Soon, Higashino Megumi walked in carrying some materials. The classroom suddenly fell silent; even the usually single-minded Obito behaved himself. He could not interfere with Rin's studies.
Higashino Megumi glanced at her own son, then at Uchiha Obito, who had his head tilted to one side with his lips pouted, and immediately understood that Higashino Makoto had once again provoked someone verbally.
In truth, she did not like Obito either, because this child was clearly not here to study medical ninjutsu. But since he had signed up, she would treat him normally. She did not expect him to become a medical ninja; if he could at least learn some practical first-aid techniques, that would already be good. Who knew—someday they might even save a life.
As for the Uchiha clan, which villagers often complained about in daily life, the Higashino family actually had no particular opinion, and certainly did not discriminate against them.
The class soon began. The first two periods covered medical knowledge and the training methods and application techniques of medical ninjutsu.
Medical ninjutsu was like a formula—it was not something you could use simply by learning it. It also had to be combined with the injured person's various real conditions.
These real conditions, in turn, had to be judged based on the knowledge one had mastered. It was a very complete system of ninjutsu training and application.
The final period was a practical lesson. The students packed up their notes and, in a rush, followed Higashino Megumi into a specially prepared ward.
Inside were four ninjas who had been injured during training or missions and had not yet received treatment.
This had been done with the consent of the ninjas in the ward. They were also willing to endure a little longer in order to provide some practical experience for the younger generation of their village.
With more skilled medical ninjas in the village, their lives in the future would gain an extra measure of security.
Among the four injured, there were three whom Higashino Makoto did not recognize. But the remaining one—he recognized him at a glance. Although the man was not wearing that signature green jumpsuit, his jet-black, glossy hair, together with his excessively thick eyebrows and beard, gave him away.
Konohagakure's famous oddball—the eternal genin, Might Duy.
Back when he couldn't even summon "System Dad," Higashino Makoto had actually thought that, if it really came down to it, he could go and ask to make someone his godfather.
Fortunately, he found his cheat in time, so he didn't end up with an extra "dad" over his head.
With a cheat turned on, who would go learn that life-threatening Eight Gates Technique?
It wasn't that he looked down on it—natural energy was far more useful than that thing.
The first three injured weren't seriously hurt—nothing more than accidental cuts from sharp tools during training, or things like muscle strains. Higashino Megumi first had the trainees make their own judgments, and then she corrected some people's mistakes based on experience, while also having them personally use medical ninjutsu to treat the injuries.
In the end, she would supervise, checking for any shortcomings.
Konohagakure had a large number of ninjas, and different injured patients appeared every day. As long as these trainees did advanced training in the hospital for a year or so, they would be able to accumulate enough practical experience.
The only real trouble was Might Duy. One could say his body was layered with new injuries on top of old ones: severe joint wear, twisted meridians, extreme muscle fatigue, some finger joints already deformed, and so on.
Megumi even stood to the side and, through his breathing rate and smell, as well as the faint abnormal sounds from inside his abdomen transmitted through the stethoscope, judged which of his internal organs had problems.
For these injuries accumulated over many years, even though Megumi was a Special Jōnin in the medical field, she had no good solution. She could only teach the trainees how to use gentle chakra to perform full-body conditioning for the patient.
At the same time, she warned these newbies who had only graduated not long ago: diligence in training could be encouraged, but it absolutely must not be excessive—you had to act within your limits. The consequences of overtraining—Might Duy was the best example.
Makoto felt that, if one wanted to cure Duy, at this point it would probably take Tsunade personally coming, and she would have to perform who knows how many surgeries across his whole body.
Nothing could be settled in a matter of days. It would require surgery while recuperating— a treatment-and-recovery process measured in years.
This was obviously not something Duy could endure. He needed to earn money to support his family, and he also had to spend a great deal of time training; he simply didn't have that much time to rest.
Most importantly, Tsunade currently suffered from hemophobia and simply couldn't perform surgery on anyone. However, this news was probably known only to Konoha's four top-level leaders and her two teammates.
Higashino Megumi had once told her son that Lady Tsunade had not appeared at the hospital for a very long time.
Higashino Makoto felt that she had probably run off with Shizune, and that she was not in Konohagakure at all right now.
