"What? They're letting a kid lead the surgery? What are they thinking? "
Outside the operating room, Koha Chiba was furious.
"Don't be impatient. There's no better option right now, is there? "
The Third Hokage puffed on his pipe, pausing before speaking.
"Although we could treat him directly, he was injured trying to get intelligence. If possible, we have to ensure he can still live normally."
"But..."
"He's a genius! "
The Third said firmly, then silently handed over a scroll.
Koha took it, glanced at it, and was stunned.
She had been a medical ninja herself, though recently too busy with 'serious matters' to be involved in the hospital or medical corps. But that didn't mean she didn't understand.
This technique was clearly an advanced form of the Chakra Scalpel.
It was suited for far more delicate surgeries.
Unfortunately,
The A+ difficulty rating would discourage most current medical ninjas.
Koha believed she could handle it, but she hadn't been in the operating room for a long time.
And besides—
She was getting old.
For such precise surgery, even if capable, her stamina and chakra limits would mean she'd be exhausted halfway through.
If it were Tsunade...
Koha shook her head. Even Tsunade could accomplish the treatment without this technique, and comparing the kid to Tsunade was simply unfair.
Better to keep a good attitude—after all, the boy only took charge because he had to.
Just then, the back door of the operating room opened.
Kitayama Su carried Chiba out. Seeing the Third Hokage and Koha, she froze for a second before quickly bowing.
"Hokage-sama, Koha—"
"How is he? " the Third interrupted, caring more about the boy than formalities.
"His chakra is depleted; he's exhausted and weak. Although he took soldier pills, energy can't be fully restored," Kitayama whispered, embarrassed.
"We were only assistants this time. It was all thanks to him that those bone fragments were reassembled. If we could use this technique, it wouldn't have been so difficult."
"So the Chakra Needle technique needs wider promotion? "
"Exactly. It's necessary—not just for today's surgery, but possibly for other fields as well, like when combined with the fine debris extraction technique."
Kitayama's thoughts always went back to Chiba.
The needle could help pull out fragments and debris using suction and naturally could pierce wounds in internal organs to assist the extraction technique.
Koha remained silent, deep in thought.
After a few questions, the Third waved her off to take the exhausted Chiba to rest.
"Koha, what do you think? "
"His talent is exceptional. I see hints of Tsunade and Orochimaru in him, but I'm worried," she frowned.
"Maybe so, but I'm old and have few chances left. I want to try again."
Later—
"Come in! What brings you here? "
"Chiba-kun, I heard you fainted. Are you okay? "
Tenten came in, out of breath.
Behind her, Lee peeked in quietly, then quickly hid when he saw the two talking.
Chiba chuckled hoarsely, "I'm fine. Just chakra exhaustion. A short rest fixed me. How's class going? "
"Good. Since we can graduate early, everyone's working hard. Even the usual truant kids rarely skip now," Tenten said, then pointed, "Except Uzumaki Naruto—he's still skipping and more often."
Lee peeked again.
"Tenten ranked second in class, just behind Neji. Heh, I'm off to train."
"Hey! Who asked you? "
Tenten growled, but Lee ran off.
Chiba got up, took out his notebook, and handed her a page.
Tenten looked down, confused.
"Chakra Threads—byproduct of ninjutsu research. We don't know puppetry, but they seem great for manipulating kunai and shuriken."
"Too precious. I can't accept this! "
Tenten understood its value—it was at least B-rank difficulty, not something many chunin could learn.
"Ninjutsu is made to make people stronger; otherwise it's meaningless. Your skill with weapons is great, but weapons alone can't handle some enemies," Chiba said seriously.
"Impossible! Don't underestimate me. My weapons are more than what we use at school," she scoffed.
She felt her throwing skills were limited by school curriculum caps—if difficulty was higher, she wouldn't be tied for first place these two years.
"What if they use powerful wind-style jutsu? "
"Normal wind style—impossible... Okay, I get your point, but I just can't take it without a reason," she insisted.
Chiba thought for a moment, then brightened. "I remember your family sells swords, right? I want to practice swordsmanship. Help me pick a good blade."
"Alright, thanks. If you don't know sword techniques, come find me."
Tenten started seriously reading the notes.
She was quite competitive—much more than Sakura, who talked about doing things herself but always turned to Naruto when in trouble.
If it was Haruno Sakura—
Chiba didn't care.
After reading, Tenten pondered and said, "According to your notes, you want to condense chakra into weapons and release multiple at once? "
"It's not simply weapons—they're perfectly controlled needles. I want them to take any form instantly on command without hand seals."
"That's my ultimate goal."
Chiba explained.
Tenten nodded, understanding why he came to the medical corps.
In chakra control, medical ninja were the best.
She also suspected there was more to these 'needles'—some terrifying potential.
She didn't ask further, carefully copying the notes to study later.
Not everyone was as fast a learner as Chiba.
Actually, Chiba's idea wasn't that complex.
The needles were sharp with low chakra consumption and compatible with many jutsu, like Body Disruption.
Also, by studying at the hospital, he aimed to learn about acupuncture points.
Without Byakugan, he couldn't see acupoints, so he planned to observe and discover common points through study and practice.
By then, Chakra Needles wouldn't be just for healing.
Chiba 'imagined' the bodhi seed.
Not much change.
If anything, three distinct groove-like patterns appeared—one long and deep, one short, and one long but shallow.
If it weren't for it being connected to his consciousness, Chiba wouldn't even notice.
"Do the three grooves correspond to the two jutsu I taught and the soldier pills? "