Highlights

Medical ninjutsu in Naruto involves healing techniques with precise chakra control, creating antidotes and combat applications like chakra scalpels.
Tsunade, a pioneering medical-nin, revolutionized medical ninjutsu with strict laws ensuring the safety of ninja on the battlefield.
Byakugou Seal enables medical-nin like Tsunade and Sakura to use Creation Rebirth Technique for near-instant healing with vast chakra reserves.

Covering the wide gamut of techniques that heal and cure ailments in the world of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto, medical ninjutsu is a specialized branch of shinobi arts practiced by a distinct group of ninja known as medical-nin. Requiring high intelligence and chakra control, medical ninjutsu has been responsible for saving innumerable lives on the battlefield over the course of the Second, Third, and Fourth Shinobi World Wars.

Virtually every three-man squad in the shinobi world of Naruto includes at least one ninja with some knowledge of medical ninjutsu, if they are not otherwise expert medical-nin. The survival rate of ninja who embarked on high-ranking missions increased considerably after the establishment of the global system of medical ninjutsu — by Tsunade, the world's foremost medical-nin — attesting to how much of an impact this change had on the shinobi world as a whole.

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What Is Medical Ninjutsu?

Fundamentally, medical ninjutsu encompasses a school of techniques that allow users to either heal and manipulate their own bodies or those of others. In addition, some forms of medical ninjutsu also involve the creation of toxic substances such as poisons, hindering an opponent's nervous system, or more offensive applications through the use of chakra scalpels, which are generally employed in surgery, but also have combat applications, as they can be used to inflict internal damage without creating an open wound.

Grounded in Yin Release or Yang Release techniques, medical-nin are trained in the foundations of healing procedures, after which they go on to hone their skills in other domains of medical ninjutsu. Medical-nin primarily rely on the Mystical Palm Technique to heal wounds, by placing their hand over the site of an injury and infusing it with chakra. This process speeds up the body's regeneration process, and can be used to treat both internal and external injuries.

Users have to be very precise about the amount of chakra they infuse into a patient's body, as excess amounts can disrupt the body's normal functions and circulation. It can even be used in surgical applications, to make accurate incisions. When more serious injuries have to be treated, a cohort of medical-nin can call on the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique, which utilizes a portion of the patient's body as a medium with a complex formula to restore damaged bodily structures.

The Demands Of This Rigorous Field

Looking at the immense responsibility they bear in ensuring the safety of their comrades, medical-nin must be proficient at a range of skills beyond the basics of medical ninjutsu. Chakra control is inherently vital to the practice of medical ninjutsu, and only shinobi with an advanced mastery of this skill can ever hope to become medical-nin. Those who seek to specialize in this field must also be well-versed in the intricacies of human anatomy, along with different types of herbs, medicines, poisons, and surgical practices.

History's Most Important Medical-Nin

Regarded as the greatest medical-nin in history, Tsunade was responsible for the establishment of the modern system of medical ninjutsu, and even the laws that all medical-nin must abide by. The laws read as follows:

First clause: No medic ninja shall ever stop medical treatment until the lives of their party members have come to an end.
Second clause: No medic ninja shall ever stand on the front lines.
Third clause: No medic ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon.
Fourth clause: Only those medic ninja who have mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique of the Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth are permitted to discard the above-mentioned laws.

Tsunade was hailed as a medical-nin who could identify almost any ailment at a glance, and cure conditions that would have otherwise been impossible for other medical ninjutsu practitioners to treat. She was famed for her ability to create antidotes for the poisons developed by Lady Chiyo of Sunagakure during the Second Shinobi World War.

Some of her most notable feats include healing the psychological damage caused by Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi, healing Rock Lee's spine which was deemed incurable, and protecting all the villagers of Konohagakure during Pain's Assault with the Katsuyu: Immense Network Healing Technique. Lastly, she also harnessed her incredibly refined chakra control to create Chakra Enhanced Strength, a taijutsu technique that is powerful enough to even force her fellow Sannin into a corner.

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Kabuto Yakushi was another prodigy of medical ninjutsu, who became a favored disciple of Orochimaru after defecting from Konohagakure. Having learned the basics at an early age, Kabuto was initially known for the innovative manner in which he made use of chakra scalpels in combat.

His extensive knowledge of human anatomy permitted him to create drugs to either augment or inhibit a target's abilities, and he could even rewire the motor functions of his own limbs when their electrical signals were scrambled. One of Kabuto's most notable contributions to medical ninjutsu is the Yin Healing Wound Destruction Technique, which preemptively treats the body before an opponent attacks, allowing the user to minimize the damage caused by said attack.

As Tsunade's best student, Sakura Haruno is another exceptionally talented medical-nin, whose skills are comparable to those of her mentor. Capable of healing even the most grievous injuries, Sakura also became an expert user of the Chakra Enhanced Strength Technique, and was frequently able to develop emergency treatments to save her comrades in dire situations.

This ranged from healing injuries without any hand seals, to extracting poisons and repairing bodily damage simultaneously, or even manually pumping Naruto's heart and performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to keep him alive during the Fourth Shinobi World War. She is also the only person apart from Tsunade, who mastered the Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth Technique, which is the pinnacle of all medical ninjutsu.

The All-Healing Power Of The Byakugou Seal

A forbidden technique used only by Tsunade and Sakura Haruno, the Creation Rebirth Technique stimulates the body's cell division through the release of chakra to heal all injuries across a user's body. While the technique is active, the user cannot die, allowing them to take immense amounts of damage without any issues. This technique has been compared to the natural regeneration of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. However, since it forcibly hastens cell division, the user shortens their lifespan every time it is activated.

When combined with the Strength of a Hundred Seal or the Byakugou Seal, which stores large volumes of chakra at a single point on a user's body over extended periods, a medical-nin can activate the Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique. Alternatively known as the Ninja Art: Mitotic Regeneration: One Hundred Healings Technique, this ability allows a user to recover from fatal injuries instantly.

Tsunade was able to survive being impaled by multiple swords and even having her entire body bisected solely with the aid of this technique. Once active, the user does not have to consciously heal wounds as long as they have chakra. Only medical-nin who have mastered the Ninja Art Creation Rebirth — Strength of a Hundred Technique can break the laws governing medical-nin, making Tsunade and Sakura the only ones capable of doing so.

Naruto is available to stream on Crunchyroll.