Nine Dragon Power Ascension Steroid Planet (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Before long, a medical ninja walked in carrying a tray with three transparent glass cups on it.

Each cup was half-filled with liquid: a layer of dark brown coffee sat atop a layer of milky white, the two distinct colors stacked clearly without mixing.

"What is this for?"

Rin Nohara looked at the cups with curiosity.

Michiko Matsuzaka stood up from behind her desk, picked up one of the cups, and gave it a shake. The two liquids immediately swirled together, turning into a murky, blended mixture.

"Use your chakra to separate the coffee and the milk back out."

She placed the cup back on the tray and pushed it toward the three of them.

"This is the most fundamental chakra control exercise. Once you master this, you have essentially learned the Detoxification Technique."

"Once a poison enters the bloodstream, it is essentially just an impurity that shouldn't be there. The first thing a medical ninja must do is isolate it from the blood."

Shizune took a cup, held it between both hands, and closed her eyes to begin focusing her chakra.

Qingyu also picked up a cup, though he did not rush to begin.

He first used his Sharingan to observe the state of the liquid mixture before slowly injecting his chakra into the cup.

He controlled his chakra to peel the dark color of the coffee away from the white of the milk, bit by bit.

About two minutes later, the liquid in his cup had returned to two distinct, separated layers.

"Very good."

Michiko Matsuzaka nodded in satisfaction, her gaze shifting toward Rin Nohara, ready to say that it was fine if she couldn't do it on her first try.

When she looked back, however, she discovered that the cup in Rin Nohara's hands had also finished separating.

Furthermore, the time it took seemed to be even shorter than Qingyu's.

Michiko Matsuzaka was slightly stunned.

She wouldn't have been surprised if Qingyu or Shizune had managed it, as they were children personally trained by Tsunade.

But Rin Nohara's performance was somewhat unexpected.

A child who had never touched chakra separation training before, managing it after hearing the explanation just once?

"Have you really never practiced this before?"

Michiko Matsuzaka couldn't help but ask.

Rin Nohara shook her head and smiled a little sheepishly:

"It's just... I felt that Qingyu-kun's demonstration nearby was very clear, so I just followed along."

Michiko Matsuzaka glanced at Qingyu, then back at Rin Nohara, the surprise on her face gradually turning into a smile.

It seemed she had unexpectedly discovered a promising talent today.

"All three of you, practice here for a while until you are proficient with this operation."

She stood up.

"I'm going to prepare the materials for the follow-up exercises."

After Michiko Matsuzaka walked out of the office, Qingyu placed his cup back on the tray, mentally bumping up his assessment of Rin Nohara by another notch.

It was just as he thought.

In the original story, Rin Nohara, who had no clan resources, was able to learn the Mystical Palm Technique. Her innate talent was already there; she had simply lacked the opportunity to be discovered.

After they were dismissed, Qingyu didn't rush home. Instead, he suggested taking a tour of the hospital, saying he wanted to learn more about the actual treatment procedures.

Michiko Matsuzaka was busy organizing training materials and waved them off to do as they pleased, only cautioning them not to disturb any ongoing procedures in the operating rooms.

Shizune took the initiative to act as their guide. Compared to a utilitarian like Qingyu, Shizune was clearly genuinely interested in medical ninjutsu, having spent quite a bit of time in this hospital.

Passing by a ward, Qingyu stopped in his tracks.

Through the glass window on the door, he saw a medical ninja treating a patient's wound with skilled movements, cleaning it layer by layer, applying medicine, and wrapping it in bandages.

[Trait available for collection: Memory Mastery]
[E-rank Trait: Memory Mastery]
[Effect: Increases the speed of memorization by 10%.]

Qingyu looked at the text appearing before his eyes and subconsciously touched his forehead again.

It's so itchy, it feels like my brain is growing!

There is a saying that advising others to study medicine is a path to divine retribution.

This holds just as true in the ninja world.

Medical ninjas are essentially medical students, and the amount of things they have to memorize is no less than in his previous life.

