"Kyoichi, are you ied in having an official position at the hospital? You’d only o give lectures and uidance from time to time—the pay isn't an issue."

  "I think I’ll pass on that."

  Kyoichi was at a loss for words.

  Like attracts like.

  Sarutobi Biwako was a tough oo deal with. The moment she saportunity, she tried to reel him in. If he hadn't been familiar with such tactics, he might have caved uhe pressure.

  Holding an official position at the hospital certainly had its perks, but it would also mean being tied down with responsibilities.

  Right now, things were perfect—

  Daily training, tinuous learning, and time to researew jutsu.

  As for money, as long as he had enough, that was all that mattered.

  More importantly, there were no signifit bes to this deal. Sure, he had just gained profi Chakra Scalpel Teique, but mediinjutsu wasn’t his main focus.

  His only reason for learning mediinjutsu was to master the Strength of a Hundred Seal and Creatioh. That was it.

  Biwako seemed a little disappointed, but she uood. As a Jōnin leading a squad, Kyoichi was already busy training his students and pleting missions. How could he possibly have time for anything else?

  Tsunade walked him out of the hospital.

  As they stepped outside, she couldn't help but ent, "I'm surprised you turhat down. If you accepted, over time, you’d gain immense prestige in Konoha."

  "I'm not aiming to be Hokage. Why would I care about that?"

  Kyoichi shrugged.

  In this world, strength was the only true power. Fame and status? Just illusions.

  Even if you became Hokage—so what?

  All five Kage together still couldn’t defeat Madara Uchiha.

  Tsunade silently agreed, but she still found his perspective intriguing.

  "Then what do you want to do?"

  "I want to be a teacher. Train tless talents and strengthen Konoha at its core."

  Kyoichi answered without hesitation.

  It wasn’t a lie—he had repeated this belief many times before, aruly meant it.

  Tsunade chuckled at his response.

  "Train tless talents… Strengthen Konoha at its core…"

  It was a noble idea.

  But unfortunately—

  Without the Hokage’s full support, su endeavor would be like a rootless tree, easily cut down before it could grow.

  Hiruzen was a petent leader, but in times like these, petence wasn’t enough.

  Tsunade fell into deep thought.

  "Kyoichi-sama, do you have any tips for quickly mastering mediinjutsu?"

  "Tips? Watch more, learn more, train your chakra trol extensively. The more stable your hands and the more precise your teiques, the better your surgical skills."

  If you’re taking it as a sedary discipline, you’ll also need a strong enough chakra reserve to keep going and a resilient body.

  Kyoichi thought to himself.

  Shizune pondered for a moment, then sighed softly.

  "Lady Tsunade said that my chakra trol talent is limited. While I bee a det mediin, it’s unlikely I’ll ever truly master her skills."

  "Being a det mediin is already a great achievement."

  Kyoichi ruffled Shizune’s hair.

  When she was little, she had an adorable, slightly dazed look—especially when someone messed with her hair…

  "Kyoichi-sama!"

  "Alright, alright, I’ll stop." He chuckled. "That aside, if you really want to improve your chakra trol, try maintaining two non-flig jutsu simultaneously."

  With that, Kyoichi gave a demonstration.

  First, Earth Spear. Then, his entire body became enveloped in Wind Release chakra. And finally—

  Boom!

  A single punch shattered a roadside boulder into pieces.

  "If she could do that, she wouldn’t o ask you for advice."

  Tsunade eechless.

  Three jutsu at once?

  That was an incredibly advanced level of chakra trol.

  "It’s just maintaining two at the same time. If she do that, she work her to three, then more, step by step."

  "Yes!"

  Shizune nodded firmly.

  No harm in trying!

  Even this brief bit of teag earned Kyoichi a bit of proficy.

  Not a bad deal—just a few words, barely took any time, a free experie of it.

  ---

  "Shizune, help me tidy up the house this afternoon. We’re moving back."

  "Huh?"

  Shizune froze.

  Weren’t we staying at Kyoichi-sama pce?

  The Kanda house wasn’t huge, but it had enough space for three people. She had slept well there st night, and sihey were only staying temporarily, she hadn’t thought it was necessary to up Tsunade’s house.

  "You’re ing. No more questions. Or do you pn to keep living at his pce?"

  Tsunade shot her a look.

  "Well… it wouldn’t be a bad idea…" Shizune mumbled hesitantly.

  "Hmm?"

  "Just stay at my pce," Kyoichi said casually. "I live alone anyway, so it’s a bit b. Besides, there’s always someo your house."

  Tsunade blihen, she quickly used sensory perception to check—

  And instantly, she eechless.

  This kid…

  Shadow e training? Seriously?

  He never failed to surprise her.

  "Fine, we’re not moving then."

  But Kyōichi uood what that meant.

  If it was just a temporary stay, Tsunade wouldn’t have even sidered moving back.

  But the fact that she thought about it… meant she had no iion of leaving anymore.

  He wasn’t sure what ged her mind, but he had a feeling it had something to do with him.

  …Had he moved her?

  Kyoichi fell into thought.

  Well, whatever.

  Tsuaying in Konoha was a good thing. If she could take over as Hokage earlier, eveer.

  Not that Minato wasn’t qualified—

  Kyoichi believed Minato would make a fine Hokage. But pared to the old schemers running the vilge, his experiend political skill weren’t enough.

  In the end, it would likely turn into a sario where one Hokage sat in office while three advisors and Konoha’s “darkness” pulled the strings.

  Only Tsunade had the strength to suppress them.

  But—

  If she wao bee Hokage, she couldn’t just sidestep her problems. Tsunade had to properly overe her hemophobia. Otherwise, that weakness would eventually e back to haunt her.

  Thinking of this, Kyoichi flipped through the medical books in Konoha’s library—

  Only to find that the vilge didn’t have anything on psychological treatment.

  No wonder so many people here are mentally unstable.

  ---

  The m—

  "Tsunade-nee, I had trouble sleeping st night, and I realized something."

  "Hm?"

  "Studying medie won’t save Konoha."

  "…Huh??" Tsunade frowned, fused.

  Kyoichi expined his thoughts.

  "Konoha’s mediinjutsu is already highly advahese days, a lot of ninja losses aren’t due to physical injuries, but psychological trauma…"

  At first, Tsunade was skeptical.

  But as Kyoichi tinued, her expression gradually became serious.

  She had noticed these issues before. But she had ruly paid them much attention.

  Now, hearing Kyoichi y it out clearly, she realized—he had a point.

  Physically, Konoha’s medical skills were the best in the ninja world.

  But psychologically, they had done almost no research at all.

  That was a huge gap!

  "For example, one of the most tragic cases—Sakumo-senpai. If someone had properly seled him, given him psychological treatment, we might still have another powerful shinobi in the vilge."

  "Sakumo’s case was plicated… but yes, the old man didn’t ha well."

  Tsunade sighed.

  But then—

  She thought of Kakashi.

  That kid was a mess. If they were going to study psychological treatment, he’d be one of the first ones who needed help.

  And then… there was herself.

  Tsuook a deep breath and said, "You have a point. This is a form of medical treatment. The stage of mediinjutsu should be psychological healing!"

  "Tsunade-nee, you should take the lead on researg and implementing it."

  "…Huh? You little brat, don’t think you just push this onto me. This was your idea."

  "I don’t have the time to research it. If you really want to give me credit, just put my name on the papers."

  Kyoichi shook his head.

  He wasuo take charge—not just to help her gain mnition and solidify her position, but because he was simply too busy.

  All he could do was share the psychology knowledge he had learned in his past life.

  As for actually developing a proper mental health system?

  That to Tsunade.

  Gcell