Monday.
Two days had passed since the Hokage succession ceremony.
Because Tsunade had already taken office a week in advance, nothing much in the village changed before or after the ceremony.
As for new appointments, those would take some time.
Jiraiya left the village again, just like before.
This time he departed together with the Daimyō of the Land of Fire.
That was the task Tsunade gave him.
Since he had to leave anyway, he might as well escort the daimyo as a matter of Konoha's courtesy.
8:30 a.m.
After breakfast, Kitazawa headed to Konoha Hospital.
"Kitazawa-sama, long time no see!"
"You're incredible! Kitazawa-sama, you turned the tide on the battlefield!"
"Kitazawa-sama, you're my new goal! I'm going to learn from you!"
"You have no idea—because of you and Tsunade-sama, a lot of kids now think medical ninja are crazy good at combat."
The last speaker was a medic who specializes in treating children.
Kitazawa hadn't expected to be mobbed the moment he walked into Konoha Hospital.
But thinking it over, it made sense.
It was his first time back since the war between Konoha and the Hidden Mist ended.
The medics and nurses hadn't seen him for a while, so their enthusiasm was off the charts.
Of course, the main reason was that his name had gotten very big.
Right then, Yakushi Nonō appeared and walked up to him.
She'd been in her office, but a sudden commotion made her think something was wrong, so she came to check.
"Don't crowd Kitazawa-sama. Go get ready—don't forget we've got something at nine," Nonō said gently.
She meant the 9 a.m. surgery Kitazawa would perform for everyone to observe.
No one else knew the details yet.
"See you in a bit, Kitazawa-sama!"
The medics and nurses around him waved and dispersed.
"You're quite the celebrity now," Nonō said with a smile.
"Sometimes fame is just a hassle," Kitazawa shook his head.
"If you dropped by the hospital more often, they'd stop swarming you," Nonō paused, then added a little sheepishly, "I forgot—you're as busy as Tsunade-sama these days."
She'd already heard from Kabuto that Kitazawa had become Anbu Commander.
Add in his post as the Ninja Academy's Vice Principal, and his days were packed—hardly any time to come to the hospital to operate.
"I'm imposing on you today, senpai," Kitazawa said, handing her a jutsu scroll.
"This is the limb regeneration medical ninjutsu?" Nonō's eyes lit up as she eagerly unfurled it.
As a medical ninja, even she couldn't stay calm in front of a breakthrough technique like this.
"Mhm." Kitazawa nodded, then smiled. "Let's talk in your office."
Nonō answered, though her eyes were still glued to the scroll.
The more she read, the more astonished she became.
The limb regeneration technique was exquisitely designed.
Its core drew on the S-rank forbidden medical jutsu, Body Revival—though Nonō didn't know that. She naturally assumed Kitazawa had created it from scratch.
"Your achievements in medical ninjutsu won't end up any less than Tsunade-sama's," Nonō said solemnly when she finished.
"Then I've got to keep working," Kitazawa chuckled. "I know the gap between me and Tsunade-sama."
"You may not match her yet, but you're already far beyond the rest of us," Nonō said, then hesitated, almost disbelieving. "Are you really letting us learn this limb regeneration technique?"
Normally, to learn an S-rank technique, you'd have to earn huge merit for Konoha.
"The value of medical ninjutsu is in saving lives," Kitazawa said. "The more medics who master Limb Regeneration, the more Konoha shinobi will benefit."
"That's a line every medical ninja should carve into their heart," Nonō said, straight-faced.
"It's not that grand," Kitazawa waved it off, then added a practical note. "Limb Regeneration is hard. Realistically, only medical jōnin will be able to learn it."
"Understood," Nonō said, closing the scroll.
"It's a shame we can't make it any easier," Kitazawa sighed.
"Creating something like this at all is already a miracle," Nonō said. "No need to feel regret."
"Does Konoha do any research on cloning?" Kitazawa asked suddenly, curious.
"No," Nonō explained. "Cloning involves human experimentation. It's explicitly banned."
"Right," Kitazawa mused.
Looked like he'd have to find Orochimaru for that.
"You're thinking…" Nonō started, then her face cleared. "Limb Regeneration really does pair well with cloning."
The technique's side effect was consuming a bit of the patient's lifespan.
Forcing a new organ to grow requires cells and tissue, paid for with massive chakra and some lifespan.
But with cloning, it wouldn't be 'regrowth'—it'd be reattachment. No lifespan cost.
