A soft hum filled the air as Uchiha Fūka's hands glowed with a faint blue chakra. Gently, he touched an old hen lying on the ground. The hen's chicks, fluffy and anxious, chirped noisily around her, clearly distressed.
The hen was on the brink of death due to old age, but under Fūka's careful guidance, the cells within her body were reactivated. To his delight, the hen miraculously stood up, flapping her wings with renewed energy. The chicks, excited, circled their revitalized mother.
Fūka watched the scene with a gentle smile, then stood up and returned home. He reached into his bedroom and pulled out a scroll. A month ago, a staff member from Konoha Hospital handed it to him, saying it was from Nonō Yakushi. The message from Nonō was clear: focus on mastering medical ninjutsu and not worry about her.
Of course, Nonō also left him a substantial amount of money.
Fūka knew that Nonō Yakushi was a member of Konoha's Root division. Her sudden departure without even saying goodbye likely meant the order had come directly from Danzo himself.
"Even though I know this isn't the time for Nonō to die in the original story, I can't help but worry," Fūka thought as he looked at the scroll, which contained three medical jutsu: Healing Jutsu, Hemostasis Jutsu, and the more advanced Mystical Palm Technique. He had already mastered the Healing Jutsu, and over the past month, he'd successfully learned the Hemostasis Jutsu as well. However, the Mystical Palm Technique was still proving difficult.
The Mystical Palm Technique was an advanced version of the Healing Jutsu, capable of fully revitalizing cells and healing wounds within minutes. It was far more challenging than the other two techniques. On top of this, Fūka had to devote a lot of time to chakra refinement, taijutsu training, and practicing hand signs, so he hadn't yet mastered it.
"Oh yeah, the Ninja Academy starts tomorrow!"
Remembering what Obito had said earlier, Fūka couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
So far, the only characters from the original story he had encountered were Uchiha Obito, Nonō Yakushi, and Uchiha Fugaku. But the Ninja Academy would be full of familiar faces from the original story—people like Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi, and Ibiki Morino.
The thought of meeting them was thrilling.
But even in his excitement, Fūka didn't neglect his daily training.
That evening, Obito showed up at Fūka's house right on time, bringing his grandmother along.
"Fūka, is dinner ready yet?"
"Almost done. You two can go wash your hands," Fūka called out from the kitchen.
"Fūka, we really can't thank you enough for everything you've done," Obito's grandmother said politely. Her manners were impeccable; every word and action was filled with grace.
Fūka smiled as he walked out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of stir-fried meat that smelled delicious. Each piece was sliced thin, making it easy for the elderly to chew.
For Fūka, cutting the meat into such fine slices was also a form of training. It helped him develop precise control over his wrist and finger movements. He had fully integrated his training into his daily life.
Thanks to his relentless and intense training, Fūka had increased his chakra to the level of a Genin, and his hand sign speed had improved significantly, reaching 0.8 seconds per sign.
In terms of taijutsu, though he had made considerable gains in physical strength through self-directed training, he hadn't yet figured out how to apply it effectively in combat.
But Fūka wasn't worried; he already had someone in mind to train him.
In Konoha, when it came to taijutsu, Might Guy was the undisputed master. But at this point, Guy was a year younger than Fūka, so it was unlikely he could offer much guidance.
But Guy's father could!
Might Duy, known as the Eternal Genin of Konoha, was often mocked by other ninja, but his true strength was terrifying.
Years later, during the Third Shinobi War, Might Duy would open the Eighth Gate of Death to protect his son and take on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, killing four of them before finally succumbing to chakra exhaustion.
Fūka suspected that by now, Duy had already mastered the Eighth Gate.
With Duy as his teacher, Fūka was confident his taijutsu would advance by leaps and bounds.
As for whether Duy would agree to train him, Fūka wasn't too worried. As a perpetual Genin, Duy was bound to have a kind disposition. Plus, as a staunch believer in the Will of Fire, he wouldn't refuse a sincere request for training.
After a night of training, Fūka was awoken at dawn by Obito.
"Fūka, get up! Today's the first day of school, and we're gonna be late!" Obito shouted excitedly from outside.
Fūka opened his eyes and looked at the faint light of dawn, feeling a wave of exasperation.
"Come on, it's way too early for this…"
But under Obito's relentless urging, Fūka finally got out of bed and made breakfast. At Obito's suggestion, he also prepared a lunch for later.
After quickly wolfing down their food, the two of them set off with their lunchboxes.
Obito was bursting with energy the entire way, constantly scanning the surroundings as if expecting some epic event to happen at any moment. And then he saw it—a little old lady trying to cross the street…
Fūka could only sigh as Obito dashed over in a flash, helping the elderly woman across the road.
The old lady clutched Obito's hand, showering him with praise, causing him to blush and scratch his head shyly.
Finally, with a goofy grin on his face, Obito ran back.
"Fūka, doing good deeds feels amazing!" Obito said, beaming.
"Ugh…" Fūka sighed again. Now he understood why Obito had gotten up so early.
As they continued on their way, it became clear that whenever they encountered an elderly person, Obito was there to help, whether or not they actually needed to cross the street. Free of charge, no less! Hurry up, seniors—don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Eventually, Fūka looked up at the sky, tears almost forming in his eyes.
"At this point, I think we're… late?"
Obito seemed to realize this only now and slapped Fūka on the back. "Let's hurry, or the teacher's gonna yell at us!"
Fūka was so annoyed he wanted to punch something.
Should he take this opportunity while Obito was still weak to stab him a couple of times? Then, when Obito inevitably became famous, Fūka would have something to brag about.
They sprinted the rest of the way, but sure enough, by the time they arrived at the Ninja Academy, they were late.
"Hey, hey! Uchiha Obito! Uchiha Fūka! You two are unbelievable—late on the very first day of class!"
In the office, their teacher, Kiyono Makoto, was giving Fūka and Obito a stern talking-to.
Kiyono was a Chunin, not particularly strong in combat, but an excellent educator. She grabbed both Fūka and Obito by the hands and launched into a scolding that lasted a full hour and a half, without a single break, reducing both of them to tears of repentance. By the end of it, they both wished they could be reborn as better people.
"Teacher, we understand our mistake," Fūka said with a heavy sigh. What else could he do? He was just as frustrated as she was!