Chapter 85: Sakura Haruno's Lessons

"Sakura, why didn't you participate in the Chunin Exams?"

"Well, I didn't have suitable teammates, and Sensei Aoba said I don't need to take the Chunin Exam. He told me there are other paths I could follow."

"Like a medical ninja, right?" Sasuke, who had a family background in the ninja world, knew more than Naruto and Karin.

"Medical ninjas can be promoted without going through the Chunin Exam. As long as they master specific medical jutsu and accumulate enough practical experience, they can advance directly, isn't that correct?"

"That's right."

"That's so unfair! Why don't you have to take the exam?" Naruto immediately felt wronged.

"Idiot," Karin interrupted. "That's because medical ninjas are trained to save lives, while regular ninjas are trained to take them. Our tests are for combat, while Sakura's tests focus on healing."

Though Karin's words may have sounded harsh, they hit the heart of the matter. Ninja, no matter how it was dressed up, was a profession of killing. The forest battle they had just gone through, with young participants no older than fourteen, was proof enough.

The four continued eating without a care, when two other teams entered the restaurant. They were Asuma's team with Shikamaru and Chōji, and Kurenai's team with Hinata, Shino, and Kiba.

"Hey, Chōji, Shikamaru, over here!" Naruto called out loudly. The others were already used to his style and paid it no mind; anyone else might have lost patience with him a long time ago.

All the Genin crowded around the tables, making space to sit together.

"Where's your sensei?" Asuma asked casually.

"Who knows? Lately, Sensei Aoba has been busy with something. He promised to take us out for barbecue, but we haven't seen him at all," Naruto complained.

Sakura, who actually had an idea of where Aoba was, stayed silent. Aoba hadn't yet invited her into his lab, but since she studied daily at his house, she had already realized that he had a large basement—likely a secret lab. Although she hadn't been inside, it was clear he wasn't hiding it from her, and she figured he'd take her there eventually.

The others didn't know this, so she decided not to mention it and held back from saying anything unnecessary.

Meanwhile, Ino pushed Naruto aside and sat next to Sasuke. Usually, Sakura would have tried to sit on his other side, but this time she just sat quietly, deep in thought.

"What's up, Sakura? You seem a little distracted," Ino commented.

"Oh, it's nothing… I was just thinking about how to use medical ninjutsu on two different wounds with each hand while saving as much chakra as possible."

Everyone at the table fell silent, and Sakura continued explaining without noticing.

"I can perform healing jutsu with both hands at once, but if the wounds differ, I need to channel different amounts of chakra to each hand. Medical ninjutsu requires precise chakra control, and it's harder than trying to draw a circle with one hand and a square with the other."

The silence continued, and Sakura finally noticed the odd looks around her.

"Oh, sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. Let's just eat."

"… Sakura, is this… part of Aoba's training for you?" Kurenai asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Sensei Aoba has very high standards for chakra control. It took me a while to learn how to use healing jutsu with both hands, so now he's assigned me this new task. I still can't do it, so I need to keep practicing."

Kurenai stayed silent, digesting the surprising revelation. She knew Aoba had taken Sakura as his disciple, but hearing her describe this task was something else.

"If I'm not mistaken, you've only been his student for a little over two months, right? And in two months, he expects you to do something like this? Is that… considered a long time?"

Kurenai's question voiced what everyone was wondering. All the Genin there had seen medical ninjutsu before.

Typically, one would gather chakra in one's hands after casting the jutsu and apply it directly to a wound, but using healing jutsu on two separate injuries, while conserving chakra? That seemed like something only Lady Tsunade herself would need to consider.

"Hold on, I don't get it," Asuma interrupted, finally piecing together a contradiction. "Doesn't healing jutsu need hand signs? How can you even start another jutsu while using one if you can't perform any hand signs?"

Sakura's expression turned slightly awkward.

"…Does healing jutsu really need hand signs?"

"…Are you kidding?" Asuma asked, taken aback. "Do you think all ninjutsu are like Aoba's nin-tai jutsu, which don't need any signs at all? Healing jutsu requires precise chakra control, including a transformation into Yang Release—how could it be…"

Asuma stopped, noticing that Sakura's hands were now glowing with soft green light.

"…Is that…" Shikamaru finally perked up, his curiosity piqued as he watched Sakura's display. As the heir to the Nara clan, he knew more than he let on, and though healing jutsu wasn't rare, using it with both hands like this was something else.

Asuma had questioned the hand-sign requirement for jutsu, and Sakura's counter, that healing jutsu even required signs, had left them all speechless. The most shocking part was that she demonstrated it right there.

Next to her, Naruto nudged Sasuke and whispered, "Hey, Sasuke, is Sakura's stuff that amazing? It doesn't look that powerful. My Rasengan doesn't need signs, either."

"...Idiot," Sasuke muttered, inching away from Naruto, wanting to distance himself.

Kurenai and Asuma, who understood the difficulty, were especially struck by the apparent ease with which Sakura had mastered such advanced control.

"…I think I finally understand why Aoba chose her."

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Currently on Chapter 126 - Giving Too Much