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When Ximen Zhen returned to reality from the simulation, the talent upgrade had already been completed.
Though he had spent a long time in the simulation, it wasn't just due to indulging in Ino's gentle embrace—he had also carefully studied the most valuable gain from this simulation: his knowledge and experience in medical ninjutsu.
Fortunately, he could now immediately apply the medical ninjutsu techniques he had learned.
Unfortunately, in the real world, he still needed to find a practical and legitimate way to study medical ninjutsu.
Ximen Zhen already had a few ideas about that.
If that attack still occurred a month from now, it would become the perfect excuse for him to get involved and gain access to that knowledge.
Aside from medical ninjutsu, what intrigued Ximen Zhen most was his sensory ability. He couldn't wait to test it out.
He closed his eyes, allowing chakra to circulate through his head as his mental energy began to spread outward.
Like a radar scan, everything around him appeared in his mind. Most of it was in black and white.
When his awareness extended past the boundaries of his house and reached a radius of nearly 100 meters, individuals with chakra inside their bodies appeared in full-color humanoid forms in his mental image.
Ximen Zhen suppressed his excitement and tried to identify who these chakra-bearing individuals were.
Soon enough, he matched their chakra signatures to familiar names—his neighbors and fellow villagers.
With that, he had basically mastered the usage of his new sensory talent. Clenching his fists in excitement, Ximen Zhen was filled with confidence.
With this power, unless someone far more powerful than him or a ninja with superior sensory abilities ambushed him, his life would be relatively safe.
And with his medical ninjutsu on top of that, it could be said that as long as he didn't actively seek danger, it would be pretty difficult for him to die now.
Tonight, Ximen Zhen could finally enjoy a good night's sleep.
Still, he wanted to test whether, in his current state, he could use shadow clones for training.
Acting on impulse, he summoned a shadow clone and ordered it to stay up through the night using sensory perception while he went to sleep.
When he awoke, the sun was already high in the sky.
Glancing at the clock, he was surprised to find that it was already 10 a.m.
Searching his memory, he regretfully realized that the shadow clone had only lasted three hours before dispersing.
And the cost was an additional three hours of sleep for himself.
This meant that his current physical condition still wasn't sufficient to sustain a shadow clone for extended training.
However, Ximen Zhen wasn't particularly disappointed.
After all, he had the simulation system—the ultimate training tool. Each simulation could span an entire lifetime. Compared to that, a shadow clone was a minor bonus. Once his chakra reserves improved, he could revisit that idea later.
In the following days, Ximen Zhen's life entered a period of stability.
TenTen did about 3 to 4 missions each month, and whenever she had time off, she would spend at least a day helping Ximen Zhen train.
Ino, on the other hand, visited Ximen Zhen's house daily. However, since she had school, she no longer guided his chakra control hands-on.
Even on weekends, Ino's instruction had shifted to more basic things like tree climbing and water walking.
Now that Ximen Zhen had something to rely on, he displayed a high level of talent. Ino was quite surprised and even lamented that it was a pity Ximen Zhen wasn't becoming a ninja.
As for Ximen Zhen, he was able to earn one simulation attempt about once a week.
The pace was slow, but it couldn't be helped.
Female ninjas were already a minority in the shinobi world, and those who lived to retirement age were even rarer. The ones who were willing to visit and tell stories to Ximen Zhen were an even smaller subset.
This was one reason Ximen Zhen wanted to learn medical ninjutsu—it gave him a better excuse to actively interact with elderly people and children.
Faced with these hard-earned simulation chances, Ximen Zhen no longer rushed into new simulations.
He had already acquired a great deal from previous simulations; what he needed now was real-world growth.
And so, Ximen Zhen patiently focused on three weeks of steady progress.
Physical training, chakra refinement, and writing—his life became a simple cycle.
As the weather grew colder and the year came to a close, the 63rd year of Konoha was drawing to an end. The coming spring would mark the graduation of Naruto's class.
Ximen Zhen was also ready to take a new step forward.
That day, holding his manuscript, he made his way to the Hokage's office.
The last time he came, he had to fill out forms and wait half a day to see the Hokage. But this time, after giving his name, he was summoned almost immediately.
"So it's you, Ximen. Long time no see," Hiruzen Sarutobi said kindly, the wrinkles on his face even deeper now, as if etched into his bones.
"What brings you here today? Do you need my help with something?"
Hiruzen was well aware of what Ximen Zhen had been doing. He was amazed that someone so young could mobilize so many ninjas.
Of course, he understood the logic. Simply put, Ximen Zhen had earned the affection of the elderly and children in the village.
Becoming well-known in Konoha and building a network through such a route—Hiruzen had never seen anything like it. The only comparable precedent was something his own teacher had done.
So Hiruzen found himself increasingly interested in Ximen Zhen.
But due to the village's manpower shortage, he couldn't afford to have an Anbu member watch over Ximen Zhen every day. All he could rely on were reports from elders in various clans about what Ximen Zhen was doing.
When he heard that Ximen Zhen trained daily and never slacked in his writing, Hiruzen began to see him in a new light.
Talented, emotionally intelligent, and with an unwavering will.
What a pity he wasn't a ninja. If he were, Hiruzen would have found someone to mentor him personally.
Even now, Hiruzen was still pondering how best to position Ximen Zhen going forward.
Yes, even though Ximen Zhen wasn't a shinobi, Hiruzen had no intention of letting him remain an ordinary citizen.
There were non-shinobi roles within the Hokage's office as well—Ximen Zhen's current official title was "Records Manager."
Perhaps it was time to consider arranging a more senior position for him?
"Lord Hokage, I didn't come today to ask for your help," Ximen Zhen said as he placed the manuscript he was holding onto Hiruzen's desk.
That snapped the absent-minded Hokage out of his thoughts. He looked at the manuscript in surprise, momentarily unable to process what he was seeing.
In his mind, writing a book took at least six months or a year, didn't it?
Ximen Zhen had only been at it for—what? Not even two months?
Hiruzen opened the book skeptically, but within just a few breaths, he was fully engrossed, transported back to the bloody, war-torn era of his youth, watching the rise of the mighty warlord—Uchiha Madara.
Especially during the fierce battle between the Uchiha and Senju clans, Hiruzen's breathing became tense, and he even found himself subconsciously rooting for Madara to win.
(End of Chapter)