The study in the Senju estate was filled with a distinctive scent—a blend of aged paper and medicinal herbs.
Towering bookshelves stretched all the way to the ceiling, packed tightly with scrolls and thick tomes of every kind.
Tsunade casually pulled a stack of books from the shelf and tossed them onto the desk in front of Chigen with a thud, sending up a cloud of dust.
"These are the fundamentals of medical ninjutsu."
She pointed at the pile like a small mountain.
"Human anatomy, cytology, chakra properties and chakra pathway. When you can recite all of this backward and forward, then we'll talk about learning medical ninjutsu."
Arms crossed, she looked down at him with a faintly testing expression.
"Medical ninjutsu isn't taijutsu. You can't brute-force your way through it. If you stimulate a patient's cells without even knowing which direction they should regenerate in, that's not healing—that's murder."
Chigen didn't touch the books. Instead, he pointed toward the other side of the bookshelf.
"The papers on muscular activation and the limits of cellular regeneration over there—I've already read those."
Tsunade's expression stalled.
Chigen stood, walked to the shelf, and precisely pulled out a yellowed volume.
"To better develop my secret technique, I needed to understand how much the human body can endure under extreme conditions—and how to repair muscle damage in the most efficient way."
He flipped open the book, his tone calm and even.
"So I have a rough grasp of the foundational theory."
She fell silent.
Just how many secrets was this brat hiding?
"…If that's the case,"
Tsunade's emotions were complicated. She snatched the book from his hands and tossed it back onto the desk.
"Then we'll skip straight to practice."
At that moment, two masked figures appeared without warning outside the study window.
"Lady Tsunade. The Hokage has summoned you—urgent."
The ANBU's voice carried no emotion.
Tsunade's brows immediately knitted together.
"Iwagakure has launched a full-scale invasion of the Land of Grass. Their vanguard crossed the border an hour ago and has already engaged our patrol units."
War—once again—expanded with an undeniable force.
…
A few days later, Konoha Hospital.
The air was thick with the stench of blood and disinfectant. The corridors were packed with hurried medical-nin and wounded shinobi brought in on stretchers. Pained groans echoed endlessly.
Chigen, dressed in a white medical coat, moved briskly through the chaos.
He was now a "temporary intern" at Konoha Hospital, working directly under Shizune's command.
This was Tsunade's arrangement.
After being summoned by the Hokage that day, she never returned to the Senju estate. Instead, she sent word through Shizune, ordering Chigen to assist at the hospital—and forbidding him from stepping onto the battlefield.
Over the past few days, Chigen's reputation within the village had undergone dramatic changes.
"Hey, look—that's Sakuya Chigen."
"Which one? Oh, the guy who almost got killed by the examiner during the promotion exam?"
"What are you talking about? That was skill! Didn't you see how he turned the tables in the end? If Minato-sama hadn't stepped in, that examiner would've been skewered on the spot!"
"True. And I heard the Hokage personally approved his promotion to chūnin. Now he's helping out at the hospital—he's living the life. Doesn't even have to go to the front lines."
From "the trash who got his teammates killed," to "a genius persecuted by the higher-ups," to "the lucky chūnin spared from battle"—the villagers' imaginations were endlessly creative.
Chigen couldn't have cared less.
"Chigen! Over here!"
Shizune waved frantically from the doorway of an emergency room, sweat covering her forehead.
A chūnin freshly withdrawn from the front lay on the bed, a gash across his abdomen so deep bone was visible. Blood was still pouring out.
"The wound's too large—basic hemostasis won't hold. Prep for surgery!"
Shizune issued orders calmly.
Chigen stepped up to the bedside and placed both hands over the injured man's abdomen.
A gentle green glow of chakra lit up in his palms.
His movements were slow, his chakra output steady—like a precision instrument, with not a trace of waste.
Watching from the side, Shizune felt a quiet shock.
Chigen didn't have much chakra—he actually had less than she did.
Yet his control was frighteningly precise.
"Your chakra control… why is it this good?"
During a brief break, Shizune finally couldn't hold back the question.
"Because I'm poor."
Chigen's answer was blunt.
Shizune froze.
"When you don't have much chakra to begin with, every single bit has to be used where it counts. Otherwise, it's not enough."
He wiped his hands, stating it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Shizune looked at him and suddenly felt that this normally unserious guy… wasn't quite as annoying as she'd thought.
In just a few short days, Chigen had already mastered the A-rank medical ninjutsu Mystical Palm Technique.
His learning speed left the entire hospital staff stunned.
Only Chigen himself knew the price he'd paid.
"Ah—!"
Another critically wounded shinobi was rushed in. His left leg had been crushed by Iwagakure's Earth Style—flesh mangled, bones shattered into several pieces.
Chigen took a deep breath and placed his hand on the injury.
[Restore].
Agony!
It felt as though countless steel needles were tearing through his bones and muscles at once. The pain drilled straight into his marrow. His body trembled uncontrollably, his face turning deathly pale.
Clenching his teeth, he forced himself to endure the agony that threatened to overwhelm his consciousness, maintaining the flow of chakra.
In the process of healing, he clearly saw the Iwa shinobi's hand seals and felt the instant Earth Style chakra erupted.
[Ding! Successfully treated a special patient. Skill copied: Earth Style: Mud Wall.]
[Ding! Synchronously experienced "bone-fracturing pain." Mental strength slightly increased.]
When Chigen withdrew his hand, the leg that had moments ago been a bloody mess was completely restored.
Chigen himself, however, looked as if he'd just been hauled out of a river. Cold sweat drenched his body, and he swayed, nearly collapsing.
"Chigen!"
Shizune hurried to support him.
"Are you alright? You look terrible!"
"I'm fine."
Chigen waved it off, bracing himself against the wall.
"Just a little tired."
He raised his hand, staring at his faintly trembling fingers, a bitter smile in his heart.
The side effects of this god-tier skill really weren't something a human was meant to endure.
…
Late at night, Chigen dragged his exhausted body back to the Senju estate.
He pushed open the door. The room was dark, illuminated only by cold moonlight streaming through the still-unrepaired hole in the roof.
A figure was curled up in the corner of the corridor, clutching an empty sake bottle, her body trembling slightly.
It was Tsunade.
Chigen softened his footsteps as he approached.
He caught the faint scent of blood in the air.
Not Tsunade's.
His own.
After spending the entire day at the hospital, he was thoroughly soaked in other people's blood.
Tsunade's hemophobia had been triggered.
She'd heard the reports from the front lines. Heard the ever-rising casualty numbers.
Chigen removed the bloodstained white coat and tossed it far away before sitting down several steps from her.
Neither of them spoke.
Only the chirping of insects in the courtyard, and Tsunade's barely restrained, shallow breathing, filled the silence.
After a long while—
Tsunade's hoarse voice finally broke the quiet.
"Today… how many people died?"
"I don't know."
Chigen looked up at the moon.
"I only focus on saving the living."
Tsunade fell silent.
She slowly lifted her head. The pride and sharpness usually in her beautiful brown eyes were gone—replaced by sorrow and fear that refused to fade.
Moonlight illuminated her pale face.
She looked at Chigen—at his face, worn and haggard from extreme exhaustion.
"Thank goodness…"
Her voice was light, like a sigh.
"Thank goodness you weren't on the battlefield."