Mikoto: Such a Smooth Talker

Next, Qingshui began training in the Mystical Palm Technique.

To the untrained eye, the Mystical Palm Technique and the Healing Technique were basically indistinguishable.

But the former was an A-Rank Medical Ninjutsu, while the latter was only D-Rank.

They were worlds apart.

If the Healing Technique could only treat external injuries, the Mystical Palm Technique could heal both inside and out.

To use the Mystical Palm Technique, all one had to do was continuously release Chakra from the palm, improving the healing of a patient's wound or afflicted area.

But no two leaves in the world were exactly alike, and neither were any two illnesses.

So when using the Mystical Palm Technique, one had to adjust the amount of Chakra released according to each patient's different symptoms.

Too little Chakra would reduce its effectiveness, while too much could damage the body's normal circulatory system.

This meant that the technique demanded not only an exceptional degree of Chakra control but also extensive experience and precise judgment.

That was why there weren't many Medical Ninjas capable of mastering the Mystical Palm Technique.

With Qingshui's talent for Medical Ninjutsu, mastering it was naturally no problem.

He just needed plenty of practice.

Another quiet night passed.

The sun hadn't even gotten up yet, but Qingshui was already awake.

It was an hour earlier than he usually got up, because he planned to go for a morning run.

To avoid interfering with his regular work, he had no choice but to get up even earlier.

After his run, Qingshui arrived at Konoha Hospital right on time, where he happened to run into Uchiha Mikoto as she was being discharged.

Over the past few days, Qingshui had made time to visit Mikoto every day.

So he wasn't surprised she was being discharged today.

"Good morning, Qingshui."

Mikoto greeted him first, her smile beautiful.

Though it was morning, it was summer, so she was dressed rather lightly, showing off her curvy figure.

But compared with Tsunade, Mikoto was more reserved.

So although she was well-endowed, she didn't show much.

"Good morning. Would you like me to walk you home?"

"Do you really think I'm some frail little girl?"

Mikoto chided him with feigned indignation.

She even reached out and gave Qingshui a light smack, as if venting her displeasure—or perhaps acting coy.

Given their relationship, there was nothing unusual about that sort of thing.

Qingshui smiled and replied, "Of course you're not a little girl. You're the most beautiful and impressive genius kunoichi in the Uchiha Clan."

"Hmph, such a smooth talker."

Mikoto withdrew her hand, looking a little bashful. Her bright, playful smile showed that she was in a very good mood.

"But I don't dislike it."

Even in a world like the Ninja World, women still liked hearing men praise them.

After chatting for a while, Mikoto took her leave.

"Alright, busy man. Go take care of your work. I can get home on my own."

Watching Mikoto leave, Qingshui thought of Fugaku Uchiha.

He didn't know when Mikoto had married Fugaku in the Original Work, but at least for now, they weren't married, nor were they in a romantic relationship.

Before long, Mikoto returned home, but no one was there to welcome her.

Her parents had died when she was young.

If she hadn't belonged to the Uchiha Clan, she would have grown up in an orphanage just like Qingshui.

She hadn't lived at home for a while, so a layer of dust had settled over everything.

After cleaning up, Mikoto headed to the Hokage Building.

Only one of the students in the Ninja Squad she had led on her latest mission remained, so the team needed new members before it could take on more missions.

Changes to a squad's personnel had to be arranged by the Hokage.

"Third Hokage."

When Mikoto entered the Hokage's office, she saw the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, bent over his paperwork.

He only looked up when he heard her call.

"It's Mikoto. You've recovered and been discharged?"

The Uchiha Clan had never enjoyed a good reputation, but things were still much better than they had been after the Nine-Tails Night.

At least the Konoha High Command, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, still treated the Uchiha Clan fairly, with the exception of Shimura Danzō.

After all, Kagami Uchiha, who also came from the Uchiha Clan, had been accepted as one of their own.

Mikoto nodded and went straight to the point.

"Third Hokage, when will Team 4 be reassembled?"

After taking a puff from his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi handed Mikoto two ninja profiles before answering slowly.

"I've already made the arrangements. These two will be assigned to Team 4. You can meet them first."

Meanwhile, Qingshui had completed another treatment.

[Completed treatment of Yukiko Fukushima. Reward: one Golden Orb.]

[Congratulations! You have obtained the Shadow Clone Technique.]

Seeing the reward he'd received from the system, Qingshui was pleasantly surprised.

In both his previous life and this one, he'd been very familiar with the Shadow Clone Technique.

After all, it was one of Naruto Uzumaki's signature techniques.

When in doubt, Spin the Ball.

If that didn't work, either spin an even bigger ball or make Shadow Clones to spin balls together.

And as a last resort, make Shadow Clones to spin an even bigger ball together.

Of course, that wasn't what had surprised Qingshui.

Though it was a B-Rank Ninjutsu, Naruto often used it in battle. Ordinary ninjas, however, couldn't do the same.

After all, Shadow Clones split the original's Chakra evenly among themselves.

For a ninja without "Chakraton," splitting off half their Chakra would greatly reduce their combat strength.

It simply wasn't worth it.

As a support technique, the proper use of the Shadow Clone Technique was to gather intelligence.

And for that reason, Shadow Clones had another hidden function.

They could send their experience back to the original, allowing the user to train several times as fast.

In the Original Work, Naruto learned Wind Release Nature Transformation at incredible speed by using the Shadow Clone Technique.

"With Shadow Clones, I'll be able to quickly improve my proficiency in the Ninjutsu the system rewards me with."

The system could improve his proficiency by rewarding him with the same Ninjutsu again, but the odds of a duplicate reward were actually quite low.

After all, only Jonin yielded Ninjutsu, and each Jonin knew more than just one technique.

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of Ninjutsu in Konoha alone.

If he relied entirely on the system, the Third Shinobi World War might break out before he had even mastered a few combat Ninjutsu.

Before long, another day of work came to an end.

After work, Qingshui formed Hand Seals and used the Shadow Clone Technique, creating one Shadow Clone.

"Your job is to focus on training in the Mystical Palm Technique."

Shadow Clone Qingshui had no objections and immediately ran off to the place where Qingshui usually trained.

Since this was his first time using it, Qingshui didn't dare create too many Shadow Clones.

When a Shadow Clone dispersed, it sent back not only its experience but also its fatigue.

He didn't have a physique like Naruto Uzumaki's. Making too many Shadow Clones at once could easily exhaust him—at best, he'd fall ill and end up hospitalized; at worst, he'd die on the spot.

After the Shadow Clone left, Qingshui Main Body continued his physical training.