"You could bring this up with Tsunade-sama," Nonō said after thinking it over.
Konoha had done human experiments before—Root, for example.
But Nonō trusted that Kitazawa and Tsunade weren't Danzō Shimura; they would exercise restraint.
"We'll see," Kitazawa said. He preferred using what already existed.
Doing it himself was too much trouble—time, effort, and money—and the result might still be worse than a ready-made option.
After all, Orochimaru was the shinobi world's foremost scientist.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
In the original timeline, even after defecting, Orochimaru still worked with Danzō—Danzō's arm was Orochimaru's gift.
That arm used cloning: the arm of Uchiha Shin.
Shin wasn't born a Uchiha; he adopted the name out of obsession with Itachi. His body was unusual—no rejection with transplants—so he became Orochimaru's cloning subject.
Right now Itachi hadn't defected.
So was Orochimaru with Akatsuki, or already in the Hidden Sound?
Maybe former Root operatives could reveal his location.
"When will Tsunade-sama get here?" Nonō checked the clock.
"Nine," Kitazawa smiled. "She's Hokage now and busy. It's about time—let's head to the operating room."
"Alright," Nonō said, standing. "Since we'll have a crowd, we refitted a large OR."
She led Kitazawa up to the rooftop.
Strictly speaking, it was an open-air operating room.
The rooftop was already packed—not only with medical ninja, but with Konoha's jōnin as well.
Tsunade's order was that any jōnin with time should attend.
So Hyuga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku, Akimichi Choza, Hatake Kakashi, and others were present.
In fact, they'd been discussing it for a while.
Tsunade's summons hadn't explained anything, so they had no idea why they were there.
Kitazawa's arrival drew their attention at once.
He was Tsunade's student, after all.
"Kitazawa," Hiashi asked first, "do you know why the Hokage asked us here?"
"To watch a surgery," Kitazawa said with an easy smile.
"A surgery?" Hiashi frowned, puzzled.
What procedure could possibly be worth having clan heads and jōnin observe?
"What kind of surgery?" Choza asked, curious.
"Let's let Tsunade-sama give you the answer," Kitazawa said, keeping the surprise.
"So mysterious?" they muttered to one another.
On the other side stood the medical corps—Sakura Haruno and Kabuto Yakushi among them.
"What's up?" Kabuto asked, glancing at her.
"I'm dying to tell them!" Sakura clenched her little fists and shook them.
She already knew what surgery was coming, but she wasn't allowed to leak it.
"Kitazawa-sensei must have his reasons," Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "I still haven't guessed them, though."
"Just seeing a technique like this is already an honor," Sakura said, forcing down the urge and fixing her bright eyes on Kitazawa.
"Mhm," Kabuto nodded. "Since medical ninjutsu began, no one's ever seen Limb Regeneration."
In the shinobi world, forget Limb Regeneration—there wasn't even anything similar.
"And we might get to learn it!" Sakura said, thrilled.
Her idol was Tsunade.
Now she was walking the path Tsunade had taken.
"Tsunade-sama is here!" Sakura straightened, suddenly radiant with excitement.
"Hokage-sama," the jōnin—Fugaku and the rest—said in unison.
"Kitazawa, begin," Tsunade said with a nod.
"Kosuke-senpai, please," Kitazawa raised a hand.
Kosuke Maruboshi stepped out of the crowd.
Only then did the others notice him.
They blinked, and recognition followed.
A "perpetual genin" with elite-jōnin strength who'd been close to several Hokage was hard to miss.
But… he was the patient?
Their confusion only grew.
Kosuke sat on the table and removed his prosthesis.
His left leg had been amputated at the knee.
He set the prosthetic aside and lay back.
"Nonō-senpai," Kitazawa said as he stepped forward, "please handle the initial prep."
"Alright."
Nonō held out both hands over Kosuke's left leg.
After donning gloves, Kitazawa took out a summoning–storage scroll.
He planned to use White Zetsu cells for Kosuke.
Given Kosuke's age, if the lifespan cost was too heavy and he died on the table, it would be a disaster—and this showcase would be a failure.
As new flesh began to bud and grow along Kosuke's left leg, everyone finally understood.
"This is limb regeneration medical ninjutsu?" Choza's eyes went wide.
"How is this possible?" Even the steady Fugaku looked shocked.
His first thought: could the Sharingan be regrown?
The Uchiha didn't have a Caged Bird Seal; enemies gouging out Sharingan wasn't rare. If eyes could be regrown, that would be huge.
