Chapter 36: Medical Ninjutsu
Seeing that Nono had lost her ability to fight, Kitsuchi immediately backed away from her and rejoined Ishiro and the others. A jōnin on the brink of death might unleash a suicidal counterattack, possibly dragging Ishiro's team down with her, so Kitsuchi refused to take that risk.
As Kitsuchi continued facing off with Nono, Ishiro seized the chance to speak up:
"Miss Nun, may I ask your name?"
Nono stayed silent.
Ishiro tried again: "Those were chakra scalpels you used in combat. Clearly, your medical ninjutsu is extremely advanced. You must be a Konoha-nin, right? It'd be unusual for anyone else to dispatch such a skilled medic to do undercover work."
Indeed, the strongest medical-nin in Iwagakure couldn't wield Mystical Palm offensively like that – even the Iwa ANBU medic they'd seen earlier had used standard tools for assistance.
Still, Nono uttered no reply.
"Just now at the orphanage, when we exposed you, you chose not to flee. So you must value something more than your own life, yes?"
This time, Nono's composure visibly wavered.
Tanaka and Shouhara also realized: the nun had returned to protect the orphans.
Ishiro didn't point that out explicitly—he didn't want to sound like some villain threatening her with the children's lives.
"We don't doubt your determination to die or your loyalty to Konoha," Ishiro went on, "so we won't try to coerce you that way. But you might want to consider what's dear to you. Perhaps we can make a deal."
"Rather than harming the orphanage, we can simply head back and let the village decide. That would buy you time."
At that, Nono finally focused her gaze on Ishiro. Indeed, if events played out as he said, she'd have time to relocate her orphans.
Seeing her reaction, Ishiro relaxed a bit. As long as there's some reaction, we can bargain.
"It seems there's hope for negotiation."
She asked, "What do you want me to do?"
Ishiro gave a faint smile: "Relax, I'm not after Konoha's secrets or intel about your infiltration. All I ask is for you to record the methods and insights behind your medical ninjutsu. Once you do, we'll turn and leave."
Kitsuchi had been wondering what Ishiro would demand. He hadn't expected medical knowledge to be the request. Though the two sides were still at odds, Kitsuchi couldn't help casting a sideways glance at Ishiro.
Nono hesitated. She knew perfectly well how upgrading Iwa's medical capabilities might threaten Konoha. Yet she treasured that orphanage. If Iwa realized how deeply those orphans were tied to a Konoha spy, those children likely wouldn't survive.
Nono belonged to the Root division of Konoha, but her devotion to the orphans was genuine. She'd once forfeited her career as a ninja so she could care for them. Then she returned to spy work purely for their sake. It was plain how important they were to her.
So, as Ishiro expected, Nono wrestled with her dilemma only briefly before making up her mind. Even then, she didn't immediately consent; she first glanced at Kitsuchi to see if he endorsed Ishiro's demands. When Kitsuchi nodded, Nono agreed.
Ishiro retrieved a blank scroll and pen from his tool pouch, tossing them to Nono.
She caught them, unrolled the scroll on the ground, and got to writing. Team Five stood by, watching. Meanwhile, Ishiro still maintained his sensory ninjutsu, half an eye on Nono and half an eye on the orphanage. If this woman was using a clone, he would detect any mismatch in living signatures. But no trick appeared—Nono wrote exactly what Ishiro had asked.
When she finished detailing her medical ninjutsu knowledge, Nono threw the scroll over to Ishiro.
Ishiro signaled Shouhara, who hurled a kunai. Its handle struck the scroll, knocking it down midair. Then Tanaka formed seals and created a clone to retrieve the scroll. The clone opened and checked it, found nothing suspicious, then returned the scroll to Ishiro. Satisfied, Tanaka dispelled the clone.
Ishiro stayed cautious, using his sensor technique while scanning the text. Drawing on all he'd seen in medical texts plus glimpses from his previous life, Ishiro determined it wasn't a fake.
Confirming Nono hadn't swindled him, he told Kitsuchi, "It's genuine. Let's pull back."
Kitsuchi said nothing further, just grunted and guided the squad away. Without waiting, they hurried through the night. Meanwhile, back at the orphanage, Nono spat a mouthful of blood. Her injuries were serious, but with her advanced healing skills, they weren't fatal. After a quick healing session and cleaning away the blood, she began evacuating the orphans.
