Naruto: Systematic Shinobi Chapter 5: The Grind Begins 4

A sense of unease settled upon Daiki.

Resting on a tree branch within his selected training area, Daiki wore a troubled expression.

Ten days had passed since his last visit to the shinobi library archive. Occupied with a new ninjutsu to master, a fresh taijutsu style to hone, extensive study materials, and rigorous physical conditioning, he had fully immersed himself in his training.

It was remarkably easy to lose oneself in the rigors of training when presented with tangible goals and witnessing the constant upward trend on his status screen.

The improvements he achieved were indeed astonishing, yet peculiar, exceedingly so.

[Name: Daiki Yurei]

[Age: 13]

[Chakra Capacity: 4700/4700 (Elite Genin)]

[Strength: 23.8/500]

[Endurance: 32.8/500]

[Durability: 23.8/500]

[Agility: 23.8/500]

[Taijutsu: 99/500]

[Ninjutsu: 30/500]

[Genjutsu: 10/500]

[Bukijutsu: 15/500]

[Chakra Control: 146/500]

[Chakra Affinities:]

[Lightning - (N/A): You have no training with this element.]

[Fuinjutsu - (Novice): You have reached the level of a Novice.]

His physical attributes had seen an enhancement of roughly fifty percent, his chakra control had improved commendably, and his chakra capacity had once again remarkably doubled.

…Yet, it was now categorized as Elite Genin. This implied that the chakra he possessed, more than five times his initial waking amount, still fell short compared to that of a Chunin.

The scale of power was becoming increasingly difficult to gauge. If this quantity was merely Elite Genin, then just how immensely powerful must the Hokage or even someone like Naruto be?

Setting that thought aside, the most dramatic surge had been in his Taijutsu score, which had also doubled during the past ten days. The peculiar thing was, he had surpassed the ninety mark four days prior.

Since then, progress had become agonizingly slow; even pushing himself to exhaustion with the Feather Fist forms daily only yielded a meager two or three point increase.

'I suppose there's a limit to how quickly I can improve by repeating the forms endlessly,' he reflected. He lacked practical experience applying it in actual combat.

Still, he suspected an opportunity to test his skills would arise soon. His finances were dwindling, with just over forty thousand Ryo remaining, likely enough for another week, perhaps a week and a half at most, before he would need to undertake a mission.

Despite this, a hint of apprehension lingered, making him hesitant to accept missions that might involve confronting other shinobi in battle.

Delivery missions typically led outside the Land of Fire, ruling them out for the time being. He considered sticking to D-rank missions or exploring any available C-rank missions near the village.

Perhaps he might get fortunate and encounter a group of bandits or similar adversaries? They would likely be situated closer to the daimyo's court in the capital and the smaller villages nearby, rather than in the vicinity of Konoha.

There was little else demanding his attention currently, apart from continuing his training. While he was encountering a form of soft cap in his taijutsu and related skills, his overall physical conditioning was not subject to the same limitations, and naturally, there were his fuinjutsu studies.

He had successfully learned to create storage seals, and he was remarkably close to successfully crafting explosive seals; only fifty percent of them detonated prematurely in his face now!

'I suppose the hospital is an option, as Shiho suggested,' Daiki mused, dismissing the status screen from his mind. The Mystical Palm Jutsu would be incredibly beneficial, not only for augmenting his training progress and treating injuries but also…

It was the very same jutsu Nohara Rin utilized to transplant Hatake Kakashi's Sharingan.

There was absolutely no conceivable way for him to acquire a Sharingan. The sole individuals possessing them were Danzo and Tobi, or rather, Obito.

And possibly Orochimaru as well.

But indeed, obtaining anything from their possession was an unattainable fantasy. They were all Kage-level shinobi. The thought was preposterous.

Concurrently, however, the Sharingan was not the sole dojutsu in existence.

Though it might be considered unethical, he had confirmed the presence of a current rogue shinobi, among others. One known as Kurosaki Raiga, the wielder of the Kiba blades. One of the legendary blades of the Seven Swordsmen, or perhaps two of them, which would complement his lightning affinity exceptionally well, wouldn't it?

The questionable aspect was that he was aware of a conveniently vulnerable target accompanying Raiga, possessing a particularly intriguing set of eyes.

He could effectively achieve two objectives with a single shuriken.

