The Mystical Palm Jutsu scroll was considerably larger than the Healing Jutsu scroll.
The amount of information recorded inside couldn’t even be compared.
From Koji’s perspective, the Healing Jutsu was essentially a simplified version of the Mystical Palm Jutsu—one that removed most of the complicated and difficult-to-understand steps.
Koji carefully studied the scroll.
The changes in chakra form and the circulation patterns required by the Mystical Palm Jutsu didn’t seem particularly difficult to understand.
By the time he finished reading the entire thing, a question had already formed in his mind.
Why are there so few medical ninja in Konoha capable of learning something this simple?
It wasn’t that Koji was being arrogant.
The sections specifically marked as the most difficult parts of the technique were certainly explained in complicated terms.
But once all the unnecessary wording was stripped away, the principle was straightforward.
It was simply a specific chakra circulation pathway inside the body.
As long as someone could control their chakra well enough to guide it through that route, then release it using principles similar to the Healing Jutsu— that was the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
And chakra control?
That had never been a problem for Koji.
There was only one real issue.
If he learned what was supposedly an advanced medical ninjutsu technique in half an hour…
would that attract the attention of certain people?
Konoha looked peaceful on the surface.
Underneath?
It was a swamp.
Vermin hidden underground occasionally crawled out to make everyone’s life miserable.
And the one person theoretically capable of keeping that vermin under control always seemed to appear only after the damage had already been done.
Koji honestly couldn’t tell whether the man genuinely failed to notice what was happening…
or deliberately chose not to.
After a brief silence, Koji made his decision.
They had given him one month.
Then one month from now— that was when he would reveal that he had learned the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Until then, he could use the time to accumulate proficiency.
Perhaps he could even find an opportunity to learn another technique.
Decision made, Koji returned to his specialty.
Outwardly— he stared blankly into space.
Internally— he began practicing the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Following the instructions recorded in the scroll, Koji circulated chakra through the required pathways.
Because his Chakra Control had already undergone three Limit Breaks, even the sections described as the most complicated caused him no difficulty whatsoever.
His first attempt succeeded.
Koji then followed the same general principle used by the Healing Jutsu and released the chakra after completing its internal circulation.
Almost instantly— vivid emerald chakra, noticeably denser and more full of vitality than the Healing Jutsu, flowed around both of his hands.
This…
was the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
After successfully using the technique once, Koji immediately stopped.
A familiar blue panel appeared before him.
[Mystical Palm Jutsu — 10%: Healing +2]
A new skill had been added.
The Mystical Palm Jutsu had only just been learned, so naturally it hadn’t reached a Limit Break yet.
The trait listed behind it, however, was clearly inherited from the Healing Jutsu.
That alone confirmed the relationship between the two techniques.
Compared with the Mystical Palm Jutsu…
the Healing Jutsu really was just its inferior little brother.
With his first practice session complete, Koji returned to his original training routine.
First, he used Lightning-nature chakra to temper his body.
Then he repaired the resulting damage with the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Because everything was happening inside his body, no one would notice anything unusual unless they were standing extremely close and deliberately inspecting him.
Compared with the Healing Jutsu, using the Mystical Palm Jutsu required considerably more concentration.
Its healing speed, however, was also much faster.
And when Koji merely used it to clear accumulated fatigue and metabolic waste from his muscles after training, there was effectively no harmful consequence.
And so— without anyone realizing it—
Koji’s body continued growing stronger.
At the same time, the proficiency of both his Lightning-Nature Transformation and Mystical Palm Jutsu slowly increased.
His Lightning-Nature Transformation had already reached:
[Limit Break +2 — 6%]
At its current rate, reaching the next qualitative transformation would probably take years.
The Mystical Palm Jutsu was much faster.
Each time Koji completed a full cycle of body tempering and repaired all the affected areas, the technique gained roughly three percent proficiency.
At five training cycles per day…
reaching the first Limit Break should take around six days.
Koji didn’t know what level Tsunade’s Mystical Palm Jutsu had reached.
But one thing was certain.
A Mystical Palm Jutsu that had undergone even a single Limit Break would already place him ahead of the overwhelming majority of Konoha Hospital’s medical ninja.
Which meant that after one month…
he might finally gain access to shinobi patients.
And, perhaps, even more advanced medical ninjutsu.
The thought filled Koji with anticipation.
Six days passed in the blink of an eye.
During that time, Rie visited several times.
Each time she entered and found Koji standing there with his usual vacant expression, she gradually came to a realization.
Apparently…
this really was Koji’s unique way of practicing.
Other than Rie, almost no one visited.
Konoha Hospital was busy.
Even if Koji was talented, nobody had enough free time to constantly watch a young medical ninja train.
Work had a way of making people forget things.
Only during rare moments of downtime would someone remember the young genius supposedly trying to learn the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Most of the hospital’s medical ninja weren’t optimistic.
Anyone who had personally attempted the technique understood how difficult it was.
The boy had already taken a relatively long time to reveal that he had learned the basic Healing Jutsu.
But the Mystical Palm Jutsu wasn’t something just anyone could master.
At present, every medical ninja in Konoha Hospital capable of using it was part of the hospital’s upper echelon.
They were generally called upon only when truly serious cases appeared.
So what gave some teenager the right to think he could learn it?
Had Koji heard those conversations, his answer would probably have been extremely simple.
Because I have a cheat.
That night, Koji completed another cycle of body tempering inside his home.
Once the damage had been repaired, an unusual sensation suddenly swept through him.
His understanding of the Mystical Palm Jutsu deepened.
Details he had barely noticed before suddenly became clear.
Tiny imperfections in the way he used the technique seemed to correct themselves naturally.
Then— a new system notification appeared.
[Mystical Palm Jutsu — Limit Break +1 (1%): Rapid Healing +3]
Koji stared at the panel.
So that was how it worked.
Once the Mystical Palm Jutsu crossed its first Limit Break, it had absorbed even the trait previously belonging to the Healing Jutsu.
And the result had become something new.
Rapid Healing +3.
Rapid healing was already the defining advantage of the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Now the system had strengthened that advantage even further.
Koji was certain that his current level with the technique was already quite high.
Exactly how high?
He had no idea.
There was no suitable benchmark available.
Not that Koji intended to show it off just to find one.
He couldn’t say whether standing out too much was dangerous everywhere else.
But in Konoha?
The tallest blade of grass had a habit of getting cut down.
Over the past two years, Koji had heard plenty of rumors.
Several clans had supposedly produced remarkably talented young ninja.
Some of those geniuses were still active within Konoha.
Others?
Koji hadn’t heard a single rumor about them in a very long time.
That made the likely explanation fairly obvious.
They had probably been absorbed into one of Konoha’s more…
specialized organizations.
Either ANBU— where people seemed to die on dangerous missions every other day— or Root— where someone was apparently always thinking about how best to sacrifice fresh young leaves to keep rotten old roots alive.
Neither option appealed to Koji.
If he became a medical ninja assigned specifically to ANBU, then he could practically forget about having enough freedom to conduct his own secret activities.
And Root?
Until he had enough strength to kill the old rat hiding down there…
going anywhere near Root would amount to volunteering for a suicide mission.