"Brother Aoshi, look! I've learned the Healing Technique!"
Watching the lively fish before her, Kurenai ran over and exclaimed excitedly as Aoshi approached.
"Not bad, Kurenai. You're amazing." Aoshi never held back his praise when it came to Kurenai.
Of course, he treated Rin Nohara and Shizune the same way. "And Rin and Shizune, you two are excellent as well."
"It's all thanks to Teacher Aoshi," Rin replied hurriedly, her tone modest.
Shizune nodded in agreement beside her.
"Haha, there's no need to be so humble. Being able to learn it so quickly means all of you are truly talented."
Kurenai kept nodding along with Aoshi's words.
"Exactly! Rin, Shizune, you two learned it even faster than me—so why are you acting so modest?"
She deliberately put on an unhappy expression. With her lips puffed out, she looked irresistibly adorable.
"You should stay modest." Hearing Aoshi say that, Kurenai's eyes widened in shock as she stared at him.
Seeing this, Rin and Shizune both covered their mouths, stifling their laughter.
"And you're laughing too?!" Kurenai looked like a fluffed-up kitten, bristling with indignation.
The air instantly filled with laughter and cheer. But where there was joy, there was also worry.
Compared to the trio who had mastered the Healing Technique in less than a single lesson, the rest of the students were growing anxious.
The moment panic set in, their failure rate skyrocketed. Even those who had started to grasp the basics ended up failing again.
"Don't rush, everyone. Take it slow. With your talent, you'll definitely learn the Healing Technique," Aoshi said calmly, quickly soothing them.
Then he turned back to Kurenai and the other two.
"Even though you've learned it, your proficiency still needs improvement. Keep practicing. Next class, I'll teach you a new medical ninjutsu."
After saying that, he moved off to guide the others.
Before long, the lesson came to an end. Aside from Kurenai's trio, no one else had successfully learned the Healing Technique.
It was clear that the gap in talent was enormous.
Early the next morning, Aoshi arrived at Konoha Hospital for work as usual.
Although he was now a squad leader in the Medical Division, he still had to clock in like everyone else.
Of course, with his current wealth, the salary itself meant nothing to him.
But the system rewards were indispensable.
"Doctor Aoshi, a wounded patient has just been brought in. You're needed for emergency treatment." A nurse knocked on his office door and called out urgently.
"Understood. Prepare the operating room immediately." Outside the treatment room, two Jonin hurried over and surrounded him.
"Lord Aoshi, please save Minato—he was injured protecting us!"
"Rest assured. Saving lives is my duty," Aoshi replied, steady and composed.
After calming them, he entered the operating room. Lying unconscious on the operating table was a blond, blue-eyed youth.
It was Minato Namikaze.
A massive explosion wound covered his back, blood pouring out, bone faintly visible beneath torn flesh.
An injury of this severity was beyond the capabilities of most medical ninjas.
"Such serious wounds…" Even Aoshi was shocked.
Minato was already a Jonin. Though he hadn't yet reached his level during the Third Great Ninja War, his strength was unquestionable.
Across the ninja world, even if he encountered an opponent he couldn't defeat, escaping should have been easy.
What kind of enemy had he run into to end up like this? Could it have been Orochimaru?
Though questions swirled in his mind, Aoshi wasted no time and immediately began the surgery.
Fortunately, with his level of medical ninjutsu, treating these injuries wasn't difficult. It simply required a great deal of time.
During this period, Mai rushed to Konoha Hospital from the Senju Clan compound after receiving the news.
Honoka came with her. Seeing the two flustered, red-haired women, a nurse quickly stopped them.
"Doctor Aoshi is in surgery. You can't go in yet."
Honoka immediately grabbed Mai's arm. "Calm down, Mai. With Aoshi here, Minato will be fine."
Even so, Mai couldn't stop worrying. Concern made it impossible for her to stay composed.
Throughout the long wait, she paced back and forth outside the operating room, unable to sit still.
In her heart, she thought, "If even Aoshi can't heal Minato, then I'll break my promise and use my own power to save him."
Because he knew of Mai's ordeal in Kusagakure, Minato had promised never to treat her as a living blood bag.
He had even asked Aoshi and the others who knew the truth to keep her secret safe.
As a result, only a handful of close friends knew that she possessed Physical Healing.
"You're Minato's girlfriend, right? We're sorry—he was injured saving us."
The two Jonin who had brought Minato in bowed apologetically to Mai.
The mission had been an S-rank assignment undertaken by the three Jonin.
They had thought it was over, only for the enemy to launch a final, desperate counterattack.
The two of them had nearly died under a barrage of exploding tags.
At the critical moment, Minato had used the Flying Thunder God Technique he had only just learned—and not yet fully mastered—to rescue them.
But he had been a fraction too slow. The explosion had caught him squarely in the back, tearing it apart.
"There's no need to apologize," Mai said softly, shaking her head.
"Minato treasures his comrades. No matter how many times it happened, he would make the same choice again."
[Treatment of Minato Namikaze completed. Reward: 1 Gold Orb.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained the Flying Thunder God Technique.]
As the surgery concluded, the system's voice echoed in Aoshi's mind.
The Flying Thunder God Technique—an S-rank ninjutsu he had once tried and failed to learn—was finally his.
And he could use it immediately.
After all, he had long prepared the groundwork for acquiring this technique.
Of course, even with the system's assistance, he couldn't yet compare to Minato's mastery.
In this technique, Minato had even surpassed its creator, the Second Hokage.
The title "Yellow Flash" was not something given lightly.
In high spirits, Aoshi stepped out of the operating room.
Mai and the two Jonin immediately rushed toward him.
"Big brother Aoshi, how is Minato?"
Seeing the worry etched on their faces, Aoshi quickly reassured them. "Relax. Minato is out of danger. He just needs to rest. No missions for a while."
Mai finally let out a long breath of relief. "Thank you, big brother, Aoshi."
"That's great!" The tension in the two Jonin's expressions finally eased.
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