After running all afternoon, Chiba felt truly alive again.
Not only that, he vaguely sensed his energy was much stronger than before—
Definitely not the effect of chakra depletion.
Bodhi Seed!
"A good thing," Chiba thought with a silent smile.
After walking a while, he looked up and was momentarily stunned.
Three heads peeked over the Ninja Academy wall.
Chiba met their gazes—Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji.
Shikamaru raised a finger, signaling Chiba to stay quiet.
Chiba nodded.
They all sighed with relief and carefully climbed down.
"You skipping class? "
"Hmph, isn't that obvious? Aren't you skipping too? "
Naruto sized up Chiba from head to toe.
"I thought everyone was studying hard now? "
Chiba was puzzled.
"Yeah, I tried for a bit, but it's too tiring, and graduating early is more troublesome. I figured staying longer isn't so bad," Shikamaru replied, chewing on grass lazily.
From their demeanor and tone, Chiba had a rough guess about their identities.
Choji quietly munched beside them.
"Heh, come on, I'll show you around," Naruto said with a smile.
Chiba smiled brightly. "If you don't study at this age, how can you even enjoy playing? "
"Huh? Who are you? " Naruto looked at Chiba in confusion.
Everyone here skipped class, but this guy acted like some high and mighty teacher.
"I'm just someone who can't bear to see you all go astray," Chiba said, shooting out several chakra threads.
He controlled all three as they climbed back up the wall. Naruto glared angrily, but—
Snap!
They fell off the wall.
Naruto wanted to climb back up for revenge but was held down by Shikamaru. Choji also wanted to go but stopped when Shikamaru didn't move.
Hanging with Shikamaru had never been a bad idea.
"We're no match for him. Better get back; the patrol teachers probably heard the noise," Shikamaru said as they headed back inside.
"Damn it! Don't let me run into him at school! " Naruto fumed.
"You wouldn't win even if you did," Shikamaru muttered, shrinking as he entered the classroom. "His chakra threads are really solid; we couldn't break free. If I'm right, he's that early graduate, Yagyu Chiba."
"Oh, him," Choji said after some thought, continuing to eat.
Indeed, they couldn't beat him.
"What's wrong with Yagyu Chiba? I'm going out to teach him a lesson." Naruto jumped over the wall in anger.
Shikamaru facepalmed silently.
Choji glanced at him, seemingly asking for his opinion.
"Forget him, let's run," Shikamaru said, quickening their pace.
Not long after, while sneaking back into class, Shikamaru saw Naruto walking right into a trap at the school gate.
So sad! I told him not to go, but he wouldn't listen.
Chiba was sitting by the school gate, chatting amicably with some teachers.
"Good kid, heard you already led surgery at the hospital? "
"All rumors, I just assisted. I can't perform surgeries." Chiba humbly shook his head.
"Heh, I think you're good. You use chakra threads better than any ninja from the Sand Village. Work on developing puppet techniques—let's see what Sand Village can brag about then! "
Puppet techniques?
The real skill was in crafting puppets, not the chakra threads or control techniques. That took decades of experiments and mastery. Unless Konoha got the Sand Village's secrets, Chiba could only "improve" it somewhat.
Otherwise, it'd be a thankless task.
Of course, the teachers were just joking, mostly impressed by Chiba's talent and ability. They hadn't chatted much and were just making conversation.
After a few words, Chiba left the academy, leaving Naruto standing awkwardly in the wind as punishment.
...
"Chiba, Hanpō-sama asked you to come by."
"Yes."
Chiba nodded and headed toward Hanpō's office.
He knocked lightly.
"Come in."
Opening the door, Chiba was momentarily stunned.
Besides Hanpō, there was an elderly woman who looked kindly but oddly familiar...
Hiss!
Tsunade, the old medical expert!
Chiba's heart skipped, but he kept calm and bowed respectfully.
"Chiba, come, sit. This is the village advisor and a highly skilled medical ninja," Hanpō introduced quickly.
Tsunade smiled faintly. "It's been years since I treated patients. I've forgotten much, so I just give some guidance. Not worthy of the operating table anymore."
Her medical demeanor was pragmatic, likely because technical skills are easily noticed.
Chiba thought to himself, "She's humble."
"Alright, let's get to the point. Kid, we called you here to ask if you're interested in becoming a specially appointed hospital ninja."
"Specially appointed ninja? "
Chiba was a bit confused.
"Yes, because you don't know medical ninjutsu, but from my observations, your chakra control is very strong. With training, you'd be excellent at surgical work. Many operations need experts like you."
Hanpō explained.
He had seen Chiba as a talented student before, but after yesterday, he realized he had underestimated him.
With Chiba's aptitude, he wouldn't take long to master the chakra scalpel and needle techniques, maybe surpassing veterans.
"No need. I'm still a student, and I still have books to read from Tsunade-sensei."
Chiba replied.
"No delay. Tsunade's busy with her studies too. You having this special status lets you participate fully."
Hanpō gently conveyed that Tsunade had been discouraged but wanted to continue improving.
Chiba wasn't naive.
The usefulness of chakra needles was proven; others must learn it, as he can't always be called for surgery.
He was still a kid! Even if willing, the medical ninja would feel awkward relying on him all the time.
Thinking it over, Chiba said, "If it's because of chakra needles... I tried adding fifteen more hand seals during rest yesterday. It should make the technique more stable and easier—better suited for medical use."
"Really?"
Hanpō's breath quickened.
Tsunade wasn't calm either. Others take years developing techniques—this kid improved the chakra needle in days.
"Yeah, exactly like that..."
Chiba slowly formed hand seals.
His original version had five seals; the simpler twenty-seal version was inspired by the Water Dragon Bullet technique.
Same ninjutsu: Second Hokage used four seals; Zabuza's team used forty-four—showing how the number of seals affects difficulty.
He went back and tried various combinations.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/Shinazuki