"Since you're here, don't just stand around."
Shizune stepped up to the operating table.
"Kitazawa, prepare your Hemostasis Technique. I'll tell you when to activate it."
"Got it."
Kitazawa moved to face her, lifting both hands over Yugao's wound.
Chakra Scalpel.
Shizune pressed her fingers together, forming a blade of medical chakra. She sliced cleanly at the damaged tissue, cutting away the necrotic part before switching to a real surgical knife.
"Kitazawa."
The moment Shizune opened the wound fully, fresh blood surged out.
Kitazawa reacted instantly and triggered his Hemostasis Technique, the bleeding slowing at once.
Watching from the side, Nonō raised her eyebrows.
What refined chakra control…
Tsunade had said Kitazawa only studied medical ninjutsu for half a month.
This level of talent was rare even among the best of the medical corps.
Delicate Illness Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
Once bleeding stopped, Shizune formed a sequence of hand signs, her green chakra flowing into Yugao's abdomen.
Yugao twitched, letting out an unconscious groan of pain.
One minute later, under the pull of Shizune's chakra, a black toxin like thick poison sludge floated outward and dropped into a basin of clean water.
"Pass me the antidote."
After repeating the process for over ten minutes, Shizune stretched out a hand.
Kitazawa quickly handed her the medicine bottle.
She uncorked it and poured the translucent antidote directly over the wound. The blackened skin gradually faded, returning to a pale, healthy color.
"Kitazawa, Healing Hands Technique: Minor."
Kitazawa's palms glowed green, and under his chakra flow, the cut on Yugao's abdomen sealed smoothly.
"You two did well."
Nonō nodded warmly.
"The operation was a success."
She opened the door, and nurses came in, wheeling the unconscious Yugao toward the prepared recovery room.
"Kitazawa, did you memorize the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique sequence I used earlier?"
Shizune wiped sweat from her forehead. Even for her, maintaining a B-rank medical jutsu for so long was tiring.
"I memorized it, Shizune-senpai."
Kitazawa nodded.
"Nonō-senpai," Shizune asked, "does the hospital have practice dummies available?"
Of course she didn't mean real patients, she meant chakra-responsive medical training models.
"You want him to practice immediately?" Nonō blinked in surprise.
"B-rank medical ninjutsu usually requires at least a week of theory study first."
"His talent lets him skip a few steps…"
Shizune sighed helplessly. Geniuses really were depressing.
Nonō understood. She glanced at Kitazawa and left the operating room.
A moment later, she returned, pushing a life-like training dummy, flesh and blood made from preserved animal tissue.
"I already laced its abdomen with a toxin," Nonō explained.
"Kitazawa, go ahead and try."
Shizune stepped back, folding her arms.
Kitazawa pressed both hands to the dummy's abdomen. Green chakra flared immediately.
Shizune's eyebrow twitched. She expected this, but seeing a newcomer form a B-rank medical jutsu so naturally still made her question reality.
"W-what…?"
Nonō froze. It had taken HER over half a month just to barely grasp the basics.
"…Failed."
Kitazawa frowned as the chakra light faded. "A shame."
"Your first attempt was already better than most med-ninja achieve after extended practice."
Nonō recovered enough to respond.
"Nonō-senpai, don't mind him," Shizune sighed.
"He's always like this."
She'd been teaching Kitazawa for two weeks, she knew his attitude extremely well.
Night fell. The clock hit nine.
"That's enough for today," Shizune yawned.
"Come back tomorrow."
Kitazawa paused.
"Tomorrow is the end-of-term exam. I can only come in the afternoon."
"The afternoon…?" Shizune bit her lip. "Fine."
It wasn't that she didn't want to train him, she was simply worried about Tsunade wandering the village and ending up in another gambling mess.
But this was still Konoha. What could really go wrong?
"Let's go meet up with Lady Tsunade."
They went to the director's office.
"Lady Tsunade already left," Nonō said with a weary sigh.
"I assume she went to a gambling hall."
Shizune's expression collapsed instantly.
"Let's move!"
Kitazawa followed her out at a jog.
They soon reached the street outside a casino—just in time to hear shouting.
"Stop! Pay your debt!"
Two guards were chasing an agile old woman who darted lightly across the street.
"Lady Tsunade?" Kitazawa blinked.
"…Yes."
Shizune's face was the picture of despair.
"Should we… pay her debt?" Kitazawa asked, trying not to laugh.
"No," Shizune muttered in defeat.
"We already have enough IOUs to wallpaper a building."
"So what now?"
"We wait," Shizune said matter-of-factly.
"She'll shake them off soon. She always does."
Kitazawa couldn't help but admire her stamina.
"Shizune-senpai, your life is really rough."
"You have no idea."
After years traveling with Tsunade, Shizune had never known peace.
Only recently because of Kitazawa returning to Konoha her life had finally calmed down.
"Ugh, those idiots… It's not like I WON'T pay them eventually!"
A familiar figure dropped from above.
Tsunade landed in her heels, a gust of force coming off her arrival.
Kitazawa twitched at the impact.
"How was training today?" she asked.
"Smooth enough," he replied.
"Good. Then let's head home!"
The Next Day — Academy
Because it was exam day, Class 1-A students arrived early.
"Naruto," Kiba leaned back.
"You review at all?"
"Nope."
Naruto said cheerfully. "I was training every day."
"Excellent."
Kiba grinned. "Another easy win for me."
"I thought you were worried about him," Ino muttered.
"That IS worrying about him!" Kiba huffed. "We're betting on who treats who to dinner!"
"Theory exams can be studied for. Combat exams can't."
Naruto boasted. "As long as I take first place in combat, I'll surpass you!"
He still remembered losing last time.
"First place? That belongs to me and Sasuke-kun!" Sakura declared confidently.
She meant: She always took first in written exams, and Sasuke took first in combat.
"Well, that's not guaranteed."
Ino smiled sharply. "You're not the only ones training under Instructor Kitazawa."
"So what?" Sakura challenged.
"Let's bet," Ino said, eyes narrowing. "Loser buys the winner a new dress."
"You're serious?"
"As serious as a kunai."
"Do you dare?"
"Fine! I accept!" Sakura said instantly. "First place won't be anyone else!"
Ino secretly glanced at Shikamaru, who was sleeping on the desk.
She knew exactly what a true genius could do under pressure. Kitazawa had told Shikamaru to make top ten, otherwise he'd get assigned summer combat training.
Shikamaru might be lazy, but a genius was still a genius.
Guaranteed win. Perfect for a bet between best friends.
"Sasuke, what do you think?" Sakura asked sweetly.
I'll see with my Sharingan, Sasuke thought.
…Except he hadn't awakened it yet.
"It'll be clear when the results come out," he said simply.
"See? Sasuke-kun is so cool!" Sakura sparkled.
"She's hopeless…" Ino sighed.
Shino adjusted his glasses. He planned to use the combat exam to show the academy what the Aburame clan could do.
9:00 AM
Kitazawa walked into the classroom with a stack of test papers. The room instantly fell silent.
"Same rules as always. No need to repeat them. I'll hand out the tests now."
He moved row by row, placing papers down. Once done, he returned to the podium and opened his own copy, he had to complete the exam as part of a mission assignment.
A quick scan told him everything was familiar.
Will of Fire, Konoha history, traps, intelligence theory, mathematics…