"Since you're here, don't just stand and watch." Shizune stepped up to the operating table and said, "Kitazawa, prepare the Blood Coagulation Jutsu and activate it when I give the signal."
"Got it." Kitazawa moved to the opposite side of the table, extended his hands, and aimed them at Uzuki Yugao's wound.
Chakra Scalpel. Shizune's expression remained calm. She brought her fingers together until they formed a sharp, knife-like shape.
She made an incision at the wound site, carefully removing the necrotic internal tissue, and then picked up a real scalpel.
"Kitazawa." With the scalpel, Shizune gently cut deeper into Uzuki Yugao's wound. Blood gushed out at once.
Kitazawa reacted instantly. The moment Shizune called his name, he used the Blood Coagulation Technique.
Off to the side, Yakushi Nono, who had been observing, showed a brief look of surprise. Such precision and control. She remembered Tsunade saying that Kitazawa had only studied medical ninjutsu for about half a month.
His talent was truly rare in the ninja world.
Delicate Illness Extraction Technique! Once the bleeding was under control, Shizune formed hand seals. A pale green chakra flowed from her hands into the wound.
Uzuki Yugao trembled slightly and let out an unconscious groan.
After a full minute, a dark ball of blackened liquid floated out from the wound, drawn by chakra, and dropped into a prepared container of clear water.
"Hand me the antidote." After over ten minutes of repeating the technique, Shizune extended her hand. Kitazawa immediately handed her the medicine bottle nearby.
Shizune uncapped it, and the translucent liquid flowed along the wound into Uzuki Yugao's body. The black discoloration gradually faded, replaced by healthy white skin. Her abdomen began to regain its natural glow.
"Kitazawa, Healing Jutsu." Shizune set the bottle aside and gave the next instruction.
Light green chakra was emitted from Kitazawa's hands again. Under his treatment, Uzuki Yugao's abdominal wound slowly closed and began to heal.
"Excellent work, both of you." Yakushi Nono spoke gently. "The operation was a success."
She then opened the door and let the nurses outside enter the room. Two nurses pushed the unconscious Uzuki Yugao toward a ward that had already been arranged for her.
"Kitazawa, do you remember the technique I just demonstrated?" Shizune wiped the sweat from her brow as she turned to ask.
Even with her experience, over ten minutes of continuous technique had left her tired.
"I remember it clearly, Senior Sister Shizune." Kitazawa nodded.
"Senior Nono," Shizune turned to Yakushi Nono and asked, "Does the hospital have any practice models available?"
Of course, she wasn't referring to patients, but simulated humanoid models.
"You want him to practice already?" Nono asked, clearly surprised.
The Delicate Illness Extraction Technique was a B-rank medical jutsu. Usually, students would spend at least a week on theory first.
"He's unusually talented, so some steps can be skipped." Shizune sighed.
"Geniuses really are something else."
Understanding Shizune's reasoning, Yakushi Nono glanced at Kitazawa before turning to leave the operating room. Before long, she returned, pushing a humanoid model.
Kitazawa eyed it curiously. It resembled a real person, right down to the skin and texture.
"It's filled with animal flesh and blood," Nono explained. "I poisoned its abdominal area."
"Kitazawa, give it a try." Shizune stepped aside and motioned him forward.
"Alright." Kitazawa moved closer and placed his hands on the artificial abdomen. Soon, the light green chakra began to glow softly.
Shizune couldn't help but twitch her lips in amusement. Even though she expected this, watching Kitazawa master B-rank ninjutsu so quickly still surprised her.
"This..." Yakushi Nono, witnessing it for the first time, was left momentarily speechless. She had learned the technique years ago and had taken half a month just to grasp the basics.
"Failed. That's a shame." Kitazawa said, observing the dissipating chakra and shaking his head.
"If this is your first attempt, it's already better than most." Yakushi Nono finally responded after a few seconds.
"Senior Nono, don't worry about him—he's always like this," Shizune commented sarcastically.
After teaching Kitazawa for over half a month, she'd come to understand his personality. He was mostly normal but had a tendency toward subtle mischief.
"I've got other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave." Nono smiled warmly, unfazed, and turned to go.
With Tsunade away for long stretches, Nono was effectively in charge of the hospital and had plenty of responsibilities.
"Keep practicing." Shizune leaned back against the wall with folded arms, watching him.
Kitazawa glanced at her with a raised brow—her pose was ordinary, far less provocative than when Tsunade did the same.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Shizune narrowed her eyes. "Feels like you were thinking something inappropriate."
"Of course not," Kitazawa replied casually. "I was just wondering where your pet pig went."
"At home." Shizune blinked, then answered, "It's not convenient to bring her into the operating room."
Kitazawa shrugged and went back to practicing the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
The evening passed, and soon it was nine o'clock at night.
"Let's call it a day." Shizune yawned. "Come to the hospital again tomorrow."
"Sure." Kitazawa paused, then reminded, "But tomorrow's the final exam. I can only come in the afternoon."
