Chapter 30: The Grind (Part One)
Late April, Konoha Year 46. The recent graduates had officially set foot on the ninja path.
Perhaps they had heard too many ninja stories at the Academy. Most squads had their enthusiasm beaten out of them by D-rank missions within the first month. Graduating early didn't mean exceptional ninja talent, and the village higher-ups hadn't assigned strong jonin to this batch. Squads with better grades got jonin team leaders. Squads with weaker grades rotated through chunin leaders. As for anyone who quit the ninja profession within a month of graduating, there was no point investing resources in them at all.
From the higher-ups' perspective, as long as the genin pool stayed large enough to absorb low-ranked missions, that was sufficient. A lot of young ninja watched their dreams fall apart all over again.
That said, genin with special skills came out of graduation in a much better position. The intelligence division needed new staff. The barrier corps recruited every year. The Uchiha Military Police filled its own ranks from within the clan. Konoha Hospital took any medical ninja it could get.
Ninja needed money to live. The major clans had family support networks behind them. Everyone else just had to work harder.
* * *
None of that weighed on Furukawa Osamu. Ninja with advanced medical jutsu were rare in the village, and even with limited experience, he was in high demand at the medical corps.
"You did everything you could, Osamu. That he held on long enough to say goodbye to everyone already exceeded what we expected."
"A ninja faces life and death head on."
At the senior ninja's sharp words, the several young ninja in the ward, all around fifteen, stopped crying. Watching their teacher die protecting them had hit all of them hard.
Furukawa Osamu took in the scene and kept his expression steady and gentle.
"His internal organs sustained severe damage. Next time, remember to do emergency treatment immediately."
"Don't let your teacher's expectations go to waste. It falls to you to carry his will forward."
"Yes, sir."
The group bowed together. Furukawa Osamu was young, but ninja gave weight to ability and talent, and the words landed with everyone in the room.
The Sarutobi clan jonin who had been watching gave a small nod. Furukawa Osamu didn't act like a child at all. Handling special situations as they required, without hesitation, was something many adult ninja couldn't manage.
Behind him, Shizune, Kanpo, and Hyakuso all had troubled expressions. They hadn't been able to help during the treatment. It wasn't the first time.
Furukawa Osamu didn't tend to their feelings for now and finished the remaining work. After the Sarutobi clan jonin and the young ninja thanked him and left, he quietly channeled the Gathering energy into his body.
To Shizune and the others, it looked like he was just pressing a hand to his forehead to fight off fatigue.
"Osamu, come rest for a bit. You don't look well."
Furukawa Osamu nodded at Shizune's concerned voice. He thought over the month's work and asked:
"Are the other critical care wards all full too? The conflicts are escalating. C-rank missions shouldn't be producing this many casualties."
Kanpo, who knew the hospital better than the rest, smiled tiredly and said quietly:
"All full, Captain. It's our fault for being useless. We can't help in combat missions, and even in the hospital our Mystical Palm is still rough."
"You're both young. You'll become excellent medical ninja."
"Hyakuso has been improving a lot lately. That's what consistent study looks like when it breaks through. Don't give up on learning the fundamentals. Understanding the basic principles makes a real difference to jutsu development."
Furukawa Osamu was a few months short of nine years old, which made the words a little strange to hear, but both squad members responded immediately without hesitation.
"Yes, sir."
That evening, after work ended, Shizune fell in beside Furukawa Osamu with her usual contented smile and started asking about jutsu. When the two of them entered the office, Tsunade looked up immediately.
"Good work today."
"Sensei was sleeping again. There's still some ink on your right cheek."
Tsunade wiped at her face on reflex. Shizune leaned in and whispered something, and only then did Tsunade realize she had been tricked into confirming it.
"You're asking to get hit. Training Ground 3, this weekend."
Tsunade snapped, still wiping the drool away, and didn't stop flicking Osamu's forehead until his skin had gone red. Then, satisfied, she picked up a report and asked:
"You're researching chakra's effect on cells?"
"More like its effect on life itself. I'm just curious about how bloodline limits form, sensei."
Furukawa Osamu didn't hide his purpose. Seeing Tsunade's serious expression, he continued.
"I came across some notes from the Second Hokage in the archive. The chakra each person refines seems to be different. Some villages have apparently developed bloodline ninja based on that principle."
Tsunade knew the archive well. She thought for a moment and placed which notes he meant.
"That touches on the subject of jinchuriki. Tailed beast chakra is different from human chakra, and some villages have run experiments on that basis."
"Some nature transformation developments came out of it. But more fundamentally, the ninja themselves need to possess that kind of innate ability."
"Either way, it's a complicated subject. At your age you should be building your foundation and expanding the applications of your existing jutsu."
Furukawa Osamu didn't argue. What he actually wanted to understand was the nature of the energy from Gathering.
The frequency of the White Fang's nightmare had dropped recently. This month he had completed Gathering twice: once from an ordinary chunin, and once today from the Sarutobi clan jonin. The former had been negligible, widening his sensory range slightly. The latter mattered more and would most likely replenish his fire-nature chakra.
"Sensei is right. I won't go deeper into this. It's still too early for me."
He said it readily and let it go. Tsunade looked pleased. She stood and called out to both of them.
"Izakaya tonight. It's been a full month of work, I need to relax properly."
"And the bathhouse after..."
Shizune was very happy with the rhythm of her current life. More fulfilling than school, and she got to stay beside Furukawa Osamu.
She watched the two of them argue after their jutsu discussion and hurried after them. This was her straightforward, uncomplicated life as a genin.
* * *
Early May. A holiday for Furukawa Osamu, regular training. Everyone else was out on missions. Only Katsuyu was there, occasionally offering commentary in her soft, rounded voice.
"Lord Osamu is improving very quickly. Once the cells have been shaped by natural energy, chakra supply won't be a concern going forward."
"But the nature transformation of ninja chakra is something Lord Osamu must develop himself. I can't help with that."
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball shot from Furukawa Osamu's mouth. Fire-nature transformation was largely mastered. Gathering had met its intended goal.
He finished the basic Fire Style jutsu and looked at the scorched crater in the ground. Reasonable result. Fire Style in his memory mostly produced smoke with limited damage, but gaining a new technique was a good thing regardless.
"Katsuyu, the next step is finding the original chakra to test the theory."
"I'm very much looking forward to that, Lord Osamu. This is your path of evolution."
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