CH_68

The lazy days didn't last long—Tōji had never intended to stay on "vacation" forever.

He figured Haruka was probably back in Konoha by now. Even if she took a couple of days off to rest, she'd be back at the hospital soon enough.

So he decided to go to Konoha Hospital and offer himself as her assistant.

Before she started work and began treating patients, Haruka was still gentle and soft-spoken with him.

But once she got into serious work mode, she was strict. Even if Tōji was just handing her a scalpel, scissors, or tweezers, if he was even a second slow, she'd lightly scold him: "Too slow."

Haruka treated Tōji like a real apprentice. After working with her for days, he noticed she barely spoke during procedures—except to scold him for not being fast enough, careful enough, or sharp enough.

Just as she'd said—how much you learned was up to you.

Haruka also made it clear to him: "Tōji, I won't be able to teach you advanced medical ninjutsu until you become a chūnin."

That meant, for now, he was strictly an "apprentice"—not a student.

But even being an apprentice was pretty good.

Haruka didn't explain any medical knowledge during treatments either—Tōji had to read medical books on his own every night.

He was used to it, though. Back in school, he'd learned theories, but when he actually started working, he often didn't know how to apply them—or couldn't remember the theory when he needed it.

That was where senior colleagues came in—guiding you on the job. You'd watch, then go back and review what you'd learned in school.

Those seniors never gave you patient, pleasant explanations either.

Maybe it was meant to make the "apprentice" value the opportunity more. That was Tōji's take on it.

He just hadn't expected the ninja world to be the same way.

Learning a trade was so hard—no wonder having a few clan jutsu at home was considered "having a foundation."

Even among the Konoha Twelve, only a handful ever learned new jutsu from their supervising jōnin.

One was Sasuke, who learned the 【Chidori】 from Kakashi. Another was Rock Lee, who learned the Konoha taijutsu style and the forbidden 【Eight Gates】 from Gai.

Anyone else? Tōji couldn't think of a single one.

Even going to Konoha Hospital didn't guarantee you'd learn medical ninjutsu.

Just like not everyone in the Intelligence Division could learn the 【Mind Reading Technique】, and plenty of barrier team members didn't actually know barrier jutsu.

It would take Minato's rise to seriously seek out people who could learn the 【Flying Thunder God Technique】. And it wasn't until Kakashi became Hokage that more common jutsu were widely taught—there was even a whole class of ninja learning the 【Eight Gates】.

Thinking about that, Tōji suddenly asked himself—should he take a shot? When Minato starts looking for people to try learning the 【Flying Thunder God Technique】, should he give it a go too?

A new opportunity had suddenly appeared, and it sparked some motivation in him. What if he actually learned it? Wouldn't that make him an elite bodyguard overnight?

Even if he could fully master the 【Flying Thunder God Technique】, though, he'd never reach Minato's level.

After all, Minato could learn Sage Mode—which meant his chakra reserves were already far beyond ordinary people. Even without Sage Mode, Minato naturally had more chakra than most. Not to mention his incredibly high combat IQ.

So Tōji figured—at best, he'd become one of Minato's top-tier "bodyguards." Like the Flying Thunder God Formation trio… basically high-level grunts.

"Then I really need to make an effort to get promoted in the upcoming Chūnin Exams." Because Minato was set to officially become the Fourth Hokage right before those exams!