Naruto: Can't Use Ninjutsu? I'll Create the Strongest Fighting Style-Chapter 40 - 38: A Bandaged Bandit Walks In. Garou Walks Out.

"Uh... and you are?"

Though Garou obviously knew who he was, he could only pretend otherwise for now.

This man's thoughts were more unpredictable than a storm in the Land of Lightning.

Well, one thing was predictable.

Danzo definitely wanted to become Hokage. And no doubt, he was probably bitter that Hiruzen was still alive and well.

Garou muttered mentally.

"I'm Danzo Shimura," the man replied flatly.

"My apologies... I didn't recognize you."

"Danzo, what is it?"

The Third Hokage's voice drifted from inside the office.

Garou gave a slight bow. "I still have errands to run, I won't intrude further."

Danzo nodded stiffly and entered the room with his usual scowl. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Garou had no idea what they talked about, but Danzo acknowledging him at all said one thing.

It wasn't just the Hokage watching him. Danzo had his eyes on him now, too.

And likely not just him.

Orochimaru still had plenty of informants in Konoha, including one who worked regularly at the hospital.

Garou was probably on his radar by now, too.

Garou left the Hokage building, walking slowly.

He wasn't afraid, but he was uncertain.

Where was his path headed?

His attachment to Konoha wasn't particularly strong.

As far as he was concerned, whoever could make him stronger was worth following. But after some thought, Danzo was the first name he crossed off the list.

The old vulture was dangerous.

He'd betrayed Orochimaru, sold out Shisui, and if Garou ever lost his value, Danzo would toss him aside just as easily.

Working with him was like drinking poison from a golden cup.

Next was Orochimaru.

To be fair, Orochimaru did treat his subordinates decently, assuming they had value. If you could become one of his prized assets, he'd treat you like a true partner.

He'd certainly be a valuable ally in developing advanced jutsu. But Garou doubted he could ever truly align with Orochimaru's worldviews.

Surprisingly, Hiruzen might not be the worst option.

Even if the old man had made some questionable calls, he was still a relatively reliable collaborator.

And once the Third passed on, Tsunade would likely succeed him. That scenario didn't seem bad either.

As for Danzo, well, he'd make a great Hokage... if he was already dead.

Too bad he was so hard to kill. If he'd died early, he might even be honored on the memorial stone.

"Garou? You're back from your mission?"

"Kitayama sensei. Yeah, I just got back."

Garou smiled as he greeted her.

Kitayama was still in her usual white coat and minimal makeup and looked more like a civilian doctor than a shinobi.

She brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear and looked him over with a fond smile. "Wow... it hasn't even been two weeks, and you already seem so much more grown up."

"Probably just your imagination. By the way, do you need help with any surgeries?"

Garou chuckled.

"No, not at the moment. We're not in wartime, so operations of that level are pretty rare."

She smiled back.

As Garou began sorting through herbs and compounds for making soldier pills, he replied, "That's good. But I'm sure you've already mastered the technique. Even without me, you could definitely handle it."

"Uh, yeah, yeah, totally. Hahaha. But if we did get one of those cases, having you around would make things a lot safer."

She scratched her head, a bit embarrassed.

Lately, she'd felt something odd, almost like she was the student when Garou was around.

"You're making soldier pills?"

"Yep. One of my teammates is training some new jutsu, so I figured I'd brew up some chakra-rich versions. Don't worry. I'll cover the cost of materials."

"Oh, that won't be necessary. If you're not picky, we actually have some misfires from earlier batches I can give you."

She pointed toward a box off to the side.

Garou blinked, surprised. "That many misfires?"

"Yeah, your formula is effective, but it's extremely sensitive. Even slight imprecision in dosing can throw everything off."

She explained, "We've been debating whether to dispose of them or reclassify them as lower-grade pills for sale."

"Well... if they don't have side effects, maybe pitch the idea to the Hokage. The village has so many departments, someone's bound to make use of them."

Garou suggested.

Her eyes lit up. She gleefully picked him up and spun him around in a circle.

"You're right! Why didn't I think of that? Thank you, Garou!"

"Uh, I think... putting me down would be the best thank you!"

He gasped, almost out of breath.

'This woman...'

It was hard to tell with that white coat, but she was seriously stacked.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. Okay, figure out how many pills you need. I'll take the rest to Lord Hokage."

Kitayama smiled apologetically.

Garou crouched by the box and began picking through the viable ones.

"By the way, Sensei, I had an idea I was hoping to run by you."

"Oh? Go on."

She sat nearby with a book in hand.

Garou thought for a moment.

"I may not know medical ninjutsu, but I know it requires ultra-precise chakra control, especially when it comes to targeting the affected area, right?"

"Exactly. That's why becoming a fully qualified medical ninja is so hard. Even now, I wouldn't call myself fully qualified."

She sighed.

Garou nodded. "Right, and that's why I thought, why not divide the workload? Like, don't you already do joint surgeries sometimes? You could have one team identify the injury while another handles the treatment."

"But how would that even work?"

She looked confused.

She understood the benefit, sure, but realistically, even if someone located the wound, human bodies were complex. Without a full dissection, it was still up to the surgeon to pinpoint the issue directly.

At best, it would save time.

"It's just a division-of-labor concept. The key is simplifying medical ninjutsu itself."

Garou said as he flipped open his notebook to a specific page.

She took it and scanned the proposal.

"Using barrier techniques to absorb healing chakra, which the surgeon can then channel into medical ninjutsu."

She blinked, stunned.

"You think that would actually work?"

"I think so. It would reduce chakra strain, simplify hand seals and technique activation, and give the surgeon more bandwidth for the operation itself."

After some thought, she slowly nodded. "It might actually work."

"Then I'll leave it to you to test it out."

Garou said earnestly.

"No, thank you. If this idea pans out, it's people like us who benefit the most."

She spoke with genuine gratitude, but deep down, she couldn't help feeling a little conflicted.

'This kid always comes up with such brilliant ideas.'

Compared to him, she was honestly quite average.

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