation decrease I saw. And I'm not gonna tell them I sensed their chakra… Need to keep that info under wraps from the people here in the capital.' Daichi was very careful with the words he spoke. He wanted to keep some parts of his skills and items a secret. It's why he didn't tell them the true details of his three concoctions.
"That may be true but still, we can't take the risk." Taji said. 'Not when it comes to my boy.'
"We need to know everything your men have found out about this incident. We'll start our own investigation and find the culprit behind this." Genma spoke.
"I might have an idea as to where to start."
Everyone turned to Daichi and listened.
The young Genin took a moment to compose himself and then spoke. "As I said before, to create a custom build virus or poison, all one would need is a sample of the target's DNA. But for this specific virus that's attacking him, whoever did this must have gotten his or her hands on some of Leorio's blood. This poison couldn't have been created without examining his blood."
He turned to the Minister. "Do you know any instances when Leorio was wounded in the last several months?"
Taji thought about the situation and his eyes widened. He recalled an incident that happened several months ago.
"Yeah! There was! It was 4 months ago. A bear attack." It was Junko who answered the question. "Leo and I were walking through the small forest near the east end of the capital. And there was a bear coming at us. It was angry and looked like it wanted to kill us. Leo stood in front of me and got hurt. But-"
"Let me guess, before he could get more injured a random passerby came to his rescue and either killed or scared off that bear." Genma had been on enough missions to know when someone was being set up.
"Yeah. Exactly." Junko nodded. "He said he was a traveler and luckily had some bandages and medicines. He cleaned Leo's wounds and bandaged him."
"How kind of him." The sarcastic tone in which Daichi said these words weren't missed by anyone.
The young woman's eyes widened. "Wait! You're saying that whole thing was planned?"
The Genin nodded his head. "Yeah. If I had to make a guess, I'd say that bear was under some sort of Genjutsu. The person who helped you. He bandaged the wounds on Leo but did you see him destroy the blood soaked clothes or items?"
Junko opened her mouth to say something then closed it. She was silent for several seconds and then replied. "No. In all that commotion we completely forgot about that."
"Well, I guess now we know how they got hold of Leorio's blood." Genma said.
"Junko. Can you remember the man's face? Please think hard." The desperation was barely hidden in Taji's voice.
"I-... I'm sorry. I don't… remember." Junko had tears forming in her eyes due to her helplessness.
"Y-you w-were always a… worrywort.. Jun…" A tired raspy sound was heard and everyone turned to look at the person who just spoke.
"Oh my god! Leo. You're awake." Jun rushed to her fiance and hugged him.
"You had all of us so worried." Fuyi spoke smiling and with tears in her eyes.
"Sorry… aunt Fuyi. But look… I'm… getting better." Leorio tried to calm his family down.
"I don't know how to help you Leo. I can't even remember the face of the man we met that day."
"Don't w-worry Jun. I'm sure… they'll find him. Don't cry."
"He's right. You shouldn't cry. I doubt it would have helped anyway." Daichi spoke up.
Taji and Yondu turned to him. "What do you mean?" The messenger of the Royal court asked.
"This whole thing was meticulously planned. I have no doubt that the person who appeared before Lady Junko was in disguise. Even if you gave us a perfect description, I have a feeling we would have ended up chasing ghosts." Genma answered for Daichi as he tried to console the crying young woman.
"So then how do we find him?" The 3rd minister asked.
"We start with where Leorio was infected. His room. Daichi and I'll search the whole place. See if we can't find anything." The special Jonin had been part of and had conducted several investigations. He knew how to proceed and what the next best step was.
"Leorio, my name is Daichi Hekima. I need you to answer a few questions for me." The Genin came near his patient and examined him.
"Who… are you?"
"I'm the guy who's keeping the Reaper from taking your soul."
"Don't be so dramatic, Daichi… He's your medic Leo." Genma said with a smirk.
"Guess I… I need to thank you for… saving my life. What happened?" Leo gave a small smile as he looked at the Genin.
"You're not out of the woods yet. I was able to stabilize your vitals and give a boost in energy but you're still very much in danger… you'll die in two days if we don't find a cure." Daichi said somewhat bluntly.
"Oh…" Leorio paled even more when he heard that news.
"Couldn't you have said that nicely?" Junko frowned as she looked at the Genin.
"That was putting it nicely." Daichi replied with a raised eyebrow to the woman.
He then turned his attention back to the sick man in bed. "Yesterday night, did you eat or drink anything when you were inside your room?"
"N-no… Nothing… I just… went to bed… After that… All I remember was just pain…" He replied while taking several breaths.
"Just as I thought." Daichi muttered.
Dr. Karuizawa heard him and turned towards the Genin. "Daichi, have you figured out how the virus got into his system?"
The Genin nodded. "It's obvious. I'm sure you've already got an idea."
"Aerosol?"
"Yeah. I thoroughly examined him. There were no needle marks on his body and he said he didn't take any food or drinks. I check his oral cavity. There weren't any signs of foreign particles or chemicals. So the poison must have gotten in through the air."
"So then… I was…" At that moment Leorio was becoming too tired and slowly slipped back into sleep.
"Leo, Leo… What's happening?"
"Calm down. He's tired. Being awake takes too much energy. He's sleeping." Daichi replied to the worried glances.
He looked at Taji and spoke. "I'll need to talk to the guard stationed outside Leorio's room. I want to know everything that happened last night."
"But what about my nephew? If you leave here and something happens…" Fuyi was scared that something unexpected would happen and wanted Daichi to stay by her nephew's side till he was fully healed.
"Don't worry. I won't leave him without supervision." Daichi created a shadow clone and turned to Dr. Karuizawa. "My clone will watch over his vitals and condition. In the meantime, till we solve this whole predicament, you cannot let anyone come into this room. Even you."
The head doctor agreed. "I understand."
"What? But I want to stay with him. I should be there for him when he wakes up."
"That's right." Junko said and her mother agreed but Taji was looking at Daichi with a serious gaze. He knew what had to be done.
"No." Taji Mayima said. "Right now, everyone outside thinks he's dead. So that news will eventually reach the killer. We need to make it look real. So Leo won't be attacked again."
He turned to his wife and future daughter in law. "We need to leave. Do as the Leaf ninja says. This is for the best."
"I'll have to inform Lord Ryuga of the situation but I think he'll see the wisdom in keeping this whole thing under wraps. At least until we get to the bottom of this." As the messenger and member of the Royal court, Yondu had the duty of informing the Daimyo everything without lies.
"Daichi and I will start with his bedroom." Genma said and the Genin nodded. The Special Jonin turned to the head doctor of the hospital. "Don't let anyone get in here. And just tell the staff here that we were too late to save him. If there is a spy then I'm sure the news will reach them quickly."
"Yes. of course."
Having made their decision the people slowly started coming out of the room. They all had sad somber expressions.
Flashback End
"The short version of everything that happened is, I slowed the poison down, prolonged his life, faked his death, investigated the poisoning, followed the tracks and well… here we are." The smile on Daichi's face only got bigger as he looked at the shocked face of the dying man.
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Author's Note:
Another 3k+ word chap. The mission conclusion and return will be in the next chapter. With each chap we're one step closer to Canon…
If you enjoy my story then please take a moment to review and rate. A thumbs up always helps.