Charts mapping human meridians to chakra points, tables of drug contraindications, charts for toxicological reactions—the pile of basic theory books Tsunade had tossed at him earlier was taller than his own head.

He had indeed memorized a great deal.

It was just that he had relied on rote memorization before; with this new trait, it seemed he could save quite a bit of time.

Moving further ahead, he passed a rehabilitation training room.

The door was not fully closed, and through the gap, he could see a medical ninja with abnormally massive limbs performing strength training in front of a mirror; his biceps were thicker than Qingyu's thighs.

On the table beside him sat several opened medicine bottles. The text on the labels was blurry, but Qingyu felt a faint, ominous premonition.

[Detected collectible trait: Fitness Drug Tolerance]

[E-rank trait: Fitness Drug Tolerance]

[Effect: Increases tolerance to steroids and similar drugs by 10%.]

No way, there's even a trait for this...

Is this the Nine Dragon Power Ascension Steroid Planet or what?

Qingyu retracted his gaze with an expressionless face and, without stopping his pace, tossed this trait directly into the recycle bin in his mind.

Perhaps he would never attempt to utilize the effects of this trait.

Injecting steroids could indeed make one stronger, allowing one month of progress to equal two years of training for others.

But the price was testicles shrinking to the size of raisins and blood becoming as viscous as crude oil, turning into something as bouncy as jelly when drawn.

Qingyu still had the Senju bloodline to fall back on; he had absolutely no need to walk this path.

I could, however, try to see if I can obtain a fitness-related trait from Might Guy.

Qingyu stroked his chin.

Compared to this new-age fitness, the natural training method used by Might Guy was the true way.

He hadn't popped a single pill, yet he had forced his way to the pinnacle of the ninja world, nearly kicking Madara Uchiha to death with a single blow.

"Student Qingyu, you are really interested in medical science, aren't you?"

Rin Nohara, walking beside him, noticed Qingyu looking around with great interest throughout the journey.

"It feels like you get especially excited every time you see a hospital room."

Shizune nodded in agreement from the side; having lived with Qingyu for so long, this was the first time she had seen him so proactive.

"It's alright."

Qingyu didn't offer much of an explanation, his gaze sweeping toward the end of the corridor as he planned to see if he could farm a few more traits today.

He discovered that traits seemed to be unique and would not drop duplicates.

Meanwhile, in the Uchiha compound.

Obito had just been stopped by a fellow clansman, and when he looked up, he saw Uchiha Yashiro.

Uchiha Yashiro was a trusted aide to Uchiha Fugaku and was known for being stern and rigid; Obito felt a bit of trepidation every time he saw him.

"Why are you back so late today?"

"I... I helped a few elderly ladies carry heavy items on the way."

Obito scratched his head, unsure what the problem was.

Uchiha Yashiro did not pursue the topic, as his focus was elsewhere:

"You are in the same class as Qingyu, right?"

Obito nodded.

"How is his performance in class?"

"Performance?"

Obito thought for a moment, and although he was very reluctant to admit it, he spoke truthfully.

"He performs very well. His shurikenjutsu is perfect, and Kakashi is about the same as him."

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Yashiro's expression darkened visibly.

He didn't speak, merely letting out a cold snort.

A mixed-blood living outside the clan, who hadn't received a single day of education within the clan, was actually outperforming the pure-blooded juniors raised in the compound.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Yashiro's gaze fell upon Obito, wanting to say something, but he held back.

Because he realized that this child, Obito, really didn't seem very bright.

Obito couldn't be counted on. Even he had heard the nickname "dead last."

But at least there were others in the same grade, like Uchiha Tekka and the others. If a group of pure-blooded Uchiha were outshone by a mixed-blood, wouldn't it become a joke to the entire ninja world if word got out?

"Go on, go back and train properly."

Uchiha Yashiro tossed these words aside and turned to walk in the direction of Uchiha Tekka's home.

Obito stood where he was, feeling as though he had just been looked down upon.