...
With today's classes finished, Higashino Megumi successfully got off work.
At the hospital entrance, the trainees took turns bidding Higashino Megumi farewell.
Although there was more than one instructor in the hospital responsible for teaching duties, they all held deep respect for every teacher who imparted knowledge to them.
Even Uchiha Obito respectfully said, "Teacher Megumi, you've worked hard today."
However, when it was Higashino Makoto's turn, the guy clasped both hands behind his head, struck a slovenly pose, deliberately tilted his head away without looking at her, and even clicked his tongue with a "tch."
"Obito, you can't be this rude."
"I know, I know." Faced with Nohara Rin's serious expression, Obito immediately changed his tune. "Hey, kid—see you later."
Hearing this, Rin's expression softened a little. She looked at Makoto and said, "Junior Makoto, I didn't expect your grasp of medical ninjutsu to be even better than mine. You'll definitely be able to become someone like Lady Tsunade in the future."
Half of those words were sincere praise; the other half was also meant to help smooth things over for her companion, Obito.
Helping Obito ease his relationships with others had already become Rin's instinct—it had been that way since childhood.
She truly was a considerate and gentle girl, practically the white moonlight in the heart of a sensitive boy like Obito. No wonder, in the future, that fool would blacken completely for her and become a heartless great villain.
"You flatter me, Senior Rin. You're also very impressive. Go back early and get some rest. See you."
"Mhm. See you. Goodbye, Teacher Megumi."
After Rin finished saying her goodbyes, Obito grabbed her and ran off until they were out of sight.
Seeing this, Higashino Megumi smiled and shook her head without saying anything. The hazy feelings of youth were always so beautiful and delicate.
Fortunately, back when she was in school, Higashino Jirō wasn't as clingy as Obito. Otherwise, she would have been frightened away long ago—where would there have been any chance for Higashino Makoto to be born?
Walking home, Makoto asked curiously, "Mom, does that uncle called Might Duy often come to the hospital for treatment? Otherwise, with his physical condition, he should have collapsed long ago."
"I used to see their father and son in the village. With the way they train, even a body made of iron wouldn't be able to withstand it."
Higashino Megumi sighed softly. "Yes. That's why your father and I constantly remind you not to overwork your body. Doing so isn't just sacrificing the future—it's also consuming your lifespan."
"Might Duy's situation is somewhat special. I believe you also know this. He's quite famous in the village—a perennial genin who only knows rough taijutsu, and his way of dealing with people isn't very smooth. Very few people are willing to team up with him."
"He can only take on those simple beginner missions in the village. His income is limited, and he also has a son to raise. So, in order to take care of him, the hospital reached a verbal agreement with him."
"He often comes to the hospital as a patient for the trainees to practice on. His body is a very good teaching case—it allows newcomers to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of medical ninjutsu."
"At the same time, the hospital pays him a certain amount each time, which helps relieve some of his financial pressure. Each visit, we also do some simple conditioning for him."
"You could say it serves several purposes at once. After all, no matter how weak one's strength may be, they're still a companion of the village."
"No wonder he's been able to hold on until now. He really is a strong and good father."
"He truly is a good father. We've given him many suggestions, and from time to time, depending on how serious the situation was, we even prescribed some mild nourishing medicine for him. But it seems he used all of it on his son."
Deep down, Higashino Makoto thought that if he hadn't loved his son so much, he wouldn't have raised a fierce beast capable of opening the Eight Gates and kicking the Sage of Six Paths.
Might Duy was actually not bad at all. At the very least, he left his son a powerful forbidden technique, and—more importantly—the spirit of ninja way.
But what about those other older genin?
Their talent was limited. They had no secret techniques, no ninjutsu—and even if they did, with their abilities they couldn't use them.
Many of them took the Chūnin Exams year after year, only to be eliminated every time.
Don't be fooled by how, in the original work, Chūnin seem as common as roadside weeds, easily dealt with by powerful ninjas tossing a single kunai.
In reality, this was already a height many people could never reach.
They might have a solid grasp of basic knowledge, or extensive experience with low-level missions—but it was useless.
In the end, what ninjas truly competed with was combat strength.
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