Obito Pinned to the Ground and Beaten

Time flew by.

Before they knew it, a month had passed.

A month was neither long nor short—long enough for someone to form a habit or accomplish a few small goals.

Konoha Hospital.

"Don't be nervous, little Hideki. Just release your chakra the way big sister taught you."

"Believe in yourself. You can definitely do it!"

It was still the nurse who had bandaged Hideki before. Half a month ago, he had learned her name—Arutake Kumi.

A middle-aged man with a scratch on his shoulder sat there. The wound was not serious. He said he had accidentally scraped himself while climbing through a window, though nobody knew why he had been climbing through one.

The middle-aged man looked rather helpless. "Kid, why don't you just give it a bold try?"

"No." Hideki refused with a serious expression. "A medical ninja must be responsible for every patient. Reckless courage will only interfere with treatment."

"But if you don't start soon... I'm afraid this wound of mine will heal on its own!"

The man gave a bitter smile. Compared to this insignificant wound, whether Kiko's husband had discovered what was going on between them was what worried him most.

He had only come to the hospital to hide for a while and let this little fellow, who aspired to become a medical ninja, get some practice.

"I'm starting now."

At last, Hideki took a deep breath and began forming hand seals.

The Mystical Palm Technique, also known as the Healing Technique, used specific seals to activate one's chakra and apply it to wounds or afflicted areas, producing rapid healing effects.

But not everyone's chakra could achieve that.

There were so few medical ninja and so few people who had mastered the Mystical Palm Technique for a reason.

To become a medical ninja, the most basic and important requirement was possessing the special chakra capable of activating the Mystical Palm Technique.

That was Yang Release chakra.

Yang Release could be innate, such as the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique. That was a secret clan technique passed down through generations.

Of course, after mastering chakra nature transformation, one could also attempt to acquire it later.

But Hideki's luck—or perhaps his "talent"—was quite good. Aside from Lightning and Water, he was also highly compatible with Yang Release.

That saved him a great deal of trouble.

For example, he did not have to do a hundred push-ups every day or walk several kilometers on his hands to stimulate his body into developing Yang Release.

Green chakra surged into his palms, and life energy continuously flowed into the small wound.

About five seconds later, Hideki ended the treatment and looked hopefully at the middle-aged man before him.

"How is it? Does it feel better?"

"..." The man fell silent for a moment before answering carefully, "It should... be healed, right?"

"Then it's healed." Hideki immediately rose to his feet and bowed politely. "Thank you for your cooperation. Welcome... good health."

Saying welcome at a hospital did not seem right, so Hideki promptly changed his words to avoid embarrassment. But soon afterward, he felt a small hand press against his forehead.

"As expected of little Hideki! It hasn't even been that long, and you've already become a medical ninja!"

"Congratulations!"

Nurse Kumi kneaded Hideki's hair. The soft feel was so addictive that she could not stop, and before long, Hideki's head had become a bird's nest.

"It's all thanks to Senior Nonō and Sister Kumi teaching me so well."

Hideki answered obediently, then looked toward another, slightly older woman.

The woman wore large glasses and appeared gentle and intelligent. The reason Hideki had been able to learn the Mystical Palm Technique was largely due to her.

"Your effort and talent are what matter most. I hope you become a qualified medical ninja. You have a bright future ahead of you."

The woman spoke gently.

As a former Root elite, perhaps Nonō's words, "a bright future," carried another meaning.

But Hideki did not care.

He had already mastered the basic usage of the Rasengan and could be considered half of Minato's disciple. He had long since been branded as part of the Hokage's lineage.

That was right.

He had already learned the Rasengan.

Half a month ago, while still controlling balls with both hands, he had burst two rubber balls.

Come to think of it, the Rasengan was quite fascinating.

When Naruto learned it, he needed two Shadow Clones to help him form it.

When Boruto learned it, he went straight to making tiny Rasengan.

All that could be said was that both father and son had equally rough chakra control. Hideki did not have that weakness.

His Rasengan had started as a two-handed Rasengan...

A true two-handed ball-control technique.

However, he still could not fire off two Rasengan at once. There was no other reason—he lacked the chakra.

The two rubber balls had not burst simultaneously like water balloons. Instead, they had burst one after another at intervals of half an hour.

But now, after the Rasengan, he had learned the Mystical Palm Technique as well.

Hideki's progress over the past month had been tremendous.

And certain plans could now be put into action.

"Speaking of which, the children of this class are really outstanding."

Just as Hideki was preparing to say goodbye and go home to handle something important,

the chatter of several nurses caught his attention.

"That little girl can already treat wounds. She's such a genius..."

"You mean little Rin, right? I saw it yesterday, and it scared me half to death."

"But little Hideki is impressive too! It's truly rare for a boy to have such delicate chakra control!"

What a shallow conversation.

Why could boys not have such delicate chakra control?

Hideki sneered inwardly. The stronger the technique, the more precise its chakra circulation needed to be. Those nurses' comments were nothing but narrow-minded nonsense.

Still, Hideki acknowledged Rin's talent.

She might be low-key, but she was a medical ninja who could perform an eye transplant at eleven. Talent was definitely not her weak point.

I need to work harder. Hideki silently resolved.

To prevent Obito's tragedy from happening again, separating Team 7 was the best choice.

On his way home, Hideki felt somewhat tired.

In the end, his foundation was still too weak.

And he was still young, so his chakra reserves were simply too low.

"I need to speed up the Eight Gates plan. Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice. This can't go on forever."

Hideki muttered to himself.

But just as he passed through a dark alley and was about to head home to rest,

the corner of his eye caught several figures. The sight of a spiky-haired boy being pinned to the ground and beaten made Hideki react instinctively!

"Motherfucker! Let Obito go!"

With a sprint and a flying kick, Hideki sent one of the attackers flying and arrived beside Obito, who was lying on the ground.

"Are you okay, Obito?!"

"I'm fine... You came, Hideki." Obito struggled to his feet.

Blood stained the corner of his mouth, and his left eye was swollen into a huge lump. He looked utterly miserable.

"What happened?" Hideki hurriedly asked.

Only then did he realize that most of the people beating Obito were familiar faces.

They were still those Uchiha guys, but aside from Uchiha Beiying, there seemed to be another, older Uchiha among them.

The alley was too dark for Hideki to see the man's face clearly, but he stood a head taller than Uchiha Beiying. Most importantly...

He wore a forehead protector.

He was a ninja!

"I was going to Konoha Hospital to find you, but I ran into them on the way. They dragged me over here and started beating me without a word..."

Obito said through gritted teeth, "Be careful, Hideki. There's a ninja among them!"

Hideki's eyes darkened.

"So this is the guy who used Explosive Tags to blow you up last time, only to be stopped?"

From the shadows, the Uchiha wearing the forehead protector spoke, his tone filled with disdain.

"Yes, Cousin! It was these two! If a ninja hadn't stopped us that day, they would have blown us all up!" Uchiha Beiying fanned the flames.