Perhaps it was to give Allen a period of adjustment, or maybe they were observing his every move from the shadows, silently gathering intelligence and information.
In any case, over the next few days, the Third Hokage seemed to have completely forgotten such a person existed. Kakashi, meanwhile, left early and returned late every day, living a life as disciplined as a standard "salaryman"—hardly looking like a ninja who lived on the edge of a blade.
When a week had passed, Kakashi finally stuffed some living expenses along with an appointment letter into Allen's hand. "Here! Keep it safe; I went to great lengths to secure this for you. Also, starting today, you're to report to the hospital."
"The hospital?"
Allen glanced at the appointment letter, blinking in sheer confusion. He hadn't expected the Third Hokage to assign him to the Medical Department. While he possessed several Nen abilities capable of healing injuries, he had never demonstrated them in front of anyone. He couldn't fathom what the old man's objective was with this move.
"Yeah. Based on the Medical Team's research while you were unconscious, they discovered that your Kekkei Genkai can accelerate wound healing," Kakashi explained nonchalantly, his signature "dead-fish eyes" drooping. "Hokage-sama decided to let you try becoming a medical ninja to help ease the pain of the wounded."
"I see..." Allen nodded thoughtfully.
It made sense. As a form of life energy, regardless of the category, all Nen shared a common trait: the ability to enhance the body's natural self-healing capabilities. It was simply that the Enhancement category made this effect more pronounced.
Though he had never deeply developed his Enhancement abilities, usually treating them as a mere extra buff to apply to himself or his arrows when needed, it seemed now might be a good time to explore that path. After all, medical ninjas were a scarce and vital resource in this world; every Great Nation treated them like treasures. Even if captured by the enemy, they didn't have to worry about the same inhumane execution as other shinobi.
Having reached this conclusion, Allen quickly made his way to the hospital with his appointment letter to report to a female ninja in her thirties named Kiriko.
Upon reviewing the letter, Kiriko immediately offered a friendly smile. "So, you're the child who was in the intensive care unit for months and finally made a full recovery? That's incredible restorative power. You know, if an ordinary ninja doesn't make it out within three to five days, their chances are usually grim. To lie there for months and walk out alive, you're the first in history."
"Uh... what do I need to do now?"
Allen clearly didn't want to dwell on his "miraculous" self-healing and chose to change the subject.
"Per the Hokage's orders, we first need to conduct some tests on this power you call Aura. Come, we happen to have some small animals here used for medical ninjutsu training. Let's start with them."
With that, Kiriko led Allen into a room filled with iron cages. The cages were packed with various animals, from birds to rats. They were generally small, and the moment they saw someone enter, they became extremely agitated, letting out piercing screeches.
It was obvious these poor creatures had been wounded, healed, wounded again, and healed again so many times that they were deeply traumatized. An ordinary woman might have been moved by their pathetic cries, softened her heart, and released them all back into nature.
Unfortunately, Kiriko was no ordinary woman.
With practiced ease, she snatched out the squirrel that was struggling the hardest. She pulled out a senbon and made a roughly two-centimeter-long incision on its abdomen. Allowing the dark red blood to drip from her palm, she encouraged him with a smile, "Don't be nervous. Try using your ability to heal it."
"Understood."
Allen saw a certain numbness and indifference toward death in her eyes. He immediately activated his Enhancement-type Aura, applying it to the surface of the squirrel's wound.
In the blink of an eye, the bleeding stopped, and the wound began to close slowly. After about three to five minutes, the unlucky squirrel was finally out of danger, though it looked a bit weak.
Seeing this, Kiriko's face lit up with surprise. "Excellent results! It's even faster than the standard Healing Jutsu. It seems you can skip the animal testing phase and start trying to treat people."
"Is that so? This is the first time I've used it on a creature other than myself," Allen shrugged, acting indifferent.
In truth, he didn't know much about the specific effects of medical ninjutsu. He only knew that once a ninja mastered the "Healing Jutsu," they were qualified to be called a medical ninja. Most medical ninjas stayed at that level for their entire lives. The more advanced Mystical Palm Technique required not only high talent and control but also a significant amount of chakra.
Counting Tsunade and Shizune, who had been gone for years, and Kabuto, who was still lurking as Orochimaru's spy, plus the elite Medical Team, there were likely fewer than ten people in the village who truly mastered the higher arts.
Kiriko nodded seriously. "Exactly! It seems your Kekkei Genkai is naturally suited for being a medical ninja. Now, let's go to the wards and find a trauma patient."
Leaving the room full of screaming animals, the two wandered around the trauma ward for several laps before finally finding a patient with a light injury—a deep gash on his thigh caused by a kunai. Fortunately, though the wound was deep, it hadn't hit a major artery; otherwise, the man would have died on the way back to the village.
"Hey! Is it really okay to let a kid treat me? He's not even wearing a headband!" the young man, who looked to be in his twenties, questioned loudly. His career was on the line, after all.
"Don't worry! His healing ability is no worse than an average medical ninja's. Besides, I'll be here to guide him," Kiriko said, decisively flashing her Chunin status.
"Fine... I hope the result isn't too bad."
As the saying goes, a higher rank can crush a subordinate, and this was especially true in the militarily managed Hidden Leaf Village. As a Genin, he couldn't exactly defy an order from a Chunin. He could only silently pray that this boy without a headband could actually fix his leg.
"Relax. I'm simply accelerating cell division to make the wound heal faster. There won't be any other side effects," Allen reassured him.
He activated his Enhancement aura again to stimulate the wound. To avoid drawing too much suspicion, he intentionally throttled his aura output, taking a full five minutes to let the wound slowly close.
When it was finished, he made a show of wiping non-existent sweat from his forehead and said with feigned relief, "I did it!"
"Unbelievable! I didn't feel a single bit of pain!"
The young man touched his leg where the wound had vanished, completely stunned. Generally, when receiving the Healing Jutsu, one would feel intense pain accompanied by tingling and itching. Unless absolutely necessary, most ninjas wouldn't willingly undergo it, which was why many chose to just use bandages for light injuries instead of seeking a medical ninja.
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