"The afternoon, huh..." Shizune bit her lip and considered. "Alright, that works."
She wasn't against teaching him, but leaving Tsunade alone made her worry. Still, this was Konoha. Nothing too serious should happen.
"Let's check on Tsunade-sama."
Shizune and Kitazawa returned to the dean's office.
"Tsunade-sama has already left. Probably went to the casino." Nono said with a helpless sigh. She respected Tsunade deeply, but her gambling habit constantly damaged her public image.
"Let's go!" Shizune's expression darkened as she turned and walked off.
Kitazawa picked up his pace and quickly caught up to her. Without another word, Shizune soon arrived at the nearest casino.
Just as she was about to enter, a commotion erupted not far away.
"Stop! Pay back the money!" Two young guards were chasing after an elderly woman who moved as lightly as a swallow.
"Tsunade-sama?" Kitazawa blinked and asked.
"It's her," Shizune answered with a pained expression.
"Do you want to help pay Tsunade-sama's debt?" Kitazawa asked, barely holding back his laughter.
"No need." Shizune shook her head. "I don't need the IOU anyway."
"So, what should we do now?" Kitazawa glanced in the direction where Tsunade, still being chased, disappeared at the far end of the street.
"Wait," Shizune replied with the tone of someone far too experienced in this. "She'll shake them off soon enough."
"Senior Sister Shizune, you've really worked hard." Kitazawa couldn't help but sigh.
"More than hard..." Shizune almost teared up at his words.
She had been following Tsunade for so many years, and not a single day had been peaceful.
This time, only because Kitazawa had returned to Konoha, she had finally been living a somewhat stable life.
"Hmph, those people are so annoying! It's not like I won't pay them back!" A familiar figure suddenly dropped from above. Tsunade landed lightly in high-heeled sandals and walked up to them.
Kitazawa's eyes twitched. The moment her feet touched down, the visual impact was intense.
"How did your training go today?" Tsunade looked at Kitazawa and asked.
"It went well." He thought for a moment and answered.
"Alright." Tsunade waved her hand and said, "Go home!"
---
The next day arrived.
Because it was the day of the final exam, the students of Class A, Year One, came much earlier than usual.
"Naruto." Inuzuka Kiba turned around and asked, "Did you review your lessons lately?"
"Nope," Naruto replied. "I've been training after school, so I didn't have time to review."
"Great!" Kiba grinned. "That means I'm going to beat you in this exam too."
"I thought you were genuinely concerned about Naruto," Ino commented sarcastically.
"Isn't this a form of concern?" Kiba said proudly. "It's tied to who's footing the bill for dinner later."
"You can study for the theory part, but not the practical exam," Naruto said with confidence. "As long as I place first in the practical exam, I can beat you."
He still remembered losing to Kiba in the last monthly test.
"First place? That belongs to me and Sasuke-kun!" Sakura suddenly appeared, hands on her hips. She believed she'd claim first in theory, while Sasuke would dominate in the practical exam.
"Sakura, that's not a sure thing." Ino shot back without hesitation. "More than two of us are training under Kitazawa-sensei now, remember?"
"So what?" Sakura asked fearlessly.
"Let's make a bet." Ino narrowed her eyes. "Loser buys the winner a dress."
"Are you serious?" Sakura looked momentarily hesitant.
"Of course." Ino tucked her hair behind her ear with a smirk. "Do you dare?"
"Fine! Let's bet!" Sakura said quickly. "No one else can take first place!"
Ino glanced at Shikamaru, who lay sprawled across his desk. She thought to herself: You really have no idea how scary high-IQ people are.
The reason she dared to bet at all was because she knew Kitazawa had pressured Shikamaru to rank in the top ten—or else he'd have to attend summer special combat training.
No matter how lazy Shikamaru was, with stakes like that, he'd definitely use his genius-level mind. In a scenario where victory was almost certain, it would be foolish not to gamble—especially with a good friend like Sakura.
"Sasuke, what do you think?" Sakura turned to the silent Uchiha Sasuke.
I'll use my Sharingan to find out. But he hadn't awakened it yet.
"We'll know the results soon enough," Sasuke said calmly.
"Sasuke's right!" Sakura said quickly, stars in her eyes.
"Hopeless girl..." Ino couldn't help but shake her head.
Aburame Shino adjusted his glasses. He felt that this final exam might be the perfect opportunity to prove himself. After all, the Aburame clan's presence was usually overlooked.
By nine o'clock in the morning, Kitazawa walked into the classroom of Class A, Year One, carrying a stack of test papers.
The previously rowdy classroom fell instantly silent.
"The rules are the same as always, so I won't repeat them. We'll begin distributing the papers now." Kitazawa started at the first row, handing out the test sheets one by one as he moved to the back.
After completing the distribution, he returned to the podium and opened a paper reserved for himself.
Since there was a mission tied to this, he had to complete it too.
He glanced down at the questions. Although he hadn't written them, they were all very familiar. Will of Fire, Konoha History, Traps, Intelligence, Mathematics...