"Kitazawa."
Yakushi Nono glanced at the clock. "Shizune's probably caught up with something. Want me to take you to the OR instead?"
"Only if it doesn't mess with your schedule," Kitazawa replied, snapping out of his thoughts.
He had already mastered the Chakra Scalpel. Whether it was Shizune or Nono assisting didn't make much difference at this point.
"With your skills now, you could handle a surgery solo even without either of us," Nono said, shaking her head.
"You're giving me too much credit." Kitazawa smiled humbly. "I'm still a long way from catching up to you two."
"Not really." Nono chuckled. "Now that you've learned the Chakra Scalpel, you're basically qualified to be a jōnin-level medical ninja."
It's not that the standards are low—if anything, they're ridiculously high. Medical ninjutsu is so hard to learn that competent med-nin are incredibly rare.
Back in the day, Konoha started following Tsunade's advice to always assign a medic to every squad.
But even in Naruto and Sasuke's star-studded generation, that goal wasn't met.
Out of the twelve rookies, the only true medic is Sakura.
And if that's how rare genin-level medics are, jōnin-level ones are nearly nonexistent.
"I've still got a lot to work on."
Kitazawa waited a few seconds—no new system prompt popped up—so he said, "I'll think about it again later."
"Sure," Nono nodded. "Let's head to the OR."
The two of them walked down to the operating room.
"Today's patient got injured in a fight with a taijutsu user—took some serious damage to the internal organs. We'll need to operate."
Nono opened the door as she spoke.
On the table was a middle-aged man, unconscious. His external wounds were patched up, but the smell of blood and antiseptic still lingered.
"You'll be leading this one, Kitazawa."
"...Me?"
Kitazawa blinked in surprise.
"Give it a shot." Nono gave a gentle smile. "Once you get used to it, you could even get a position here at the hospital."
"So that's what you're really aiming for," Kitazawa laughed, catching on.
It also just showed how desperate they were for skilled medics.
"A med-nin like you doesn't show up often. Losing someone like you would be a huge waste for Konoha Hospital."
What she didn't say out loud: if anything went wrong, Shizune and Tsunade would definitely step in. And honestly, the patient would probably be honored—he'd get to meet the best medical ninjas in the world. With Tsunade involved, even the most hopeless cases had a shot.
Just as Kitazawa was about to respond, a system screen popped up in front of him:
[A genius deserves to be recognized—make your name known in Konoha as a medical ninja.]
[Mission: Complete 9 high-difficulty surgeries as lead surgeon.]
[Reward: Forbidden Medical Jutsu – Body Regeneration.]
[Accept?]
Kitazawa's eyes widened.
He hadn't expected that kind of reward.
Forbidden jutsu aren't always S-rank, but they all come with unique and crazy effects.
Body Regeneration lets you fully recover—even if your body's torn apart.
It was borderline immortality.
Of course, being a forbidden jutsu, there had to be a catch.
Kitazawa remembered that this jutsu came from a movie villain named Shinnō.
He had two signature healing jutsu—Body Regeneration and Body Activation.
Activation basically meant using chakra to stimulate cells and boost physical performance. Like the Fourth Raikage's Lightning Armor, which used Lightning Chakra to "activate" his entire body—supercharging speed and strength.
Shinnō's Body Activation used Yang Release for similar effects.
And he even had a third technique: Body Metamorphosis, which combined the two with dark chakra. That one gave him the ultimate body—strong enough to survive even opening all Eight Gates.
On paper, it sounded amazing. In reality, it broke him. Overusing it turned Shinnō into a dried-up old husk.
Still, Kitazawa accepted the mission on the spot.
At that point, who cared about side effects? You had to get the power first—clean up the mess later.
Besides, with Tsunade around, he might even be able to refine it.
But what did the system count as "high-difficulty"?
"Hey Nono-senpai," he asked. "Would you say this surgery counts?"
"Not quite. I'd call it mid-level," she replied with a chuckle. "But for a first time as lead surgeon? That's impressive."
"Thanks to your guidance, Senpai."
