"Come with me. Since you've decided, strive to continue on this path. I'm very strict, you know."
Kana Maiko said, turning and walking out the door.
Ren followed closely behind her.
The two walked through the corridor, went up to the third floor, and stopped in front of a door in the furthest corner.
Kana Maiko rummaged in her pocket for a key, and after unlocking the door, they pushed it open and entered.
"This is..."
Ren's eyes showed surprise.
It was like a huge library building. Before them was an enormous single room, estimated to be about three hundred square meters, with several lift-up windows on the wall directly opposite the door.
Silver stone pillars stood on all sides of the room, with intricate cloud patterns crisscrossing them. The floor was paved with bright silver stone tiles, perfectly fitted and polished to a mirror shine.
On both sides were two rows of dark green sofas, and tall bookshelves filled with various books and scrolls lined the walls.
A rectangular table was placed in the centre. It was likely used for Medical Ninjutsu practice.
"From now on, you'll study here. The books on the shelves are the basics you need to learn."
As she spoke, she pointed to another bookshelf nearby, filled with scrolls.
"These scrolls contain living materials for beginners to practice with."
Saying this, Kana Maiko walked forward, picked up a scroll, went to the table, and unrolled it.
She quickly performed hand seals, and after a moment, once the seals were complete, she placed her hand on the centre of the scroll.
"Release!"
After a low shout, a burst of white mist erupted on the table.
When the smoke dissipated, an octopus appeared in the middle of the scroll.
It was motionless, as if dead.
"Ren, remember this: the hand seal to release a scroll's seal is 'Tiger'."
Watching Ren carefully observe her movements, Kana Maiko spoke while stepping aside.
"Next, you should practice thoroughly here first. Once you can bring this fish back to life, you can move on to the next stage."
Kana Maiko advised, then walked out. As a Vice Dean, she had many matters to attend to and couldn't teach him hand-in-hand, so most of it would have to be self-taught by Ren.
Kana Maiko stood at the doorway, waved, said "Good luck!" and then turned and closed the door, leaving.
He helplessly rubbed his nose, feeling a headache looking at the dense array of books before him.
He walked to the bookshelf, picked out a few basic learning books, carried them to the table, set them down, and began to read and study this dry knowledge.
The first page began with only three principles:
First: A Medical Ninja must never give up treatment until a teammate dies.
Second: A Medical Ninja must never stand on the front lines of combat.
Third: A Medical Ninja must never die before any teammate in the squad.
These were Tsunade's Three Great Principles of Medical Ninja.
Because of the existence of these three principles, when attacking a squad, eliminating the enemy Medical Ninja first is an unspoken iron rule in the Ninja World. After all, in a team battle, killing the healer first is a fact many people know. However, besides these three great principles, there is also a fourth one, exclusive to Tsunade.
Fourth: Only a Medical Ninja proficient in Ninja Art Creation Rebirth and the Strength of a Hundred Seal is allowed to break all the above rules.
Turning to the second page, it began to formally introduce the various knowledge systems of Medical Ninjutsu.
The obscure words and various technical terms made Ren feel slightly uncomfortable, but his powerful mental strength quickly allowed him to adapt to this learning state.
Like a sponge, he frantically absorbed and received information.
In the blink of an eye, it was already late morning.
"Phew."
Ren put down the book in his hand and let out a long breath.
He picked up the stack of books in front of him, walked to the bookshelf to return them to their original place, then took another stack of books to the table, placed them on it, and shifted his gaze to the octopus in the middle of the table.
A thousand glances are not as good as one hands-on experience. A qualified Medical Ninja needs practical experience to support their theoretical knowledge.
According to the book's records,
He drew Chakra from his body along his meridians to his hands, gathering it at his fingertips. In a flash, a thin layer of green light gathered on Ren's hand.
Medical C-rank Ninjutsu.
Healing Technique!
Clearing his mind of distractions, he focused his gaze on the octopus.
The octopus was currently in a state of suspended animation, and what a Medical Ninja needed to do was to awaken a creature in suspended animation.
Stimulating the heart or brain with Chakra was the most common method.
With the green light covering his palm, he placed it on the octopus's head and began to heal it.
"Pfft!" The octopus in front of him began to twitch, and its tentacles started to sway. Success!
Ren's face lit up with joy. He removed his hand and dissipated the green light on his hand.
As he had guessed, mastering Medical Ninjutsu required extremely precise Chakra control, and his mental strength could help him control Chakra more meticulously.
"Ren, are you still working hard? It's already this late, let's eat some bento... huh?!"
After a busy morning, Kana Maiko, who had entered her lunch break, remembered Ren was still in the training room and brought two lunches to eat with him.
But as soon as she pushed the door open and entered, she saw Ren dissipating the Chakra from his hand and the lively octopus on the table.
This...
If she wasn't mistaken, that was the Healing Technique, wasn't it?
Is this little guy's talent in Medical Ninjutsu really that high?!
A hint of shock appeared on Kana Maiko's face.
"Ren, did you do this?"
Still feeling somewhat unreal, Kana Maiko confirmed the fact with Ren.
"Ah, yes, I did. I just felt like trying it out and didn't expect it to succeed."
Ren said with an embarrassed smile. Besides giving him a handsome face, heaven had also given him such outstanding talent.
"...Is that so?"
Kana Maiko twitched her lips. Learning the Healing Technique in one morning, even though it was only a C-rank Ninjutsu, such speed was beyond her expectations.
Carrying the bento, she walked to the sofa and sat down, raising the bento in her hand as a gesture.
"Let's eat first, then I'll arrange the next stage of your training plan."
Ren scratched his head and sat on the sofa. While he ate his bento, Kana Maiko was also thinking about Ren's next arrangements.
After eating, Kana Maiko walked to the bookshelf, paused briefly, then picked up a scroll and walked back.
"Next, your goal is to learn this."
Ren took the scroll. Upon opening it, the first line had three boldly written characters.
"Mystical Palm Technique."
The Mystical Palm Technique is an advanced version of general Healing Techniques, also based on cellular activation. This technique requires extremely high control over Chakra, so currently, in the anime, only high-level Medical Ninja in the medical squad can learn it. When this Healing Technique is practised in its later stages, it can not only heal any injury on oneself but also cause enemies to instantly faint with this technique.
In the original work, Sakura took three months to learn this technique, which indirectly confirms the difficulty of this technique.
A hint of excitement appeared in Ren's eyes.
Finally, something challenging.
Perhaps I will go further on this path than others.