The three of them all came from ninja clans. Even the Uzuki clan, small as it was, had managed to survive from the Warring States era to the present, which meant it had to possess at least some inherited secrets of its own. Naturally, time had to be set aside to cultivate those things.
As for Uchiha Gen, the bulk of his personal time was devoted to Uchiha-style swordsmanship and the mountain of medical theory Orochimaru had shoved into his hands. Every day moved at a terrifying pace, but it was also absurdly full. There was hardly a moment to breathe, yet every hour felt meaningful.
And just like that, a month slipped by.
With Orochimaru personally instructing them, the progress Uchiha Gen made in that one month of hellish training far surpassed what he had achieved over an entire semester at the Ninja Academy. The difference between having a true master and fumbling forward on your own was almost cruel. Once Orochimaru decided to teach in earnest, improvement became impossible to ignore.
More importantly, in that same month, Orochimaru led them through fifteen D-rank missions. Individually, the experience rewards from such missions were nothing remarkable, especially when they had to be split across a three-man team. But the frequency made up for the lack of quality. When enough small gains piled up together, the result became impossible to dismiss.
A promotion came naturally.
[Character Name: Uchiha Gen]
Character Level: 10
[Currently Loaded Character Card: Sakura Haruno (Ninja Academy)]
[Currently Equipped Item Cards: None]
Available Card Draws: 1
[Current Attribute Values: Ninjutsu 5; Constitution 5; Genjutsu 4; Strength 4; Speed 5; Spirit 4; Seals 6; Wisdom 6; Total 39]
Finally.
Standing outside the Hokage's office with a small notebook in his hands, Gen kept his eyes on the pages on the surface, but in truth all of his attention was on the system panel floating in his mind. This time, it was Sarutobi Enjun who had gone inside to turn in the mission report. And Gen knew very well that the mission reward experience would only be credited after that step was completed.
He had been waiting for this draw for a long time.
Because every tenth pull triggered the pity system. That meant this draw would guaranteedly produce the highest-quality character card currently available in the pool. At his present level, that meant green rarity—without question. No matter who came out, there was almost no chance it would be worse than the white-rarity Sakura Haruno card from her Academy period.
Should he draw right now? Or wait until he got home, washed up, burned incense, and accumulated a little fake good karma first?
Gen was still hesitating when Sarutobi Enjun came trotting back with the mission reward in hand.
"Gen, keep up."
Before the team could split off, Orochimaru suddenly spoke. At the same time, he flicked a small bell toward Gen. Gen caught it on reflex and lowered his gaze.
"Orochimaru-sensei, this is...?"
"A small ninja tool that can increase your resistance to genjutsu. It will also help offset part of the erosive shockwave when you attempt the Rashomon contract."
His golden eyes swept over the three of them before he continued.
"I've already taught you the battlefield experience I needed to teach. Whether that knowledge proves useful once you step onto a real battlefield will depend on your own fate. From here on, the time previously reserved for theory will be changed to genjutsu combat drills. You'll take turns sparring with your teammates until you can break out of illusions within one second on your own—and until you can cast ninjutsu steadily even while someone is disturbing your chakra flow with genjutsu."
Gen immediately understood.
The timetable had changed again. A new course had begun.
"Understood, Orochimaru-sensei."
He tucked the bell away carefully. A tool that could resist genjutsu and also lessen the pressure of Rashomon was no ordinary trinket. It was exactly the kind of practical support Orochimaru would give—cold, useful, and never wasted.
Then Orochimaru's gaze shifted again.
"By the way, which medical text are you on now?"
"I finished the last one yesterday. I originally intended to review everything a little longer before reporting it to you. I also still need to copy the rare books."
The books Tsunade had handed them were not all identical. Most were copied in triplicate so each member of the team could study. But among them were several truly rare texts inherited from the Senju clan. Those existed in only a single copy, and because Gen read the fastest, they had naturally ended up in his hands.
