Soon, Higashino Megumi walked in carrying some materials. The classroom fell quiet. Even Obito, usually as stubborn as a mule, settled down. He couldn't interfere with Rin's studies.
Higashino Megumi glanced at her son, then at Uchiha Obito, who had turned his head away and was pouting. She immediately realized Higashino Makoto had provoked someone with his words again.
Truthfully, she didn't like Obito either. The boy hadn't signed up to learn Medical Ninjutsu in the first place. But since he had enrolled, she would treat him like any other student. She didn't expect him to become a Medical Ninja; learning some practical first-aid techniques would be good enough. Who knew when they might save a life?
The Higashino Family had no particular opinion of the Uchiha Clan, whom villagers often complained about, and they certainly didn't discriminate against them.
Class began soon after. The first two lessons covered Medical Knowledge and the Training Method and application techniques for Medical Ninjutsu.
Medical Ninjutsu was like a formula. Knowing how to perform it wasn't enough; you had to take the injured person's specific circumstances into account.
Judging those circumstances depended on the knowledge you had. It was a very complete system for Ninjutsu Training and application.
The last lesson was practical. The students gathered their notes and followed Higashino Megumi in a noisy crowd to a specially prepared hospital room.
Inside were four Ninja injured during training or on missions, who hadn't received treatment yet.
The injured Ninja had agreed to this. They were willing to endure a little discomfort to give the next generation of their village some practical experience.
If the village had more skilled Medical Ninja, their own lives would be a little safer in the future.
Higashino Makoto didn't recognize three of the injured men, but he recognized the last one at a glance. The man wasn't wearing his signature green jumpsuit, but his glossy black hair and exceptionally thick eyebrows and mustache gave him away.
The famous oddball of Konoha, the Eternal Genin, Might Duy.
Back when he couldn't summon System Father, Higashino Makoto had even considered making the man his godfather if all else failed.
Fortunately, he'd found his Golden Finger in time, so he hadn't ended up with another dad.
Who would bother learning the life-threatening Eight Inner Gates when they had a cheat?
It wasn't that he looked down on the technique. Natural Energy was simply much more useful.
The first three patients weren't seriously injured. They'd either been accidentally cut by a weapon during training or strained a muscle. Higashino Megumi had the students assess each case themselves first, then corrected their mistakes based on her experience and let them treat the patients with Medical Ninjutsu.
Finally, she supervised them and checked for any shortcomings.
Konoha had a great many Ninja, and new patients came in every day. If these students trained at the hospital for six months or a year, they could gain plenty of practical experience.
The only troublesome patient was Might Duy. His body was covered in old injuries piled on top of new ones. His joints were badly worn, his meridians twisted, his muscles severely fatigued, and some of the joints in his fingers were already deformed.
Higashino Megumi even figured out which of his organs were damaged by checking his breathing and scent, as well as listening to faint, abnormal sounds coming from his internal organs through a stethoscope.
With so many injuries accumulated over the years, even Higashino Megumi, a Special Jonin in the medical field, couldn't do much. All she could do was teach the students how to use gentle Chakra to condition the patient's whole body.
She also warned the recent graduates that hard work was admirable, but they shouldn't overdo it. They had to know their limits. Might Duy was the best example of what happened when someone trained too much.
Higashino Makoto thought that at this point, only Tsunade herself could heal Might Duy. She'd probably have to perform countless operations on his entire body.
It was clearly impossible to settle everything in a few days. He'd need surgery and rest in turn, a recovery process that would take years.
That was obviously more than Might Duy could manage. He had to earn money to support his family, and he also spent a great deal of time training. He simply didn't have that much time to rest.
Most importantly, Tsunade now suffered from Hemophobia and couldn't perform surgery at all. But the only people who probably knew were the four members of Konoha's leadership and her two teammates.
Higashino Megumi had once told her son that Tsunade-sama hadn't appeared at the hospital for a long time.
Higashino Makoto suspected she'd taken Shizune and run off. She probably wasn't even in Konoha anymore.
