Medical Ninjutsu did not heal injuries very quickly. Even the Mystical Palm Technique, an advanced Medical Ninjutsu, would take at least five minutes to treat such widespread scratches under normal Medical Ninja standards.
So, during this idle time, Miyoshi continued explaining, "Medical Ninjutsu uses hand seals to activate the Physical Energy within Chakra. Then, this activated Chakra flows through the body in a specific combination and is released."
Soseki explained according to his own understanding, "Could it be explained this way? Chakra is a known number, Elemental Ninjutsu is a formula, and hand seals are calculation aids. The stronger the Elemental Ninjutsu, the more complicated the formula, and the more hand seals are needed as calculation aids. The final result is the ninjutsu we release."
It was the first time Miyoshi had heard such a novel explanation. Instinctively, she felt that Soseki made a great deal of sense, but ninjas' lack of emphasis on foundational teaching left her uncertain. "Why do you think that?"
Soseki said seriously, "Today, I looked through Introduction to Chakra, Encyclopedia of Ninjutsu, Essentials of Ninja Arts, and many other books in the library. But they all said that the three keys to using ninjutsu were having sufficient Chakra, correct hand seals, and a complete ninja art formula."
Misa and the other two beside him asked in confusion, "What's wrong with that?"
"But I heard that the First Hokage, who founded Leaf Village, could heal without hand seals," Soseki said in a low voice. "That means the process of forming hand seals can be omitted, right?"
In Soseki's view, if hand seals were calculation tools, then the First Hokage was a master of mental arithmetic who could skip the cumbersome intermediate steps entirely.
"Looks like you've already noticed the effect hand seals have on Medical Ninjutsu!" Miyoshi sighed softly. "Every second we spend forming hand seals may be passed on to the injured person as a cost. That is why every Medical Ninja must spend a great deal of time practicing hand seals."
"However, even Lord Tsunade cannot heal without hand seals, so don't think too far ahead. And don't neglect your hand seal training."
Soseki nodded firmly. "I will."
His vision was far-reaching, but he was not someone who aimed too high while lacking the ability to back it up. People who wanted to surpass others without even trying to understand them usually did not get very far.
Seeing that Soseki did not possess the self-obsession common among geniuses, Miyoshi relaxed. Then she continued, "Medical Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are much more difficult to use than ordinary ninjutsu because of Chakra control. Ordinary ninjutsu only requires you to use hand seals to mobilize the Chakra in your body, but Medical Ninjutsu is different. It requires precise control over the portion of Physical Energy within Chakra."
Kotoko raised her little hand and asked, "Senior Miyoshi, then why don't we directly mobilize Physical Energy when using Medical Ninjutsu?"
"You call yourself a ninja, yet you've forgotten even the most basic knowledge?" Miyoshi replied irritably. "Physical Energy and Mental Energy are more conceptual in nature. Only when the two merge into Chakra do they truly gain substance. To do what you described, someone's Physical Energy would have to be powerful enough to materialize. But how could that possibly happen?"
"Oh, right." Kotoko sheepishly shrank back. Her mind had been full of formulas and tools just now, and she had failed to react for a moment.
Soseki, meanwhile, propped his chin up with one small hand and pondered silently. Ordinary people use attribute-less Chakra and nature transformation to perform Elemental Ninjutsu. Sage techniques are powerful because the nature of Chakra itself changes. Could the source of the First Hokage's strength also be related to the nature of Chakra?
That night, inside Soseki's small wooden cabin.
Soseki sat at the table, holding a small knife as he carefully made a shallow cut across the back of his left hand.
He swiftly formed hand seals, then placed his faintly green-glowing right hand over the back of his left hand.
"A little itchy. The pain is probably because the granulation tissue is accelerating its growth, while the nerve endings are recovering more slowly... One minute? Even for such a minor wound, one minute is already my limit," Soseki muttered as he carefully gathered feedback from his body.
This was not because Soseki was especially kind and would rather hurt himself than catch a few small animals for experiments. He did this simply because only his own body could provide the most genuine feedback.
If merely using the Healing Technique yielded 1 point of experience, and conducting experiments yielded 3, then the feedback Soseki received from his own body was worth 10!
With the amount of Chakra he could extract each day being limited, this was the best way to improve his proficiency.
Moreover, Soseki needed to determine his tolerance for pain, as well as the precise recovery time when he used Medical Ninjutsu.
As a Medical Ninja, he had to ensure that his physical condition remained under absolute control at all times.
"Only then can I precisely control the extent of the injuries I suffer in that battle half a month from now!"
And so, Soseki attended class diligently during the day, immersed himself in the library at noon, "squeezed" the last remaining value out of Asuma after school, mutilated himself at home in the evenings, and interned at the hospital on weekends.
During this time, there were occasionally some small episodes of budding youthful affection, but Soseki easily handled them all and devoted all his energy to this incredibly fulfilling life of study.
Before long, half a month flashed by.
Ding ding ding—
As the dismissal bell rang on schedule, cheers suddenly erupted in the classroom. Then, almost everyone turned their eyes toward the day's two protagonists.
Since this was a private "duel," Soseki had specifically arranged for it to take place after school that day so as not to occupy public time.
"Soseki, you have to win!"
"Class Leader, we're counting on you!"
"Asuma... Uh, never mind. Wrong person."
Everyone around them cheered the "two of them" on.
Although Asuma did not care much about what others thought, hearing those words still made his heart ache.
Just then—"Asuma..."
Hearing that sudden voice, Asuma perked up. It seemed he still had supporters after all!
He looked in the direction of the voice, only to see the girls in the class seemingly forming a united front as they shouted at him:
"If you dare beat Soseki, we won't let you get away with it!"
"You shouldn't put it like that. Soseki-kun will get angry. But if you dare hurt Soseki-kun... Heh heh!"
"Oh, stop it, you guys. If you keep this up, Asuma is going to cry!"
In truth, they did not bear Asuma much ill will. Ever since Asuma and Soseki had become "friends," their opinion of Asuma had improved considerably. How could someone who was friends with Soseki-kun possibly be a bad person?
Of course, the warning was real too!
Before you continue