Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha

-

On the last day of March, the Ninja Academy held a grand graduation ceremony, with the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, personally awarding certificates to the graduates.

Every boy who stood on the stage had an excited expression on his face, except for Sarutobi Asuma, who turned his head away, revealing his rebellious side.

Wearing a loose purple coat, Nohara Rin looked around but couldn't see Obito. The girl was getting anxious.

Unfortunately, Obito didn't show up even after the graduation ceremony ended...

"Mr. Genzo, please wait a little longer, there is still one child who has not arrived."

Class teacher Ryosuke Kimura made another request, but most students were getting impatient. Class A didn't start taking a group photo until all the other classes had left.

Might Guy, Genma Shiranui, and Ebisu all changed into new clothes and shared their ninja experiences with a lot of laughter.

Kakashi no longer carried his short sword and, like Osamu Furukawa, wore a blue long-sleeved training uniform.

Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai chatted and laughed, while Shizune, wearing a loose blue coat, stood beside Furukawa Osamu with a smile on her face.

A group of teenagers gathered around the bamboo dragonfly when one of them suddenly wrapped several bandages around his head, looking incredibly cool...

Wearing a headscarf, Ibiki Morino grinned and looked at the camera along with everyone else.

Rin Nohara was a little down, but she still smiled sweetly as she stood next to Kakashi.

"Alright, everyone look at me!"

With a reminder from the bald-headed Mr. Genzo, Class A completed their group photo. Their homeroom teacher, Ryosuke Kimura, didn't forget to pull everyone aside for a final reminder.

"You are the best students I have ever taught. To be honest, as a Chunin, I haven't really been able to teach you much."

"Promise me that no matter where you are or what mission you are on, you will take good care of yourself. Ninjas are not tools."

Wearing a green bodysuit, Might Guy readily agreed, and even gave a thumbs up at the end. His passionate and youthful aura made Ryosuke Kimura smile with satisfaction.

-

Around noon, Obito Uchiha arrived late, slowing down and then tripping on flat ground.

With no classmates and no teachers, Obito, sitting up straight, almost burst into tears as he looked at the girl waiting for him in front of him.

"Are you alright, Obito? Don't worry, I got the certificate for you!"

Rin Nohara, leaning over, asked with concern. Obito, rubbing his eyes, replied, his voice trembling with emotion:

"Lin, only you... only you have always been by my side..."

"..."

Chapter 30 The Ninja in the "Inner Competition" (Part 1)

At the end of April in Konoha Year 46, the group of people who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy officially embarked on their ninja journey.

Perhaps because they had heard too many "ninja stories" at school, most of the squads lost their motivation after being "beaten up" by D-rank missions in their first month.

Graduating early does not equate to having outstanding ninja talent, and the village leadership did not assign these students to excellent Jonin.

Teams with good performance are led by Jonin, while teams with slightly worse performance are led by Chunin in rotation.

As for those who give up their ninja career a month after graduation, there's even less need to invest resources in them.

From the perspective of the village's higher-ups, as long as they maintain a considerable number of genin and successfully handle low-level missions, that will suffice. As a result, the dreams of many young ninjas have been shattered once again.

Besides completing missions, genin with special talents receive better treatment after graduation!

The intelligence department also needs to replenish its manpower, the barrier team "recruits" every year, the guard team is absorbed internally by the Uchiha clan, and Konoha Hospital accepts any medical ninja who comes.

Ninjas also need to earn a living. Great ninja clans have family support, while ordinary ninjas can only rely on "grinding".

-

Osamu Furukawa is currently unaware of the troubles associated with being a genin. There are only a handful of ninjas in the village who have mastered advanced medical ninjutsu, and even though he lacks experience, he is still very popular in the medical team.

"You did your best, Xiu! Being able to hold on for so long to say goodbye to everyone has exceeded our expectations."

"A ninja must face life and death head-on!"

Hearing the reprimand from their senior, the 15-year-old boys in the ward stopped crying. Witnessing their teacher sacrifice himself to protect them had been a huge blow to them.

Seeing this, Furukawa Osamu sighed inwardly, a look of concern on his face:

"The internal organs have suffered extremely serious damage. Remember to take immediate emergency measures next time."

