After the clash with the Akatsuki, the five great shinobi villages classified all Akatsuki members as S-rank wanted criminals, with some elevated to SS-rank—meaning even jōnin would need to team up to confront them.
In the foreseeable future, the conflict between the Akatsuki and the five great shinobi villages would inevitably lead to heavy shinobi casualties.
However, the Akatsuki was ultimately a small organization of just over a dozen members, while the five great villages held a vast numerical advantage. Thus, for the time being, Shinji's student squad was not required to engage the Akatsuki on the front lines.
This granted Shinji a brief moment of respite.
In the days that followed, the village busied itself with troop deployments while frequently exchanging intelligence with the other villages.
Since Shizune had been reassigned as the head of the medical team, Tsunade kept Yakumo by her side, filling Shizune's former role.
Sasuke and Sakura faced punishment for previously sneaking out of the village.
Their unauthorized actions, though not causing severe consequences and even providing critical intelligence to the allied forces at a key moment, still violated rules.
Sasuke was directly confined to quarters.
Sakura, though spared harsher punishment thanks to Shizune's intervention, was required to perform two weeks of mandatory labor.
Shion, being the priestess of the Land of Demons and not a Hidden Leaf shinobi, escaped punishment but received a verbal reprimand from the Third Hokage.
Neji and Kimimaro, upon returning to the village, threw themselves into intense training, seemingly spurred by the events of the mission.
Shinji, meanwhile, left a shadow clone behind and quietly departed the village.
His first stop was the hideout of Chino and Ryuzetsu.
Perhaps because they had each other's company, Chino and Ryuzetsu, restricted to the vicinity of the hideout, seemed to have been living quite happily over the past ten days.
When Shinji arrived at the hideout, the two were sparring in taijutsu in the forest.
Shinji didn't reveal himself immediately, instead concealing himself in the canopy of a large tree to observe their sparring session.
Boom, boom, boom.
In their intense fight, both moved and struck with incredible speed. Combined with the complex forest environment, it almost seemed as if two ghostly figures were darting through the trees.
Shinji watched for a while, a smile creeping onto his face.
Through careful observation, he noticed that both Chino and Ryuzetsu had made initial progress in mastering the 'Twelve Palaces.'
The 'Twelve Palaces' training was extremely difficult, no less challenging than the 'Eight Gates,' if not more so. For them to make such progress in such a short time showed their dedication.
Watching the two spar, Shinji's thoughts began to wander.
The series of battles with the Akatsuki members had brought him significant gains, the greatest being his realization of how much his enhanced control over his body improved his combat performance.
His standout moments on the battlefield were all rooted in this.
This made him realize that the 'Twelve Palaces' development of the body wasn't limited to taijutsu alone.
The 'Twelve Palaces' made his body more coordinated, subtly enhancing his control over the entire battlefield. This allowed him to manage his body more easily, improving his split-second decision-making in life-or-death situations. It also enabled him to devote more mental focus to analyzing the battle in real-time.
In essence, the 'Twelve Palaces' comprehensively elevated a shinobi's abilities. If that shinobi happened to possess a dojutsu Bloodline Limit, the enhancement was even more pronounced under the amplifying effect of their visual prowess.
Of course, this wasn't unique to the 'Twelve Palaces.' Various high-level taijutsu secret techniques, when mastered to their fullest, could similarly enhance a shinobi's bodily control.
This was why the Hyūga clan, despite specializing only in Gentle Fist, maintained their status as an elite clan in a major village like Hidden Leaf.
Once taijutsu was mastered to its peak, many ninjutsu became flashy but ultimately ineffective.
Boom.
With a muffled sound, Chino was sent flying, crashing heavily into a tree.
Ryuzetsu halted her attack. "Chino, you okay?"
Chino shook her head. "I lost again!"
Ryuzetsu grinned. "Well, I'm bigger than you!"
"Who's there!?"
Suddenly, both turned their heads toward Shinji's direction.
Shinji stepped out from the shadows. "Looks like you two haven't been slacking off!"
"Lord!" Seeing it was Shinji, both bowed in unison.
Shinji nodded and instructed, "Follow me."
The shadow clone he had left at the hideout had dissipated a few days ago due to chakra depletion, so he needed to continue where it left off, guiding Chino and Ryuzetsu in the basics of medical ninjutsu.
Back at the hideout, Shinji immediately began teaching.
After completing a lesson, he produced several books on medical ninjutsu and said, "Read these first. Note down anything you don't understand, and I'll explain it next time I come."
Ryuzetsu took the books and asked, "Lord, how is Hidden Grass Village doing?"
Shinji nodded. "Everything is as usual."
"That's great," Ryuzetsu replied softly.
Chino, standing nearby, felt a pang of emptiness. Compared to Ryuzetsu, who had something or someone to care about, she had nothing to hold onto.
Noticing Chino's expression, Shinji changed the subject. "Mastering medical ninjutsu will greatly aid your training in the 'Twelve Palaces.' But medical ninjutsu can't be learned just by reading books. Next, I'll have you conduct live animal dissections to deepen your understanding of how organs function in the body."
"Yes!" Chino and Ryuzetsu responded with serious expressions.
After giving a few more instructions, Shinji left the hideout.
Next time, he would need to expand the hideout to include a basic laboratory. Using live animal dissections to enhance their theoretical knowledge, practicing medical treatment on live animals to hone their practical skills, and with his personal guidance, mastering medical ninjutsu shouldn't be too difficult.
Reflecting on Chino and Ryuzetsu's sparring, Shinji noted that Ryuzetsu's Bloodline Limit made her Yang Release chakra unusually active, allowing her to absorb the 'Blue Spider Lily No. 1' more quickly. This translated to greater speed and strength in combat compared to Chino.
However, once Chino's Ketsuryugan awakened, the situation would likely shift, as the amplifying effect of dojutsu on taijutsu was simply too significant.