"That trick of yours fooled me thirty years ago. It doesn't work on me anymore."
Sarutobi Biwako stiffened her neck and replied bluntly.
Yet the slight curl of her lips and the laughter in her eyes rippled outward, impossible to suppress.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pressed his advantage.
Before long, he had coaxed Sarutobi Biwako, who had built up plenty of resentment from days of intense work, into a thoroughly delighted mood.
"All right, now tell me what this is about," Sarutobi Biwako said.
"It's really nothing."
"Then I'll get back to work." Sarutobi Biwako said as she rose.
"Hey, hey!" Sarutobi Hiruzen hurriedly pressed her back down.
"As if I don't know you."
Sarutobi Biwako took the opportunity to sit back down.
She was not angry, though, and simply waited with a smile for Sarutobi Hiruzen to speak.
"The clashes on the Land of Rain battlefield are getting worse. A major war will be unavoidable before long."
"So I came to see how the selection for the reserve Medical Corps being sent as reinforcements was going."
Sarutobi Biwako rolled her eyes at him. "The assessment ended this morning. I already have a general idea of the candidates. I'll organize the list and give it to you shortly."
"Good!"
A smile appeared on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face.
Once casualties increased, these people would have to be sent to the battlefield immediately. If suitable candidates had not been selected in advance, organizing them at the last minute would be troublesome.
Still, he remained somewhat concerned and added a reminder.
"You can't judge them solely by their medical skills. Their basic abilities can't be too poor either. They're being sent to the front lines, after all."
"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing when it comes to medical skills. Kaito handled the survival capability assessment."
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly sat up straight and stared directly at Sarutobi Biwako.
"That Kaito from the clan?"
"Yes. That boy may not be as talented as you were, but his Water Release and Konoha Style Body Technique are nothing to scoff at."
"That's not what I'm worried about..."
"I understand. He's a little dim-witted, but his nature isn't bad. With me keeping watch, nothing went wrong."
"That's good." Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.
Sarutobi Kaito was indeed talented, but his personality was far too simple and straightforward.
He often had no sense of restraint when striking, and many clansmen had been injured while sparring with him.
That was why Sarutobi Hiruzen worried that he might injure those precious medical ninjas.
He continued, "With so many people being pulled out at once, we also need to keep up with training new medical ninjas."
"Training them is not so easy. After working so hard to cultivate them, they go to the battlefield, where lives are cheap as grass. How can we sustain that kind of loss?"
"Still, we found a promising talent this year."
Knock! Knock knock!
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Hyuga Qingchuan entered and only then noticed that Sarutobi Hiruzen was also in the office.
He straightened slightly. "Lord Hokage, Lady Biwako!"
"Qingchuan!"
The moment Sarutobi Biwako saw him, the smile on her face deepened at once, and her tone became exceptionally gentle.
"What can I do for you?"
Beside her, Sarutobi Hiruzen studied Sarutobi Biwako with a deeply astonished look.
So gentle? Had the sun risen in the west?
Was this really his wife?
"Lady Biwako, I want to take part in this Medical Corps selection," Hyuga Qingchuan said without preamble.
Sarutobi Biwako's smile stiffened almost imperceptibly.
So it really is because of this.
She swiftly adjusted her expression and said warmly, "Qingchuan, the selection has already ended."
"Besides, Medical Corps selection is generally not open to interns."
"Lady Biwako."
Hyuga Qingchuan's gaze burned as he met her eyes without hesitation.
"The hospital does not open Medical Corps selection to interns."
"That is merely because you are concerned that we lack experience and are not proficient enough in Medical Ninjutsu."
"But I am different. Though I am an intern, my medical skills may not rank first or second in the hospital, but they are certainly among the best."
"I have observed the Medical Corps members who came to assist at the hospital. My abilities are absolutely not much inferior to theirs."
His tone was firm and decisive, carrying confidence that allowed no doubt.
This was not the time to worry about being humble and courteous. If he wanted an exception, he needed something worthy of an exception.
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
Who is this brat? He's bold enough!
An intern actually dared to claim that his skills ranked among the best in the hospital.
What surprised him was that Biwako had not flown into a rage.
She hated arrogant people more than anything.
Yet faced with such wild words, not only was she not angry, she was still smiling brightly.
Hyuga Qingchuan?
He wondered whether this was the same person he had sent to Danzo.
He tried hard to recall, but he did not remember another student from the academy with the same name.
Sarutobi Biwako pondered for a moment. After weighing her words again and again, she still tried to refuse gently.
"Qingchuan, I naturally recognize your talent and your solid medical knowledge."
"It's simply that you have not been in this field long enough. You should further refine your Medical Ninjutsu, and next year I will certainly..."
"Lady Biwako!"
Without waiting for her to finish, Hyuga Qingchuan abruptly raised his right hand.
He formed seals one-handed, his movements smooth and flowing.
Buzz!
A jade-green glow instantly lit up in his palm.
It was stable and condensed, its energy flowing as delicately as silk.
It was a high-level Healing Technique!
Sarutobi Biwako's pupils contracted, and shock filled her heart.
"The glow is stable, the energy dense and restrained, and his chakra control is exceedingly precise."
This Healing Technique was only half a step inferior to her own.
But who was she?
She had possessed outstanding talent from childhood and learned under the elders of her clan.
After marrying Sarutobi Hiruzen, she had also received the true teachings of the Senju Clan.
She had immersed herself in this field for many years.
How long had the twelve-year-old boy before her even been exposed to Medical Ninjutsu?
She had investigated Hyuga Qingchuan. A few months ago, both his abdominal injury and his father Hyuga Kaze's injury—
Every wound had only been treated after they returned to the village.
That meant he had only begun learning after entering medical training.
Even counting generously, it had been no more than two months.
In two months, he had mastered the Healing Technique to such a level.
Such talent had never appeared even in Tsunade, who had been so brilliantly gifted in her youth.
Under her astonished gaze, the green glow in Hyuga Qingchuan's palm shifted seamlessly.
It became the faintly glowing Detoxification Technique.
Then it changed again into precise green bubbles for examination.
Delicate Illness Extraction Technique!
After that, the green chakra turned blue.
A Chakra Scalpel radiating cutting force appeared brightly in his hand.
"Chakra Scalpel!"
Sarutobi Biwako cried out in shock and abruptly rose to her feet.
She hurried over to Hyuga Qingchuan.
The sharp aura radiating from the scalpel rushed toward her face.
This was absolutely not some empty imitation that merely looked the part. It was a genuine Chakra Scalpel.
And judging by its state, he had not merely begun learning it—he had already mastered it to a considerable degree.
Her mouth hung open, but for a long while, she could not speak.
Only after some time did she finally ask, "You... you've mastered even this? When did that happen?"
"Didn't the hospital open some Medical Ninjutsu for me to study?"
Hyuga Qingchuan spoke calmly, as though he were discussing something insignificant.
"I memorized the seal sequence and the principles behind the chakra circulation paths."
"I watched the seniors perform surgery a few times. As I watched, I learned it."
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