"I've already arranged for Jiraiya to supervise your training for the next three days. Since you've finished those medical texts, once Jiraiya's special training is over, go to Tsunade and begin live medical practice under her."
Gen blinked.
Jiraiya's special training?
That sounded suspicious already.
"A peace delegation from Kumogakure will arrive tomorrow. Sarutobi-sensei has assigned Elder Mito and me to receive them. I won't have time to take charge of you personally for the moment."
A peace delegation from Kumogakure.
The instant he heard those words, Gen's heart gave a hard thump.
In the original timeline, had peace talks between Konoha and Kumogakure ever truly gone smoothly? The answer that came to mind was: hardly ever. The very first negotiations with Kumogakure had ended in betrayal and blood, ultimately leading to the death of the Second Hokage. That single disaster had forced the mantle of Hokage onto Hiruzen Sarutobi's shoulders.
As for later peace talks with the Hidden Cloud... those people had often come wearing the face of diplomacy while thinking of abduction, coercion, or advantage.
At this point in time...
A certain red-haired little tyrant from the Academy flashed through Gen's mind. She was one year below him, yet she had already battered most of the boys in her grade into silence. And beside her, there was that blond top student from the fifth year. The timeline lined up almost perfectly.
Could this be that incident?
"Orochimaru-sensei, do you really think Kumogakure came sincerely to negotiate at a time like this?"
Orochimaru glanced at him, unsurprised by the question.
"I don't know whether they're sincere. But the Cloud is currently fighting against Iwagakure while also pressing us. Their pressure is real. Even if they have no intention of reaching a true peace, they will still want to use negotiations to temporarily reduce the intensity of the fighting."
Then his tone cooled slightly.
"But the side under greater pressure is us. Hanzo of Amegakure has declared war on multiple great nations and thrown the entire region into chaos. At the same time, Konoha is facing the main forces of both the Wind and Lightning countries. With Sarutobi-sensei's personality, he will absolutely do everything in his power to push peace talks forward. Even if a lasting peace cannot be achieved, he will still want to reduce the pressure on the front lines, even temporarily."
Orochimaru's meaning was unmistakably clear.
Given Konoha's present circumstances—and given the Third Hokage's temperament—the village would take these negotiations very seriously whether Kumogakure meant well or not. This was no longer a matter a jonin instructor like Orochimaru could decide. However exceptional he was, Konoha's real authority still rested in the hands of several senior leaders currently at the height of their power.
Gen nodded slowly, then let a sliver of unease show on his face.
"I understand. It's just... because Konoha already suffered such heavy losses in negotiations with Kumogakure during the First Shinobi World War, I can't shake this bad feeling."
"Oh, come on."
Sarutobi Enjun slung an arm around Gen's neck with exaggerated familiarity and laughed out loud.
"What are you even worried about? This is our village. What can those barbarians from Kumogakure possibly do here? My old man may be useless sometimes, but he's not completely incompetent. Anyway, since Orochimaru-sensei is going to be busy for the next few days, shouldn't we take the chance to enjoy ourselves tonight?"
He thumped his own chest with the hand not draped over Gen.
"I'm paying. Yakiniku Q—Akimichi clan style. Order whatever you want."
Gen's expression almost twitched.
What he was worried about was precisely Enjun's father, that "not completely incompetent" old man.
Still, there was no point saying that out loud.
If something really happened and they had the power to intervene, then they would intervene. If they didn't, then it would be a matter for the village's upper echelon to deal with. Right now, he was still just a newly promoted genin. There were limits to what foresight alone could accomplish.
So Gen only gave a small nod and let Enjun drag him forward.
"Fine. Then tonight, we eat."
He could only hope that the butterfly effect brought by his own existence wouldn't twist the outcome of this matter into something even worse.
Yet even as he followed his teammates away from the Hokage Building, the unease in his chest did not fade. It lingered there quietly, like a shadow stretching across the heart of Konoha before anyone else had noticed the sky beginning to darken.