"Don't let your teachers down; the future depends on you to carry on this spirit."

"Yes!"

The boys bowed in response. Although Furukawa Osamu was young, ninjas are judged by their strength and talent, and everyone felt that his words made a lot of sense.

The Jonin of the Sarutobi clan nodded slightly upon seeing this scene. Furukawa Osamu was nothing like a child; even many adult ninjas couldn't do something like "making special arrangements."

The three people behind, Jingyin, Hanfang, and Baicao, all looked sad. They were completely unable to help with the treatment, and this was not the first time it had happened.

Osamu Furukawa temporarily disregarded the feelings of his teammates and helped them complete the final tasks.

After the Sarutobi clan Jonin and the boy thanked him and left, Furukawa Osamu casually sent the collected energy into his body.

To Shizune and the others, Furukawa Osamu was merely rubbing his forehead to relieve his fatigue.

"Xiu, come and rest for a while, you don't look well."

Hearing Shizune's concerned voice, Furukawa Osamu nodded, then, thinking about his work over the past month, asked:

"Are all the other special care wards full too? It seems the conflict is escalating. Accidents are happening frequently during C-level missions."

Hanfang, who was more familiar with hospital work, gave a wry smile and said in a low voice:

"The hospital is full, Captain. It's all our fault for being useless. We can't solve combat missions, and we can't even use our magic properly in the hospital."

"You are still young, and you will definitely become excellent medical ninjas in the future!"

"Hakucho has made great progress recently. This is the result of accumulated knowledge. Don't give up learning. Understanding the basic principles will greatly help your ninjutsu."

It seemed a bit strange for Osamu Furukawa, who wouldn't turn nine in a few months, to say these words, given his young age. However, his two teammates were completely convinced and immediately responded loudly:

"Yes!"

After finishing her workday that evening, Shizune smiled contentedly as she followed Furukawa Osamu, seeking his guidance on ninjutsu. As the two entered the office, Tsunade immediately looked up and said:

"Thanks for your hard work!"

"Is the teacher sleeping again? There's still some ink on his right cheek."

Upon hearing Furukawa Osamu's words, Tsunade subconsciously wiped her hands twice. Shizune leaned in and whispered in her ear, only then realizing that she had been tricked into revealing the truth:

"You must want to get punished! Head to Exercise Field 3 this weekend!"

After wiping her drool, Tsunade yelled in annoyance, continuing to flick Furukawa Osamu until his forehead turned red. Only then was she satisfied and stopped, then took out the report and asked:

"Are you researching the effects of chakra on cells?"

"You could also say it has an impact on life, teacher. I'm just curious about the formation of bloodline limits."

Furukawa Osamu didn't hide his purpose, and seeing Tsunade's serious expression, he continued:

"I saw some notes from the Second Hokage in the library. Everyone refines their chakra differently. It seems that other villages have even developed some bloodline ninjas for this purpose."

Tsunade was naturally familiar with the contents of the books, and after a moment's thought, she remembered which notebook Furukawa Osamu was referring to:

"That involves the issue of Jinchuriki. Tailed beasts' chakra is different from that of humans, and some ninja villages have conducted experiments based on this."

"Some escaping techniques were developed from this, but more importantly, the ninja himself had to possess that talent."

"In short, this is a very complicated issue. At your age, you should lay a solid foundation and expand the application of existing ninjutsu."

Furukawa Osamu didn't argue; what he actually wanted to figure out was what exactly the energy from the "collection" was.

After the number of "White Fang Blood Nightmare" events decreased recently, I completed two [Gathering] events this month, one against a regular Chunin and the other against a Jonin from the Sarutobi clan today.

The former's impact is negligible, only expanding the range of perception, but the latter is very important, and it can most likely replenish fire-attribute chakra.

"The teacher is right, I won't delve into it; it's too early for me!"

By proactively offering his assurance, Furukawa Osamu once again demonstrated his willingness to listen to advice, which pleased Tsunade greatly. She rose and cheerfully greeted the two, saying:

"Tonight, I'll go to a Chinese izakaya. I've been busy for a month, so I need to relax."

