Medical Notes

The great battle between Hanzō of Amegakure and Iwagakure's Jinchuriki was a good thing for Konoha, no matter the outcome.

Or rather, now that the two sides had already started fighting, Konoha could accept any outcome that followed.

The ideal outcome would be for both sides to perish together, but that was all but impossible—it would be far too much of a coincidence. The next best thing would be for both sides to suffer heavy losses and withdraw from the war for a time.

Unfortunately, since they couldn't get close to the battlefield, Konoha probably wouldn't be able to obtain more detailed information about the fighting anytime soon.

The only thing they could be sure of was that the conflict between Iwagakure and Amegakure would intensify further.

Yuzuru had witnessed the battle with his own eyes—though from a bit of a distance—and brought back relevant information. That naturally made him a contributor to Konoha's cause. And since this hadn't been a mission arranged by Konoha, he would receive some kind of reward.

Of course, Yuzuru's contribution wasn't significant enough to turn the tide of battle, so he couldn't ask for too much.

Shimura Danzō prided himself on being absolutely rational. Though in truth, his rationality was riddled with self-interest, the rules at the front were relatively simple, and he wanted to play the ideal commander.

For now, the Third Hokage had to remain in Konoha and oversee affairs. A Hokage far from the battlefield was bound to leave some shinobi dissatisfied, making this the perfect opportunity for Danzō to "take advantage of the situation" and raise his own reputation and prestige... Shimura Danzō never dared forget his ambition to become Hokage, not for a moment.

The Hokage and the leaders of other hidden villages would all come to the battlefield sooner or later, so Danzō had to seize the time and establish his authority... If Danzō were an honorable man, his life might have made an inspiring story.

Faced with such an opportunity, Yuzuru took the chance to make a very modest request.

"Honored sirs, I haven't been on the battlefield long, and I've seen little combat, but I've still witnessed far too much killing and death. If the Konoha Ninja on the battlefield could receive treatment in time, I... I'd like to do more to help my teammates."

"So, could I learn some basic Medical Ninjutsu?"

It was a fairly reasonable request.

What Yuzuru wanted had little to do with Medical Ninjutsu itself. In truth, he wanted to use its healing effects as a reference while studying the special self-healing ability brought about by Natural Energy.

As he recalled, Jugo, who had been born with a Sage Body, possessed extraordinary regenerative abilities. Even if his body was pierced and he lost some of his organs, he could still recover.

He could even change his body at will, healing another person's fatal wounds by expelling his own cells... especially the injuries of people who could adapt to the Curse Mark. He could also restore his own size and heal his injuries by absorbing other people's cells.

Jugo wasn't the only one. Even Curse Mark users had an extraordinary ability to alter their bodies. It simply didn't manifest as healing, but the principle was the same. For example, Sasuke Uchiha could rapidly grow a pair of wings from his back—couldn't that extreme rate of cell division be used for healing? It seemed possible.

The Curse Mark could do all that, and Yuzuru felt that he had similar abilities. He didn't expect to reach Jugo's level, but he should at least be able to achieve the rate of cell division stimulated by the Curse Mark.

However, he hadn't figured out how to do it yet. He didn't know where to begin, so he needed medical knowledge. As the saying went, one could use another's stone to polish one's own jade; perhaps Medical Ninjutsu could help him draw connections and find a way forward.

He could obtain the relevant knowledge in the dungeon, but it would be even better if he had a real-world avenue for learning that could serve as a cover.

"Medical Ninjutsu?" Danzō furrowed his brow, then began expounding on his theory that shinobi were tools. "A shinobi shouldn't fear bleeding. Asking for this will only make you seem weak."

Shinobi died for Konoha. Wasn't that a worthy death? Why worry about it...? Honestly, Danzō wouldn't have hesitated to say that a shinobi's life was expendable. To him, shinobi were simply tools to be used up in pursuit of his goals.

"Danzō!"

Mitokado Homura stopped Danzō from talking nonsense. The Third Hokage's policies were clear, and Danzō's words were rather politically incorrect. After all, Konoha was supposed to keep the Will of Fire on everyone's lips at all times.

"Learning Medical Ninjutsu? That should be fine. Caring about your comrades is a good thing. But Medical Ninjutsu depends on talent, too. An ordinary shinobi can't master it in a short time..." As he spoke, Homura glanced at Tsunade.

He gave a cautious disclaimer, but still agreed to Yuzuru's request.

"Learn some basic Medical Ninjutsu? All right, leave it to me... I still have the notes and records from when I was learning Medical Ninjutsu. You can borrow them." Tsunade said.

What was most valuable to a shinobi? Of course, it was knowledge about various jutsu.

During wartime, Tsunade didn't have time to teach Yuzuru Medical Ninjutsu, so she would only provide him with the materials. Whether he could learn from them was up to him.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade." Yuzuru thanked her. Having the future greatest Medical Ninja willing to help was as good as it got.

"No need. I understand how you feel."

Homura and Danzō continued asking about the previous night's battle, but Yuzuru could provide few additional details, so they soon dismissed him.

The four of them left the command center together. Orochimaru immediately pulled Jiraiya away, while Tsunade stopped Yuzuru.

"Wait here for a moment."

"All right, Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade was gone for a while, then quickly returned with some "textbooks" for Yuzuru.

"These are basic materials on Medical Ninjutsu. You can start by looking through them. My notes should help you understand... If you can learn this much, we can talk about what comes next."

"Lady Tsunade, you're a huge help."

"I'm only lending them to you. Remember to return them when you're done. You..."

Tsunade probably really did think Yuzuru was from the Senju Clan. She looked as though she had something to say but couldn't quite bring herself to say it.

Yuzuru managed a rare smile. "The last time I saw you at Konoha Hospital, you treated my injuries and told me to stay alive. For now, I've managed to fulfill that request."

Tsunade hadn't expected him to remember that, but she understood what he meant.

Anything could happen on the battlefield. Why get hung up on identity?

They were all Konoha shinobi, after all.

"Then let's hope we can all stay alive."

By now, the Senju name was gone, and their Senju identity no longer mattered much. They all shared one name: "Konoha shinobi." And that was not all—even Nawaki was about to be sent to the battlefield, despite being only twelve years old.

If even a descendant of the First had to face that, what difference would it make if Yuzuru really were a shinobi of the Senju Clan?

There was no absolutely safe place in the turbulent Shinobi World, unless one had Uchiha Madara's ability to hide away.

After receiving Tsunade's notes, Yuzuru wanted to get started studying them immediately. But once he returned to camp, there was something he had to take care of first... In any case, he needed to go see his former squad leader, Torifu Akimichi.