Across the entire ninja world, the number of shinobi who can truly use medical ninjutsu is extremely small.
Training medical ninjutsu requires extraordinarily precise chakra control and a long learning period. Even with Tsunade—the legendary medical master—Konoha's supply of medical ninja is still scarce. Of course, that may also have something to do with her having been away from the village for so many years.
But for most hidden villages, the cost of training one medical ninja isn't worth it compared to training a few more combat ninja—especially when combat ninja can be replaced whenever they die.
If every squad had to be assigned a medical ninja, it would be impossible to fill the requirement.
"The support role in each squad doesn't need to master real medical ninjutsu," Tsunade said. "They only need basic skills like stopping bleeding, bandaging, and setting fractures. Those don't require complex medical ninjutsu. With short-term training, anyone can learn them."
"And also," Tsunade added, "I'll organize an additional mobile medical unit. They won't fight—they'll only be responsible for treating the severely injured."
If that was all that was required, then the plan became far more feasible.
"Next, dismiss and rest!" Tsunade waved her hand. "I'll finalize squad assignments based on the roster and everyone's detailed profiles!"
With that, she announced dismissal.
Uchiha Shisui looked thoughtful. He knew the shinobi here all had a fire burning in their chests—they'd come to resist Kumogakure. But he also had a faint sense that Tsunade's plan might not be what they imagined.
Hopefully the clan members would behave.
"...Sigh."
…
Konoha.
Hyuga Kiyonari was at home puzzling over summoning when Hyuga Neji suddenly came to visit.
"Father went to the front," Neji said. "Before he left, he told me to ask you… do you want to learn Gentle Fist?"
Kiyonari nodded without hesitation. "Of course."
"Then let's go to the training ground. We'll talk on the way." Neji signaled for him to follow, then asked, "In your view, what is Gentle Fist?"
Kiyonari thought a moment. "Taijutsu can broadly be divided into two types. One is the 'hard fist' that causes direct external damage. The other is the 'gentle fist' that damages the enemy's internal organs by striking the chakra pathway system."
Neji gave a small nod. The answer was simple, but it did capture Gentle Fist's core trait.
But then Kiyonari raised a question. "I'm wondering… since Gentle Fist still needs physical contact to work, why don't I just use a kunai and stab the enemy directly? Wouldn't that be faster, and the damage more immediate?"
Aside from a few shinobi who trained in extreme body techniques, most shinobi were still flesh and blood. One stab and you get a spray of blood—combat ability gone on the spot.
Compared to that, Gentle Fist could damage internal organs and the chakra system, but it didn't look as instantly brutal as blades.
"Then let me ask you," Neji raised a hand and countered. "In a fight, if the enemy thrusts a kunai at you, do you dodge and counterattack, or do you trade injury for injury?"
"Of course I dodge," Kiyonari answered immediately. "If I get stabbed, even if I injure the enemy too, I'd still be badly hurt. Trading injury like that isn't worth it."
"Good." Neji continued. "Now—if the enemy's kunai becomes two fingers, and they 'stab' at you like this…"
Neji extended his index and middle fingers and tapped toward Kiyonari's wrist.
"And you're holding a kunai and stabbing at him. Do you dodge—or do you trade injury for injury?"
Kiyonari froze for a beat.
Modern people and shinobi were two extremes: one specialized in thinking and dealing with people, the other specialized in fighting and "communicating" with enemies up close.
He didn't show off. He stayed honest and answered from instinct. "I might choose to trade injury for injury—because I think I can seriously hurt the enemy while still avoiding a fatal wound myself."
Neji nodded. "Exactly. That's the first key to Gentle Fist."
"On the surface, Gentle Fist doesn't look very threatening, which makes it easy to exploit the enemy's carelessness. When someone faces a sharp kunai, they dodge instinctively. When they face a fist or a whip kick, they first judge whether they can block it. But when what they face is only your palm or your fingers, their vigilance drops sharply."
"That happens because the essence of combat is offense—everyone pursues offense, pursues speed."
"And why does that happen?" Kiyonari asked again.
Neji was silent for a moment before answering. "Because shinobi battles are often unfair. It's not like a genin only ever fights genin."
Kiyonari nodded thoughtfully, but then noticed another issue. "But if the opponent also decides to trade injury with a kunai, aren't I in the same situation?"
Neji slowly raised a finger and tapped his own temple. "That's when we use our eyes."
"One of the Byakugan's fundamental abilities is penetration. It can see chakra flow inside the enemy, observe the chakra pathways, and catch the signs in the muscles before force is applied. With that information, we can predict the opponent's next move."
As he spoke, Neji suddenly moved.
He flashed in front of Kiyonari, his right hand's two fingers poised as if to stab. Kiyonari reflexively raised his arm to block—but Neji's attack was a feint. With a flick of his wrist, he broke the guard.
Tap!
Neji's palm lightly patted Kiyonari's shoulder.
"If that had been Gentle Fist," Neji withdrew his hand, voice calm, "your shoulder—and this arm—would already be unable to move."
"That's the power of the Byakugan. I can clearly see the chakra flow inside you. When you intend to block, the muscles in your arm tense instantly, and chakra gathers there. Those tiny changes have nowhere to hide before the Byakugan."
"So I can predict your defensive direction—and choose the best angle of attack."
Kiyonari suddenly understood.
When you can see every subtle movement and anticipate the enemy's next action, combat stops being a fair contest—it becomes a game of information imbalance.
"Now," Neji said, arms folded, natural pride rising in his posture.
"Back to the earlier question: since you've already seen that the enemy's next move is to stab at you with a kunai, do you dodge… or do you pretend you can't dodge and hit him with Gentle Fist?"
The answer was obvious.
"I'd pretend I can't dodge," Kiyonari replied with certainty.
Hyuga combat was psychological warfare. Gentle Fist and the Byakugan complemented each other—neither could be missing.
Without the Byakugan, Gentle Fist was just close-range taijutsu with unimpressive-looking damage. Without Gentle Fist, the Byakugan was merely an observation tool. Like Ao of Kirigakure—he couldn't use the Byakugan he'd obtained in real combat and could only use it to gather information.
But people who could see the essence were rare. Most Hyuga simply trained Gentle Fist step by step and, once their Byakugan awakened, mechanically threw out the Sixty-Four Palms.
If Kiyonari and Neji weren't close, Neji probably wouldn't have explained so much.
Understand one method, and you understand many.
In an instant, several wild ideas burst into Kiyonari's mind. This kind of approach could even be applied to archery—no wonder people said "true teachings can be summed up in a single sentence."
~~~
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