Tsunade listened carefully, reviewed the notes Chiba had handwritten on the spot, and gave it a try...
It actually worked!
She could hardly believe it.
Are there really children this brilliant in the world?
"Chiba, how did you do this? "
Kanpou was stunned.
"Nothing special. I just have strong chakra perception, so I tried different hand seals one by one, noted the general effects each had on the technique, and then grouped and matched them," Chiba explained.
Kanpou was baffled.
Perception?
You can even sense chakra?
Tsunade, surprised, asked, "You have sensory abilities too? "
"Not very strong, and only in a limited range. Other people's chakra fluctuations are hard to sense; my own are clearer," Chiba replied quietly.
What he didn't say was that within a half-step radius, he could roughly perceive chakra flows. When Tsunade made hand seals earlier, he could sense the chakra's path through the meridians. If he wanted to attack, he could have stabbed the chakra needle along those channels.
But even that wasn't enough for Chiba.
It was too inefficient.
If he could get that close, a single blade would be enough—why bother using chakra needles to interrupt or seal? What a waste!
Tsunade was silent.
Not very strong…
But perception is no trivial matter.
What an exquisite luxury!
After several tests—mostly successful—she confirmed the method's viability and was moved: "Child, you're a genius. Stay at the hospital and work here! "
"No, I want to be a ninja. I came here to learn medical and anatomy knowledge but don't intend to be a full medical ninja." Chiba shook his head.
Kanpou sighed regretfully.
He exchanged a glance with Tsunade and sighed again.
It was a hard truth: Chiba's lack of medical ninjutsu was a serious drawback.
Tsunade had also realized her earlier eagerness was somewhat rash.
Just because his chakra scalpel and needles were superb didn't mean forcing him to stay was wise.
It'd be a huge loss for Konoha's ninja world.
Being a medical ninja would be a waste of his talent.
"After adding more hand seals, your technique is indeed easier but still rates an A difficulty. Even among the medical team, few have hands as steady as yours."
"Let's keep you as a specially appointed ninja. This way, you can engage more broadly with the things you want to do," Kanpou said kindly.
"For salary, we'll pay you half of a regular medical ninja's wage, whether or not you're at the hospital," Tsunade added.
"Thank you, Advisor and Kanpou," Chiba's heart lifted.
Talking about pay was a relief!
Thanks to the Bodhi Seed, he had a talent beyond normal people. But as a non-ninja orphan living in wartime, his income came only from village subsidies.
Life was decent, but buying ninja tools and materials for experiments was hard.
Better to have some income than just dreaming.
After discussing ninjutsu, Tsunade went on enthusiastically until she was parched before finally letting Chiba leave. He tolerated it for the pay.
He went to see Kitayama (Northyama) Aki.
Sure enough, she was researching chakra needles too and blushed when she saw him, probably embarrassed to be caught practicing her student's ninjutsu.
Chiba traded his improved version for a scroll—Fine Wound Extraction Technique.
The Third Hokage's words echoed in his mind:
Even if he couldn't learn some ninjutsu, he could borrow some principles.
He couldn't master extracting toxins or pathogens, but he could use the absorption function to complement chakra absorption from blood or others.
Of course, this was preliminary.
There was still a long way to go.
With no teacher assigned for now, Chiba didn't know what to do, so he wandered the medical division reading a book, suddenly free.
Until afternoon, when a surgery came, and he followed along.
The medical ninjas didn't refuse.
"Specially appointed ninja" was just a title—Chiba still didn't have a ninja headband and guessed he'd have to take the ninja exam later.
He hadn't planned to stay long, so it didn't bother him.
With this role, Chiba smoothly participated in many surgeries and patient follow-ups.
However, within a day, a new item was added to his daily schedule—swordsmanship.
He had exchanged his chakra thread skills and knowledge for a sword from Tenten's family. Tenten was trustworthy—her father immediately sent the sword to Chiba's home and offered to teach him swordsmanship.
Their sword skills were basic, but…
Every long journey begins with small steps.
Chiba needed fundamentals.
After about a month, the stir caused by the 12-year-old "chief surgeon" gradually settled down. His frequent presence at the hospital no longer sparked starstruck attention everywhere.
During this time, Chiba learned plenty about medical knowledge and human anatomy, gaining insights on muscles and chakra meridians, and recently started researching tonic medicinal soups.
But…
His recipes were always somewhat lacking.
He investigated for a long time, and finally, Kitayama Aki gave him a clue—the Nara clan excelled in pharmacology. Most of Konoha's earliest pharmacology knowledge came from the Nara.
Coincidentally, he had saved Nara Shigeie before and met Shikaku and Shikamaru—not always happily, but they were no strangers.
…
"Shikamaru."
"Hmm?"
"You're over a year from graduating. Ever thought about working hard to graduate early and study in other departments? "
Shikaku, rarely free, took a chance to talk heart-to-heart with his son.
Shikamaru, resting his face on one hand, looked listless. After a brief pause, he answered, "At first, yes."
"With your intelligence, you definitely could."
"Too much trouble."
Shikamaru sighed, "Graduating early sounds good, but then there's all the extra studies, exams, homework, and reports. I don't want that."
…
Shikaku was speechless.
Other kids saw early graduation as an honor—more playtime after school. Only this kid saw more work and pressure.
Being too smart isn't always good!
Shikaku pondered, about to persuade again, but then remembered and smiled, "You asked about Chiba Yanagi
"Huh?"
Shikamaru was puzzled.
After being forced back to school by Chiba that day, he'd asked at home once. Why did Shikaku bring him up now?
"You got to see him today."