I Was Once a Legend in the Medical World

"That's exactly right!" As Natsuki tended to Anko, she said to Duke, "You still need to train Hades. Raising a qualified Ninja Dog takes a great deal of effort and time. You don't have any spare time left to study Medical Ninjutsu."

"On the contrary, I think that while studying the basics, even after setting aside time to train Hades, I still have plenty of free time..." Facing their skeptical gazes, Duke forced himself to say, "I seem to have a bit too much energy... probably!"

Mitarashi Shixiao exchanged a look with Natsuki. Neither believed him. In the end, Shixiao had to play the bad guy. "You seem to be underestimating the profession of a ninja! I don't know where that confidence comes from, but as your guardian, I must guide you properly."

After dinner, once Mitarashi Shixiao had finished washing the dishes, he brought Duke to the courtyard. The two stood apart while Natsuki sat on the veranda with Anko in her arms. Hades lay nearby.

"At the academy, your teacher should have taught you about battles between ninjas." Mitarashi Shixiao had both hands in his pockets, swaying lazily without a trace of the caution one would expect in a ninja fight.

"Yes. Battles between ninjas are divided into taijutsu, Illusion Techniques, and ninjutsu." Duke gripped a kunai and assumed a fighting stance. The man before him was at least a Jonin, the strongest opponent he had encountered across all three worlds.

"Don't be so serious. Look, I'm not even taking this seriously. You're so weak that I can't even work up any enthusiasm." Mitarashi Shixiao spoke with an extremely punchable tone. "The Ninja Academy teaches the basics. You should have learned quite a bit of taijutsu, but you have too little combat experience for it to matter. As for ninjutsu... other than the Three Body Technique, I imagine you know nothing else. And Illusion Techniques? The academy doesn't teach those. Other than a small number of clan ninjas, most students only know how to dispel genjutsu. Of course, that's just the basics. Against a powerful Illusion Technique, all you can do is stare helplessly! I really don't understand where you get your confidence!"

"Uncle Zixiao, there's no need to keep trying to crush my spirit." Duke raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to worry about ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu. Aunt Natsuki has taught me some of each, and I've also read the scrolls you keep. There are quite a few profound ninjutsu in there!"

"So what? The scrolls all have seals on them, and you can't undo them... Don't tell me... Natsuki, could it be that you?" Mitarashi Shixiao turned toward his wife. She answered him with a smile.

"Now!"

Duke hurled his kunai at high speed, rapidly formed hand seals, and cast the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Three Shadow Clones charged toward Mitarashi Shixiao. He caught the kunai between two fingers, slightly surprised by the force behind it. But only slightly. Faced with the three clones' assault, he remained completely at ease, calmly sweeping the kunai in his hand across the neck arteries of all three physical clones. They immediately turned into smoke and vanished.

He released a B-Class ninjutsu so easily. This kid really was a genius! But his experience was still too lacking. Such a straightforward attack would only waste chakra. Through the thick mist, Mitarashi Shixiao saw Duke's real body still forming hand seals and was somewhat surprised.

He still has chakra? Did the Shadow Clones send it back? No, those seals... that ninjutsu... Impossible. This was no longer a ninjutsu a child could master.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A surging torrent rose from the pond, spinning and condensing into a water dragon with fangs and sharp teeth. It charged at Mitarashi Shixiao with unstoppable momentum. The amount of water contained in the dragon far exceeded the pond's original volume. The excess had been created by Duke with chakra. Before mastering nature transformation, this ninjutsu consumed an enormous amount of chakra. Fortunately, Duke had plenty of chakra now. He could afford to be reckless!

The water dragon was incredibly fast and struck with savage force. Mitarashi Shixiao had no choice but to avoid its edge, using the Body Flicker Technique to evade it. While airborne, he demonstrated what true hand speed looked like. His ten fingers became afterimages, and before the Water Dragon Bullet could launch its second attack, he had already cast a ninjutsu in midair.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The roaring water dragon slammed headfirst into the wall of wind. They held for an instant before the dragon lost, scattered by the gale and transformed into a downpour filling the sky. Braving the rain, Duke formed hand seals again, but Mitarashi Shixiao no longer dared give him another chance. He activated the Body Flicker Technique, pressed his kunai to Duke's throat, and declared the match over.

Duke released his hand seals and smiled conspiratorially at Mitarashi Shixiao despite the kunai at his throat. "Uncle Zixiao, you should experience a ninja's taijutsu insights as well!"

As soon as he spoke, he turned into smoke and disappeared. Behind Mitarashi Shixiao, Duke suddenly appeared, forming the Tiger hand seal with both hands as he shouted, "Leaf Village Taijutsu Secret Technique: One Thousand Years of Death!"

Pff! A direct hit! Just as Duke was about to celebrate, Mitarashi Shixiao, who had been launched into the air, turned into a cloud of smoke. It was a Shadow Clone.

When? Duke was horrified and quickly turned around, but Mitarashi Shixiao was nowhere to be seen. In the sky? Not there either. Where had he hidden? Could it be... Realizing something, Duke immediately jumped. But he was already too late. Two hands shot out of the earth, grabbed his feet, and violently dragged him underground, leaving only his head exposed.

