Uchiha Gen timed it so that Tsunade had waited exactly one month.
To avoid looking too shocking, he didn't reveal he'd already mastered the Mystic Palm Technique.
Instead, he first activated the Green Training-Speed Card that tripled his training speed for the coming month.
Apart from routine missions, every spare moment was poured into Fire Release Nature Transformation.
With triple speed, the results were immediate.
In just a week, Uchiha Gen could incinerate a slip of paper in an instant.
Turning wet wood to charcoal and then evaporating the moisture took longer, but even so, the whole process didn't exceed a month.
Factoring in the triple-speed card, he'd effectively trained for three months—still nowhere near Orochimaru's monstrous pace, yet far above average.
His solid Fire Release foundation and the essence he'd absorbed from Young Madara's flames offset some of his innate talent deficiency.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A three-meter sphere of orange-white fire shot through the air, vaporizing raindrops and warping the air itself before slamming into a boulder the size of a small hill.
Boom!
The blast shattered the rock, shockwaves rippling outward.
"This power is leagues beyond what I used to manage."
Uchiha Gen slicked his rain-soaked hair back from his face, planted his hands on his hips, and surveyed the gravel with satisfaction.
Before, his best Great Fireball had been nearly ten meters across and awe-inspiring.
With Nature Transformation added, the flames condensed for explosive force, shrinking in size but packing far more punch.
Scaling it back up to ten meters now would cost a massive jump in Chakra.
In raw destructive force, he'd clearly reached the Jonin level.
"No telling how far I still am from a veteran Jonin—aside from not having a second element's Nature Transformation yet."
Since his last card draw, he had never gone all-out.
Most of the month had been spent on patrol, dropping by Tsunade's tent only now and then.
Patrol missions let him slack off and train; he just had to keep his Chakra above the safety line.
Tsunade's Senju physique didn't match Hashirama or Naruto's absurd reserves, yet her Chakra pool and recovery still dwarfed most.
This was an enormous boon for Uchiha Gen, whose own recovery now outpaced ordinary ninja by a wide margin.
The skirmishes he met were light.
After losing a Special Jonin-led elite squad here, the enemy assumed this sector was heavily defended and wouldn't waste more forces.
None of those scraps forced him to get serious; he merely toyed with them using the Super Strength copied from Young Tsunade.
That afternoon.
Field medical station.
"You actually learned it in a month?"
Tsunade watched Uchiha Gen casually slit his own forearm, then seal the wound with a flicker of the Mystic Palm Technique, her expression complicated.
She had believed it was possible, yet seeing the technique flow so smoothly gave her a jolt.
It was far too fluid for a first-timer.
It looked nothing like a freshly learned Jutsu.
"Just luck and talent, and you taught it well, Lady Tsunade."
"Without your guidance, I'd never have had the chance to study Medical Ninjutsu."
His words were modest, but the smirk on his face gave him away.
"I bet you didn't learn that silver tongue from Orochimaru."
"He's never this chatty, and all I did was hand you the basics—hardly counts as good teaching."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and tossed him a thick scroll.
After the first few days of hands-on basics, she had left him to his own devices.
In under a year, while his combat power rocketed, the kid had self-taught Medical Ninjutsu to this level.
For a moment, Tsunade truly envied Orochimaru.
Why did such a gem end up as his student?
"Look through the scroll. Once you're done, my deal with Orochimaru is complete."
She nodded toward the scroll in his hands.
"Deal?"
How had Orochimaru entered the picture?
"At the next Jonin Council, I want Orochimaru and his faction to back my proposal to build the Village's Medical Ninja system."
"These techniques are for you—and for him."
"Techniques?"
Wasn't it just the Super Strength?
Uchiha Gen unrolled the scroll.
The method for Chakra Enhanced Strength opened the list, followed by several high-level Medical Ninjutsu.
Chakra Scalpel, Yin Healing Wound Destruction, Delicate Illness Extraction Technique.
Before Tsunade had invented the Yin Seal, Strength of a Hundred, and Creation Rebirth, these were the most cutting-edge healing arts in the ninja world.
Mastering them didn't put you on her level, of course; the same Jutsu in her hands far outperformed anyone else's, even something as basic as the Mystic Palm.
The gift's worth was incalculable.
A single vote at the Jonin Council couldn't match this.
Orochimaru, though rising fast, came from nowhere, lacked a clan network, and commanded only three Jonin votes—some weight, but nowhere near enough to sway the council.
Unless...
"Sensei Orochimaru is going to help drive the whole Medical Ninja system?"
Uchiha Gen asked.
Tsunade gave a slow nod.
That explained it.
Orochimaru wasn't just after the techniques; to shape the new system, he needed full knowledge of its highest arts.
Once the Medical Ninja structure stood, these very Jutsu would become required study for every top-tier medic.