Chapter 42 – Recovery in the Hospital
The sun slowly peeked over the horizon, its morning rays breaking through the clouds and draping the Hidden Leaf Village in a veil of soft orange light.
Taichi lay idly on the hospital bed. Normally, at this hour, he would already be by the riverside, diligently practicing his kenjutsu. But today, the moment he even tried to get up for light exercise, a patrolling nurse caught him and firmly scolded him back into bed.
Sometimes he truly wished he could just heal himself with the Mystical Palm Technique and be done with it. But he knew full well—that would only do more harm than good.
In battle or on the battlefield, such a choice might be justified. But under normal circumstances, no ninja with the slightest desire to live long would recklessly use medical ninjutsu to repair extensive cell damage. After all, such healing works by consuming cellular potential, forcing accelerated replication to close wounds. In other words—it was trading away lifespan for a faster recovery.
And since Taichi wasn't the type to recklessly over-refine his chakra either, all he could do was lie there and let time do its work.
Nurses came and went, checking on him with unusual frequency, as though they'd been specifically instructed to make sure he didn't sneak out of bed.
Until—
"Taichi! Haha, so you really are here."
The door burst open as Yōhei stumbled in noisily, carrying a basket of fruit. Right behind him came Captain Yamaguchi, and Saori holding a bouquet of flowers.
"I didn't believe it when Captain Yamaguchi said you got injured this morning. We just split up yesterday—how did you end up hurt this badly already?" Yōhei asked, scratching his head, clearly unaware of the details.
Taichi glanced at Captain Yamaguchi, who discreetly shook his head. Taichi understood at once: this incident was to remain classified, not something genin should know.
"I got dragged into a… special mission. Things turned out like this," Taichi replied with a helpless smile.
"Ohh~ special mission? Tell me, Taichi, what was it? Come on, tell me!" Yōhei's eyes lit up, practically bouncing with excitement.
Thump!
Captain Yamaguchi's fist landed squarely on Yōhei's head, silencing him instantly.
"How many times have I told you? Secrecy! Se-cre-cy! Do not pry into another ninja's missions," the captain scolded harshly.
Yōhei wilted like a plucked chicken, sulking in the corner and doodling circles on the floor.
"You guys don't have a mission today? Why are you here so early?" Taichi quickly changed the subject, not wanting Yōhei to feel embarrassed.
Saori, who had just placed the flowers in a vase, answered gently:
"We picked up a cat-retrieval mission today. Lucky for us, the cat was still near the spot it went missing—we found it quickly."
She sat by his bed, straightening his blanket before continuing:
"We reported the mission and came right here to see you. How bad are your injuries? How long before you're discharged?"
"The doctor said four days. Once the external wounds are healed, I'll be free to go." Taichi smiled, warmed by their concern. "Good thing you came. I've been stuck here with nothing to do—it's unbearably boring."
"Don't push yourself. Injuries like yours can leave hidden complications if not properly healed," Captain Yamaguchi added seriously.
"Yeah, I know…" Taichi sighed, then turned to Yōhei, who was still sulking. "Yōhei, with me down, you'll have to carry more weight for the team."
"Haha, no problem! I actually caught today's cat myself!" Yōhei sprang back to life, puffing up with pride.
He immediately launched into an exaggerated retelling of the mission—how he cleverly spotted the first clue, how they set up the perfect trap, and how he heroically grabbed the cat. His lively gestures soon had the whole room laughing.
For a while, the small team chatted and laughed together in Taichi's hospital room. But when the nurse came for another check, they were shooed away, leaving Taichi alone once more.
The room fell quiet again. For someone who usually filled every minute of his day with training, Taichi felt strangely restless with nothing to do.
His mind wandered—sometimes to his past, sometimes to the wars looming in the future. But most often, his thoughts circled back to his own strength.
The last battle had taught him a crucial lesson: instead of scattering effort across countless jutsu, it was far more effective to specialize in a handful of versatile techniques.
In that fight, the techniques he relied on most were the fully-mastered Phoenix Sage Fire and Great Breakthrough. His other elemental jutsu were only used sparingly. That wasn't just because of circumstance—it was because he had trained those two to the point of instinct. In battle, the slightest edge in speed or familiarity could be the difference between life and death. Both of his opponents, in the end, had fallen to his sudden, decisive strikes.
Another factor was the raw power behind his jutsu. Beyond his innate "Enhanced" talent boosting their strength, his nature transformation levels were already beyond what most ordinary jōnin could manage.