"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"

Standing over Duke, Mitarashi Shixiao was utterly shocked. Were children these days already this formidable? A genius? No... this had gone beyond the very concept of genius! Combat experience aside, being able to cast B-Class ninjutsu consecutively... that amount of chakra was truly terrifying.

"Before anything else, I need to ask... how should I put this... Do your parents have red hair?" Mitarashi Shixiao had taken Duke for a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan. Even a member of the Senju Clan could not possess such an absurd amount of chakra at that age.

"Red hair?" Duke shook his head. He wished, but both his parents had black hair.

Was he really a descendant of the Yuki Clan? The Uzumaki Clan seemed more likely. When this child had first been brought back, he had been barely clinging to life. Yet after being saved, he remained lively and energetic even after going three days without food. He seemed to eat little even now... only slightly more than Hades, and less than even Anko. Vast chakra reserves, powerful vitality, survival ability comparable to a cockroach—no matter how he looked at it, they were all traits of the Uzumaki Clan! It seemed he would have to submit another report to the Hokage... How should he write it? Suspected of possessing Uzumaki Clan blood; whether he is truly Yuki requires further observation!

Would Lord Hokage throw the report in my face?

Mitarashi Shixiao rubbed his faintly aching temples, pulled Duke out of the ground, and stared at the devastated courtyard in disbelief. He had thought it would be a minor scuffle, never expecting this much destruction. Looking apologetically at Natsuki as she approached, he said, "I'll have to trouble you again. If I'd known it would turn out like this, I would have taken him to the training ground."

Natsuki shook her head without blaming Mitarashi Shixiao. She patted Duke's head and said, "To be honest, I was startled too. Compared to Kakashi, who has already become a Genin, this child isn't any worse, is he?"

"Of course not. After all, I'm the one who taught him. He won't be outdone by Sakumo's son." Mitarashi Shixiao shamelessly declared. He had never been able to surpass Hatake Sakumo while the man was alive, but in the next generation, he saw hope.

Duke scratched his head. Had someone taught him? Really? Why didn't he remember any of it?

"Zixiao, Shadow Clones transmit sensations, don't they?" Natsuki casually swept her gaze across Mitarashi Shixiao's backside and teased with a smile, "That must have hurt quite a bit. Hehehe..."

"..." Mitarashi Shixiao had nothing to say. He had not expected Duke to use such a dirty taijutsu move. Otherwise, even as a clone, he would not have stood there like an idiot.

Mitarashi Shixiao punched Duke on top of the head and snapped, "Don't slap the name Leaf Village Taijutsu Secret Technique onto such a boring move. Konoha can't afford that embarrassment. No... this doesn't even count as taijutsu! A brat is still a brat. You actually use such disgraceful moves in a fight."

Duke rubbed the swelling on his head, baring his teeth in pain. What do you know? It's your honor to be hit by that move. Even the Seventh Hokage, who would one day dominate the ninja world, fell to this move. Maybe the Fourth Hokage taught it to Kakashi, and Naruto getting hit by it was just repaying his father's debt... Come to think of it, the Fourth Hokage must have been hit by it too! Huh, then doesn't that mean Jiraiya was also... I see. So the real creator of this move was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi? No, maybe it was the First or Second Hokage... It must have been the First Hokage! As expected of Konoha's ultimate taijutsu secret technique, passed down from generation to generation through words and deeds. The ultimate move that instantly defeated the Fifth Kazekage. I wonder whether that aloof guy Orochimaru was ever humiliated like this by the Third Hokage.

"Um, Uncle Zixiao." Duke grabbed Mitarashi Shixiao, who was standing stiffly upright and about to return inside. "I've already proven myself, so about learning Medical Ninjutsu..."

"I know, you troublesome brat." Having lost all face, Mitarashi Shixiao replied irritably, "For Medical Ninjutsu, just ask your Aunt Natsuki. She already let you read my ninjutsu scrolls. She certainly won't hide something as trivial as Medical Ninjutsu from you."

Duke looked at Natsuki in confusion. Did the house also have Medical Ninjutsu scrolls? Still, even with scrolls, he should have an instructor. Medical Ninjutsu was a professional skill; there was no way to learn it alone.

Natsuki smiled without answering. She waved her hand in front of Duke, and a clear green glow shone from her palm. She placed it briefly over his head, and the swelling on his head subsided.

"Amazing! Could this be..." Duke asked excitedly.

"Before I became a housewife, I was also a Medical Ninja at Konoha Hospital!" Natsuki said proudly, reminiscing. "Back when Zixiao and I first met, it was because he was injured and came to the hospital..."

"There's no need to tell children about that!" Mitarashi Shixiao hurriedly interrupted his scheming wife, afraid she would reveal some embarrassing gossip. After all, men in love always did some incredibly foolish things, and those days were too painful to recall.

"Then Aunt Natsuki's Medical Ninjutsu must be incredible!" Duke quietly flattered her. "You're probably only a little inferior to Lady Tsunade, one of the Sannin!"

"Not at all. No one can rival Lady Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu. I wouldn't dare compare myself to her. But teaching a beginner like you is more than enough."

I'm no beginner. In my past life, I was also known as Dr... Ah, damn it, Dr. Duke—a legend in the medical world!