Even Small, She's Cute

This time, the patient was Yūhi Kurenai, a famous Genjutsu Jonin in Konoha.

While on a mission, he'd used Genjutsu to restrain an enemy. But just as he was about to finish him off with a single strike, the enemy turned the tables and hit him with a Poison Kunai.

That was the limitation of ordinary Genjutsu users.

Even a Genjutsu Jonin could be outmaneuvered if their opponent had enough experience dealing with Genjutsu.

The Uchiha Clan, however, rarely had this problem when using Genjutsu through the Sharingan.

That was because the Sharingan embodied Yin Release in its purest form.

So even if an enemy realized they'd fallen under Genjutsu, it was difficult for them to break out on their own.

That was why people said that when facing a Sharingan user, you should flee if you were alone, and strike from behind if you had a partner.

And if the user awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and gained Tsukuyomi, they could inflict severe injuries on an enemy using Genjutsu alone.

In the Original Work, Kakashi was caught in Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi and wound up laid up in the hospital.

This was a direct demonstration of how powerful bloodlines were in the Ninja World.

Fortunately, Yūhi Kurenai's teammates had been capable, arriving in time to defeat the enemy and bring him to Konoha Hospital.

"Scalpel."

Qingshui's steady voice rang out, and a nurse immediately handed him one.

Qingshui cut open the poisoned area and immediately used the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to draw the poison from his body.

"Apply the medicine."

A few minutes later, after extracting all the poison from the injured man, Qingshui continued giving instructions.

The most troublesome step was finished. The rest was simple.

The operation was soon over.

[You have completed treatment on Yūhi Kurenai. Reward: one Golden Orb.]

[Congratulations! You have obtained Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.]

At the sound of the system, Qingshui's expression froze.

He hadn't expected to receive a duplicate reward.

Just as Qingshui thought he'd wasted his reward this time, the system spoke again.

[Duplicate reward detected.]

[Congratulations! Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death proficiency increased. Current proficiency: Skilled.]

So that was how it worked. Duplicate rewards were converted into increased proficiency. That seemed reasonable.

As Qingshui pondered the matter of proficiency on his way to his office, he failed to notice a little girl and knocked her to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Before Qingshui could say anything, the girl apologized first.

"It's okay. I was at fault too; I didn't see you."

As he spoke, Qingshui reached out and helped her up.

"Little girl, where are your parents?"

"My dad was injured and admitted to the hospital. I just heard the news, so I came to find him."

"What's your dad's name? I'll take you to him."

"Yūhi Shinku."

Only then did Qingshui notice the girl's red eyes. Her face also bore some resemblance to the Kurenai he remembered.

That's right, this was Kurenai as a child. She should have just started at the Ninja Academy.

The beautiful, mature woman he remembered was now tiny and utterly adorable.

"What a coincidence. I was the one who treated your dad. He's all right now. I'll take you to him."

"Really? That's wonderful!"

Hearing that her father was all right, Kurenai immediately relaxed.

She'd been worried sick when she suddenly learned at the Ninja Academy that her father had been injured and taken to the hospital. She'd hurried over during her lunch break.

That was why she'd collided with Qingshui in such a rush.

Qingshui took Kurenai by the hand and led her to the hospital room where Yūhi Shinku was staying.

"Dad!"

"Kurenai? What are you doing here?"

After Kurenai explained what had happened, Yūhi Shinku thanked Qingshui.

"Sorry for the trouble, Hirakawa."

"It was nothing. I'll leave you to it."

"Thank you, big brother!"

Seeing Qingshui leave, Kurenai thanked him politely.

She was so polite and cute that Qingshui smiled and patted her on the head before returning to his office.

With no patients needing treatment at the moment, he took out the Chakra Scalpel scroll and studied it again.

To win his bet with Tsunade, he had to make the most of every spare moment, no matter how confident he was in his talent.

Soon, the workday was over.

Aside from Yūhi Shinku, all of today's patients had been Genin or Chunin.

That was perfectly normal.

After all, the war was over. It was a Peaceful Era now.

With the Jonin's strength, they wouldn't get injured easily unless they encountered unusual circumstances.

[Chakra: D-Rank (1170/10000)]

"Not bad. I gained 350 Chakra today. I've already broken a thousand."

Qingshui glanced at the system panel, thoroughly satisfied.

In just two days, his Chakra had more than doubled.

Becoming a Stat Monster was just around the corner.

After work, Qingshui went to his training spot and began practicing the Chakra Scalpel in earnest.

During work, patients could need treatment at any moment, so he obviously couldn't practice Ninjutsu and expend Chakra in the hospital.

Hai–Chou–Yin–Zi–Wu–Shen–Wei.

After forming the Chakra Scalpel's seven hand seals, light appeared out of nowhere around Qingshui's right hand.

This was the sign that Chakra was gathering there.

Soon, a blade-shaped mass of energy took shape in his right hand.

With his current talent, managing that much was no challenge.

But that didn't mean he'd mastered the Chakra Scalpel.

He'd only completed the first stage.

The key to this technique was cutting inside a target's body without causing external wounds.

It could even be precise enough to cut only the target's nervous system.

Qingshui took out a fish he'd prepared earlier and held it in place with his left hand. Then he pressed his right hand against it.

In an instant, the fish was sliced in two.

The technique's destructive power was obvious.

"Failed, huh."

That was right. This result counted as a failure.

The Chakra Scalpel was, at its core, Medical Ninjutsu meant to treat patients.

If he couldn't control it perfectly, he'd end up causing them further harm.

That would defeat the whole purpose.

Though he hadn't succeeded on his first try, Qingshui wasn't disappointed.

This was A-Rank Medical Ninjutsu, so it was only natural for it to be difficult.

He hadn't expected to get it right on the first attempt.

After reviewing what he'd learned, he took out a second fish and continued practicing. But the result was the same: the fish was sliced cleanly in two.

It was quick and painless.

Compared with the first try, Qingshui had made a little progress.

The fish still ended up in two pieces, but the wound was smaller than before.

That proved he'd gotten better at controlling the Chakra blade.

Next, Qingshui went through eight more fish, one after another, but his efforts paid off.

By the tenth fish, he could avoid slicing it cleanly in two.

That meant he'd completed the second stage of the Chakra Scalpel: cutting inside a target without creating external wounds.