Would Kakashi really be shameless enough to eat for free?
Of course not.
So once the time came to rope him in, no matter how he grumbled, he'd help.
And then there was Naruto…
Another excellent seedling for Sage Mode.
As for what Kakashi thought right now—
As long as Souma didn't hear it, it counted as agreement on his side.
Running into Kakashi had just been a coincidence.
After leaving the ramen shop, Souma immediately went to train.
His strength had improved, yes—but he knew very well that in front of true "Kage-level" monsters, his current power wasn't worth mentioning.
And he only had about three years left—
Naruto was already about to graduate.
Souma ran laps while brooding over it.
The more he thought, the more he realized—
Using his brain mattered most.
Flying Thunder God was a top-priority jutsu.
Even if he couldn't master it right away, he at least needed a beggar-version prototype to give himself the potential to learn it.
Of course, if he could fully master it from the start, that'd be ideal.
Next on the list…
Puppet techniques. Ninja tools.
Because during his run, Souma had suddenly thought of a way to research and utilize tailed beast chakra—
A man-made, disposable tailed beast.
If Akatsuki was going to stockpile White Zetsu, then he'd stockpile chakra and puppets.
Let's see who could out-grind the other.
Naturally, creating something like that required massive resources and insane technical skill.
It would take a long time.
But having a goal was already good.
In the short term, he'd need Tenten and Konoha's craftsmen to push chakra weapon forging to a higher level.
Souma sorted his thoughts and filled several pages of his notebook.
When he returned to the Medical Corps and opened the door—
"…You guys don't understand. Back then, Souma-kun used chakra threads—do you even know what those are? Think strands as thin as hair…"
"Stop rambling and get to the point!"
Kitayama Oki's voice carried from inside.
Fengxiang continued excitedly:
"He used threads that thin, slipped them into the wound, and slowly pulled Neji's shattered bone fragments back into place—one by one."
"???"
Everyone listening was stunned.
Silence hovered for a few seconds.
Souma glanced at the scene.
"Class in session?"
"Ah—Souma-kun, perfect timing!"
Fengxiang looked like she'd been granted a royal pardon and rushed over.
"I was explaining your technique, but the captain doesn't believe me. Can you show them?"
"I never said I didn't believe it."
Kitayama Oki's face darkened.
She hadn't disbelieved it, just found it outrageous.
She couldn't picture the technique clearly and wanted to understand the follow-up steps.
Souma tucked his notebook away.
He hadn't expected…
this to be what everyone was obsessed with.
"How do I put it…"
"Yeah?"
Everyone crowded closer, nodding in unison.
Souma considered his words.
"To reach that level, you don't just need chakra control. You also need some sensory ability—enough to feel what's happening beneath the skin."
"Perception? That makes sense… No, wait! I have some sensory ability, and I still can't do that," Kitayama Oki protested immediately.
Kusuri Baicao, standing nearby, said carefully, "Could it be that… captain, your perception just isn't strong enough?"
"…"
Oki's face remained expressionless, but after a moment of thought…
That was probably true.
Souma's "a little" usually meant "far too high for normal people."
"So in other words, there's no point in us trying to learn that technique?" she asked.
"Pretty much. But I do think chakra threads themselves are worth training."
Souma explained,
"On the battlefield, you won't have time to perform precise, delicate treatment on every patient. If you know how to use chakra threads, you can multitask."
"Fair point. Starting today, everyone increases chakra thread practice."
Oki delivered the decree with a blank face.
A chorus of wails broke out.
If they'd known, they would've pretended not to hear anything just now.
Still, they quickly shifted topics and chatted with Souma instead of dwelling on the extra training.
Tough drills were exhausting—
but any strength gained was their own.
Even as medical nin, they still wanted to grow stronger.
"You came to ask about the medical insects, right?" Oki said.
"Yeah. How's Shino doing here?"
"Very well."
Oki gave a brief report.
While he wasn't a monster like Souma, Shino's learning speed and discipline were impressive.
In his time at the hospital, he'd already absorbed a considerable amount of medical knowledge.
He'd even managed to extract medical chakra on his own.
Of course—
That was as far as it went.
Turning raw chakra into medical chakra was one thing.
Using it for refined medical ninjutsu was another, with far more hurdles in between.
But for the Aburame clan's battlefield role, being able to extract medical chakra at all was more than enough.
Oki sighed softly at the end.
"If they had more time to train…"
"There'd be no point. We already have full-time medical ninja. There's no need for them to go that deep," Souma said, shaking his head.
The Aburame's niche was battlefield emergency medics, not full surgeons.
He asked about the practical use of the chakra-monitoring formula as well.
That had also been a great success.
Souma's mind was at ease.
"By the way, a genin applied to join the Medical Corps recently," Oki added. "He wants to study here."
"Who?"
"Yakushi Kabuto. He learned some medical ninjutsu from his orphanage caretaker, Yakushi Nono, when he was young. I think he has good potential."
Souma blinked, then couldn't help smiling.
"That's great. Train him. We might be able to let him handle some of the more… experimental research."
"You're optimistic about him too?"
"Mm."
Of course.
His medical ninjutsu was probably better than yours, Captain Souma thought.
He didn't go meet Kabuto.
That guy was a professional actor.
Until he was ready to reveal himself, he wouldn't slip up.
Souma had originally planned to stay and work on some pills, but—
"Souma-kun, someone's here to see you."
"Coming."
He stepped outside and saw…
Hiashi Hyūga.
Souma smiled inwardly.
So he finally couldn't sit still.
"Hiashi-senpai, what can I do for you?"
"I came to buy some medicinal bath packs. When I heard you were here, I thought I'd talk a bit."
Hiashi's expression was calm, as though he'd forgotten their earlier unpleasant conversation.
He gestured outside.
"Walk with me?"
"Sure."
Souma didn't refuse.
Once they were outside, Hiashi began describing his recent attempts.
He had taken Souma's suggestions seriously and tested them.
The results weren't great.
He could fight, yes—but compared to the standards the Medical Corps and other nin had established, the gap was still noticeable.
"So?" Souma asked.
"The Hyūga clan accepts your terms," Hiashi said solemnly. "I just don't know if you're still interested in making this deal."
He had no intention of assuming Souma had to agree.
Times had changed.
Souma's status wasn't what it used to be.
He might raise the price—or refuse altogether.
Hiashi was mentally prepared for both.
But—
"Of course I'm interested. And the original terms are fine," Souma said.
"…"
Hiashi fell silent for a few seconds, then bowed slightly in gratitude.
After hesitating, he added,
"Souma-kun… what do you think of the Byakugan?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just what it sounds like. In your view, what do you think of our Hyūga clan—and the Byakugan itself?"
Hiashi's voice unconsciously lowered.
Souma was speechless.
What did he mean, "what do you think"?
Did he think Souma couldn't understand plain language?
What I mean is—why are you suddenly asking me that?!
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