The ranking battles had only completed two rounds by the end of the day. It would likely take two more days to finalize all the students' rankings.
That afternoon, Instructor Koda shared a piece of news about the battlefield with the class.
Due to the brutal fighting on the Konoha-Rain border, there were many casualties and cases of poisoning. However, Konoha lacked enough medical ninja to treat the wounded, leading to many deaths simply because they couldn't receive timely treatment...
Konoha wanted to change this situation and urgently needed to train a large number of medical ninja to protect their injured comrades.
Instructor Koda quickly conducted a screening test for the class. Students who could attach chakra to their hands were told they would need to take an additional medical ninjutsu course from now on.
This was wartime. The village had exposed its weakness in medical capabilities and needed to quickly address this shortcoming. As a result, they had no choice but to sacrifice some of the children's time, requiring them to put in extra effort to learn medical ninjutsu.
Instructor Koda personally promised that any student who mastered medical ninjutsu would receive their Konoha forehead protector early, even skipping the Three Basic Jutsu assessment and directly becoming a proud Konoha ninja.
This announcement caused an uproar among the students, with most clamoring to learn medical ninjutsu.
Seeing this result, Instructor Koda was very satisfied.
Extraordinary times called for extraordinary measures. The situation on the battlefield was dire, and Konoha needed a large number of medical ninja urgently. If it could help relieve the village's burden, what did it matter to grant an early genin status?
Even if their combat skills were lacking, being able to save lives was enough.
'Konoha's emphasis on medical ninja is already showing early signs. It seems the time when Tsunade proposes the rule of every squad having at least one medical ninja isn't far off...'
Ryun pondered silently.
Soon, he also actively demonstrated his talent in chakra control and was selected to begin medical training.
Along with him, Kushina was also chosen, as she had already mastered the "Tree Climbing" and "Water Walking" exercises, making the medical ninja screening a breeze.
As for her desire to learn medical ninjutsu, Ryun supported it. After all, more skills meant more security.
If time was an issue? Shadow clones could solve that...
Truthfully, Kushina wasn't particularly interested in medical ninjutsu itself. If she had wanted to learn, she could have asked Tsunade long ago...
What interested her was the person—Ryun wanted to learn? Then she would join him...
That night.
Ryun was sweating it out in his courtyard when an unexpected visitor disrupted his training.
"Senya? What brings you here? Don't you have missions?"
The sudden appearance of Uchiha Senya, now a genin, surprised him.
"Ryun, the Third Elder sent me to find you," Senya stated directly.
"Oh? The Third Elder? What does he want with a mere student like me..." Ryun frowned slightly.
"I think he's probably taken an interest in you. This is a good thing. You should come with me to see him..." Senya said with a smile.
"Taken an interest in me?"
Ryun froze for a moment before chuckling.
"Your name and deeds have been spreading like wildfire among the younger generation of the clan. The Third Elder asked me about you and Fugaku. I told him the truth—that you defeated him..."
"Then he told me to bring you to him. He probably wants to nurture you."
Senya explained the situation in detail.
Ryun instinctively furrowed his brows.
He didn't think this was necessarily a good thing, but under Senya's persistent urging and out of curiosity, he eventually followed him into the Uchiha clan grounds to meet the Third Elder, Uchiha Toyoichi.
Since Uchiha Madara's departure, the Uchiha clan had not elected a new leader, mainly because no suitable candidate could command enough respect. The proud and unruly clan members refused to submit to anyone.
When Uchiha Kagami, a powerful figure, finally emerged, he turned out to be a traitor who sided with the Hokage...
The position of clan leader remained vacant, and during this period, several elders jointly managed the clan's affairs, each wielding considerable authority.
Among them, the First Elder held the most power, followed by the Second and Third Elders, with the remaining elders further below.
Both Ryun and Senya belonged to the faction of the Third Elder, Uchiha Toyoichi.
"What does the Third Elder want with me?"
Upon meeting Uchiha Toyoichi, Ryun cut straight to the point.
"Ah, you've arrived..."
Uchiha Toyoichi set down his teacup and greeted him with a smile.
"I heard you defeated the First Elder's precious grandson. To have such skill at such a young age—you're quite impressive, boy!"
Toyoichi praised him repeatedly.
"Fugaku underestimated me, so I was lucky to win," Ryun replied calmly.
"Is that so..."
Toyoichi nodded thoughtfully, finding the explanation reasonable.
"I heard your mother moved you out of the clan grounds. I'd like to know the reason..." Toyoichi inquired.
For someone in his position, the trivial matters of a small family were usually beneath his notice. He was busy with his own duties, and Ryun's family held little value to him...
So even when Ryun's family moved out, he hadn't cared. After all, they were still technically Uchiha clan members, attending the annual clan meetings. They just didn't live within the clan grounds anymore.
"No particular reason. We just weren't happy living there and wanted a change of scenery," Ryun answered casually.
"Unhappy living there?"
This response puzzled Toyoichi, but seeing Ryun's indifferent attitude, he didn't press further.
"With your skills, graduating from the academy should be easy, right?"
"Would you like to work for me? I can provide you with training resources to help you become a powerful ninja quickly..."
Toyoichi got straight to the point, extending his recruitment offer.
"Haha... What kind of training resources can the Third Elder offer me?" Ryun didn't reject the offer outright. Instead, he smiled and asked.
Ryun's question was so direct that Toyoichi was momentarily stunned...
Recovering, Toyoichi frowned slightly, displeased. He felt this kid was being somewhat impudent.
"What do you want? Money, ninja tools, various ninjutsu knowledge, mentorship... As long as you prove yourself worthy, I can provide connections, beautiful women, even power..."
"I can give you everything you desire. In return, I only ask for one thing—loyalty!"
Toyoichi declared with an air of authority, certain these words would awe this inexperienced brat.
To his surprise, Ryun burst out laughing the next moment.