The day's lessons ended, and Higashino Megumi finished work without a hitch.
Outside the hospital, the students took turns saying goodbye to Higashino Megumi.
Higashino Megumi wasn't the only one teaching at the hospital, but the students respected every teacher who shared their knowledge with them.
Even Uchiha Obito politely said, "Teacher Hui, thanks for all your hard work today."
But when it was Higashino Makoto's turn, he propped his hands behind his head and acted like a layabout. Deliberately turning his face away, he clicked his tongue.
"Obito, you can't be so rude."
"I know." Faced with Nohara Rin's stern look, Obito immediately changed his tune. "Well, see you, brat."
Rin's expression softened a little. Looking at Higashino Makoto, she said, "Makoto-kun, I didn't expect you to be even better than me at Medical Ninjutsu. You'll definitely become someone like Tsunade-sama someday."
Half of what she said was sincere praise. The other half was an attempt to smooth things over for her friend Obito.
Helping Obito get along with others had become second nature to Rin. She'd been doing it since they were children.
What a considerate and gentle girl. She was the perfect object of affection for a sensitive boy like Obito. No wonder Dreamer would become a heartless demon who turned against everyone for her in the future.
"You're too kind, Rin-senpai. You're really good at it too. Go home and get some rest. See you."
"Okay, see you. Goodbye, Teacher Hui."
Once Rin had finished saying her goodbyes, Obito-kun grabbed her and ran off with her in the blink of an eye.
Higashino Megumi watched them and shook her head with a smile, saying nothing. The hazy feelings of youth were always so beautiful and so delicate.
Luckily, Higashino Jiro hadn't been as clingy as Obito when she was in school. Otherwise, she would've been scared off long ago, and Higashino Makoto would never have been born.
As they walked home, Higashino Makoto asked curiously, "Mom, does that man named Might Duy come to the hospital for treatment often? With the state his body's in, he should've collapsed a long time ago.
"I've seen him and his son in the village before. With the way they train, even a body made of iron couldn't take it."
Higashino Megumi sighed. "Yes. That's why your father and I are always reminding you not to push your body too hard. It doesn't just sacrifice your future; it shortens your life too.
"Might Duy's situation is a little special, though. You probably know he's famous in the village. He's an Eternal Genin who only knows crude Taijutsu, and he isn't very good at dealing with people. Not many are willing to team up with him.
"He can only take on simple Beginner Missions from the village. His income is limited, and he has a son to raise. So, to help him out, the hospital reached a verbal agreement with him.
"He often comes to the hospital as a patient so the students can practice on him. His body makes an excellent teaching case, giving beginners a deeper understanding of what Medical Ninjutsu can do.
"At the same time, the hospital pays him a little each time to ease his financial burden. We also give him some simple treatments whenever he comes in.
"It benefits everyone. No matter how weak someone is, he's still our comrade from the village."
"No wonder he's managed to hold on until now. He really is a strong, good father."
"He certainly is. We've given him plenty of advice, and sometimes we prescribe medicine to help nourish his body, depending on the severity of his condition. But it seems he's used all of it on his son."
Higashino Makoto thought that if Might Duy hadn't loved his son so much, he wouldn't have raised a beast who could Open Eight Gates Kick Six Paths.
Might Duy was actually better off than most. At least he'd left his son a powerful Forbidden Jutsu and the most important thing of all: the Nindo Spirit.
What about all those other older Genin?
They had limited talent, no Secret Jutsu, and no Ninjutsu. Even if they did have some, they couldn't use them with their abilities.
Many of them took the Chunin Ninja Exams year after year, only to fail every time. It was just like the imperial examinations in ancient times, all for the title of Chunin.
Don't be fooled by how disposable Chunin seemed in the original story, where powerful Ninja could take them out with a casually thrown Kunai.
In truth, it was a level many people could never reach.
They might have a solid grasp of basic knowledge and plenty of experience with low-level missions, but it didn't matter.
In the end, what counted for a Ninja was combat strength.
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