My Techniques are a bit off

[I... saw it!]

Link jolted awake, sitting up abruptly in bed.

What the hell did I even see?

He instinctively stretched his neck, letting his shadow quietly wipe the sweat from his face. Sliding into the slippers that the shadow had neatly placed by the bed, he made his way to the bathroom.

Taijutsu training... it's really a bit much.

Being pelted with stones by a taijutsu expert of Might Guy's caliber, it had taken him a full month to traverse just ten meters toward his teacher—only to get beaten up at close range.

That's just how taijutsu training worked. Even in the manga, when Tsunade trained Sakura, she emphasized that "medical-nin must never be hit" before relentlessly attacking her to train her evasion skills.

Maybe I should be grateful that the person beating me up isn't one of those crazy strong women.

As Link brushed his teeth, he absentmindedly ran a hand over his sore muscles. Though the pain lingered, his injuries were long gone.

Medical ninjutsu wasn't something to be casually used. Excessive chakra stimulation to rapidly regenerate cells could shorten a person's lifespan. Fortunately, his Delicate Illness Extraction Technique filled this gap, allowing him to recklessly use chakra to heal his body during training—a luxury no one else had.

Without this technique, he wouldn't have had the time to balance work, taijutsu training, and the intensive practice required for medical ninjutsu.

With this skill, he was a certified grind master.

With Guy-sensei off on a mission and Naruto and other's out of the village...

"Ptui!" Link spat out the rinse water. Watching time slip by so quickly always left him with an inexplicable sense of urgency.

After breakfast, he jogged two laps around Konoha to warm up, packed a bento prepared by his shadow, and headed to the medical division building.

"Three left... I'll need to grab a few spares soon."

He scooped up the fish from his tank, watching as it thrashed violently before slowing, its mouth opening and closing as it neared death. Only then did he place it on the table.

Focusing his chakra, his hand emitted a soft glow as he pressed it against the fish. The influx of chakra quickly revived the dying creature—though it seemed to revive just to endure suffocating again.

"Splat!" The fish slapped his hand with its tail.

"Splash!" Link casually tossed it back into the tank, a satisfied look on his face. His reflexes and speed had steadily improved thanks to taijutsu training, while his chakra control, honed through medical practice, was also advancing.

Being able to easily revive a fish on the brink of death was proof of his growth. After years of accumulating knowledge and months of focused training, his chakra control had already surpassed the level Sakura achieved three months into Tsunade's training.

"I wish Tsunade could train me too..."

Link sighed wistfully. As a master medical ninja, Tsunade's chakra control was unparalleled.

Her legendary super strength was the ultimate testament to this skill—concentrating an immense amount of chakra into her fists or feet in an instant required absolute precision. For others, such control took significant time and effort, but Tsunade and her students executed it flawlessly in battle.

After tormenting the fish a bit more, Link spent the morning in the library studying medical texts. By noon, he finished his bento and headed to the hospital.

"Good afternoon, Link-san."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Link greeted the departing ninja with a smile. His reputation had grown beyond the jōnin circle and into the wider community.

Much of this fame stemmed from his work at the hospital. A young medical ninja with a calm and kind demeanor, Link was well-liked—especially by ninja who often danced with death.

The hospital wasn't busy today, so after making his rounds, Link left for Nara Ensui's apartment.

"Ding-dong."

"Coming!" Nara Ensui opened the door with a smile. He looked much healthier. "You're here early today."

"Yeah, the hospital wasn't busy at all..." Link's tone was calm as he gestured for his teacher to sit on the couch.

Focusing his chakra, he activated the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.

"Whew." Ensui's breathing grew heavier as his bones and muscles realigned. Though he endured the discomfort in silence, the process left him visibly drained. Once the session ended, he said, "I heard that Iris and Ami will participate in this year's Chūnin Exams..."

"They've already decided?" Link observed his teacher's condition while steadily outputting chakra. "Another five to ten sessions, and you should be able to extract chakra and perform ninjutsu normally again."

"They have," Ensui replied, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "They don't want to fall too far behind you."

He paused before adding, "Thank you. And... about this technique—"

"I haven't told anyone."

Even the Nara clan wasn't aware of the near-complete recovery Ensui had achieved.

The value of this technique surpassed all of his previous achievements. By restoring any cellular damage, it essentially offered a pathway to immortality. If word got out, it would bring unimaginable danger from both Konoha's leaders and the Land of Fire's elites before he could fully develop his abilities.

"..."

After a moment of silence, Link softly replied, "Understood."

Switching topics, he lightened the mood. "This year's Chūnin Exams are going to be tough. I hear the Sunagakure is gearing up to make a big impression..."

The Sunagakure had secured ownership of the Gold Mine through a fake Land of Fire merchant, sparking fierce protests and underhanded tactics from the Land of Fire. While the two nations were locked in a bitter dispute, Amegakure ninjas exploited the chaos to openly invade the Land of Rivers and begin mining operations, disregarding both Fire and Wind's protests.

The situation had devolved into a tangled mess, with the allied nations unable to risk war to resolve it.

With tensions high, the upcoming Chūnin Exams promised to be explosive.

~~~

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