This wasn't a declared course of action, merely a possibility available to him. It would require a considerable amount of time before he possessed the capability to hunt and defeat a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen Of The Mist, even if it were the least formidable among them.

'Alright, first Mystic Palm, then I'll do a mission.' Daiki decided, dismounting the tree branch and landing softly on the ground, vanishing in a swift blur as he returned to the village proper and headed towards the hospital.

Upon reaching the hospital, he found himself unsure of how to proceed beyond inquiring with the nurse at the front reception desk.

Fortunately, she proved most accommodating and guided him to the correct wing of the hospital, leading all the way to the top floor, just beneath the rooftop.

It was quite a substantial building, and along the way, he even spotted a familiar pair of water storage tanks that had been ruptured during a particular confrontation.

The area he was directed towards presented as a long, winding corridor that eventually led to a pair of imposing double doors. Flanking these doors, two ninja clad in medical scrubs stood guard, one on each side.

Lacking the ability to sense chakra and observing their uniform attire without any other distinguishing features, he found it difficult to ascertain their ninja ranks. However, based on their adult stature, he made an educated guess, leaning towards Chunin level.

"Is there something you require?" the guard on the right inquired.

"Yes," Daiki responded, contorting his face slightly as he contemplated his words, before opting for directness. "I was sent here by the nurse at reception. I'm interested in pursuing training as a medic ninja."

Although their faces were entirely obscured save for their eyes, he could discern an eyebrow arching, "Huh, we don't see many youngsters your age venturing into this path nowadays. It's commendable," the man chuckled. "The only other individual your age currently pursuing this training is that girl with the hair bun, who has, in the past year, failed three times to master the Mystic Palm Technique."

Hmm, that would likely be… Tenten? He recalled an arc where she aspired to learn med-nin jutsu, emulating Tsunade, but struggled with chakra control, consequently shifting her focus to mastering fuinjutsu as a supplement to her bukijutsu skills.

"Strange, it seems like incredibly useful knowledge," Daiki remarked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, most kids your age are more captivated by learning to spew fireballs and conjure lightning bolts," the man scoffed.

He then reached within his scrubs, retrieving a rolled-up scroll, and presented it. "Nevertheless, despite your interest, you must still learn this jutsu. Return when you believe you have achieved mastery, and we will assess you. This is the fundamental qualification required to become a medic ninja. If you cannot even grasp this, then you cannot proceed, it's as simple as that."

Daiki's eyebrow rose slightly, yet he caught the scroll as it was tossed his way. "Do you just keep these on hand to distribute?" he questioned skeptically.

The medic ninja offered a shrug. "The head medic is quite temperamental and exceptionally busy, constantly attending to patients," he explained. "He instituted this procedure to avoid being bothered by anyone other than those demonstrating the potential to become medic ninja."

Daiki winced, a voice echoing in his mind as a memory of his genin examination resurfaced.

"Look, I have numerous duties and some unique skills I wish to impart. I am searching for individuals possessing great potential. If you cannot land even a single strike on me—three against one, at your age—then you do not meet my criteria. So, come at me; you have one hour."

Damn it, Genma.

"Right, I'll return once I've completed this. Thank you," he stated, pushing those thoughts aside and bidding farewell to the two medic ninja guards before continuing on his path.

As he walked, he unrolled the scroll, idly perusing its contents as he made his way toward the exit.

At the pinnacle of the document, the scroll detailed the jutsu's name and its diverse applications. It possessed a remarkable range of capabilities. While it couldn't reset fractured bones, it could, with sufficient chakra, facilitate their mending. Furthermore, it was capable of repairing dermal tissues, rejoining severed nerves, and much more.

It was advised that mastery of the Tree Walking and Water Walking exercises should precede any attempt at this jutsu. Even with such prerequisites, success was not guaranteed.

Regarding the necessary hand seals, only two were required: a pair of modified variations of the Ox and Tiger seals.

Enumerated at the scroll's conclusion was the ultimate test he would need to conquer. He was required to employ the technique to resuscitate a large fish that had been impaled and left to suffocate out of its aquatic environment.

Poor fish, that sounded like an incredibly demanding trial.

"…Back to the training grounds, I suppose," Daiki sighed. This was likely to consume a considerable amount of time, judging by the duration it took him to initially master Tree Walking and Water Walking.