Set a Small Goal First

"Mm..."

"Where am I...?"

Mikoto opened her eyes as she woke, revealing crimson irises.

But the next moment, the crimson faded, and her eyes returned to their normal black.

Still, Qingshui had clearly seen that what Mikoto had revealed just now was a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

A year ago, though, she had only possessed a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

"This is Konoha Hospital. Your injuries have been treated, Mikoto, but you'll need to rest for a few more days before you can be discharged."

"Oh, it's you, Qingshui. Thank you."

Once she understood her situation, Mikoto smiled warmly at Qingshui.

The sight of this frail, beautiful older sister instinctively stirred feelings of tenderness.

"By the way, I haven't congratulated you on becoming a Medical Ninja yet."

After losing her instructor and teammates, Mikoto naturally cared a great deal about Qingshui, the only classmate she had left.

So when Qingshui decided to become a Medical Ninja a year ago, she had been very supportive.

After all, once he became a Medical Ninja, he could work at Konoha Hospital instead of going on dangerous missions every day like other Ninja.

Of course, even if he worked at Konoha Hospital, he could still take on missions if he wanted to.

After chatting briefly, Qingshui left the operating room and returned to his office.

As he replenished his Chakra, he inspected the reward he had just received.

Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death was a Genjutsu.

In the Original Work, the Genjutsu Jonin Yūhi Kurenai had used it against Uchiha Itachi.

Although he had easily countered it, that wasn't because Kurenai or Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death was weak. It was because the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was simply too overpowered.

Playing around with Genjutsu in front of the Uchiha?

What was that, showing off in front of an expert?

Objectively speaking, this was already a very advanced Genjutsu.

When it was used, the caster would first disappear. Then, trees much like those created by Wood Style would ensnare the enemy, before the caster emerged from the trees to deliver a killing blow.

This Genjutsu had originated in the era of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama.

It made the enemy mistake the technique for Wood Style, filling them with fear.

"It must be because Mikoto's strength has increased so much that she was able to unlock a Genjutsu of this level."

Anyone who awakened the Three Tomoe would be Elite Jonin-level, even among the Jonin.

That was the Uchiha.

Qingshui was incredibly envious.

What? He had a system?

Never mind, then.

According to the system's rules, the Orbs he received after each treatment came in four tiers, from lowest to highest: White, Blue, Golden, and Color.

The higher the Orb's tier, the better the reward inside.

For Orbs of the same tier, the more difficult the treatment, the better the reward they contained.

When the patient's strength was Genin-level or below, he would only receive a White Orb.

When the patient reached Chunin or even Special Jonin-level, he would only receive a Blue Orb.

Once they reached Jonin-level, he could receive a Golden Orb. The same went for Elite Jonin-level patients.

Only when they reached Kage Level would he receive the highest-tier Color Orb.

In short, the stronger and more badly injured the patient, the better the reward Qingshui received.

He had little Chakra, used it up quickly, and recovered just as quickly.

After recovering, Qingshui performed three more treatments and received one White Orb and two Blue Orbs.

The three patients had been a Genin, a Chunin, and a Special Jonin.

As for the rewards, the White Orb gave him 10 Chakra points, while the two Blue Orbs gave him 30 and 50 Chakra points, respectively.

Although he hadn't received any Ninjutsu, he was very satisfied.

After all, for Qingshui, increasing his Chakra reserves was the best reward he could get at this stage.

"It looks like White and Blue Orbs basically only give Chakra, and Blue Orbs give more."

"Then I'll start with a small goal: raise my Chakra to 10,000 and reach C-Rank."

Even in Konoha, the strongest Ninja Village, Jonin were the backbone of its forces. There couldn't be too many of them.

So the patients Qingshui treated each day would definitely be mostly Genin and Chunin.

That worked perfectly for his goal of increasing his Chakra.

Meanwhile, a girl with blood-red hair hurried into Konoha Hospital.

If Qingshui had seen her, he would have recognized her as Uzumaki Kushina, his friend.

Kushina had come to visit Mikoto.

The two were best friends.

And Qingshui knew Kushina because of Mikoto.

"Mikoto, Mikoto! Are you all right?"

Looking at the flustered Kushina, Mikoto felt touched, but still scolded her without much patience.

"Why are you shouting so loudly? Keep your voice down. This is a hospital—don't disturb everyone."

Kushina just giggled.

"I was worried about you! I heard you were hurt, and I was terrified."

Seeing that Mikoto still looked a little pale but was clearly all right, Kushina finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"You..."

Mikoto shook her head, utterly exasperated with Kushina.

But after Kushina's commotion, some of the sadness she had been feeling faded.

She had been injured while leading her three students on a mission when they were attacked by the Rennin Organization.

She had been hurt protecting her students.

Although they had managed to wipe out all the enemies, she had failed to save her students. In the end, only the girl had survived.

That girl had brought her to Konoha Hospital.

Mikoto had already sent her home.

"By the way, Kushina, guess who I saw?"

"Who?"

"Qingshui. He's a Medical Ninja now. He treated my injuries."

Kushina's first reaction was surprise.

Qingshui was her friend, too, and she knew how talented he was. At first, she hadn't thought he would be able to learn Medical Ninjutsu.

"If I remember right, he's only been studying Medical Ninjutsu for a year, hasn't he?"

Ever since arriving in Konoha, Kushina had lived at the Senju Clan Compound, under the care of Uzumaki Mito and Tsunade.

So she knew how difficult Medical Ninjutsu was.

An ordinary person needed at least several years, or even more than a decade, to become a qualified Medical Ninja.

"Yeah. I was surprised at first, too. I never expected Qingshui to have such a talent for Medical Ninjutsu."

Kushina agreed.

She was happy for Qingshui, too.

Kushina chatted with Mikoto for a while longer before leaving.

But she didn't go home. Instead, she went to find Qingshui.

"Qingshui, you became a Medical Ninja and didn't even tell me! You don't think of me as a friend, do you?"

"I only became one today. I didn't have time to tell you."

At Qingshui's explanation, Kushina merely huffed, acting as if she were very angry.