He had already learned the ninjutsu of two Hokage—was there really a need to start from scratch again?
"You really don't need to teach me!" Ranmo said awkwardly.
Judging by the timeline, there were still three years until the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. Before that, he didn't want to drag anyone down.
Hearing this, the two men fell silent. It was as if a blazing fire had suddenly been extinguished by a bucket of cold water. In this little town, it was rare to even find a child capable of molding chakra. They had already been living this mundane, uneventful life for seven or eight years. It was… boring.
Now that they finally found a promising kid, he turned out not to think much of them.
They were about to argue, but instead, both men stayed quiet. Ranmo didn't speak either. But then, just moments later, their extinguished enthusiasm reignited like dry twigs in a breeze.
"Ah, I get it now—you probably don't know how to use chakra, that's why you turned down our teaching! Don't underestimate us, kid! Around here, we're kind of famous! We're…"
Suddenly, the two men leapt up. The chubby one crouched as the thin one jumped onto his shoulders. They struck an exaggerated pose—arms spread wide, standing tall like a proud hawk taking flight.
"We are—the Iron Pan Duo!"
"The Iron Pan Duo! Heroes of the Other Side! Renowned across the land, slayers of evil!"
As they struck their flashy pose, the three of them had already entered the town. A few local kids saw them and immediately began jumping and shouting excitedly.
Originally, Ranmo had considered showing off a little—maybe then they'd stop trying to force ninjutsu lessons on him. But the moment he saw those guys reacting like that, he instantly dismissed the idea.
If he showed off now, wouldn't he look just like those two?
With a sigh, Ranmo shook his head and continued walking quietly through town.
After breakfast, Ranmo's eyes gradually turned pitch-black under the rising sun—and only then did Alai and Uyi realize: he was blind during the day.
"W-what? I'm so sorry! I completely misunderstood you!" Uyi bowed his head, sincerely apologetic.
Alai waved his hand, also apologizing once he confirmed Ranmo couldn't see. No wonder the boy had been sent here... He's disabled. How could someone like this ever become a ninja? Even if he had chakra, it wouldn't matter!
Back at their residence, the large courtyard was full of training gear—balance beams, sandbags, wooden posts—everything you'd expect in a small dojo.
Uyi awkwardly moved things out of Ranmo's path while glancing at Alai in embarrassment.
Ranmo, having already seen their actions through his Mirror System, smiled and said calmly, "You don't need to treat me differently because of my blindness. I'm really doing just fine."
At that moment, a few kids entered the courtyard.
"Good morning, Teacher Uyi! Good morning, Teacher Alai!"
"Good morning, everyone!"
"Sensei, is that the new student in our class? He's so cute!" a student suddenly asked.
Uyi looked back at Ranmo and asked, "Ranmo, we're the instructors for ninjutsu here. Would you like to join our training?"
He remembered Ranmo had said earlier that he wasn't interested—but he also didn't want the boy to feel excluded because of his blindness. Of course, the choice was still up to him.
Ranmo pointed at his eyes and gave a small shake of his head. "It's inconvenient for me."
With that, he turned and groped his way back into the house. Alai had prepared a private room for him, and now he finally had time to dive into the medical notes Tsunade had left behind.
Outside, the students began whispering.
"Is he blind? He really can't see?"
"Looks like it… poor guy."
Ranmo didn't care what they said.
But inside the courtyard, Teacher Alai couldn't help feeling that the boy was being left out. He spoke up, "Alright everyone, time for class! And hey—why don't we welcome our new classmate? Even if he doesn't want to learn ninjutsu, let's invite him to join us, okay?"
He was clearly worried that the children's reactions might hurt Ranmo's young heart.
Meanwhile, Ranmo was still inside, thinking to himself. Just then, Alai walked in and gently asked, "How about meeting the others? You'll be studying together after all. If you keep hiding in this room, that won't work, right?"
Alai had clearly mistaken him for a shy, insecure child. If Ranmo refused again, he really would become the poor, pitiful blind kid in everyone's eyes.
"…Alright, I'll go meet them."
The rest of the day turned out to be unexpectedly pleasant. The local children were kind and welcoming. Even the two tall boys—who normally liked to push others around—treated him politely. There was no mockery, only a quiet sympathy that Ranmo could sense in their eyes.
The group began practicing taijutsu. Ranmo originally sat under the shade, just listening and sensing their movements. But then, two children pulled him over to the wooden training posts.
"Come on, let's train together!"
Ranmo initially wanted to decline—but thinking about how he hadn't practiced taijutsu in a while, he eventually agreed.
Standing in front of the post, he tightened his fists and prepared to strike. Just then, one of the tall boys ran over.
"Little bro, your fists are all wrong! You have to clench them hard—really hard. Watch me!"
He let out a few exaggerated grunts before hammering away at the post.
Ranmo looked down at his own hands—small and soft. Naturally, they didn't look strong. So to others, it must seem like he lacked strength. But when he actually hit, he hit hard. Couldn't they tell?
By the way, isn't he blind? Why is he telling him to 'watch'?
Sigh… being young and blind really does make wonders.
"Dairiki, just practice on your own. Don't pressure him," said a pretty girl nearby. She walked over and gently comforted Ranmo. "Take your time, okay? No need to rush."
"…Mm." Ranmo nodded.
After two periods of physical training, the class moved on to academics—reading, arithmetic, and a bit of agriculture. Alai also explained the basics of farming.
After all, the villagers here mostly relied on agriculture to survive. Learning ninjutsu was to protect their home; learning to farm was in case they couldn't become ninja at all.
And just like that, the day passed.
That evening, Ranmo sat in his room, reading the notebook Tsunade had left behind. It was filled with her personal research on medical ninjutsu, including many strange and intriguing case records.
He found it… fascinating.
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