Kitazawa now had a better sense of how tough the mission would be. But the harder the grind, the better the payoff.
"Alright, let's begin." Nono stepped closer. "His internal organs are damaged. You'll need to cut out the necrotic tissue with your Chakra Scalpel."
"Got it."
Kitazawa formed a seal. In less than a second, pale green chakra gathered in his hand, forming a precise blade.
"Your Chakra Scalpel control is already on par with mine," Nono said in awe. "No wonder Tsunade-sama noticed you."
She'd watched him pick up the technique at Konoha Hospital from scratch. His talent was frightening.
One hour later, the surgery was done.
Nono called two nurses to transfer the patient.
"Sorry I'm late!"
Shizune ran up, slightly out of breath.
"Perfect timing," Kitazawa said, wiping his forehead. "Since we're on break, you can teach me a new healing jutsu."
"You finished learning the Chakra Scalpel already?" Shizune asked, surprised.
For the past two weeks, Kitazawa had been pretending to still be learning it.
But today, in front of Nono, he'd stopped faking it.
"I can vouch for him," Nono said. "He's got it down."
"..."
Shizune's expression twitched.
That was way too fast.
Two weeks to master an A-rank jutsu?
With this kind of pace, he'd surpass her in less than six months. And with his potential, he might even learn the Yin Seal and Tsunade's ultimate technique—Creation Rebirth.
If that happened, he'd officially become Tsunade's number one student.
"Alright, today I'll teach you Mystic Palm," Shizune said with a deep breath. "It's also A-rank—slightly harder than the Chakra Scalpel."
Kitazawa nodded.
Mystic Palm let you heal any injury—internal or external—by channeling chakra from your hands.
The tricky part was controlling the chakra output based on the severity of the injury. Too much could mess up the patient's circulatory system. Mild cases would pass out. Worst case? Permanent damage.
That's why only a few med-nin ever learn it.
Even Tsunade once said it was one of the hardest techniques to master.
Kitazawa hadn't acquired it through the system, so he'd have to learn it from scratch.
Luckily, he had top-tier chakra control and was already skilled in Yang Release.
He'd get there—it'd just take time.
…
Later that day, Kitazawa performed two more surgeries, but neither was tough enough to trigger the mission progress.
"Thanks for helping today, Senpai," Shizune said as she stood up.
"Kitazawa did all the hard work—I just assisted," Nono smiled, then asked, "So, Kitazawa. Have you thought about my earlier suggestion?"
"What suggestion?" Shizune asked curiously.
"Letting Kitazawa take a part-time post here at the hospital," Nono explained.
Shizune almost objected—he hadn't been a med-nin for long—but then she remembered his performance that afternoon and couldn't find a reason to argue.
In terms of skill and experience, Kitazawa was already at the level of a lead medic.
Still a bit behind Tsunade, Nono, and herself, of course.
"Sure," Kitazawa agreed. "If any high-difficulty cases pop up, feel free to call me."
"For those, you'll need to have Mystic Palm mastered," Nono added thoughtfully.
"Got it," Kitazawa said without hesitation.
Lives were on the line—this wasn't something to mess around with.
But now that he was officially in, he could rack up more surgeries and complete that mission.
After leaving the hospital, Kitazawa and Shizune went separate ways. She headed off to find Tsunade, while he made his way to the Ninja Academy.
Near the artificial lake, dozens of Naruto clones were trying to pop rubber balls with every ounce of effort they had—each one completely focused.
Kitazawa looked over to Hinata.
After a whole summer of training, her Gentle Fist – Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms had reached ten consecutive strikes. She was now aiming for twelve.
"Alright, Hinata, Naruto—come here."
Seeing the time, Kitazawa called them over.
Hinata stopped training and walked up to him.
"Naruto, cancel the Shadow Clones," Kitazawa reminded him.
"Got it!" Naruto said and released the jutsu.
Poof! Poof! Poof! The clones vanished one by one.
Naruto went pale, sweating a bit. Even though he had loads of chakra, all that feedback at once was still a lot.
But the rapid gain in experience made it all worth it.
