Time was the cheapest thing in the world.
And now, only one day remained before the end of the one-month period Koji had been given.
By this point, his Mystical Palm Jutsu had risen from the one percent it started at after its first Limit Break to twenty-eight percent.
The speed of improvement had dropped dramatically.
But that was perfectly normal.
Once a skill broke through its limit, accumulating additional proficiency became much slower.
If Rapid Healing hadn’t allowed Koji to increase his daily body-tempering sessions to ten, his Mystical Palm Jutsu probably wouldn’t have reached twenty-eight percent at all.
The past month had been extremely productive.
His only real disappointment was that he hadn’t managed to acquire any new ninjutsu scrolls.
Obtaining one openly was basically impossible.
His only legitimate path was through Konoha Hospital, and he was supposedly busy studying the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Asking for unrelated ninjutsu during that period would be unbelievably stupid.
Obtaining techniques secretly wasn’t much easier.
There was really only one reason for that.
This was Konoha.
Ever since the suspected Kumogakure spy attack, the village had become noticeably more paranoid.
ANBU patrols had increased significantly.
And Konoha didn’t possess that many Lightning Release techniques to begin with, making it even harder for Koji to locate anything suitable.
If he wanted a ninjutsu scroll, he’d basically have to pick some fortunate ninja at random.
And even then— there was no guarantee the unfortunate bastard would actually be carrying one.
With ANBU constantly patrolling the village, Koji couldn’t exactly kill someone and leisurely search the body afterward either.
After scouting things out twice, he indefinitely shelved the idea.
As for developing a second chakra nature, Koji was leaning toward Water Release.
There was a very simple reason.
Lightning Release and Water Release could be fused into the Kekkei Genkai known as Storm Release.
Koji was fairly confident about that path.
For anyone else, trying to create a Kekkei Genkai through chakra-nature fusion might feel like searching for a light that didn’t exist.
Koji had the Grindlord System.
As long as something could be trained— he wasn’t particularly worried.
Meanwhile, his body continued undergoing repeated tempering.
Even the strength of his internal organs was quietly increasing.
That was excellent news.
With a cheat like his, there was really only one proper path to becoming stronger.
Grind.
And then grind some more.
Because today was the final day of the agreed month, Koji’s private training room finally received a visitor he hadn’t seen in quite some time.
Rie Shibata.
If he remembered correctly, it had been five days since he’d last seen her.
Honestly, Koji had gotten somewhat annoyed whenever she visited.
Every time the door opened, he had to immediately stop whatever body tempering and internal repair he was performing and return to sitting there blankly.
Medical ninja were extremely familiar with the Healing Jutsu.
Back when Koji had secretly used it behind three instructors, he had escaped notice mainly because so many people in the room had been using the same technique.
The Mystical Palm Jutsu was different. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Its chakra carried an intense vitality.
Any competent medical ninja standing reasonably close would notice it immediately.
So whenever Rie entered—
Koji had to stop.
As a result, he had developed a small amount of resentment toward her.
Only a small amount.
Certainly nowhere near enough to kill her.
Rie had been the person who first guided him into medical ninjutsu.
And as a senior medical ninja, she had treated him quite well.
Koji wasn’t some kind of demon.
He wasn’t going to kill someone for no reason.
“Today’s the final day.”
Rie’s voice was unusually gentle.
“If you still haven’t learned it, there’s no need to force yourself.”
“The treatment rooms are where ordinary medical ninja belong anyway.”
During their occasional conversations over the past month, Koji had already developed a fairly clear understanding of Konoha Hospital’s internal hierarchy.
At the very top stood Director Yuya Kudo.
Directly beneath her were the second-tier medical ninja— the ones capable of using the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
Most of them were already fairly old.
Unless a jonin or someone particularly important suffered serious injuries, these medical ninja rarely appeared personally.
Below them were the third-tier specialists.
They possessed highly refined Healing Jutsu and primarily treated genin and chunin.
Unfortunately, Rie’s current skill level wasn’t enough to qualify for that group.
Which meant she still had to obediently perform surgeries and provide treatment for ordinary civilians.
That was the stage most medical ninja had to endure.
Skill took time to develop.
Spend several years working at the lowest tier, become sufficiently experienced, and eventually one could move into the third tier.
The pay would improve.
So would one’s status.
Those third-tier medical ninja effectively possessed a standing comparable to a special jonin— above chunin, but below full jonin.
As for medical ninja who had mastered the Mystical Palm Jutsu?
Their status was unquestionably comparable to jonin.
“I already learned it.”
Rie froze.
Koji wanted to remain low-key.
But there was such a thing as taking that too far.
If he stayed in the hospital’s lowest tier, he would never gain meaningful access to injured shinobi.
And if he couldn’t interact with shinobi patients, then forget researching chakra, cells, or Kekkei Genkai.
That was why Koji needed to reveal the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
It would allow him to skip years of slowly working his way upward.
Rie had been mentally preparing herself to comfort him.
Instead, the word practically burst out of her.
She simply couldn’t believe it.
She had spent ten years trying and had never successfully learned the Mystical Palm Jutsu.
And this boy standing in front of her had mastered it already?
Disbelief was one thing.
Evidence was another.
When vivid emerald chakra appeared around Koji’s hands, carrying the unmistakable vitality of the Mystical Palm Jutsu—
Rie had no choice but to accept something she had always known intellectually.
Some people really were geniuses.
“What?!”
Even after Rie heard Director Yuya Kudo shout the exact same thing, she still hadn’t completely recovered from her earlier shock.
Yuya herself stared in disbelief.
When she had learned the Mystical Palm Jutsu, it had taken her nearly a full year.
And even that had been enough for that person to call her a genius.
So what exactly was Koji supposed to be?
One month?
The one-month period had never truly been intended as a realistic deadline.
It was closer to a consolation period.
Almost no medical ninja actually learned the Mystical Palm Jutsu within a single month.
Most simply studied it during that time, returned to their normal duties, and continued practicing whenever possible.
Years of effort might eventually produce success.
Koji had done it within the original study period.
“All right…”
Yuya finally spoke after nearly five full minutes.
“I understand.”
“Bring him to see me tomorrow.”
Once the shock subsided, an almost uncontrollable sense of excitement replaced it.
Perhaps Konoha was about to gain another truly exceptional medical ninja.
There was only one thing Yuya hoped.
That after learning advanced medical ninjutsu…
Koji wouldn’t decide to run off and become a frontline fighter.
Medical ninja were supposed to save the lives of their comrades.
Rie left the director’s office in something of a daze.
She could already imagine it.
The boy she had personally guided through the doorway of medical ninjutsu would continue advancing through the Mystical Palm Jutsu…
until eventually becoming the kind of medical ninja even she could only look up to.
“No matter what happens, I’m still the one who first guided him!”
The thought immediately made Rie feel strangely proud.
Being the teacher of someone with this kind of talent really was fortunate.
Even if she’d only been his teacher for two months.
Walking home, Koji had no idea what Rie and Yuya had discussed.
Nor did he particularly care.
There was only one thing occupying his thoughts now.
A much broader world was finally about to open before him.