"Chiba-kun, you're back!"
"Chiba-kun, you're finally back! About the special Soldier Pills—"
"Baicao, wait your turn. Modifying the military rations isn't as important as my chakra needles."
"What did you just say?"
"Enough! You're all crowding around Chiba, but he's only one person—he can't split himself in two, can he?"
Kitayama Xu arrived just in time.
Her sharp voice cut through the commotion, calming the crowd.
Then, she grabbed Chiba by the wrist and led him toward the office.
Baicao sighed, muttering under his breath, "Can't split himself in two, huh? You just wanted him all to yourself."
"What was that, Baicao?"
"Uh—I said, the captain is wise as ever!"
Baicao grinned sheepishly.
Kitayama Xu gave him a long, hard stare until he finally lowered his head, looking guilty. Only then did she continue walking with Chiba.
Back in the office, Kitayama Xu rubbed her temples wearily and began venting to Chiba as if spilling beans from a jar.
"Before you came, everyone lacked motivation. Most of them were just going through the motions. But ever since you showed up, the entire medical unit has changed."
"Hm?" Chiba looked puzzled.
People getting competitive… shouldn't that be a good thing in Kitayama Xu's eyes?
"The problem is, their skill hasn't caught up with their ambition. The medical unit's overall ability is still weak. Take the Joint Treatment, for example—it's your creation, but we can barely pull it off."
She spoke while handing him a notebook.
Chiba took it and flipped it open. Inside were notes on their attempts and observations about the Joint Treatment.
There were results—but not many.
"So, the group surgery technique has been successfully improved, then?"
"Yes. It's still beneficial—the lead surgeon can operate more steadily and with better focus. We've already started promoting it." Kitayama Xu nodded. "But as for that 'Telescope Technique' you mentioned, we're completely at a loss."
"I told you before—the Telescope Technique detects a specific kind of chakra for remote observation. In medical ninjutsu, there's no real need for long-distance monitoring…"
Chiba pointed to their notes.
"You're rushing too much. You need to take things one step at a time—achieve the first goal before moving on to the second or third."
"For example?"
Kitayama Xu was visibly moved, but inspiration still eluded her.
"Take this technique. Our goal is to locate the source of an illness inside the patient's body, and then, ideally, observe its condition through monitoring, right?"
"Yes, yes!" Kitayama Xu nodded repeatedly.
"Then divide it into two stages. First, create a technique that can detect the source of the illness. After that's done, improve it to achieve the second goal."
Chiba explained, "When creating a jutsu, impatience is your worst enemy."
"…"
Kitayama Xu opened her mouth, but her expression turned awkward. She fell silent.
She realized… Chiba now sounded more like a teacher.
"Did the teacher not understand?"
"N-no, I understood, I understood!" she replied quickly, cheeks flushing red. She lowered her head, thinking deeply before saying, "You're right. Detecting the illness itself isn't too hard. Detection is one of the basics for medical-nin, after all."
"Exactly. Then just refine it—make it faster and more efficient. That's all."
Simple, he said?
Kitayama Xu pressed her lips together, speechless.
Chiba tilted his head, realizing that what seemed simple to him was still too difficult for them.
He added helpfully, "You could try combining it with barrier techniques."
"A sensory-type barrier?"
Her eyes lit up. "Right! Why didn't I think of that?"
A single hint was all she needed.
As a seasoned medical ninja, she immediately understood the approach.
"As expected of Chiba!" she said, full of admiration.
After that, she asked a few more questions—mostly on behalf of others in the medical unit.
At this point, Chiba had already delegated the further improvement of the Soldier Pills to the others and was no longer directly involved.
However—
Kitayama Xu flipped to another page. "Regarding this medicine, Baicao and the others have hit a wall. You should take a look."
"Alright."
Chiba glanced at it.
It was the special military ration pill he had developed based on the Akimichi Clan's secret formulas.
Last month, he had only produced a prototype, but—like the Akimichi Clan's original—it had massive side effects. Without their strong physique, most couldn't handle it.
"The second version… what's this? The effect and side effects are even stronger?"
Chiba clicked his tongue.
What kind of 'optimization' was this, Baicao?
Were they trying to make a self-destruct pill?
Looking closer, Baicao had swapped in supposedly milder ingredients—but somehow, the potency had increased.
Seriously…
"To be honest, I don't have a better solution yet. But aside from the strong side effects, this version is actually pretty good."
The ingredients were cheap, the results impressive—the cost-performance ratio was top-notch.
If only the side effects weren't so bad.
"By the way, have you tried reducing the dosage? Talking about side effects without considering dosage is just nonsense."
"Uh…"
Kitayama Xu froze.
Reduce the dosage?
Everyone had been focused on the formula. No one had thought of simply using less.
It sounded a bit stupid at first—but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense.
If they used smaller amounts, maybe it could actually work!
She smacked her forehead. "I'll have them test that."
"Everyone's just starting to experiment with innovation," Chiba said with a smile. "Their thinking might still be limited. Give them time to open up a bit."
He couldn't really blame the medical unit.
They'd spent so long just following established methods—being able to conduct independent research at all was already a huge step forward.
Slow and steady.
Sooner or later, he'd have a whole team working on his projects.
Chiba could already imagine it—Konoha, growing wildly under the twin forces of wisdom and competition.
Leaving the office, he checked the Bodhi Seed on his body.
The rune representing Absorption Barrier had deepened—its lines more ancient and intricate, glowing faintly with golden light.
The other four runes had also improved noticeably, each radiating a distinct hue.
The medical unit deserved much of the credit.
"What exactly is the fifth ability? What changes after it starts glowing?"
Chiba frowned.
He could feel some kind of enhancement, but he hadn't yet pinpointed what it was.
Stepping outside, he began jogging around the village.
Halfway through—
"That's it! Let's go! Fifty laps on your hands! If you fail, run a hundred laps around Konoha!"
Chiba turned toward the familiar voice.
Of course—it was kid. But this time, it wasn't just Lee.
Mami was jogging beside them, while a boy in white clothes was walking on his hands right next to Lee.
Noticing Chiba's gaze, the boy flushed with embarrassment and frustration—but quickly suppressed it, continuing his exercise with a blank face.
Even Neji…
Come to think of it, Neji's situation might have something to do with him.
Chiba's expression turned odd.
Remembering how Neji opened the Eight Gates, an uncomfortable sense of irony washed over him.
What a mess.
Still—
Looks weren't everything.
Power mattered more than image. If Neji could cast aside his pride and train like this, Chiba was genuinely happy for him.
Unfortunately, the Caged Bird Seal was far too cruel.
No matter how strong Neji became, it was unlikely he could ever break free.
Chiba even suspected that the Main Family themselves didn't know how to remove it—
They had never intended for it to ever be undone.
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