"Wow, this advanced Medical Ninjutsu really works well. Although it doesn't come with professional medical knowledge, it's more than enough when combined with the Mystical Palm Technique for treating wounds."
Akaba tested it out.
This advanced Medical Ninjutsu, which normally required strong medical skills to master, was easily learned thanks to the System.
Its effects and combat effectiveness were far superior to the Medical Jutsu he currently possessed.
However,
this raised a question now.
Not being a professional medic ninja, developing such an advanced Medical Ninjutsu was hard to justify.
Absorbed in thoughts, Akaba walked back toward the makeshift tent.
Tsunade was still teaching Medical Jutsu to other ninja, but upon returning and looking around, he was surprised to find Shinku Yuhi among them.
"Poor guy—he's stuck bouncing between the Military Police, the Medical Team, and now the Preparatory Division too! What a rough time!"
Akaba sighed sincerely.
He also wondered how Shinku Yuhi was progressing with his Genjutsu training. Was he qualified enough to handle that server?
If Shinku could reach the level of freely creating illusions, it would make things much easier for him.
"Why are you back?"
Tsunade quickly approached, deliberately lowering her voice.
Akaba pointed at the ninja practicing Healing Techniques, then gestured for Tsunade to follow him outside.
Though puzzled about Akaba's intentions, based on what she knew about him—he was extremely lazy, often painfully slow to catch on in certain areas—there was no way he'd randomly approach her without purpose or suddenly ask her out on a date.
This guy definitely had something important!
She waved at Koharu Utatane from afar before stepping out of the training venue with Akaba.
"What is it?"
"For my manga work recently, I've gone through quite a few documents regarding Medical Jutsu in the village. I found that some Medical Jutsu actually have room for expansion, just that people hadn't focused on these techniques before. Yesterday, I got an idea and developed a new form of Medical Jutsu."
After saying this, Akaba gathered chakra in his palm.
[Mystical Palm Technique]
What made the Mystical Palm Technique different from other healing techniques was its ability to heal from a distance.
Though just half a step separated him from Tsunade, she already felt the chakra radiating from Akaba's hand.
That energy was interfering with her own chakra flow.
Of course,
Tsunade realized this wasn't an attack technique.
The disruptive effect on chakra flow was merely an unintended side effect. The primary purpose was long-range healing—not only through air but even through bodies, enabling treatment of internal organ injuries beneath the skin.
But that would require exceptional medical knowledge.
She inhaled sharply before asking, "Have you tested this technique?"
"I extended and developed it from recorded techniques, and only tested it on myself so far."
Akaba explained.
"Let me conduct experiments immediately. If possible, can you assist me?"
"Of course."
Although Tsunade quickly recalled the basic applications of Mystical Palm Technique, she still couldn't match Akaba's nuanced mastery as its creator.
She discussed this with Koharu Utatane afterward.
Koharu Utatane took this seriously, not only approving Tsunade's collaboration with Akaba for trials but also dispatching three or four medical staff from the hospital to assist.
Medical ninjutsu was used on comrades, so each technique had to undergo rigorous experimentation and verification to ensure no adverse side effects before being formally documented and promoted.
The test subjects varied widely.
First came the standard fish.
Tsunade deftly sliced open the fish with a scalpel, then simply watched as Akaba healed it with ease.
It worked instantly.
Mystical Palm Technique could easily heal human wounds, so healing something as simple as a fish was naturally effortless.
Within just several seconds, the fish had been completely restored, swimming around energetically.
The attending medical personnel were shocked.
Sakuma Akaba actually possessed medical ninjutsu skills—and at such an impressive level. Previously, nobody would have believed this possible, but now...
Seeing is believing.
"Fast, and effective from a distance too," Tsunade noted this down before continuing her observation.
In terms of speed, Mystical Palm Technique far surpassed ordinary healing techniques. As for specific effects, they remained to be thoroughly verified.
Next, the test subjects gradually increased in complexity.
From regular mice to severely injured mice and rabbits provided by Orochimaru. After multiple experimental targets, Tsunade's small notebook contained extensive data records.
She had essentially confirmed the effectiveness of Mystical Palm Technique.
Faster, stronger, better.
Of course, after personal observation, she understood its dangers too.
It was medical ninjutsu, but required extremely precise chakra control. Even a slight excess of chakra could lead to significant deviations in treatment effectiveness.
This became obvious when other medical staff tried using the same technique—
After observing its principles, they not only failed to heal the fish properly but instead left them half-dead.
But that wasn't Akaba's concern anymore—showing off in front of real experts would only expose his own limitations.
Exiting the temporary training ground, Akaba saw many people leaving the hospital.
These were most likely family members of the injured and deceased.
"He told himself he'd done enough."
In war, there are always casualties.
For the war effort in the Land of Whirlpools, he had contributed numerous ninjutsu techniques and actively pushed forward medical research. Short of personally joining battlefield combat, he had done everything else expected of him.
He sighed, deliberately avoiding looking at these heart-wrenching scenes.
Returning to the manga shop, his shadow clone sent to the factory reported back—successfully delivering the manga.
