Chapter 259: Favoritism
When it came to teaching Sakura Haruno, Mizuki had given it a lot of thought. Tailoring instruction to the individual—teaching according to talent—was the most effective approach.
The first thing he discarded was elemental ninjutsu. Sakura's chakra nature leaned toward Water and Earth, both highly chakra-intensive. Yet, her chakra reserves were small—far too limited to support large-scale elemental techniques. Although Mizuki had taught her chakra-concealing techniques that could help compensate for this flaw, the chances of her using regular nature transformations to catch up with Sasuke Uchiha or Naruto Uzumaki were slim at best. Unless she could master nature transformation and then combine it into a Kekkei Genkai like Wood Release, it was unrealistic.
Unfortunately, there had never been a recorded case of someone developing Wood Release through normal means. And as for transplanting First Hokage cells—forget it. Mizuki wasn't about to become another Orochimaru, experimenting on his students like lab rats.
Next was taijutsu, which Mizuki also set aside. It could be part of regular training, sure, but not Sakura's main path. Even in the original timeline, with Tsunade's "monster strength," Sakura struggled against Sasori of the Red Sand. She had the power to end a fight with one punch, but she simply couldn't land a hit. In the end, she barely scraped out a win with Chiyo's help.
This suggested her taijutsu talent was limited. Whether due to Tsunade's teaching focus or innate aptitude, Sakura never showed exceptional taijutsu growth. Mizuki himself wasn't a taijutsu expert, either—he had no secret techniques to offer. All he could do was help her drill the basics and build a strong foundation.
Among all conventional jutsu, genjutsu was where Sakura had the most potential. Combined with barrier techniques and sealing arts, this could give her a powerful and well-rounded toolkit. However, Mizuki hesitated. Transforming her from a burst-damage medical ninja into a control-type genjutsu specialist felt like a waste of her healing talents.
Mizuki had always advocated for developing balanced, versatile ninja without glaring weaknesses—especially for civilian-born shinobi without bloodline limits or secret clan techniques. Without overwhelming advantages, settling for mediocrity or becoming a niche specialist simply wasn't an option. You had to be good at everything.
"Medical ninjutsu is such a pain…" he thought. "Without Tsunade's guidance, I'll have to rely on my own pharmacological and biological knowledge to develop effective healing techniques. Starting from scratch is too much—looks like I'll need to shortcut through Yang Release. Does that mean… I need to start studying Yin-Yang Release?"
Teaching was never easy. Now that he'd accepted Sakura as a disciple, Mizuki wanted to do it right. Besides, it was also a chance to reexamine and refine his own knowledge. Teaching helps the teacher grow too.
As for his ultimate trump card—Sage Mode—Mizuki still wasn't sure. His own version was bootlegged at best. He wasn't certain if Sakura was suited for it. Better to refine it further before deciding. If she could eventually master it, she'd become something like a humanoid Tailed Beast. Her fists alone would rival monster strength, and with flexible natural energy control, she might even surpass it.
But there was another problem to consider. Since Sakura had chosen to study under Mizuki rather than Tsunade, she had lost access to a significant asset: the Slug Summon, Katsuyu, of the Shikkotsu Forest.
This creature was one of the largest known in the ninja world. No one had ever seen Katsuyu's full form or witnessed her true strength. Even Tsunade and Sakura together, using their Yin Seal chakra, couldn't summon Katsuyu's complete body.
That entire support system was now gone—no more large-scale healing, chakra-sharing, transmission, teleportation, or brute-force backup. Could anything fill that gap? A jellyfish summon, maybe? Mizuki himself didn't believe in that. Still, some external aid was necessary. Without it, surviving the early, most dangerous stages of growth would be much harder.
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On the first day of training, Mizuki didn't introduce too many drastic changes. He taught Sakura the Shadow Clone Technique, along with the critical skill of chakra division control. With her sharp intellect, Mizuki believed Sakura might unlock this jutsu's full potential.
He was especially curious to see what she could achieve once she overcame the chakra bottleneck. If she could withstand the influx of memories and sensations from multiple clones, something miraculous might happen. Mizuki had high hopes.
He also gave her a high-level medical jutsu:
"Fine Extraction Technique" (細患抽出之術)
This wasn't your average healing ninjutsu. It was a true advanced technique that even Mizuki could barely use. The difficulty wasn't just in the complexity—it was in the materials needed for practice. High-end medical ninjas required not only chakra control and strong fundamentals but also rich hands-on experience. Only in a village like Konoha, with a structured medical system, could such talents be nurtured.
The hospital's heavy influx of wounded ninja, while a burden, also served as practical training grounds for medics. By rejecting Tsunade's mentorship, Sakura had also given up access to these crucial resources. Mizuki couldn't hope to offer anything comparable to what a whole village could provide. Even so, he had to try—Sakura needed this, and so did Mizuki.
The Fine Extraction Technique was a B-rank ninjutsu, a clear indication of its complexity. It sat just below the likes of Mystical Palm Technique and Chakra Scalpel in difficulty.
Its main function was to use precise chakra sensing to locate internal injuries or toxins, surgically open the affected area, and remove harmful substances—a powerful healing and detoxification technique. However, it demanded an incredibly steady hand and chakra control; a small mistake could do more harm than good.
Its real value? Organ transplantation.
Mizuki had traded several universal elixirs to Tsunade to acquire this rarely shared technique, known only to a few within the Konoha medical corps. For most, its use in removing poisons or foreign substances was already incredible.
But Mizuki saw further: this jutsu held the key to perfecting his biological modification experiments, particularly in safely transferring or regenerating vital organs.
To be continued...
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