After running all afternoon, Yagyu Souma felt alive again.
More than that—
he sensed his stamina had noticeably increased.
And it definitely wasn't from yesterday's chakra exhaustion.
It was the Bodhi seed.
Good stuff, he thought, delighted.
But after walking a while, he looked up—
and froze.
Three heads were sticking out from the Academy wall.
Souma looked up.
The three looked down.
Naruto.
Shikamaru.
Choji.
Shikamaru held up a finger, signaling Souma not to make a sound.
Souma nodded.
The trio exhaled in relief, then carefully dropped down from the wall.
"You guys skipping class?"
"Hmph, what does it look like? Aren't you skipping too?"
Naruto looked him up and down like a suspicious street vendor.
"I thought everyone was studying hard lately?" Souma asked.
"Didn't I hear the Academy's gotten very enthusiastic since early graduation became possible?"
"Oh, that."
Shikamaru chewed on a stalk of grass lazily.
"Yeah, they tried for a bit. Too troublesome. Early graduation sounds like more hassle than it's worth…
So after thinking about it, staying longer seemed fine."
Judging from his expression and tone, he'd already guessed who Souma was.
Choji remained silent, snacking as usual.
"Heh, come on, I'll take you guys somewhere fun!" Naruto grinned.
Souma smiled back—bright and sunny.
"At your age, skipping studying… how do you even enjoy playing with a clear conscience?"
"…Huh? Who the heck are you?"
Naruto stared at him.
We're all truants here—
So why does this guy sound like a moral supervisor?!
"Me? I'm a kind-hearted soul who can't bear to watch you stray off the righteous path."
Before Naruto could answer—
Several chakra threads shot out.
Souma controlled all three of them effortlessly, lifting their bodies and dragging them back toward the wall.
Naruto glared at him furiously.
But then—
Snap.
A flick of Souma's fingers, and all three toppled unceremoniously over the wall.
Naruto scrambled back up to retaliate—
but Shikamaru held him in place.
Choji had considered jumping out too, but seeing Shikamaru wasn't moving, he stopped.
Following Shikamaru had never once gone wrong.
"We can't beat him," Shikamaru said flatly.
"Let's hurry. A patrol teacher definitely heard that noise."
"Damn it! Don't let me run into him at school!"
Naruto fumed.
"You can't beat him even if you do," Shikamaru muttered, slouching back toward the classroom.
"His chakra threads are ridiculously strong. We couldn't break free at all. If I'm not wrong, he's the guy who graduated early—Yagyu Souma."
"Oh, that guy," Choji mumbled, still eating.
Definitely couldn't beat him.
"Yagyu Souma or not, I'm still gonna beat him up!"
Naruto jumped over the wall again.
Shikamaru covered his face.
Choji glanced at him, silently asking whether they should follow.
"Nope. Let's run," Shikamaru said, already speeding up.
Minutes later, while sneaking back toward the classroom, he spotted Naruto at the gate—
Walking straight into a patrol.
A tragedy in motion.
A self-delivering sacrifice, Shikamaru sighed.
Meanwhile, Souma sat at the gate chatting casually with teachers.
"Good kid, heard you were the lead surgeon at the hospital?"
"Rumors exaggerate. I only assisted. I'm far from being able to perform surgery."
Souma shook his head modestly.
"Heh! You're too humble. Your chakra threads put Sunagakure to shame.
If you can develop puppet techniques, let's see what those Sand shinobi brag about!"
Puppet techniques?
In reality, strength lay in making the puppets—
a skill requiring decades of materials science, trap design, mechanics, and chakra integration.
Unless Konoha somehow acquired Sunagakure's puppet technology, Souma couldn't "improve" it enough to pass it off as his own.
Still, the teachers were just chatting.
Admiration, small talk—nothing serious.
After a few pleasantries, Souma left the Academy.
Naruto, caught by the teacher patrol, was left standing stiffly in the wind—utterly betrayed by fate.
Back at the hospital—
"Souma, Hanpō-dono asked you to go see him."
"Understood."
Souma walked to Hanpō's office and knocked.
"Come in."
He opened the door—
froze for half a second.
In addition to Hanpō, there was an elderly woman with a gentle expression.
But her outfit…
Wait.
That hairstyle.
That shawl.
Utatane Koharu.
The old witch herself!
Souma's heart trembled—but his face remained calm as he bowed politely.
"Souma, sit.
This is one of the village's advisors, a very skilled medical kunoichi," Hanpō introduced.
Koharu smiled.
"Oh, hardly. I haven't operated for years. Most of my skills are rusty. At best, I can offer passing guidance."
Huh. Pretty self-aware, Souma thought.
She wasn't like Danzo bragging about nonexistent virtues.
When it came to medical skills, she was surprisingly grounded.
"You're too modest," Souma replied politely.
"All right, straight to the point."
Koharu folded her hands.
"We called you here to ask whether you're interested in becoming a special-appointed shinobi for the hospital."
"Special-appointed… shinobi?"
Souma blinked.
"Yes," Hanpō explained.
"You can't use medical ninjutsu, but your chakra control is exceptional.
With proper training, your handling of surgical tools—especially chakra-based ones—could become unparalleled. Many procedures require someone exactly like you."
Hanpō had originally viewed Souma as a talented student.
Yesterday changed everything.
With Souma's talent, he could master every surgical task involving the Chakra Scalpel and Chakra Needle in no time.
Soon, he might even surpass seasoned veterans.
Souma thought for a moment.
"That won't be necessary. I'm still a student, and there are many books Kitayama-sensei wants me to finish."
"It won't interfere. Besides…"
Hanpō hesitated.
"Kitayama has been… well, somewhat overwhelmed lately. She may not have time to guide you.
As a special-appointed ninja, you can participate directly in surgeries."
Translation:
North Mountain Oki was still emotionally damaged by how monstrously gifted Souma was.
He wasn't stupid.
The Chakra Needle had proven its worth.
More people would need to learn it—
he couldn't be dragged into every surgery forever.
He was still a child.
Even if he agreed, it would humiliate the entire Medical Division.
Souma thought it over.
"If this is about the Chakra Needle…
Yesterday, while resting, I tried optimizing it.
With fifteen additional hand seals, I can stabilize the technique and simplify the structure.
It should be far easier for medical-nin to use."
The office went silent.
Hanpō actually stopped breathing for a moment.
Koharu almost dropped her teacup.
A medical jutsu usually took years, even decades, to refine.
This child—
I improved it in one night.
"R-Really?" Hanpō was finally forced out.
Souma nodded calmly.
"Yes. Something like this—"
He formed the hand seals slowly.
Originally, his version took five seals.
Now, the simplified version required twenty—
inspired by the difference between Tobirama's four-seal Water Dragon Jutsu and Zabuza's forty-four-seal version.
Hand seal count could absolutely adjust difficulty.
So he spent last night experimenting—
Until he created a "medical-friendly" version.
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/pikachu614