However, Izumi Yamano had already begun loading cargo, meaning the newly delivered two volumes wouldn't make this print batch in time. This shipment contained only one volume each of Hokage Ninja and One Piece.
Incidentally, One Piece's storyline had reached an exciting segment—
Roronoa Zoro's duel against Dracule Mihawk, the World's Greatest Swordsman.
Zoro's battle with Dracule Mihawk was breathtaking and spectacular. The way Mihawk sliced through a massive ship with a single sword strike made for the perfect final scene.
"It's a shame Sakumo isn't in the village right now. He'd definitely be excited about this."
Akaba sighed with regret.
One Piece currently only had die-hard fans like Sakumo and Nightdance. Others weren't really interested anyway, completely different from how hot Naruto was.
This situation could be understood though.
Before entering the Grand Line, One Piece was still at the stage of setting up recruitment scenarios. Even major characters like Dracule Mihawk only appeared briefly to show their faces. The best parts were still coming up.
Yamano Izumi's caravan was arriving slowly.
Akaba hadn't received them yet when he unexpectedly got an uninvited visitor instead.
Hyūga Zuo.
The Hyūga clan leader who appeared humble and friendly on the surface but was actually extremely cunning.
"Master Akaba, Lord Hyūga has arrived."
"I already know."
Akaba stepped out from his private chamber, then made a hand gesture toward Hyūga Zuo whose meaning was obvious enough.
They began talking while walking.
A clan leader like Hyūga wouldn't possibly come just to read manga.
With a faint smile, Hyūga Zuo clasped his hands behind his back and walked forward along the small path ahead.
After walking some distance, Hyūga Zuo casually asked as if by the way, "Akaba, how's your manga coming along?"
"Not bad. Although there are fewer people from Konoha now and sales have dropped slightly, overall it's still going well."
Akaba smiled slightly.
"I see. My clan—the Hyūga—hasn't been doing too well lately. The voices from the branch family have been growing louder recently."
Hyūga's tone remained calm, even carrying a hint of amusement.
If not for his position, Akaba might have thought he was just complaining about family issues.
In reality though, he was here to settle accounts.
"Are you implying my manga's plot has influenced the branch family's thinking?"
Had this been yesterday, Akaba would've needed to carefully consider his response before answering. But today was different—thanks to the Third's statement, he no longer needed to worry about these issues.
Hyūga Zuo turned his head sideways, his gaze suddenly changing.
This tone...
Something wasn't right!
His fingers twitched slightly. After a second or two, he finally said, "There were already these opinions within the clan before. Your manga merely gave voice to what they were already thinking. There was certainly no intention to blame you."
"Glad to hear that. In fact, Neji's story will take a turn later—it wasn't meant to defame the Hyūga clan. It's just that my drawing speed hasn't kept up, causing such misunderstanding."
Akaba quickly apologized to avoid giving anyone anything to criticize.
"So there's another twist? I hope everything gets resolved happily in the end."
Smiling, Hyūga Zuo smoothly concluded the conversation.
He had already sensed something was off.
Although Akaba was Danzō's disciple and ran his own manga business, based purely on this he should only be equivalent to a newly promoted Tokubetsu Jonin in the eyes of the Hyūga clan.
What truly concerned him was Akaba's craftiness—the way he always rode prevailing trends and subtly pushed situations forward. This kid was practically another Danzō.
Take the recent matter involving the Uchiha clan for example.
Just now, he had felt a similar sense of unease again.
Hyūga Zuo started rethinking: How dare this little brat speak like that?
It's definitely because of the Third!
Realizing this point, understanding immediately dawned in Hyūga Zuo's mind. The Uchiha had chosen to defect while the Hyūga clan not only refrained from commenting but continued demanding more power instead.
Isn't this turning into exactly what the Uchiha used to represent?
Before long, beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead. Earlier, he and the clan elders had only focused on opposing the Uchiha, believing the village would never dare act against them—but they'd overlooked that the Uchiha's current position had already shifted.
They had purged their internal conflicts and were now officially aligned with the Hokage's faction. In contrast, the Hyūga were now the true "outsiders."
He had played that all wrong!
When has an outsider ever walked into someone else's home and helped themselves to the food?
This wasn't even a request—it was pure theft.
It finally hit Hyūga Zuo—he saw it all clearly now. As regret churned inside him, he quickly began thinking of countermeasures.
The Scouting Unit must be abandoned—this round's claim to power has to be withdrawn.
In addition, the Anbu also required concessions from the Hyūga.
Hyūga Zuo's thoughts raced. As soon as he pieced everything together, he turned to Akaba and said, "I still have some matters within the clan to attend to—I'll take my leave first."
"Thank you, Uncle Zuo, for coming today. Before, I was too caught up in my own plans to consider how this would affect your clan. For that, I sincerely apologize."
Akaba bowed slightly.
Hyūga Zuo cursed inwardly but kept a warm and friendly smile on his face. "Nonsense! I will personally explain these misunderstandings to the clan. The Hyūga family won't trouble you any further."
"In that case, thank you very much."
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