Soaking in the bathtub, Hoshita Shūichi closed his eyes and pondered the double agent mission.
The key to being a successful double agent was gaining the trust of both sides.
Konoha wouldn't be a problem—he was a loyal shinobi of the village, vouched for by his sensei Namikaze Minato, and his ideological alignment was impeccable. The real challenge was maintaining the Daimyo's trust over the long term. Beyond the mission itself, the Daimyo's financial backing was crucial. It provided an alternate source of funding, allowing him to experiment freely.
"Maybe I could introduce some geniuses to the Daimyo?" Shūichi mused. "Like Kakashi... A 30-50% referral fee wouldn't be unreasonable, right?"
Then he frowned. "But if Sarutobi Asuma gets recruited, would he blame me for it?"
His thoughts spiraled until he finally stepped out of the bath and refocused.
"My current role is close-combat focused, with medical ninjutsu as a secondary skill," he muttered while dressing. "Medical ninjutsu is a given, but for close combat, kenjutsu will be my main path. The Crescent Moon Dance is decent, but it's not enough to make me a jonin, let alone an elite one."
Though still a genin, Shūichi knew he had to plan his future carefully.
"After mastering the Crescent Moon Dance, I should focus on Wind Release chakra nature transformation and integrate it into my sword techniques to create my own secret style."
"As for Fire Release... it's either about brute-force chakra or combining it with other elements, like Wind."
Time and energy were limited. Without the "Talent Tree," he'd have no choice but to dedicate himself entirely to Wind-enhanced kenjutsu.
Once dressed, Shūichi headed straight to Konoha Hospital. During his training in the Mystical Palm Technique at the Daimyo's palace, he'd accumulated several questions—ones only Yakushi Nonō could answer.
But before he could find Nonō, he ran into someone unexpected: Tsunade, whom he hadn't seen in ages.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shūichi quickly bowed.
"Brat... here to see Nonō?" Tsunade paused mid-stride.
Shūichi nodded. "Yes, for medical ninjutsu training."
Tsunade acknowledged him with a grunt and was about to leave when she suddenly turned back. "Hey, have you ever considered developing that Memory Palace of yours into a full-fledged sealing technique?"
Shūichi's eyes lit up. "You've had the same idea, Lady Tsunade?"
"I've already experimented with it—turning the Memory Palace into a mental seal. I even developed a preliminary technique, which Minato-sensei later refined."
Tsunade frowned slightly. "Minato... his sealing skills aren't bad."
She knew of Minato—Jiraiya's student, Uzumaki Kushina's lover, and a fuinjutsu practitioner trained by Kushina herself.
"If that's the case, never mind." Tsunade waved dismissively and turned to leave.
But Shūichi quickly intercepted her. "Lady Tsunade, even if we share the same concept, our approaches might differ. Exchanging ideas could lead to breakthroughs!"
After a brief hesitation, Tsunade relented. "Fine. My office. Now."
In her office, under Tsunade's scrutinizing gaze, Shūichi replicated the refined sealing technique Minato had perfected.
Tsunade crossed her arms and studied it. "This is already highly polished. You've turned the Memory Palace into an illusory space, reinforced it with fuinjutsu, and enabled controlled memory input and output."
She narrowed her eyes. "So this seal is specifically designed for certain memories?"
Shūichi grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "As expected of Lady Tsunade!"
"The original idea was to mitigate the mental strain of Shadow Clone memories."
Tsunade's expression shifted thoughtfully. "Shadow Clones? You're using them for training?"
"Be careful. Beyond memories, the fatigue can kill you if you're not careful."
"Though I'm sure Minato already warned you."
Shūichi nodded. "He did. But Lady Tsunade, what's your take on this?"
Instead of answering, Tsunade posed a question of her own. "What do you think a ninjutsu is?"
Shūichi paused, then replied, "The controlled release of chakra in various forms—wind, fire, lightning, illusions, and so on."
Tsunade smirked. "Good answer."
"Many techniques—seals, curse marks, even pre-set formulas—can be embedded in the body and activated at will."
Shūichi immediately thought of the Hyūga's Caged Bird Seal, which had both active and passive triggers. The active trigger allowed the main family to blind branch members at any moment, while the passive trigger destroyed the Byakugan upon death or extraction.
Another example was Danzō's Dead Demon Consuming Seal, or the binding curse mark that immobilized Uchiha Sasuke during their battle. Such techniques were far from simple—if they were easy, everyone would be using them.
Shūichi's eyes narrowed. "Lady Tsunade, are you suggesting using this for medical ninjutsu?"
Tsunade nodded. "The original Memory Palace was just a mnemonic device—something anyone could learn. But as a seal, it becomes an illusory, fortified space, like a library where memories are stored as books... or even personas."
"Similarly, medical ninjutsu could be stored the same way, ready for instant use without hand signs."
Shūichi's breath hitched.
Was this something a "native" should be conceptualizing?
But upon reflection, pre-set techniques weren't unheard of. Ninjutsu scrolls existed—Nara Shikaku had used one against Kakuzu.
Tsunade's idea, however, was systemic and large-scale—and involved the brain.
After a moment, Shūichi said cautiously, "Lady Tsunade, there's a vast difference between storing memories and embedding techniques like seals or jutsu."
The Memory Palace was a mnemonic system—associating information with familiar locations for rapid recall. Shūichi's version used Konoha as the foundation, which was why he'd considered sealing it in the first place.
But ninjutsu required chakra, not just thought.
Tsunade scoffed. "Of course I know that."
"If the Memory Palace can systematically store memories, why not medical ninjutsu?"
"Take the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique. With this, you wouldn't need to predict an enemy's attack."
"Thoughts and neural signals are faster than any physical movement. The technique could activate the moment before impact."
Shūichi's pulse quickened.
This was revolutionary—and terrifying.
A single flaw in the seal, and a medical jutsu could erupt inside the user's brain.
But Tsunade's grin was fearless.
"What ninjutsu isn't dangerous?"
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