"Then we'll go to the bathhouse..."

Shizune really enjoys her current pace of life; it's more fulfilling than being at school, and she can always be by Furukawa Osamu's side.

Seeing the two start bickering again after discussing ninjutsu, the girl immediately chased after them to their side; this was her simple and unpretentious life as a genin.

-

In early May, during his holiday break, Osamu Furukawa went for his routine training. While everyone else was busy with their tasks, only Katsuyu occasionally offered her comments in her soft, sweet voice:

"Master Xiu is progressing very quickly. After his cells were affected by natural energy, he won't have to worry about chakra issues in the future."

"But the transformation of ninja chakra nature depends on Master Xiu's own efforts; I can't help you with that."

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A giant fireball spewed from Furukawa Osamu's mouth. He had basically mastered the transformation of fire-attribute chakra nature. [Gathering] The expected goal was achieved.

After finishing this basic Fire Release ninjutsu, Furukawa Osamu was fairly satisfied with the craters in the ground. Although he remembered that most Fire Release techniques only produced smoke and no damage, mastering a new technique was a good thing.

"Live Slug, the next step is to find the original chakra to verify the hypothesis."

"I'm really looking forward to it, Master Xiu, this is your path of evolution."

"..."

Chapter 31: The Ninja in the "Inner Circle" (Please continue reading)

In mid-May, the weather warmed up.

Inside the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned as he looked at the latest report, while Homura Mitokado calmly said:

"Hiruzen, we all knew this would happen sooner or later."

"The impact of low-priced requests is spreading. Both Sunagakure and Iwagakure have noticed this. As the number of requests from the other side gradually decreases, war is bound to break out."

Konoha ninjas are numerous, have a good reputation, and are relatively inexpensive, which makes more people seek their services.

The impact was most severe on Rank C and Rank B missions. Some merchants in the Land of Wind even abandoned the Sand Village ninjas, all of which were the result of the events in Konoha.

“We certainly won’t plunder like the Hidden Cloud Village, but the result will be the same.”

“Resentment is inevitable among neighboring countries, and war is the best solution for them.”

"Taking the initiative is a good strategy; passive peace is not true peace."

Koharu Utatane, squinting, also offered her opinion: at this point, cutting off the enemy's outstretched "arm" would indeed not solve the problem.

"I will not drag the Konoha ninja into the war; this is a strategy we formulated long ago."

"Onoki recently hired some people from the black market, and now we need to give those who accepted the commission a warning."

"Jiraiya has received accurate intelligence that the Jinchuriki of Iwagakure seem to be making some moves, and this time they are splitting up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt that the Tsuchikage's prestige had been completely undermined by the fact that one of the Five Great Nations had hired a black market bounty hunter. He decided to teach the other party a lesson to prevent Iwagakure from actually starting a war.

"Jinchūriki? What stage have we reached in developing the Jinchūriki system?"

Danzo, who had been playing a supporting role, suddenly opened his eyes and asked a serious question. Hiruzen Sarutobi still couldn't give a clear answer to this question:

"Having Jinchuriki participate in the battle is the worst option. Every village's sealing techniques have flaws, and if they get out of control, they will be a nightmare for both sides on the battlefield."

Some time had passed since the last inquiry, and it was clear that the development of the Jinchūriki was still not up to expectations. Danzo was somewhat dissatisfied with this and spoke up to remind him:

"It's time for the sealing techniques we inherited from the Uzumaki clan to come into play."

"If the opponent uses a Jinchūriki, the village must be prepared. Hiruzen, the only weapon we need is one that we can control."

Danzo offered his advice expressionlessly, but the two advisors were somewhat surprised to hear this; their old friend seemed to be paying special attention to Jinchūriki.

What the three people in the room didn't know was that Root was secretly training Wood Release ninjas, and as the test subjects grew, their ambitions also increased.

Although it can't compare to the First Hokage's Wood Release, it's enough as long as it can suppress the Tailed Beasts!

"If you can't handle this matter, you can hand it over to the Root..."

Faced with his silent "old friend," Danzo offered his advice again, which Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally refused, stating firmly: