With Jonin-level hand seal speed and expert culinary techniques,
Kei Yamanaka whipped up a lavish dinner in under an hour.
This was even with Kushina barging in halfway through and insisting on a massive pot of rice for ten people, plus requesting that the final few dishes be made in extra-large portions.
Otherwise, Kei alone would've been more than efficient enough within just half an hour.
The meal was finally served.
Tsunade, already starving to the point where her stomach felt like it was pressed against her spine, called out "Itadakimasu!" before diving in with hurricane-force intensity.
The rice in the pot vanished as if time had been fast-forwarded.
Even the generous portions of stir-fried dishes disappeared before your eyes.
Wait, weren't you just fighting Pain?
Seeing Tsunade's eating frenzy, Kei froze mid-reach with his chopsticks.
If Kushina hadn't mentioned earlier that Tsunade had been waiting for him for days, he'd suspect this woman had just come back from a real-life street brawl.
"She's recently been developing a jutsu. It's quite draining."
Kushina noticed her boyfriend's shock at Tsunade's eating style and offered an explanation while a flicker of envy crossed her pretty face.
She didn't care much about the jutsu development itself—it was Tsunade's ability to eat all sorts of delicious food without restraint that made her jealous.
Advanced medical ninjutsu requires Yang Release nature transformation,
similar to the Akimichi clan's secret techniques, which quickly store fat from food and then convert that fat into chakra.
Given Tsunade's mastery over medical ninjutsu, no matter how much she ate, she gained exactly where she wanted and lost exactly where she needed—never worrying about her figure going out of shape.
In fact, eating more could even replenish her Yin Seal's chakra.
Wasn't it obvious how jealous she was?
"Huh??"
Kei first thought of that auxiliary Yin Seal technique specifically designed to suppress genjutsu.
But then again, it probably wasn't that serious. After all, this was someone who originally developed the Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Seal—a person capable of reconnecting herself after being severed in two.
A small, technically simple little seal like that shouldn't be too hard for her.
Plus, Tsunade had the [Miracle Healer] skill listing; she should figure it out in just a couple hours tops. No way that was the issue.
So, is it a new jutsu then?
Come to think of it…
"Tsunade-nee, with your current level of medical ninjutsu, do you think you could create a jutsu for transferring life?"
Taking advantage of a brief pause between Tsunade's bites, Kei hurriedly asked.
Tsunade's hand paused slightly above the rice bowl, her mind instantly flashing to Orochimaru, and her eyes suddenly sharpened as she lifted her gaze.
"Life transfer, huh? Huh… You actually know medical ninjutsu?"
"Erm... I know a few Medical Water Release techniques."
Setting down his chopsticks, Kei replied awkwardly.
Back when he was in the Analysis Team, he had witnessed the memories of several medical ninja and had even practiced medical ninjutsu for some time.
Unfortunately, his innate chakra lacked Yang Release, and whenever he activated medical ninjutsu, his chakra instinctively carried some Yin Release properties.
Training was hard enough, and even when he managed to use them, the effects remained highly unstable.
A half-dead fish that had received treatment would either suddenly die after performing a Thomas twist followed by a one-and-a-half somersault, or stiffen up like a pig that's been whacked on the head and die on the spot.
If he hadn't received the purple skill listing [Water Release Master] and the system had given him a temporary boost, allowing him to quickly grasp several medical Water Release techniques from his memories,
His Medical Ninjutsu...
Well... it might be best suited for adding a few grilled fish or pots of fish soup for his colleagues in the Analysis Team.
"Medical Water Release is a very gentle technique," said Kei Yamanaka.
After hearing Kei Yamanaka's explanation, Tsunade's sharp gaze softened noticeably.
Unlike Medical Ninjutsu techniques such as Mystical Palm or Life Reincarnation, which rely on Yang Release chakra, Medical Water Release primarily utilizes water-natured chakra.
This is due to differences in chakra natures.
