"It's almost time to head back to the Small World to train again."
At night, after watching Wanda fall asleep, Carl opened the system panel and tapped the button to enter the Small World once more.
This time, the mission had been completed, and he had earned Palm Sage Art along with an additional two months of Small World training time.
At present, he had a total of eight months to cultivate in the Naruto World. If everything went smoothly, his strength would see significant improvement the next time he returned to the real world.
After a short whirl through space, he opened his eyes again—he was back in the Prince's Mansion in the Land of Fire.
"Jinai, come in."
"Your Highness, do you have any orders?"
Jinai walked in, looking slightly confused.
In her perception, she had just handed a military ration pill to His Highness the Prince and barely taken a few steps before being called back in.
"Go send someone to buy a lot of fish. The fish should be live and come with me to the temple."
Carl thought for a moment, then gave the command.
"What kind of fish do you want?"
Jinai blinked twice, puzzled.
She assumed Carl was planning to gift fish to the monks at the Temple of Fire. Even though it was a temple, they didn't strictly prohibit wine or meat—fish was still acceptable.
"Any kind, preferably big and with strong vitality."
Carl waved his hand dismissively.
He wasn't planning to eat the fish, but to practice the Palm Sage Technique with them.
The reason Palm Sage Art was considered A-rank difficulty ninjutsu became clear to Carl after reading the scrolls.
First, it required extremely fine chakra control—without that, the technique wouldn't heal anything.
Second, it demanded deep medical knowledge, specifically an understanding of the human body's composition: tissues, cells, meridians, and beyond.
In other words, to become a qualified medical ninja, one didn't need an enormous chakra reserve or natural combat talent. The most crucial traits were precise chakra control and the capacity to absorb complex medical knowledge.
That's why many elite jonin, despite their battle prowess, stuck with bandages when injured—they didn't have time (or patience) to master medical ninjutsu.
Even geniuses in ninjutsu and battle strategy could be total failures at studying, like Naruto himself.
But Carl had an edge.
As a martial artist, Carl had studied Chinese medicine since childhood under his master, alongside martial training.
In traditional martial arts philosophy, medicine and combat go hand in hand—you had to know how to treat yourself after injury. On top of that, Carl had been through countless life-or-death battles overseas, leading him to study Western medicine as well.
So he had no issue understanding the body or medical theory. His only major obstacle now was mastering finer chakra control.
And for that, he was going to borrow Tsunade's method—training on fish.
Mastering chakra control wouldn't just let him learn Palm Sage Art faster—it would also elevate his combat abilities across the board.
Better control meant:
Stronger and more efficient ninjutsu.
Less chakra wasted during casting.
Greater adaptability in battle.
After all, he had only been refining chakra for five months so far. His chakra reserves were still on par with basic ninjutsu standards. If he wanted to use jutsu more than a few times in battle, precision control was non-negotiable.
After staying in the Prince's Mansion for most of the day, Carl returned to the Temple of Fire in the afternoon, bringing back a large number of live fish.
"Carl, why did you buy so many fish?"
Chiriku looked at the buckets of live fish being carried into the temple by Carl's men, his face filled with confusion.
Like Jinai before him, Chiriku naturally assumed Carl had bought the fish to feed the monks of the temple.
In response, Carl explained his purpose: to use the fish for training precise chakra control, as part of his goal to master medical ninjutsu.
"What a clever method!"
Chiriku praised him sincerely, then added:
"Wait a moment, I'll get you some scrolls."
As a religious sanctuary, the Temple of Fire didn't have the kind of complete medical ninjutsu system or powerful techniques that Konoha did, but it did maintain a few basic healing methods.
Thanks to the inherent chakra affinity of the monk ninjas, they were often able to perform minor healing techniques for worshippers and villagers.
Chiriku soon returned with several scrolls in hand, each containing basic healing ninjutsu and foundational medical theory passed down through the Temple.
"I'm not well-versed in healing jutsu myself," Chiriku admitted as he handed the scrolls over to Carl, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "You're on your own from here."
Carl took the scrolls and cross-referenced them with the Palm Sage Art learning scroll he had received through the mission system, entering into an intense mode of study and training.
The Temple of Fire's healing techniques were simple—at best D-rank—and the theory scattered and loosely organized. But even so, it provided a crucial bridge to mastering the more complex Palm Sage Art, an A-rank healing technique.
Carl's prior knowledge of Chinese and Western medicine had to be reinterpreted through the unique terminology and logic of the Naruto world. Chakra's mystical properties further complicated things.
Without guidance, it would have been extremely difficult for Carl to grasp the nuances of chakra-based healing. But with the Temple's teachings as a stepping stone, he gradually found his footing.
As time passed and training intensified, Carl began to slowly but surely grasp the Palm Sage Technique.
And Carl didn't neglect his other disciplines either.
In addition to his chakra control and medical ninjutsu practice, he also diligently trained in:
The cultural and philosophical teachings passed down from Chiriku.
Fusion drills combining taijutsu and ninjutsu for practical combat enhancement.
In a world without high-tech surveillance or satellite tracking, Carl could train freely in open spaces around the temple without worry. When he hit a bottleneck, he simply went to Chiriku for guidance.
---
Five months later.
In the woods near the Temple of Fire, Carl stood alone, hands forming a seal:
"Wind Style: Petal Dance!"
A sharp whirlwind exploded outward from his body, sending nearby leaves into a furious spiral. The leaves circled him rapidly, obscuring his form in a vortex of motion. After a few seconds, the wind faded and the leaves fluttered to the ground.
"The damage isn't high, but it blocks the enemy's sight. That's enough for setting up close-range taijutsu. Not bad at all."
Some time ago, Carl had sent Jinai to the underground exchange or black market to post bounties in exchange for ninjutsu scrolls, and they had gradually started rolling in.
The D-rank Wind Style technique he just used was one of those acquisitions.
Of course, the kind of jutsu you could buy with money were mostly generic or weak. So far, the highest rank he'd obtained through this method was D-rank—he hadn't been able to secure a C-rank ninjutsu yet.