Normally, reaching Lv6 in a nature transformation was considered jōnin-level proficiency. Of course, that alone didn't make someone a jōnin—rank was based on overall ability, not a single skill.
Take Taichi himself: even with Lv7 nature transformations, his physical stats and combat experience still limited him. At best, he was at chūnin level.
Even so, it was an impressive achievement for his age. In the past, Taichi had advanced his nature transformations by practicing jutsu over and over, letting familiarity deepen his understanding. But after Lv6, that method yielded little progress. He needed a new approach, something more deliberate.
Thinking this, he slowly raised his right hand. Carefully, mindful of the lingering pain in his chakra pathways, he gathered chakra into his palm. A faint blue glow coalesced—slowly, but steadily.
Taichi glanced at the room around him, then decisively shifted the energy into water-natured chakra. The blue light faded, replaced by a fist-sized orb of clear water hovering above his hand.
This was nature transformation in its purest form.
Staring at the ball of water in his palm, Taichi focused intently, making it spin, stretch, and shift. Sometimes he would disperse it back into raw chakra, only to reform it into water again. Before long, he became completely absorbed—until a system prompt suddenly appeared.
[Through continuous practice of Water Release transformation, Water Nature Transformation +1]
"So this works too?" Taichi's eyes lit up in realization. Of course—it wasn't just about training, but also about understanding.
The panel had already given him a hint. Wasn't his Great Water Prison Technique something he had comprehended in battle? That moment of insight alone had given him a full +1000 points.
With a new goal in sight, Taichi laughed to himself. The boredom was gone. He once again gathered chakra into his hand, carefully sensing and unraveling its transformation.
---
The Next Day
"Excuse me, is Matsushita-kun here?" A knock came at the door.
Taichi frowned, dispersing the chakra from his hand. Who could it be at this hour? He thought for a moment but couldn't figure it out.
"Please, come in."
The door opened, and in stepped three people: the Kurama clan head, his wife, and their daughter, Kurama Chizuru. They carried gifts in their hands.
"We heard you were hospitalized, Matsushita-kun," the clan head began with formal politeness. "We came to visit, and also to personally thank you for saving our daughter."
"Clan Head Kaita, you're too kind. I'm sorry I can't get up to greet you—my injuries keep me in bed," Taichi replied respectfully. Though in his heart, he couldn't help but think, These great families really do speak in such a measured way.
"Taichi-nii, these flowers are from me! Thank you for saving me!" Chizuru slipped free from her mother's hand and bounded over, offering a small bouquet.
"Chizuru, mind your manners," her father chided sternly.
"It's alright. I like her just the way she is." Taichi quickly patted the girl's head, trying to soothe her before she teared up.
The clan head let it slide with a sigh—it was his daughter, after all.
"Matsushita-kun," he continued, "we came not only to visit, but also to ask—do you need anything? Your help meant a great deal to us, but we're unsure what would be useful to you. Ordinary gifts wouldn't suffice, so we wished to hear from you directly. Please don't take offense."
Taichi could feel the sincerity from both of them. They truly wished to express their gratitude.
But he shook his head. "Uncle Kaita—pardon me calling you that—but this was just my duty as a Konoha ninja. There's no need for thanks. Besides, Lord Hokage has already rewarded me with an A-rank mission credit."
"The Hokage's reward is from the village," Kaita said firmly. "But we, the Kurama clan, must also show our gratitude. Otherwise, people would say our family does not know how to repay kindness."
"Well… in that case," Taichi hesitated, then spoke, "could I trouble you for some of your clan's genjutsu materials?"
"This—" the clan head paused, troubled. "Matsushita-kun, our genjutsu is based on our bloodline's ability to manipulate the five senses. Without that inheritance, it would be useless to you."
Taichi quickly clarified, "Forgive me, Uncle Kaita, I didn't mean your clan's unique techniques. Just general genjutsu scrolls, the kind available outside your family."
"Oh! In that case, no problem. I'll have them sent over as soon as I return."
"Thank you so much, Uncle Kaita. I've been in need of those lately—you've really helped me a great deal!" Taichi exaggerated his gratitude just a little, to reassure the clan head.
In truth, he genuinely wanted to study genjutsu. His spiritual strength was far greater than most, yet without techniques to apply it, much of that potential went to waste.
The visit ended on a pleasant note. After chatting a little longer, the Kurama family took their leave.
That very same day, the genjutsu scrolls Taichi requested were delivered to him.