The moment school ended, the classroom emptied out in seconds.
If you're not eager to leave school, something's wrong with you.
Natsuki had just stood up when he spotted Namikaze Minato.
Just like yesterday, Minato invited them to walk home together.
"We need to stop by the Mission Hall first."
Natsuki thought about it, then explained the situation.
There was no need to hide it.
The ultimate goal of having Yakushi Nonou learn medical ninjutsu was for her to become Tsunade's student.
If she actually succeeded, everyone would find out eventually anyway.
Besides, since there were no formal medical ninja training classes right now, posting a mission to hire a tutor was perfectly reasonable.
After hearing the explanation, Namikaze Minato's expression shifted to one of genuine surprise.
He hadn't expected Natsuki to have such clear plans—or such strong follow-through.
A sudden sense of urgency welled up inside him.
I can't keep coasting like this. I need to start grinding.
He was serious about becoming Hokage.
With that thought, Minato headed straight for the academy's training grounds.
Natsuki watched him go.
Grind away. That's the spirit.
"Want some takoyaki?"
Natsuki caught the scent of something delicious and suddenly felt hungry.
"I'll go buy some."
Yakushi Nonou said immediately.
Without waiting for his reply, she trotted over to a nearby food stall.
Moments later, she returned holding a box of takoyaki.
Nonou pierced one of the fried octopus balls with a wooden skewer and handed it to Natsuki.
He took the skewer—but instead of eating it himself, he brought it to her lips.
Nonou froze for a second, then bit into the takoyaki.
She chewed a few times, savoring the burst of flavor, and couldn't help but narrow her eyes. A happy smile spread across her small face.
Children in the ninja world matured early. They had to be sensible. But at the end of the day, they were still children.
"How is it?"
Natsuki asked, watching her expression.
"Delicious. But not as good as your cooking."
Nonou replied.
She wasn't just being polite.
Yesterday, Natsuki had learned five dishes from Mayu.
Aside from the first attempt—a fried egg that hadn't turned out great—every dish after that had surpassed the teacher's.
By the end of the session, Mayu had been questioning her entire career.
Nonou had felt a small sense of defeat too.
In the ninja world's feudal society, most women took pride in being skilled homemakers—cooking was practically a point of honor.
By the time they reached the Hokage Building, the box of takoyaki was empty.
Natsuki and Nonou soon arrived at the Mission Hall.
"I'm Chiwa. I accepted your commission."
A female ninja who appeared to be in her thirties introduced herself. "I'm currently a Genin, working at Konoha Hospital."
"Thank you for taking the job, Chiwa-senpai."
Natsuki nodded politely.
A Genin who worked at Konoha Hospital was no ordinary Genin.
"According to Konoha regulations, I can't teach you medical ninjutsu directly. I can only teach you basic medical knowledge."
Chiwa reminded them.
"I understand."
Natsuki wasn't surprised.
In Konoha, there were only three legitimate ways to acquire ninjutsu.
First: as a reward from the village.
Second: taught by a Jonin instructor after graduation.
Third: inherited from one's parents.
Any other method was considered non-compliant.
These regulations existed to ensure Konoha maintained its monopoly on ninjutsu.
If anyone with money could simply buy techniques, the system would collapse—and Konoha's authority along with it.
"Can you teach us how to prepare some common medicines? Like anesthetics."
Natsuki thought for a moment before asking.
"No problem."
Chiwa agreed without suspicion.
As a ninja, one needed to master various skills—including pharmacology.
But not the kind that saved lives. The kind that ended them.
Coating ninja tools with poison was standard practice.
Most ninjas bought their poisons pre-made, but some preferred to craft their own.
Chiwa assumed Natsuki was the self-sufficient type.
After a brief exchange, she led them back to her home.
Natsuki stared at the thick stack of books in front of him.
His mouth twitched.
Of course. Nothing worth learning ever comes easy.
He felt like dying.
Compared to him, Yakushi Nonou seemed extremely motivated.
She was determined to repay his kindness.
Ever since Natsuki had arrived at the Konoha Orphanage, he'd been looking out for her.
Now he had even spent money to hire a medical ninja as her tutor. No matter what, she couldn't let him down.
In the blink of an eye, April arrived.
Over the past month, the student who stood out most was undoubtedly Namikaze Minato.
No matter the subject, he performed brilliantly. The teachers adored him.
He'd gained a following of admirers—both boys and girls—and his reputation had spread to other classes.
Natsuki estimated that within two years, Minato would catch Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention and eventually become Jiraiya's student.
That was a good thing.
If Natsuki stayed close to Minato, he might get noticed by Hiruzen or Jiraiya as well.
During this period, Natsuki focused on only three things.
Running. Practicing ninja tool throwing. Studying medical knowledge.
At Chiwa's house.
Natsuki carefully lifted a test tube.
He was concocting an anesthetic.
Logically speaking, after only a month, he shouldn't have been qualified to attempt this yet.
But in order to unlock the Conan template early, he had asked Chiwa to teach him the process two weeks ago.
He didn't need to understand why each step worked. He just needed to memorize them.
"Done!"
Excitement flashed across Natsuki's face.
"Amazing!"
Yakushi Nonou cheered supportively.
In truth, she was learning much faster than him.
[Congratulations, Host. You have unlocked Conan Template Ability 2: Tranquilizer Dart.]
Natsuki smiled and pinched her cheek affectionately.
His month of hard work had paid off.
Now, his Conan template was only missing Ability 3 to be fully unlocked.
Of course, he still had to keep studying medical knowledge. It was essential for both his and Nonou's future safety.
After the lesson ended, Natsuki and Nonou left Chiwa's house.
But instead of heading back to the orphanage, they went to a nearby training ground.
Natsuki pulled out a kunai.
Over the past month, his kunai and shuriken skills had reached the beginner level.
The standard for "beginner" was achieving a bullseye hit rate above 70% on a stationary target.
If you could maintain that accuracy against a moving target—or worse, a moving enemy—that was considered proficient.
Mastery required more advanced techniques.
For example, the Uchiha clan's signature Manipulated Shuriken Technique.
Using wire strings to control the shuriken's trajectory, allowing for complex angles and curves.
Natsuki coated his kunai with the anesthetic he had just successfully concocted.
After preparing ten kunai, he stopped.
He faced the stationary target in the distance.
Then—flick of the wrist, swing of the arm, release.
The kunai shot forward with a sharp whistle.
Thwack.
Bullseye.
But he wasn't done.
Natsuki threw the second kunai. Then the third. All ten, one after another.
Watching from the side, Yakushi Nonou's eyes widened in surprise.
She clearly remembered that during the last throwing class, Natsuki had only hit seven out of ten.
Now he'd hit all ten. The improvement was staggering.
But her surprise quickly melted into happiness for him.
"Pretty accurate, right?"
Natsuki grinned. He felt like he was channeling peak Michael Jordan—every shot he took found its mark.
Next up was the monthly exam.
Aside from the written portion, the most important part was the practical exam, which consisted of two events: the physical fitness test and kunai throwing.
The reason was simple—the Academy Three Basic Jutsu and taijutsu hadn't been taught yet.
The Three Basic Jutsu sounded simple, but in reality, they were extremely difficult for most students.
It took six full years to learn them.
Even then, more than half of all students still couldn't master the techniques—and therefore couldn't graduate to become ninjas.
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