“Given your outstanding performance, I can now say this with certainty.”
Back in the same director’s office where they had first met, Yuya Kudo looked at Koji with none of her former indifference.
Instead, her face was filled with unmistakable delight.
“Genin Koji, you are now fully capable of working independently as a medical ninja.”
Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought the nearly forty-year-old hospital director had suddenly discovered a second spring in her life.
“This is all thanks to Instructor Shibata’s guidance.”
Koji responded modestly.
Internally, however, his thoughts were rather different.
Very realistic.
The difference between Yuya’s attitude now and the way she had treated him during their first meeting was almost amusing.
Still, Koji had no intention of complaining.
In his eyes, every medical ninja inside Konoha Hospital was practically a glowing bundle of experience.
Everyone had their own specialties.
Even if one person’s overall medical ability wasn’t particularly impressive, there would almost certainly be something they understood better than others.
There was an old saying from his previous life:
When three people walked together, there was always something one could learn from the other two.
Learn from their strengths.
Correct yourself by observing their weaknesses.
If Koji truly wanted to use medical ninjutsu to carve out an entirely new road for himself, he couldn’t afford to focus on only one aspect of medicine.
He needed everything.
At the moment, however, what interested him most was transplant surgery.
Compared with the grandiose idea of completely deciphering the Uchiha clan’s genetics and somehow turning himself into an Uchiha from the inside out…
transplanting a Sharingan was obviously the simpler route.
There was only one major problem.
Chakra consumption.
Koji possessed a respectable amount of chakra.
But there was no chance he could compare with clans blessed with extraordinary life force and chakra reserves, such as the Uzumaki or Senju.
Kakashi Hatake was the clearest example of what could happen when an ordinary ninja possessed a Sharingan they couldn’t deactivate.
Until Koji found a method to reduce that consumption, he had no intention of transplanting one into himself.
Especially because his ultimate goal wasn’t merely a Mangekyō Sharingan.
He wanted a Rinnegan.
Even Nagato, who possessed Uzumaki blood, had eventually been reduced to a skeletal state by the burden of using those eyes.
If Koji couldn’t solve the chakra-consumption problem first…
transplanting the Rinnegan would be no different from committing suicide.
“You’re giving me far too much credit.”
Rie, who was standing nearby, became visibly embarrassed after hearing Koji praise her.
“Koji worked very hard. What I did was insignificant.”
She certainly enjoyed hearing him give her credit.
But remembering how shamelessly she’d used him as a convenient workhorse in the treatment room made her cheeks feel slightly warm.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Yuya had no idea how much of Koji’s statement was true.
But since both teacher and student were saying such things, she naturally offered Rie a few words of acknowledgment.
“Director, you’re too kind. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to work.” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Rie waved dismissively.
She could already feel herself becoming a little too pleased with all the praise.
Before she started floating away entirely, she decided it would be wiser to leave.
Yuya didn’t stop her.
There was no reason to.
Koji simply watched Rie leave without showing any particular reaction.
Once the door closed, Yuya’s expression became more serious.
“Learning the Mystical Palm Jutsu proves that you possess the talent required to become a top-tier medical ninja.”
Her tone sharpened.
“But talent is only talent.”
“If you truly want to become one of the best medical ninja, you still have a long road ahead of you.”
“From today onward, I’ll be much stricter with you.”
Koji blinked.
That wasn’t quite what he had expected.
But after thinking about it for a moment, he understood.
She wants me as her student.
If their relationship were merely that of a hospital director and subordinate, there would be no reason for Yuya to personally tell a newly qualified medical genius that she intended to become stricter with him.
This was effectively a disguised invitation.
As long as Koji accepted, there didn’t even need to be some formal apprenticeship ceremony.
In the eyes of everyone around them, he would naturally become Director Yuya Kudo’s student.
A so-called bond would form between them.
Koji had always found the culture of the shinobi world somewhat strange.
Konoha in particular had a peculiar habit of taking ordinary interpersonal relationships— teachers and students, teammates, friends, family— and elevating all of them into something sacred called bonds.
Koji had no intention of debating their philosophy.
And whatever he thought of it, Yuya Kudo was still the director of Konoha Hospital.
She obviously possessed genuine skill.
Before Tsunade returned to the village, the strongest medical ninja currently available in Konoha was almost certainly the director of Konoha Hospital herself.
If such a gift had fallen directly into Koji’s lap…
why would he refuse?
“No problem. I’ll be troubling you from now on, Director.”
Yuya looked relieved.
“Good. Starting today, you’ll train under me.”
She knew she’d been somewhat forceful.
But finding an excellent student wasn’t easy.
Now that one had appeared in front of her, there was no reason not to secure him early.
Perhaps Koji would feel some resistance toward her approach in the beginning.
Yuya wasn’t worried.
With enough careful instruction, she was confident she could guide him steadily along the path of medical ninjutsu.
Once he achieved something worthwhile in the future, he would naturally remember what she had done for him.
And by then— their teacher-student bond would be firmly established.
“In that case, I’ll be relying on you, Instructor Yuya.”
Koji had no problem playing along.
His entire reason for coming to Konoha Hospital was to become the best medical ninja he possibly could.
Everything he was doing was ultimately meant to help him find a way to survive the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Now the strongest medical ninja currently inside Konoha was offering to personally teach him everything she knew.
There was absolutely no reason to refuse.
Koji had initially assumed that training under Yuya would be as relaxed as his earlier studies.
The moment they left the director’s office, he discovered just how wrong he was.
They had barely stepped outside before Yuya was called in to perform surgery on an ANBU ninja.
At first, Koji was full of enthusiasm.
This was exactly the kind of high-level case he wanted exposure to.
By the end of the day, however…
something felt wrong.
He had certainly learned plenty.
Better methods for treating complicated wounds.
Ways to apply the Healing Jutsu across larger injured areas.
How experienced medical ninja responded when a patient’s condition suddenly changed.
It was all useful.
But it wasn’t quite the kind of knowledge Koji had originally been hoping to acquire.
Still, the days were incredibly productive.
Before studying under Yuya, Koji could only be considered a medical ninja who had recently stepped through the door.
After following her around for several days, he was already comparatively competent.
By Konoha Hospital’s internal standards, his practical ability had probably reached the third tier.
There was just one problem.
The workload.
Koji wasn’t bothered by working hard.
What annoyed him was that even his meals kept getting interrupted.
When an emergency appeared, there were times when he couldn’t eat at all.
Following Director Kudo around could basically be summarized in one sentence:
Three days of work.
Nine missed meals.
And so the brutally busy routine continued for half a month.
Fortunately, Koji didn’t come away empty-handed.
He still hadn’t received another formal ninjutsu scroll.
But he had successfully learned one considerably more advanced medical technique.
The Chakra Scalpel.
The first time Koji casually formed the Chakra Scalpel in front of everyone, he clearly noticed the stunned expressions on the surrounding medical ninja.
Then he saw Yuya’s extremely smug smile.
The incident didn’t create too much of a disturbance.
Everyone was simply surprised that Koji had managed to learn the Chakra Scalpel without ever systematically studying the technique from a scroll.
That was all.
They definitely weren’t jealous.
…Yeah, right.