Team Five, for their part, traveled without incident and reached Iwagakure by midday next day. Outside the Tsuchikage's building, Tanaka handed Koharu over to the ANBU staff. Kitsuchi then led the rest straight to see Ōnoki. After hearing their account, Ōnoki summoned the village elders for a thorough debrief.
Opinions varied. The elderly male advisor disapproved of letting a spy walk free. But the older female advisor, reading Nono's scroll, dismissed his concerns. She felt Ishiro had acted wisely— the medical ninjutsu knowledge within would elevate Iwa's healing arts considerably.
Accepting her explanation, the leadership declared Team Five's actions meritorious overall, labeling it an A-rank mission. As a reward, they granted 3,000 contribution points. In a group mission, the base reward doubles and half goes to the Jōnin sensei alone. Hence, Kitsuchi himself would get 3,000 points, while Ishiro, Tanaka, and Shouhara would share the other 3,000.
The three genin were delighted. For Shouhara, it was about pride in having an A-rank success on record. Tanaka, meanwhile, was thrilled to gain 1,000 points, enough to finally purchase the Body Flicker Technique. As for Ishiro, he'd spent nearly everything acquiring sensor ninjutsu; this 1,000 made him breathe easier.
Then Ōnoki turned to Ishiro and said, "Ishiro, well done. You discovered a spy and obtained crucial medical ninjutsu for the village. Considering your track record—one A-rank mission, forty-five C-rank missions, plus the prior S-rank, two more A-rank, and numerous B-rank or lesser noncombat tasks—I hereby issue you a Chūnin exam challenge. Three days from now, you will face an assigned Chūnin in combat. If your performance satisfies the council, you will be promoted."
Ishiro was overjoyed. Kneeling on one knee, he saluted, "Yes, Tsuchikage-sama!"
The advisors exchanged glances. None dissented.
When Team Five left the Tsuchikage's building, one elder looked to Ōnoki. "Lord Tsuchikage, awarding Ishiro a Chūnin rank is fine, given his contributions and intellect. But isn't he too young? Sending an eight-year-old as a Chūnin leader is risky, especially when he doesn't focus on direct combat. This might hinder his growth."
Ōnoki responded: "With his achievements in sealing, if he weren't on the combat track, he'd long since be Chūnin. In fact, if he had the chakra for it, Jōnin wouldn't be out of the question. So promoting him is no issue. But his age is indeed a concern. Since his entire year group was admitted early, forcing him to lead a squad this soon does him no favors. So we'll keep him in Team Five for a few more years. Once he's matured, we can assign him subordinates."
The other advisors nodded in agreement.
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Outside the Tsuchikage's building, Kitsuchi, Shouhara, and Ishiro headed off to a training ground, while Tanaka went to trade her newly earned points for the Body Flicker Technique.
At the training ground, Kitsuchi said, "Ishiro, in three days you face your Chūnin test. Combat's your weak point, so I'll give you special training right now."
Ishiro nodded. Indeed, after a year of missions, his leadership skill had grown, largely because Kitsuchi deliberately nurtured it. However, his individual combat hadn't advanced as quickly, since most fights relied on synergy with Shouhara and Tanaka. Without them covering his ninjutsu start-up, his jutsu often wouldn't succeed.
Nevertheless, Ishiro's base strength had improved—he had grown older, and that alone increased his physique and mental energy. During missions, he wore weights the entire time, gradually increasing them from five kilograms to fifteen. The resulting stamina gain led to a major spike in total chakra. His mental growth also boosted chakra control.
He had soared from 11C to 42C in raw chakra capacity. Greater control meant faster ninjutsu conduction. As his technique advanced, the number of hand seals needed for each jutsu dropped, plus his hand-seal speed had climbed.
Right now, his status page looked something like this:
Name: Ishiro
Age: 8
Rank: Genin
Chakra: 42C (10D = 1C, 100C = 1B)
Mastered D-rank techniques:
• Substitution (with prepped logs): 2 seals, 4 seals/sec, 0.3D
• Substitution (no prepped logs): 2 seals, 4 seals/sec (+1?), 0.3D
• Clone Technique: 3 seals, 3.1 seals/sec, 0.5D
• Transformation: 3 seals, 3.1 seals/sec, 0.5D
C-rank ninjutsu:
• Earth-Style Wall: 10 seals, 3.1 seals/sec, 1.0C
• Water Thread: 12 seals, 2.7 seals/sec, 0.8C
• Earth Spear Gun: 12 seals, 2.3 seals/sec, 2.1C
Sensory ninjutsu: C-rank
Fūinjutsu: B-rank Chakra Concealment
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