Medical Ninjutsu

By the banks of the Naka River.

Beside the riverbank, where Uchiha Gen had repaired and added several facilities, he sat on a stone chair, watching the electric light dancing in his palm.

I know the general logic, but replicating it perfectly is truly not as easy as I imagined.

For high-damage techniques suitable for him, the two moves Uchiha Gen thought of were inevitably the two most famous ones among fans of the series.

Chidori and Rasengan.

"Here, the balloons and rubber balls you wanted. Gen, can you really develop a ninjutsu with these things?"

Not far away, Minato Namikaze walked over carrying a bag of items, looking at the lightning flickering in Uchiha Gen's palm with a strange expression as he asked.

Balloons and rubber balls—weren't those things for children to play with?

"You'll know once I've mastered it."

Crackle!!!

With a harsh, piercing explosion, the lightning in Uchiha Gen's palm instantly burst and scattered in all directions. After a brief, jarring noise, the light vanished in an instant.

All that remained was a faint wisp of smoke rising from Uchiha Gen's palm.

"Tch."

Lifting his hand to look at the burn-like marks on his palm, Uchiha Gen curled his lip; this was caused by the lightning-natured chakra covering his skin for too long without proper temperature control.

An hour had passed, and he still hadn't figured out how to maintain the Chidori for an extended period.

"Are you hurt? Do you want to go to the hospital? Is it because of practicing Lightning Release... Gen, there's no need to rush. We're still very young; we have plenty of time to grow stronger."

Minato Namikaze, who had begun practicing hand seals nearby after handing the balloons to Uchiha Gen, noticed the injury the moment he turned around at the sound, and immediately walked over to speak.

"Just a small injury, it'll be fine soon. Minato, our time isn't as abundant as you imagine. In the current shinobi world, every major village besides Konoha is waiting for someone to light the fuse. War is about to begin."

Performing a one-handed seal to retrieve a porcelain bottle from the sealing formula on his wrist, Uchiha Gen spoke in a low voice while gently applying ointment to his hand.

Although he didn't know the exact start date of the Second Shinobi World War, Uchiha Gen knew its trigger: Hanzo of the Salamander, the leader of Amegakure, would declare war on the three major shinobi villages simultaneously, completely igniting the conflict.

By Uchiha Gen's estimation, that time was not far off.

And once the war began, he would inevitably choose to step onto the battlefield. There was no other reason; possessing the Mist Space, he needed countless battles to grow.

"Hahahaha, not bad, little Uchiha brat. You can actually see the current state of the shinobi world a little bit."

Just as he finished applying the medicine, a gruff voice rang out from nearby.

"Jiraiya-sensei?! And Lady Tsunade."

Minato Namikaze's eyes lit up when he saw the arrivals.

"You're exactly one hour late."

Looking at Tsunade, Uchiha Gen spoke expressionlessly.

"Ahahaha, I had something come up at the last minute..."

Tsunade glanced guiltily toward the riverbed and spoke in a low voice.

Damn it, why does this brat have such an inexplicable sense of pressure?

"Eh? Tsunade, didn't you just come from the gambling den..."

BOOM!!

"Now, brat, let's start today's lesson."

"Jiraiya-sensei!"

Watching Jiraiya crash into the riverbed like a cannonball, Minato Namikaze exclaimed in shock.

"..."

"You need ointment for such a small wound? Tsk tsk tsk, this kind of injury is from the nature transformation of Lightning Release chakra, right? This isn't something you should be playing with right now. If you're not careful, you'll end up in the hospital."

In the woods, Tsunade stood before Uchiha Gen, looking at his palm with a smile.

"Less talk, let's begin."

Uchiha Gen rolled his eyes. Why was Tsunade such a chatterbox during this period?

"Tch, since you were already able to walk on water during the fight last night, it means your chakra control is decent. But, being able to walk on water isn't enough. Hey, brat, before learning the Strength of a Hundred, are you interested in learning medical ninjutsu?"

Tsunade curled her lip at his response, glanced at the injury on Uchiha Gen's hand, and then spoke.

Since she had decided to follow her grandmother's orders to mentor Uchiha Gen, she had also chosen to accept the Uchiha temperament.

"Medical ninjutsu?"

Uchiha Gen was stunned. He was... an Uchiha, right?

An Uchiha shinobi learning medical ninjutsu?

"Heh, don't have any misconceptions about medical ninjutsu. Medical ninjutsu isn't just for healing. In fact, in a sense, if you make a few adjustments, medical ninjutsu can become a technique that is very well-suited for you Uchiha.

When it comes to chakra control, no one in all of Konoha can compare to you Uchiha, especially after you awaken your eyes. This is something recorded in the Second Grandfather's notes."

When your control over chakra reaches a certain level, medical ninjutsu becomes an absolutely offensive and lethal form of ninjutsu, like this one.

As she spoke, Tsunade raised her hand, and a Chakra Scalpel—a blade Uchiha Gen was all too familiar with—instantly appeared in her palm; it was precisely this blade she had used to parry his strike during last night's battle.

"Chakra Scalpel, an A-rank medical ninjutsu, can cut directly through the skin to inflict damage internally. However, because it requires an incredibly calm mind to maintain the stability of the chakra, it is very difficult to utilize in the heat of combat."

"Yet, this limitation does not apply to you Uchiha. In the midst of battle, an Uchiha who has awakened their eyes possesses a combat intuition and level of composure that others find difficult to surpass."

"Your clan... it is as if you were born for battle. By relying on your chakra control, which already exceeds that of others, many medical ninjutsu can be repurposed to serve entirely different functions when used by you."

"Furthermore, the most important point is that training in the Strength of a Hundred requires extremely precise chakra control, and the initial stages of training can damage the meridians in one's arms."

"If you learn medical ninjutsu, it will be much more convenient. Just as you said, no one knows when war might break out. Once it does, I will inevitably leave the village for the front lines, and I have no intention of having trained a half-baked Strength of a Hundred ninja."

"Of course, learning medical ninjutsu requires absolute focus. Therefore, if you choose to learn it, you must pause your other training and practice medical ninjutsu with total dedication until you reach a passing standard."

Dismissing the Chakra Scalpel, Tsunade watched Uchiha Gen and spoke in a deep voice, laying out the pros and cons of medical ninjutsu before standing to the side, waiting for his reply.