Akamaru had survived.
Whether his dignity had survived with him was another question entirely.
“This is great, Akamaru!”
Kiba scooped the ninja dog into his arms and spun around excitedly the moment he saw that there wasn’t even a bandage on him.
He completely failed to notice Akamaru’s hollow, thousand-yard stare.
Physically, the dog had made a full recovery.
Mentally…
Koji’s treatment might have left a more lasting impression.
Before long, Kiba carried Akamaru away.
At almost the exact same moment— a familiar blue panel appeared before Koji.
[Delicate Illness Extraction Technique — Limit Break +1 (2%): Purification +1]
Koji’s eyes narrowed slightly.
So Akamaru hadn’t suffered for nothing after all.
The treatment had successfully pushed the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique through its first Limit Break.
As for the new trait—
Purification +1.
Its function wasn’t difficult to understand.
The Delicate Illness Extraction Technique could already remove most harmful substances from damaged cells and tissue.
Most.
Not all.
Take Akamaru’s wounds as an example.
Even after Koji extracted the venom, pus, and stingers, a small amount of contaminated blood had remained behind.
Ordinarily, Akamaru’s own body would have needed to eliminate those remnants over time.
With Purification, Koji should be able to extract harmful substances even more thoroughly the next time he used the technique.
Cleaner tissue.
Cleaner cells.
Fewer contaminants left behind after treatment.
And, naturally— shorter postoperative recovery times.
Koji nodded inwardly.
Not bad.
He allowed the notification to disappear and headed back to the training room.
There was no reason to waste the rest of the day.
He resumed tempering his body with Lightning-nature chakra while continuing to accumulate proficiency with the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Treating Akamaru had been a task specifically assigned by Yuya Kudo.
For the moment, Koji hadn’t been given any other work.
His schedule was surprisingly relaxed.
The only question was how long that would last.
While Koji quietly returned to training, several medical ninja had gathered inside Yuya’s office.
Every one of them had personally witnessed him perform the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
For medical ninja who couldn’t safely use the technique themselves, the entire procedure had practically been a masterclass.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t that none of them understood how the technique worked.
The problem was what happened when they actually tried to use it. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Their chakra control wasn’t precise or stable enough to perform the technique safely on a human patient.
Even using it on a ninja dog would have been risky.
“Director, you really do have an eye for talent.”
After a long silence, one of the medical ninja finally chose the safest possible response.
Flattery.
Until recently, several of them had been somewhat dissatisfied with Koji.
They were all medical ninja.
While everyone else worked themselves half to death throughout Konoha Hospital, Koji had spent half a year shut inside a training room reading medical books as though he were on vacation.
Why did he get special treatment?
Today, reality had answered that question for them.
Hard.
Even the hospital’s senior medical ninja who had mastered the Mystical Palm Jutsu had been left speechless after witnessing Koji’s Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
In the end, they could only comfort themselves with the oldest excuse in the world.
Some people really were geniuses.
Yuya couldn’t even be bothered responding to such empty praise.
“I think, based on the level Koji demonstrated today, that after participating in a few more surgeries, he should be fully capable of independently treating shinobi patients.”
Another medical ninja finally said something useful.
That was what Yuya had actually wanted to hear.
Her gaze immediately shifted toward the speaker.
The others noticed the change in her expression and understood at once.
“His Delicate Illness Extraction Technique alone is enough to prove his ability. Continuing to observe him for too long would just be wasting time.”
“Exactly. Other than the director, Koji is probably the only person in Konoha Hospital who can properly use the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique. And he’s your student on top of that. How could he possibly be incompetent?”
More voices quickly joined in.
The praise became increasingly excessive.
Yuya listened for a while before finally raising a hand.
“We still follow procedure.”
The room immediately quieted.
“For the next month, all of you will take turns supervising him.”
“When that month ends, if you’re all satisfied with his ability, then we’ll assign him an advanced treatment room of his own.”
Her expression became serious.
“And don’t lower the standard just because he’s my student.”
“The lives in our hands belong to our comrades.”
The surrounding medical ninja straightened.
“Understood.”
Koji knew nothing about the discussion taking place in Yuya’s office.
After finishing Akamaru’s treatment, he had already relaxed.
His medical-ninjutsu level was finally high enough.
Which meant— the plan he’d been forced to postpone could begin moving again.
Before he ever left Konoha, there were two things Koji absolutely wanted to obtain.
Hashirama cells.
And a Sharingan.
There was one person in Konoha who possessed both.
Koji had no personal grudge against Danzo.
Unfortunately for Danzo…
he happened to possess exactly what Koji wanted.
That made things considerably simpler.
Once Koji settled on Danzo as a future target, he immediately began considering what kind of specialized preparations he would need.
Danzo’s right arm wasn’t the greatest concern.
Because the Hashirama cells implanted there constantly threatened to erode his body, Danzo normally kept the arm sealed.
Otherwise, when he’d confronted Obito Uchiha, there would have been no need to have two subordinates stall for time while he removed all those seals.
Why bother patiently unwrapping his arm in front of Obito?
To show off his collection?
Obviously not.
What Koji truly needed to worry about was Danzo’s own combat ability— and the eye belonging to Shisui Uchiha.
Kotoamatsukami.
The so-called ultimate genjutsu deserved respect.
But since Koji already knew that Mangekyō Sharingan existed, preparing countermeasures wasn’t impossible.
And as long as he behaved as though he had no particular awareness of that eye, Danzo probably wouldn’t immediately begin relying on Uchiha forbidden techniques like Izanagi.
Very few people even knew Danzo possessed Shisui’s eye.
At the Five Kage Summit, if Ao hadn’t previously encountered Shisui and happened to possess a Byakugan, Danzo might genuinely have succeeded with his manipulation.
So if Koji ever confronted Danzo, the first priority would be simple.
Make Danzo believe he could win.
Then— before he realized otherwise— remove his ability to resist.
And just to be safe…
Koji would preferably use a Shadow Clone.
That would eliminate the possibility of Kotoamatsukami affecting his real body.
No matter how absurd the genjutsu was, Koji didn’t believe it could manipulate the original through a Shadow Clone.
…
“Koji.”
Yuya’s voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
The door opened, and she stepped into the training room.
“Starting tomorrow, you’ll be studying under the other medical ninja in the hospital.”
“I understand.”
Koji immediately gave her his usual mild smile.
Acquiring supplies from Danzo would obviously need to happen in secret.
Outwardly— he was still nothing more than that harmless young medical ninja everyone trusted.
“Work hard.”
Yuya looked at him with obvious satisfaction.
“One month from now, you’ll be the youngest and most outstanding medical ninja in this hospital.”
As she grew older, the extremely demanding surgeries she handled had begun placing more and more strain on her.
Fortunately…
she had somehow managed to find such an outstanding student.