Medical Ninjutsu

The sunlight of Konoha's forty-second year seemed to bring little warmth to Uchiha Kyohaku's life. At seven years old, he was still like a plant growing in the shadows, maintaining an almost invisible presence at the Ninja Academy.

In cultural theory classes, he effortlessly kept himself in the upper-middle ranks, neither outstanding nor lagging behind. During practical lessons, he was still that "special student" who leaned on crutches and carried out limited activities at the edge of the grounds. Uchiha Steel Mountain and Uchiha Dai Yi's mockery occasionally still rang out, but seeing that he remained silent, numb, and utterly unresponsive, they gradually lost interest and turned their attention to other, more "interesting" targets.

Yet the time after school, unknown to anyone, was when he truly drew nourishment.

That secluded little courtyard became his secret training ground. The scrolls and notes his father had left behind were read and studied over and over. Thanks to the immense spiritual power and extraordinary chakra control brought by the fusion of two lifetimes' souls, his progress far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Extracting chakra had long ceased to be a problem. He could even clearly observe the flow of chakra within his body, as well as the regrettable blockage and atrophy in the meridians of his right foot. He could already form the hand seals for the basic Three Body Techniques in an instant and, through precise control, perform slightly flawed versions that suited his identity as a "disabled" person.

The real challenge and enjoyment lay in his father's Fire Release and genjutsu. The sequence of hand seals, the changes in chakra's form and nature within specific meridians... such profound and obscure concepts for ordinary children became traceable under his powerful perception and control. He did not rush to cast ninjutsu. Instead, he spent most of his time practicing hand seal proficiency and the precision of chakra mobilization. In the courtyard, there were often only the afterimages of his incredibly swift yet silent hand seals, along with the occasional faint, nearly imperceptible ripple of chakra in the air. As for shuriken throwing, combining his father's insights with his own calculations quietly improved his stability and accuracy.

Physical training was his greatest weakness, but he never gave up. He designed a training regimen suited to his current condition, focusing mainly on his upper body, core strength, and the support and explosive power of his left leg. Every session came with aching pain in his right foot and sweat pouring down like rain, but he gritted his teeth and persevered, treating it as a tempering of his will.

The library remained the place he visited most often. He was no longer satisfied with a superficial understanding and began systematically building his own body of knowledge by category. The timeline of ninja world history, the details and resource distribution of every country's geography, the organizational structures of the major ninja villages and information on renowned ninjas, even basic herbalism and human meridian studies... He organized, memorized, and cataloged every piece of information with a forensic method of classification, forming an ever-expanding database in his mind. He knew that knowledge itself was a kind of power, especially for someone like him, whose body was restricted.

A year passed quietly. Not long after the start of his second year, a plan he had been preparing for a long time was put on the agenda.

One day after school, instead of going straight home, he leaned on his crutches and made his way to the school infirmary. The teacher in charge was a Chunin surnamed Nohara. She had a gentle temperament and great patience, and was usually responsible for treating the students' bumps and bruises from training.

"Teacher Nohara." Kyohaku stood at the doorway and called softly.

Teacher Nohara was sorting medicinal herbs. Hearing him, she raised her head, and when she saw him, she gave him a gentle smile. "Kyohaku, what is it? Is your foot bothering you?"

"No, Teacher." Kyohaku shook his head and slowly moved inside on his crutches, his face wearing an age-appropriate expression that mixed curiosity with timid apprehension. "I... I wanted to ask if I could learn Medical Ninjutsu from you?"

Teacher Nohara froze for a moment, clearly not expecting such a request. She put down the medicinal herbs in her hands, walked over, and crouched before him. "Learn Medical Ninjutsu? Why do you suddenly want to learn that? Medical Ninjutsu requires extremely fine chakra control, and the learning process is rather dull."

"I... I know I'm probably not very good at taijutsu or ninjutsu," Kyohaku lowered his head, his voice growing quieter. He sounded somewhat dejected, yet there was a trace of stubbornness in it. "But... but I saw how you used ninjutsu to treat everyone's wounds, and I thought it was amazing. My chakra control... seems to be all right, and my cultural theory teachers have praised me for remembering theory well... I thought maybe I could try this..." At the right moment, he raised his head, his eyes revealing pleading and unwillingness. "I don't want to... be unable to do anything."

Teacher Nohara looked at the child before her, at his slightly limping right foot and those unusually clear eyes now filled with longing, and her heart softened. She had heard about what had happened to this child: both parents dead, physically disabled, and not very sociable at school. That he had thought to seek another path by learning Medical Ninjutsu truly made him seem pitiful.

"Your chakra control is all right?" Teacher Nohara pondered for a moment. "Then... shall Teacher test you?"

She took out a fresh sheet of chakra test paper and handed it to Kyohaku. "Here. Try to slowly and evenly inject your chakra into it. Don't go fast. Be steady."

Kyohaku accepted the test paper and took a deep breath, as though very nervous. Then he focused his mind—of course, mobilizing only an insignificant fraction of his control—and slowly injected a thread of chakra into the paper.

The colors of the test paper began to change with extreme evenness and slowness. Several attributes appeared faintly yet in balance. More importantly, there were no violent fluctuations throughout the process, displaying stability and precision of control far beyond that of children his age.

Obvious surprise flashed through Teacher Nohara's eyes. This level of control truly was exceptional—more stable even than many Genin!

"Very good! Excellent chakra control, Kyohaku!" Teacher Nohara could not help praising him. As she looked at Kyohaku, her gaze became gentler and more encouraging. "You were right. You have a talent for chakra control, and that truly is a very important foundation for learning Medical Ninjutsu."

She considered it for a moment before finally nodding. "All right. If you have time after school from now on, you can come to the infirmary and find me. I'll start by teaching you the most basic Healing Technique. But remember, learning Medical Ninjutsu requires immense patience and perseverance, and you absolutely cannot give up halfway through. Can you do that?"

"I can! Thank you, Teacher Nohara! I'll definitely study hard!" Kyohaku's face instantly blossomed with radiance. It was the most sincere joy of a seven-year-old child receiving something he longed for—at least, on the surface.

And so, another secret task was added to Uchiha Kyohaku's schedule. Under Teacher Nohara's guidance, he began to learn the most basic Medical Ninjutsu—the Healing Technique.

Precisely gathering gentle, life-filled Yang Release chakra in his palm and sensing its subtle power to stimulate cellular vitality and accelerate tissue healing... the process felt as if it had opened the door to a new world for him. His extraordinary chakra control displayed incomparable advantages in the study of Medical Ninjutsu.

Teacher Nohara was astonished by the speed of his progress and often sighed, "Kyohaku, you were simply born for Medical Ninjutsu!"

Kyohaku merely smiled shyly and continued practicing. Yet inwardly, he calmly assessed the situation: Medical Ninjutsu was not only an important skill for his future survival in his plans. Perhaps... it was also the first key to unlocking the shackles on his body.

This road, which seemed to have been chosen by chance, was clearly leading toward the goal he had set long ago.