A Familiar Ceiling.

  Link opened his eyes and immediately reized the unging ceiling of Konoha Hospital. It was so distinct that seeing it once made it unfettable.

  The real world, he thought, was full of surprises.

  He hadn’t even fought the elite minio when the boss suddenly appeared. If he hadn’t kept his trump card active, Orochimaru would have likely beaten him into submission and dragged him off as a test subject.

  In previous missions, he had been aced to easily overp weaker enemies or average foes. His ueiques allowed him to crush them effortlessly, sometimes with a single move. But fag a master like Orochimaru revealed gring gaps in his abilities.

  The First Problem: Taijutsu aion Time.

  Although his physical fitness was barely suffit—nearly on par with non-taijutsu-focused jōnin like Nara Ensui—his innate abilities and reflexes were not exceptional. Without years of dedicated training, his rea speed in close bat left much to be desired.

  Against an all-rounder like Orochimaru, who had no obvious weaknesses, a slower rea speed was enough for the oppoo strike areat unscathed.

  Even though Link’s strength and speed were petitive among ninjutsu-focused shinobi, his deyed reaade close bat a persistent weakness.

  Rea time ofteermined a ninja's effectiveness in battle. Speed alone wasn’t enough; reflexes were crucial. Kakashi, for instaneeded his Sharingan’s dynamic vision to wield Chidori effectively, as his natural rea speed couldn’t keep up with the jutsu’s acceleration.

  Simirly, teiques like the Body Flicker Jutsu relied on the user's rea speed to trol movement. The Fourth Hokage, even without Flying Thunder God, was a formidable oppo due to his terrifying natural reflexes.

  Battle wasn’t about running a race. Speed was always limited by reflexes.

  Link’s slower reas prevented him from effectively trolling his movements in bat. Even if he could see an attaing, his body couldn’t process the required steps—gathering chakra, tering, or exeg a jutsu—in time.

  [I need specialized taijutsu training.]

  The solution was simple: find a taijutsu expert to train him. With his unique healing abilities, he wasn’t afraid of injuries. As long as the training didn’t kill him, he would e to improve.

  And finding a teacher? That was the least of his worries. His mentor, Nara Shikaku, was the head of the jōnin cil. If anyone could arraraining with a taijutsu master, it was him.

  The Sed Problem: Ninjutsu.

  Link’s chakra trol and the unique characteristics of his mutated jutsu allowed him to cast ninjutsu as fast as an average jōnin. However, this was misleading. His ability to perform seals quickly masked his slower natural reflexes.

  In bat, his rea limits capped how many jutsu he could release in a short period. He couldn’t cast multiple jutsu quickly or multitask effectively.

  In practical terms, this meant that even if he could cast individual jutsu rapidly, the overall frequency of his attacks was limited—rendering his speed advantage moot.

  This wasn’t a turn-based game. Enemies like Orochimaru wouldn’t politely wait their turn to act.

  If Orochimaru hadn’t held back, opting io obliterate them from afar with ninjutsu, all of Link’s pns would have been for naught—beautiful illusions with no ce of succeeding.

  Looking back, the fight was filled with moments of helplessness for Link.

  His most reliable ally, Nara Ensui, had been effectively incapacitated early oe being the only one who could keep up with Orochimaru’s reflexes, Ensui had lost an arm almost immediately.

  Link had been forced to use his Shadow es as decoys, sacrifig their potential as stealth tools.

  The Mountain Drake couldn’t act freely without endangering Ensui and the others.

  His Stand Summoning Teique had been unreliable, wasting his chakra on abilities that were irrelevant in the fight.

  The Five Elements Seal, his ace, had failed in its first attempt, as Orochimaru hadn’t uimated him enough to fall for it.

  In the end, desperate times called for desperate measures. Link had asked Ensui to serve as bait, risking his teacher’s life to create a slim ce of victory.

  Eve succeeded, his only follow-up was to throw his severed hand to force a seal with the shadow’s help.

  Beyond that, he was out of options.

  If Kabuto hadn’t shown up or if Orochimaru had revealed ricks, the battle could have taken an even darker turn.

  “Boss, you’re awake?”

  A familiar voiterrupted his thoughts. Ami ehe room carrying a lunchbox, her expression unusually heavy.

  Sitting up, Link immediately asked, “How’s Ensui-sensei?”

  “He’s out of the critical stage,” Ami replied with a faint smile, but quickly added, “The doctors say he might not be able to work as a ninja anymore…”

  …

  Nara Ensui’s Hospital Room.

  The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway as Link and Ami approached. Iris, half-asleep in a chair, stood up and greeted them. “Boss, Ami.”

  Wearing a hospital gown, Link nodded and walked to the bedside.

  Nara Ensui y there, heavily bandaged and unscious. His breathing was shallow. Reag out, Link checked his dition with chakra.

  Even without advanced medical training, it was clear that the injuries were severe. While Ensui might eventually recover enough to live normally, returning to active duty as a ninja seemed impossible.

  plete recovery would require a master medic like Lady Tsunade. Evehe process would involve extensive surgery, chakra-intensive regeion, araordinary willpower from the patient.

  [But that’s okay. As long as he’s alive, I heal him…]

  Link ched his fists before slowly rexing. His unique Delicate Illness Extra Teique could work miracles over time.

  Even if it was a slow process, he would ensure Ensui-sensei recovered.

  [I’ll fix this, Ensui-sensei…]

  Bleam