Hattori , Puppet Tyrant in Sand

Upon hearing Mizusuna say the Kazekage had arrived, the goofy grin on Hattori's face instantly faded.

He looked up in the direction Mizusuna was pointing, and there, in full view, stood the Third Kazekage, as serious as ever, without a hint of a smile.

*Oh crap, he's actually here?!*

Watching the Third Kazekage slowly approach, Hattori felt a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. 

Ignoring him wouldn't be an option, but outright groveling felt beneath him—after all, this body of his might be small and young, but his soul was "great."

As the Kazekage drew closer, Hattori found himself speechless, mouth wide open in shock, staring up like a dog gazing at the moon, completely dumbfounded.

If he had been an adult with this expression, it might have looked ridiculous, but given his current six- or seven-year-old appearance, this reaction seemed totally normal in the presence of the Kazekage.

Seeing his reaction, the Third Kazekage didn't think much of it. He simply looked down at Hattori from above and spoke.

"So, you're Hattori, right? Show me your worth."

Hattori: "╭(°A°`)╮"

*Seriously? Who talks like that? I'm just a kid here!*

*Show you my worth? If I could take you on, I'd show you by wetting your face with kid's urine right about now!*

While Hattori silently fumed, he kept a look of humble awe on his face.

"Huh? Lord Kazekage, you've heard of me? I... I'm really honored! I'll definitely prove my worth to you!"

"Hm."

The Third Kazekage's expression softened slightly after hearing this, and then he turned to Mizusuna.

"Mizusuna, arrange a patient for him to treat immediately. I want to witness his worth myself."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

As soon as the words left the Kazekage's mouth, Mizusuna led Hattori to the nearest ward, stopping in front of a bandaged patient lying in bed.

"Lord Hattori, just like you did this morning, use the Healing Regeneration technique on his abdomen. Don't be nervous—I believe you can do it!"

"Hm!"

Hattori nodded without hesitation, unwrapping the bandage on the patient's abdomen and applying his Healing Regeneration technique.

With the release of his skill, small new growths sprouted around the patient's ugly wound, squirming and writhing like tiny tadpoles in water—a bizarre sight to behold. 

Fortunately, the process didn't take long. After just a minute, the wound closed, and the wriggling tissue settled into a slightly raised scar.

*[EXP +60]*

As the purple text floated by, Hattori lowered his hand. The Third Kazekage's voice sounded again.

"Treat the next one!"

"Yes, sir!"

With more experience to gain, Hattori eagerly accepted, moving smoothly to the next patient and administering the same Healing Regeneration technique.

*[EXP +60]*

*[Level Up +1]*

A minute later, the treatment ended, and two more purple text prompts appeared before his eyes.

Before he could even feel happy about leveling up, the Third Kazekage spoke again.

"Mizusuna, bring in all the patients from the other wards. The remaining treatments will take place here in the hallway!"

"Huh?"

Mizusuna was momentarily stunned by the order, but quickly nodded firmly in understanding.

"Yes, Lord Kazekage!"

With that, she briskly left to carry out his command.

Seeing this, Hattori couldn't help but grin.

"Talk about luck—I was just worrying about finding an excuse to rack up more experience points, and now the Kazekage himself is handing it to me on a silver platter. This is amazing!"

Suppressing the urge to laugh out loud, Hattori stepped out into the hallway, where, as soon as Mizusuna wheeled the patients over, he launched into his "XP grind."

Regardless of the severity of each injury, he fired off his Healing Regeneration technique, moving swiftly from one patient to the next without missing a beat.

With each casting of the technique, more purple experience text appeared, one after another.

*[EXP +60]*

*[EXP +60]*

*[EXP +60]*

The flood of experience points quickly boosted Hattori's level, and by the time he ran out of MP, he'd already leveled up four times!

It was exhilarating!

Before, he would have had to stop reluctantly when his MP ran out. But now, he had a secret weapon: his soldier pills!

"I'll ride this wave and reach level 20 tonight!"

With that thought, he pulled the bag of soldier pills from his pocket, took one, chewed briefly, and swallowed.

*[MP +100]*

As before, his MP was instantly restored, and he felt a strong sense of fullness.

But for the sake of his "level-up journey," he immediately brushed off the slight discomfort and dove back into treating the patients.

*[EXP +60]*

*[EXP +60]*

*[EXP +60]*

With each use of his skill, three more purple experience messages appeared, and Hattori's level rose again!

*[Level Up +1]*

*[Name: Hattori]*

*[Level: 20]*

*[HP: 208/208]*

*[MP: 85/185]*

*[EXP: 0/200]*

*[Specialty: Medical]*

*[Combat Power Evaluation: B]*

Reaching level 20, Hattori's combat evaluation rose from C to B, but this time, no new skill unlocked. 

Instead, he received a new prompt he hadn't seen before.

*[Medical skill advanced to Intermediate. Choose a specialization path for job change.]*

*[Chiyo Style: The style of Chiyo from Suna. This specialization grants access to Chiyo's medical ninjutsu and powerful mixed poison crafting skills, significantly enhancing combat capabilities.]*

*[Tsunade Style: The style of Tsunade from Konohagakure. This specialization grants access to Tsunade's medical ninjutsu and chakra control techniques, significantly enhancing healing abilities.]*

Faced with this choice, Hattori considered the pros and cons of each option.

"From a practical standpoint, the first choice is the best. Chiyo's my teacher, so learning her medical ninjutsu would make sense and wouldn't raise any suspicion.

But looking further ahead, Chiyo's poison style is unreliable. Tsunade is the true pinnacle of medical ninjutsu."

With that realization, Hattori made up his mind.

"Gotta think long-term. For a better future, taking a small risk is worth it. I choose the Tsunade style!"

As soon as he made his choice, a skill unlock prompt appeared!

*[Unlocked Medical Ninjutsu: Delicate Illness Extraction Technique]*

*(End of Chapter)*