The former forces rapid activation of cells near the wound, stimulating them to divide and regenerate quickly to heal the wound.
The latter provides large amounts of energy and nutrients required by the body through Water Release chakra, allowing the cells to naturally enter a state of stable division and regeneration thanks to this energy.
In terms of healing efficiency alone, conventional Medical Ninjutsu far surpasses Medical Water Release.
However, massive cell division and regeneration inevitably consume the patient's life energy at an alarming rate.
That's also why many seriously wounded ninja still feel weak even after recovery.
Although Medical Water Release heals more slowly, it is much gentler on patients and causes significantly less physical damage than conventional Medical Ninjutsu.
Many people with severely deteriorated body functions are better suited for treatment using Medical Water Release.
In short, someone who could ignore instantly effective conventional Medical Ninjutsu and specially choose the more patient-friendly Medical Water Release—how truly bad could they be as a person?
Tsunade resumed eating rice quickly again, wolfing it down before refilling her bowl. Only during this brief pause did she speak again.
"You asked about Life Transfer—what are you planning?"
"...I've heard of a technique called Dragon Life Reincarnation. It utilizes Yang Nature Transformation to transfer the caster's life energy to another person, completely healing any injury, no matter how severe."
"Hmm, I've heard of it too—the technique used by the Dragon Clan of Grass Village through their Kekkei Genkai. However, once performed, the caster dies. Can you accept such a cost?"
"Some people and things are more precious than life itself. Also... sometimes regret can hurt worse than death."
After Kei Yamanaka finished speaking, silence fell over the dinner table.
Tsunade held the newly filled rice bowl, poking at the grains with her chopsticks, eyes vacant.
Kushina felt moved and was about to wipe away a tear when she noticed Kei secretly forming the hand seals for the Mind Body Switch Technique under the table, aimed directly at her.
Eh...?
Ugh!
Give me back my emotions!
Kushina's face flushed red with frustration. Afraid Tsunade would notice her sudden reaction, she quickly lowered her head and began poking at her rice with her chopsticks.
Rice: I'd rather have died in the pot.
"...Do you have any idea about this type of Ninjutsu?"
Tsunade snapped out of her reverie.
She had to admit that even someone like herself—who believed she had nothing left to lose—would feel a longing for such a technique.
If only such a technique had existed back then... perhaps things would have been different.
"Among the secret techniques recently inherited from the Hozuki Clan, there's a jutsu known as the [Hydrification Healing Technique]. It allows the user to transform their body into water, enveloping the target's wounds in liquid form to accelerate healing. This process involves Life Transfer."
"However, this Life Transfer is purely passive—it doesn't even begin to touch its true essence. I've heard that Takigakure's secret technique, [Earth Grudge Fear], can completely transfer life energy into special black tendrils..."
"There are also some ruthless individuals in Fire Country's underground currency exchange group who practice a technique called [Death Reaper Reincarnation], which transfers life energy along with blood into their hair..."
"Then there's the Fuma Clan, who possess a once-in-a-lifetime Ninjutsu known as [Dragonfly Ninjutsu: Metamorphosis]. It channels life energy to trigger a full-body transformation, healing all injuries before they emerge from the transformation like a butterfly from its cocoon."
"Oh right, Shinno—the medical ninja who has visited Konoha several times—is said to specialize in bodily activation and has mastered the forbidden [Body Regeneration Technique]."
"If we can understand those first few Life Transfer methods, refine them a bit, and combine them with either the Fuma Clan's [Metamorphosis] or Shinno's body regeneration technique... maybe we could create something akin to [Dragon Life Reincarnation]."
Kei Yamanaka muttered thoughtfully while outlining his initial plan.
Tsunade's gaze toward him shifted—from gentle understanding to growing caution and doubt.
Does this kid even know what he's saying?
It was bad enough with just the Tatsu Clan from Grass Country. Now Mist Village, Takigakure, the underground currency exchange group, the Fuma Clan, and that enigmatic medical ninja Shinno... all at once.
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