"Kitazawa-sensei." Naruto shook his head and focused up.
"Summer training's over. Take two days off—new term starts soon."
"What?! Summer's already over?" Naruto shouted, shocked.
Hinata looked just as surprised. Had a whole month already passed?
"Man... if I'd learned Rasengan, I could've given Sasuke a surprise at the first monthly exam," Naruto muttered, scratching his head.
That line sounded oddly familiar.
Kitazawa remembered—Might Guy had said something similar to Kakashi once, about saving his trump card. For Guy, it was Night Guy.
Would Naruto say something similar to Sasuke?
Very possible.
Hinata, meanwhile, remembered her promise to Neji. She said she'd spar with him in the new term. Now that it was around the corner, anxiety crept in.
"Alright, time to head home." Kitazawa ruffled her hair. "Don't overthink it. You'll figure it out when the time comes."
"Mm." Hinata paused, then smiled as the tension faded away.
"See you later, Kitazawa-sensei!"
Naruto waved and took off down another path. Hinata followed soon after.
Kitazawa watched her leave, stroking his chin.
He was wondering when to schedule Hinata and Neji's spar.
Why not the first day of combat class?
Even if she lost, it wasn't the end—the system didn't say she only got one shot.
He actually thought her odds were good.
Neji might be a prodigy, but he was still only seven.
And Hinata had the benefit of training with both Kitazawa and Hiashi.
…
August 31st.
Summer was winding down, the weather cooling off. But the Academy was buzzing—it was registration day.
Naruto woke up early and even skipped Might Guy's morning routine to get ready.
Last year, he'd signed up without knowing anyone—and everyone treated him like dirt. He hadn't expected much.
But one semester later, he had friends.
Real friends.
Sasuke, Kiba, Chōji, Sakura, Shikamaru...
He couldn't wait to see how everyone had changed over the summer.
"Old man?"
Naruto opened his door and saw a familiar figure sitting in his living room.
"Morning, Naruto," Hiruzen said with a kind smile.
"Long time no see, Grandpa."
Naruto grabbed a cup of instant noodles. "Have you eaten?"
"I didn't want to disturb your training. I've already eaten," Hiruzen replied.
"I had a crazy summer!" Naruto grinned. "I even learned an A-rank jutsu!"
"That's impressive," Hiruzen said genuinely. "Very few your age can pull that off."
"Really? Not even the previous Hokage?"
"Some could. Some couldn't," Hiruzen replied vaguely.
"Awesome! I've finally done something they haven't!" Naruto beamed.
"I believe you'll surpass them all someday," Hiruzen said with a chuckle.
Judging by what he'd seen so far, Naruto really was a genius. Combine that with being the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, and his potential was limitless.
Hiruzen also thought about Kitazawa.
He'd taught Naruto both Shadow Clones and Rasengan—he was doing a solid job.
Now the question was whether he could get Tsunade to agree to therapy.
"I'm done! See you later, old man!"
Naruto bolted out the door toward the Academy.
Halfway there, he spotted Sasuke.
"Sasuke!"
He ran over.
"Sasuke, your classmate's here. Head to school with him," Itachi said, gave a quick glance, and vanished into a flock of crows.
Because of Naruto's special status—and to avoid Danzo's attention—Itachi figured it was better not to be seen walking with him.
"nii..." Sasuke said, but Itachi was already gone.
"Sasuke," Naruto asked, confused, "why'd your brother just vanish?"
"He does that a lot," Sasuke replied calmly.
"So how was your summer?" Naruto grinned. "I learned a ton from Kitazawa-sensei. No way you're beating me at the monthly exam!"
"You really don't get what it means to be an Uchiha," Sasuke said coolly, hands in his pockets. "In the face of these Sharingan, you're already doomed."
He hadn't joined Kitazawa's training camp. He always delivered lunch super early, so he never saw Naruto or Hinata's training.
He had no clue Naruto had mastered Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.
"Perfect!" Naruto flashed a huge grin and gave a thumbs-up. "Sasuke, let's make it a showdown to remember!"
~~~
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