"Yeah, war is terrifying." Kosuke sighed, as if recalling some painful memories. "Thankfully, you're now a medical ninja. You won't have to worry about that kind of danger anymore."
Generally speaking, medical ninjas would choose to work at Konoha Hospital. Even if war were to break out again, their duties would mostly be in rear-line support.
"I saw my teacher and comrades die on the battlefield right before my eyes because they didn't receive timely treatment. That's why I wanted to become a medical ninja.
Of course, another reason is that I don't really have a knack for fighting."
Seeing Aoshi's sorrowful expression, Kosuke could completely relate. Both of them had experienced the pain of losing comrades.
"Everyone has their own strengths. I believe your teacher and comrades would be proud of the person you are today."
"I hope so... But I'm not planning to stop training either. I'll keep getting stronger so that one day I can protect everyone in the village!"
Having grown up in Konoha, Aoshi naturally had deep feelings for the village he'd called home for eighteen years. But he wasn't some great saint out to save the world.
He just knew that saying such things would make Kosuke approve of him more—and give him a good excuse to continue learning kenjutsu.
Even with a system backing him, he couldn't afford to neglect actual training. Strength was the only way to survive in the ninja world.
He never had a choice before. But now that he did, he was determined to grow stronger quietly and steadily.
"Good kid. Once I'm discharged, you can resume your training with me. I'd like to see whether your sword skills have progressed or not."
Before Aoshi could even ask, Kosuke offered on his own initiative, much to his surprise and joy.
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Thank you, Uncle Kosuke. But for now, you need to focus on recovering."
After returning to his office, Aoshi began studying the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique he had just acquired. It was a B-rank Water Style jutsu—also famously known as the jutsu with the most hand seals in the entire ninja world, requiring 44 seals in its original form.
Of course, simplified versions existed. The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, a master of Water Release, could perform the jutsu with just three hand seals.
He had passed on this technique to Kosuke.
Though Kosuke couldn't do it in three seals, he had shortened it to just six. The version Aoshi received through the system also only required six seals.
"Looks like the jutsu granted by the system is based on what the patient actually knows." From this, Aoshi gained further insight into how the system's reward mechanics worked.
"And I got lucky too—the first elemental jutsu I received happens to match my own chakra nature."
He had tested his chakra nature before—it was water. With guidance from his instructor, he had trained in Water Release nature transformation. But due to poor talent, he had never succeeded—until recently, when he finally grasped the nature change after years of effort.
So the Water Dragon Bullet came at the perfect time.
Of course, if the system had granted him a jutsu from another chakra nature, Aoba could still perform it. System-granted techniques were directly implanted into his mind—it felt as if he had practiced them for years.
However, without fully mastering the corresponding chakra nature transformation, the jutsu would remain rough, disrupting its flow and leaving dangerous openings in battle.
And in a ninja battle, even a second of hesitation could mean death.
That's why Aoshi felt so lucky.
Later, Aoshi completed five more treatments, earning two white orbs and three blue orbs. The white orbs raised his chakra by 30 points total. The blue ones increased it by another 200.
Including the earlier 90 points, he had gained 320 chakra points in one day—raising his total to 820. He also received a genjutsu and another ninjutsu as rewards.
After work, Aoshi went to his usual training spot. He swiftly performed six hand seals and launched Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
A torrent of water burst from his mouth, rapidly forming into a massive dragon. Under his control, the dragon let out a roar and crashed into a large tree.
Boom!
With a thunderous explosion, the giant tree—thick enough that two people would need to link arms to encircle it—was snapped clean in half.
Seeing the terrifying power, Aoshi was thrilled. He finally had a powerful finishing move in his arsenal.
The only downside was that he couldn't publicly use the Water Dragon Bullet yet. After all, it was a B-rank Water Style jutsu.
Still, that wasn't a big issue. Once he consulted Kosuke and claimed to have learned it through water-nature training, it would be fine. It was a reasonable explanation since his chakra nature was water.
"As expected of a B-rank jutsu… Just one use nearly drained all my chakra." Aoshi let out a tired breath, wiping sweat from his brow. "I seriously need to boost my chakra reserves."
Because he had no target, he decided not to test Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death. After a bit more training, he returned home.
As an orphan, Aoshi had grown up in Konoha's orphanage. Only after becoming a ninja did he gain the ability to live independently.
Over the years, by completing missions, he had saved enough money to buy a small home on the outskirts of the village. With a genin's income, buying a house in the main district was out of the question.
As for renting? He didn't see the point. With a ninja's strength and speed, crossing the entire village took mere minutes. A slightly longer distance was hardly worth worrying about.
The night passed without incident, and morning arrived quietly.
---
Aoshi arrived at Konoha Hospital full of energy—completely unlike your average tired worker.
"Aoshi-sama, we have another patient for you." While Aoshi dove into his work, Tsunade—still sleeping in at the Senju compound—was woken up by Kushina.
"Tsunade-sama, don't forget that you promised to go to the hospital today to check in on Aoshi."
"It's only a little past nine..." Though she grumbled, Tsunade still got up.
"It's barely past nine…" Tsunade groaned, rubbing her eyes. Still, under Kushina's nagging, she got up.
By the time she arrived at the hospital, it was already past ten. Kushina didn't come along—she was staying with Mito to study sealing techniques.
"Tsunade-sama!" Seeing her, Minako Fukumura was both shocked and overjoyed. It had been over a year since she'd last seen Tsunade at Konoha Hospital.
As the deputy director of the medical division, Minako had taken on the responsibilities that rightfully belonged to Tsunade, the head of the department.
"Long time no see, Minako." Tsunade offered a casual nod before getting straight to the point. "Do you know someone named Hirakawa Aoshi?"