In theory, if hands and feet can regrow, eyes should too.
But theory is one thing; reality another—Sharingan are a kekkei genkai, not ordinary eyes.
The other jōnin had simpler thoughts.
With Limb Regeneration, they no longer had to fear losing arms and legs.
More than a few thought of disabled teammates and friends; excitement spread across their faces.
They finally had hope.
Time ticked by.
After a full three hours, Kosuke's left leg was completely restored.
"Congratulations, Kosuke-senpai," Kitazawa said with a smile, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" Kosuke's voice shook as he stared at his healthy leg; words tumbled out.
No one blamed him—everyone understood.
"This is a medical ninjutsu created by Kitazawa. Its effect is Limb Regeneration," Tsunade told Fugaku and the others.
"It really is Limb Regeneration…" Choza breathed. "Worthy of the Hokage's student!"
"Creating a medical technique the shinobi world has never seen—Kitazawa is a genius among geniuses," said Aburame Shibi.
"With just this one jutsu, Kitazawa-sama will change countless lives!"
"The Hokage's eye for talent is unmatched."
"With Hokage-sama and Kitazawa-sama here, how could Konoha not thrive?"
Praise rolled in from every side.
Yes, Limb Regeneration was unbelievably useful—but Kitazawa was also the Hokage's student, and Tsunade had just taken office. Naturally, they laid it on thick.
Tsunade's lips quirked. Her aim had been achieved.
Kitazawa had already earned great merit on the battlefield; add Limb Regeneration to that, and his reputation was now sky-high.
If not for her and Jiraiya, he could probably be the Fifth Hokage already.
Maybe not now—but later.
She could serve a few years and then pass the village to Kitazawa.
"It does have a side effect: it consumes some lifespan," Tsunade added.
"Compared to getting a limb back, that's nothing," Choza said at once.
The Akimichi have plenty of shinobi who've lost limbs—partly due to their secret techniques.
After using Multi-Size or Partial Multi-Size, enemies often target their arms and legs first.
"Agreed," Fugaku said.
The shinobi life is brutal; most don't die in bed. Dying young is common; living past forty or fifty is hard.
If giving up a little lifespan regains a limb, you might live longer overall.
"I have two announcements," Tsunade raised a hand, cutting the chatter. "First, Konoha Hospital will compile a list of every disabled shinobi in the village."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Nonō answered quickly.
"You can all submit names as well. Make sure we miss no one," Tsunade said, firm.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," everyone answered.
All of them knew at least a few disabled friends or former teammates.
"Second, we're establishing a training class for medical ninja," Tsunade went on. "Kitazawa will teach it. Medical jōnin will attend. The curriculum is limb regeneration medical ninjutsu."
Fugaku and the others were surprised.
They were going to make this public?
They'd assumed Tsunade and Kitazawa would keep it to themselves to cement their position—after all, anyone can lose a limb, and that leverage would make people think twice about crossing them.
Sharing it undercut that leverage.
But for the village at large, it was a massive good.
A single thought flashed through all their minds: Tsunade really isn't like Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Without question, she was the kind of Hokage they could trust.
[Current Mission: Train five medical ninja to master Limb Regeneration.]
[Mission Reward: Master-level Yang Release nature transformation.]
[Accept?]
Playing the part of listener, Kitazawa's eyes narrowed.
The sudden system quest was a pleasant surprise.
He'd already experienced how scary "proficient-level" Yang Release nature transformation was; "master-level" would be on a whole other level.
He also had a system quest to refine the forbidden technique Body Activation.
With master-level Yang Release, he figured he could cut the timeline in half.
The problem: getting five medics to actually master Limb Regeneration wouldn't be easy.
Four names popped into his head—Tsunade, Shizune, Yakushi Nonō, and Yakushi Kabuto.
Those four should make it. He just needed one more.
"The operation's over. Everyone can head back," Tsunade said, then reminded them, "Get those lists in quickly. We'll schedule their surgeries."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
After a slight bow, the crowd left the hospital.
But the ripple effect of the surgery had only just begun.
Word spread at incredible speed through Konoha as the jōnin talked.
Soon everyone knew Kitazawa had created a medical ninjutsu that could regrow lost limbs.
And not just in Konoha—shinobi in other villages heard about it through various channels as well.
In no time, Kitazawa became the most famous medical ninja after Tsunade—second only to her in the entire shinobi world.
~~~
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