Hearing junichi's evaluation, Shimizu remained indifferent.
If the benchmark for powerhouses in the Leaf Village was the rank of Jonin, then the classification of Special Jonin was far more ambiguous. It was difficult to say if it truly represented exceptional strength.
Asuma scoffed in disbelief. "I don't think any Special Jonin has an illusion technique as strong as Shimizu's."
Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've heard that Kakashi Hatake is considered by many to be Special Jonin-level in strength."
Seeing the dismissive tone of both students, junichi sighed. "You're underestimating Special Jonin?"
At first, the thought irritated him, but recalling Shimizu's earlier performance, he felt a bit more at ease.
There was a difference between talent and ordinary people—but monsters like Shimizu were on another level entirely.
"Well then, let's start my evaluation of your battle." junichi's expression turned serious. "Asuma, Kurenai, your performance was impressive, but..."
He gave them both a stern warning.
"You two rely too much on high-level jutsu. Powerful techniques take longer to form hand seals and consume a lot of chakra. In a fight like the one you just had, where you had a numbers advantage, you should have used faster jutsu more frequently to put pressure on Shimizu and wear him down."
Asuma frowned. "Sensei, I don't think you understand—Shimizu's medical ninjutsu is ridiculous. Weak jutsu won't even affect him!"
"That's exactly why I emphasized teamwork." junichi's tone sharpened. Then, he turned to Shimizu. "Your medical ninjutsu technique—is it based on the Yin Seal?"
Shimizu replied casually, "Not exactly. My healing method is a simplified version of the Yin Seal. The Yin Seal requires predicting the enemy's attack in advance, storing Yang chakra at the injury site before the damage even occurs. In battle, this requires extreme foresight, so I simply guide my healing to targeted areas."
Asuma's eyes widened in realization. "So that's why you always fight so aggressively! You're controlling where you take hits in advance."
"Now you understand?" junichi's gaze was sharp. "You didn't just lose the fight—you lost control of the battlefield. If you had been able to predict Shimizu's movements better, you could have used simpler techniques to deal maximum damage."
Asuma hesitated. "But what if Shimizu predicts my prediction?"
junichi's face twitched. "Then you predict his prediction of your prediction."
"But what if—"
"Enough." junichi gave up, sighing. Then, he turned back to Shimizu. "Your timing and efficiency with jutsu are impressive, but that doesn't mean you don't have weaknesses."
Shimizu spoke calmly. "You mean my lack of ranged attacks?"
junichi raised an eyebrow, surprised. It was easy to see flaws in others, but self-awareness was much rarer—especially among prodigies. But with Shimizu, that concern seemed unnecessary.
"You primarily rely on genjutsu for area control, right?" junichi continued. "But against an enemy with high genjutsu resistance, your effectiveness drops significantly."
Shimizu nodded. He was well aware that genjutsu could be broken by disrupting chakra flow or by being woken up by an ally, making it much harder to use in large-scale battles.
"Additionally, your methods of dealing with attacks need improvement. For example, when Asuma used Fire Release, most shinobi would counter it with Wind Release to redirect the flames or Water Release to extinguish them. But you could only evade."
junichi folded his arms. "Although you compensated by using Flying Thunder God, teleporting constantly consumes a massive amount of chakra. If a basic evasion technique achieves the same result, there's no need to waste energy."
Shimizu nodded thoughtfully. "So you're suggesting I train in the five elemental releases?"
"If it were anyone else, I'd say it's a waste of time," junichi admitted. "But you're different. You mastered the extremely difficult Flying Thunder God technique while also excelling in genjutsu and medical ninjutsu..." He sighed with admiration. "With your talent, learning elemental techniques shouldn't take long—at least for basic jutsu."
Shimizu smiled. "Actually, even if you hadn't suggested it, I was already planning to train in elemental releases."
junichi nodded in approval. "Just make sure it doesn't interfere with your primary skills."
Shimizu chuckled. "Sensei, you don't need to worry. I've already mastered everything in those areas."
junichi froze. His expression twitched. "…What did you just say?"
Kurenai smirked. "He means he's fully mastered my father's genjutsu techniques and Lady Tsunade's medical ninjutsu."
junichi was speechless. His mind reeled.
This… this isn't normal!
Mastering the Leaf's strongest medical ninjutsu and genjutsu techniques… that's basically the entire field of expertise for both disciplines!
So what stands before me… is a learning machine without limits?!
junichi struggled to process this absurdity. Forcing a stiff smile, he muttered, "…Haha, guess I don't need to worry, then."
His gaze drifted to Asuma.
Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Sensei, something wrong?"
"…No."
Regaining a sense of normalcy, junichi continued, "Training in elemental jutsu requires understanding both shape and nature transformations. You may already know this, but as your instructor, it's my duty to explain it in detail."