WEEKLY POWER GOALS 💎🔥 30→2ch | 60→5ch | 100→8ch | 200→15ch | 400→25ch⏰ Resets Monday!
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"Water Style: Water Bullet Technique!"
"Water Style…"
A week passed in a flash. Under old Kosuke's guidance, the three kids were practicing water ninjutsu with growing enthusiasm.
Chiba listened nearby, his ears perked. Right now, he felt like… well, like a chicken with no teeth trying to eat corn. Utterly useless.
He understood the principles of many water techniques. But without water-natured chakra? All that perfect chakra control was just wasted potential.
And Chiba wasn't a monster. He couldn't just beat these kids half to death for rewards… Damn it.
"Hey! Nagato, you got water all over my face!"
"Hah! I was aiming for it. Take this, Nagato!"
The serious training didn't last long. Soon, the ninjutsu practice devolved into a full-blown water gun fight. Kosuke didn't stop them. He just watched with a gentle smile.
Lord Tobirama… when you taught me water style, you probably watched me just like this, didn't you?
"Hey! No fair, two against one?!"
Yahiko, the instigator, quickly found himself on the receiving end of a combined assault from Nagato and Konan. He weaved and dodged like a snake, shouting towards the figure lounging under a distant tree.
"Nawaki! Big bro Nawaki! They're bullying me! Help!"
"No." Nawaki didn't even open his eyes. His refusal was lazy, absolute. He was a mature adult now. No way he was joining childish games.
"Nawaki, you heartless bastard!" Yahiko cried out, voice full of mock betrayal. "My first time was with you! Is this how you treat me?!"
"Your first time getting strung up and beaten from a tree doesn't count as a 'first time,' you idiot!" Nawaki shot up from the ground, thoroughly provoked.
"Ah, shit! Shiiiiit—!"
And so, Yahiko's list of pursuers grew by one. His shrieks of terror grew louder, echoing across the clearing.
Heal the wounded, save the dying…
Kosuke's lesson was effectively over. Chiba went back to his brooding. How could he reap rewards from these three high-quality… subjects?
A while later, Chiba's eyes suddenly lit up. He'd been thinking about this wrong.
Psychological wounds… weren't those also a form of injury?
So many people died from mental issues. Healing someone's psychological trauma… didn't that count as healing?
(Hmm… why wouldn't it?)
All three kids were war orphans. They definitely had PTSD—severe mental disorders caused by experiencing or witnessing threats of death to themselves or others.
Chiba felt he had to try.
If treating psychological trauma also yielded rewards… then his methods of 'procurement' had just doubled.
…
After dinner, Chiba had the three kids sit in a row before him.
"Big brother Chiba, why did you call us here?" Konan asked, confused.
Nawaki and old Kosuke wandered over too, curious about what Chiba was up to.
"Here's the thing," Chiba began, his voice calm and measured. "After spending time with you all, I've realized something. You three are sick. And it's quite serious."
The three kids: "???"
Yahiko jumped to his feet. "You're the one who's—pfft! I mean, big brother Chiba, we're perfectly healthy! We eat well, sleep well!"
He caught himself mid-insult, finishing with an awkward grin.
Chiba wasn't offended. He smiled and nodded. "True. Your bodies are healthy. But inside those healthy bodies? Your hearts are riddled with scars."
"Don't rush to deny it. Don't feel ashamed. These psychological issues aren't your fault. The fault lies with the war. With the ambitious men who started it."
Chiba's voice was gentle, unhurried. It felt like a warm spring breeze to the children.
"Let me help you work through this."
In his previous life, to get that extra edge, Chiba had studied for a psychological counselor's license. He'd learned a fair bit. Guiding three kids to lower their guards and face their issues head-on? Easy.
Now, he truly understood the phrase 'knowledge is power.'
Honestly, PTSD sufferers weren't rare in the ninja world. Kids were dragged onto battlefields right after graduating, watching friends, family, comrades die. How could their minds not break?
Throw in a little manipulation from the wrong people afterward? Of course they'd turn dark.
Especially someone like Nagato, who hadn't even had a proper childhood. A few well-placed words from anyone—good or bad—could twist him completely.
"…So, only by facing these problems directly can you establish a strong, healthy core belief system."
There were many treatments for PTSD. For this first session, Chiba chose the most common: cognitive behavioral therapy.
Ding! Treatment successful. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining…
The system prompt rang out mid-sentence. Chiba froze. The kids were nodding along, engrossed.
Psychological treatment was supposed to be a long process. Chiba was prepared for a marathon…
This was just the beginning! How could it be 'successful' already?!
Chiba hurriedly opened the system notification.
Reading the details carefully, he realized the reward wasn't from the three kids.
It was from Kosuke Maruboshi.
Chiba whirled around. Leaning against the wall, old Kosuke—who had been silently listening—was now weeping openly.
Saving Nawaki in battle had already begun to loosen the old shinobi's knots. Chiba's guidance tonight… it was the final push. Kosuke had chosen to let go. To make peace with his past self.
"So the system does recognize psychological healing as a form of 'saving the dying.' This method… it really works!"
Chiba's eyes burned with intense light.
And the reward for successfully treating Kosuke?
New Chakra Nature: Water.
"This confirms my earlier theory too. Through the system, I can slowly acquire all chakra natures. I might even comprehend the power of Kekkei Mōra!"
In Chiba's eyes, this reward was even better than the one from healing Jiraiya.
"Does this mean psychological treatments, being long-term, yield higher quality rewards?"
A theory formed in Chiba's mind. His gaze towards Nagato and the others grew… hungry.
These three kids would become major figures in the future. If he could truly heal their psychological wounds… what incredible rewards awaited him?
Yahiko's wind nature?
Konan's Paper Dance?
Or perhaps… Nagato's Rinnegan?!
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