A faint smile surfaced on Tsunade's face.
Clearly, Uchiha Gen's answer had struck exactly the right chord with her. Her bright, expressive eyes shifted to the test paper he had completed, scanning it rapidly.
"Have you studied any medical theory before?" Tsunade asked suddenly.
"Only the basic human anatomy taught in class—enough to know the most lethal spots and how to bind a wound in battle before blood loss becomes fatal," Gen answered honestly.
"So Orochimaru wasn't exaggerating when he said you have a gift for theory."
Tsunade gave a slight nod and set the paper down.
"Almost perfect. Every answer matches the standard solution derivable from the material I gave you. Real operations will always vary, but I'm satisfied. Come—this afternoon I'll outline your next steps in medical ninjutsu training and prepare some resources. After that, even when I'm away, you can study on your own. Same rule as before: record every insight."
Soon the two of them left the room and entered another space crammed with medical equipment. After rummaging about, Tsunade cleared a table and hurried out again. Moments later, she returned gripping a rabbit by its ears.
"Fresh meat rabbit—today's teaching prop. Watch closely. We're starting with the most basic yet most practical jutsu: Hemorrhage Control Technique. It's C-rank, and requires no exotic chakra natures. Eyes open!"
Tsunade's style, from childhood to old age, had always been brisk; she launched straight into the demonstration.
"On the battlefield, to preserve fighting strength, we often skip anesthetic. For training purposes, though, we'll sedate the animal to keep it still. If your sensory control is fine enough and you've mastered the A-rank Chakra Scalpel, you could sever local nerves instead—but that's far beyond you for now. Let's begin with the fundamentals."
She drew a vial of anesthetic into a syringe from a nearby ampoule.
"The formula was in the test you just took; I won't repeat it. First, we..."
After slipping the needle into the rabbit's marginal ear vein, she guided Gen, using the corneal reflex and muscle relaxation to gauge the depth of anesthesia. Next came shaving the fur, then a small incision—followed by the detailed walkthrough of the Hemorrhage Control Technique.
Gen had quietly activated his Sharingan; the tomoe spun, capturing every micro-movement Tsunade made. Only at the two-tomoe stage could the Sharingan truly copy techniques, but even a single tomoe was helpful for motion mimicry. Any insight into chakra flow, however slight, was better than none.
Within seconds, the bleeding had stopped.
"After that, we normally bandage—the tightness depends on the severity and the success of the hemostasis. You can also suture the wound before casting the jutsu to ease the difficulty and reduce the risk of re-rupture. Large wounds almost always need stitches."
With a swift motion, Tsunade drew her scalpel again, this time carving a much longer gash.
"Like so."
The poor rabbit's ordeal wasn't over; after Tsunade's demo, it still had to endure Gen's hands-on attempts. Her skill was supreme: apart from some blood loss, the animal was healed on the spot once the lesson ended. When Gen took over, things got messier.
On his second try, he accidentally flooded the wound with chakra—and scorched it. In a way, the bleeding did stop, but the wound was cauterized.
"Once more," Tsunade said, her brows knitting. She sensed something was off.
Gen's mind flashed back to the original timeline: Sarada trying to show Sakura first-aid on a dead fish and ending up with a grilled fillet. Paging through his memories of the series and his own years in the Elemental Nations, he realized he'd never heard of a prominent Uchiha medic.
Is it a chakra-attribute issue?
Medical ninjutsu is fundamentally Yang Release. If the Yang aspect cannot dominate, other affinities surface. Both he and Sarada carried strong Yin and Fire natures. Everyone has Yin and Yang, but the Sharingan is the quintessential Yin bloodline; when Yin outweighs Yang, the Fire nature manifests more easily. The fact that he hadn't roasted the rabbit outright already testified to his decent control.
With that thought, he unequipped the Young Madara card.
[Uchiha Madara (Young) unequipped.] [Haruno Sakura (Academy Student) equipped!]
Because he had used the card before, no recruitment animation played. Gen felt his physical strength and chakra capacity drop several levels, yet he sensed something new in his control.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
He made a fresh incision on the rabbit's other flank, a gentle green light flickering in his palm as he pressed it to the cut. This time, the jutsu worked markedly better. It was still far below Tsunade's level, yet after a few minutes, the wound edges had begun to clot naturally.
He exhaled in relief. It was truly a case of finding a path when all seemed lost. It worked.
He had assumed that after digesting Sakura's abilities and drawing the Young Madara card, her card would gather dust except for theoretical study—yet here it proved its worth again. Seeing the improvement, Tsunade's brow relaxed; her earlier concern vanished.
"Not bad. Your fundamentals are solid and your chakra control is excellent. Where you'll end up, I can't predict, but mastering most basic medical ninjutsu won't be a problem for you."