Chapter 11: Such Unparalleled Elegance

Chapter 11: What an Extraordinary Display of Elegance

Koharu Torane listened once more, then carefully reviewed the handwritten notes Chiba had taken on the spot, and gave it a try herself...

It really worked!

She found it hard to believe.

Could there truly be such a brilliant child in the world?

“Chiba, how did you manage this?” Hanpō asked, wide-eyed and speechless.

“It’s nothing special. I have a strong sense of perception, so I tried each hand seal one by one, noted down roughly what effect each seal had when added to this technique, and then paired and grouped them,” Chiba explained.

Hanpō was utterly baffled.

Perception?

Could chakra really be sensed?

Koharu Torane was somewhat surprised and asked, “You have sensory abilities?”

“Not very strong, and the range is limited. It’s hard to sense other people’s chakra fluctuations clearly, but my own is more distinct,” Chiba said.

What Chiba didn’t mention was that within a half-step radius, he could sense the general chakra fluctuations.

When Koharu made her seals earlier, he could roughly detect the flow of chakra refined and coursing through the meridians. Had he intended to attack her, he could have used condensed chakra needles to pierce along the approximate meridian path.

But for Chiba, that alone hardly counted as a success.

The efficiency was too low.

If he had the ability to get that close, he could just stab with a blade and kill outright; why bother interrupting or sealing with chakra needles?

It would be like carrying coals to Newcastle!

Koharu remained silent.

“Not very strong”...

Sensory abilities were no trivial matter.

What an extravagant luxury!

Koharu quietly experimented a few times—some attempts failed, but most succeeded—confirming the method’s viability. She couldn’t help but feel a bit excited. “Child, you’re a genius. Stay here at the hospital and work!”

“No, I still want to be a ninja. I came here only to learn medical and anatomical knowledge. I don’t plan to become a professional medical ninja,” Chiba shook his head.

Hanpō sighed regretfully.

He exchanged a glance with Koharu, and they both sighed.

Indeed, the fact that this child couldn’t perform medical ninjutsu was a serious drawback.

Obviously.

---

Koharu Torane also came to her senses; her earlier outburst was impulsive and lacked reason.

Moreover, to forcibly keep someone just because they excelled at chakra blades and needles would be a huge loss for the ninja world, especially for Konoha.

Becoming a medical ninja would be a waste of such talent.

“Your technique does become easier after adding hand seals, but it still ranks at an A rating. Even in the medical class, few can match your steadiness,” she said gently.

“How about this: you keep your position as a special appointment ninja. In the meantime, you can still use this status to engage in the things you want to do.”

Hanpō spoke kindly.

“As for salary, we will pay you half of what a regular medical ninja earns, whether you’re at the hospital or not,” Koharu added.

“Thank you, Counselor, thank you, Hanpō-sama,” Chiba’s heart leapt with joy.

When it came to salary, he was no longer worried!

With the Bodhi seed, he certainly had greater talent than most, but as a non-ninja orphan in wartime, his income was only some village subsidies.

Life was decent, but buying ninja tools and materials for ninjutsu experiments was far beyond reach.

He wasn’t quite sure how much he would earn, but it was definitely better than just dreaming.

After discussing ninjutsu, Koharu went on to talk for a while longer, until she was hoarse before letting Chiba leave. Given the salary, Chiba endured it.

Outside the office, he went to see Kita Yamao.

As expected.

Kita was also researching chakra needles and blushed when she saw him, perhaps feeling awkward about secretly practicing her student’s ninjutsu.

Chiba saw through but said nothing. Instead, he exchanged his improved version for a scroll of ninjutsu—

The Technique of Extracting Minute Illnesses.

The Third Hokage’s words had reminded him.

Even if he couldn’t learn certain ninjutsu, he could borrow their principles. The Technique of Extracting Minute Illnesses was one such example.

He couldn’t master effects like extracting toxins or pathogens, but he could adapt the “absorption” function to work with chakra absorption from blood or an opponent’s chakra.

Of course, this was only a preliminary concept, and much work remained.

With no teacher assigned suddenly, Chiba didn’t know what to do for a while. Holding the book, he wandered about, finding himself with plenty of free time in the medical class.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, when a surgery was scheduled, that he followed along.

The medical ninja didn’t refuse him.

“Special appointment ninja” was just a title; Chiba still didn’t even have a ninja headband. He guessed he would have to take the ninja exam again later.

He hadn’t planned to stay long anyway, so it didn’t matter.

With this identity, Chiba smoothly participated in many surgeries and follow-ups.

---

However,

Within a day, another item appeared on Chiba’s daily schedule—

Swordsmanship.

Previously, he had traded his experience with chakra threads for a sword sold by the TenTen family. TenTen was trustworthy; after hearing about it, her father immediately sent the sword to Chiba’s home and even offered to teach him swordsmanship.

The TenTen family’s swordsmanship wasn’t formidable, just some basic techniques.

But,

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. What Chiba needed now was the foundation.

For over a month, the sensation created by a twelve-year-old “lead surgeon” gradually subsided, and Chiba’s frequent presence at the hospital no longer drew starstruck attention everywhere.

During this time, Chiba seized the opportunity to learn much medical knowledge and anatomy, gaining insight into muscles and chakra meridians. Recently, he began researching tonics for strengthening the body.

Only...

The medicinal recipes always fell a little short.

After extensive inquiry, Chiba finally heard a direction from Kita Yamao—The Nara clan excelled in pharmacology, and most of Konoha’s earliest pharmacological knowledge came from them.

Coincidentally, he had previously saved Nara Shigei, and had met Shikaku and Shikamaru. Though his interactions with the latter were not very pleasant, at least they weren’t strangers.

...

“Shikamaru.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re still more than a year from graduation. Have you ever considered working harder to graduate early and study in other departments?”

Shikaku, rarely having time, wanted to have a heart-to-heart with his son.

Shikamaru propped his cheek with one hand, looking listless. He didn’t answer immediately but paused for two seconds before saying, “I thought about it at first.”

“With your intelligence, you could definitely do it.”

“It’s too troublesome,” Shikamaru sighed. “Early graduation is great, but just thinking about the extra studies, assessments, assignments, and reports afterward makes me not want to do it.”

...

Shikaku was speechless.

Other children saw early graduation as an honor, believing leaving school meant more time to play. Only this child saw more work and pressure after graduation.

Being too clever isn’t always a blessing.

He pondered a moment, about to persuade further, but suddenly sensed something and smiled: “Weren’t you asking about Yagyu Chiba before?”

“Ah?”

Shikamaru was puzzled.

After being forcibly brought back to school by Chiba that day, he asked at home once, so why did Shikaku suddenly bring him up now?

“You had a chance to see him today.”

(End of chapter)