The moment Tachibana Kenji stood up to register, the entire classroom fell silent.
Even Momochi Zabuza, who normally seemed indifferent to everything around him, turned to look in Tachibana Kenji’s direction.
“Ueda-sensei, I would like to participate in the medical ninja selection.” When his homeroom teacher didn’t respond, Tachibana Kenji had no choice but to repeat himself.
“Jianchuan, you…
You can go to the indoor training hall on the first floor for the assessment.” Ueda-sensei seemed as though he wanted to say something more but ultimately held back.
It was no wonder.
Recently, Tachibana Kenji’s theoretical grades had improved dramatically, and his scores in practical combat assessments had been getting better and better with every test.
Ueda-sensei had already assumed that Tachibana Kenji would help their class gain another passing slot in the graduation examination.
Yet now, a student who was practically guaranteed to graduate was going off to become a medical ninja instead.
The way Ueda-sensei looked at Tachibana Kenji was probably similar to how a teacher in Tachibana Kenji’s previous world might react if one day, a student with the potential to get into Tsinghua or Peking University suddenly announced, “Teacher, I’m dropping out.
I want to learn how to operate an excavator instead!” But Tachibana Kenji didn’t need anyone else’s understanding.
He simply nodded to Ueda-sensei and walked straight out of the classroom.
The moment Tachibana Kenji left, the classroom erupted.
“I can’t believe Jianchuan is such a coward.” “That can’t be right, can it?
Hasn’t Ju been training hard for the past month?
Why would he participate in something like this?” “I thought he’d finally gotten smarter lately.
Turns out he’s still just as much of an idiot as before.” “Enough!
Class is starting!” Most of the students with any sense could tell that Ueda-sensei was in a bad mood and quickly fell silent.
Still seemingly unable to let it go, Ueda-sensei added, “The most important thing for a ninja is strength!
If you don’t pay attention in class now, you could die on a mission at any time in the future.” Meanwhile, Zabuza, sitting near the front of the classroom, was far less calm than he appeared.
His brow was tightly furrowed.
Could that guy Jianchuan know something?
Because Tachibana Kenji had performed well in several recent combat assessments, Zabuza had already regarded him as a hypothetical opponent and simulated fighting him many times in his mind.
And now, without a word of warning, the guy had suddenly decided to become a medical ninja.
Or was it because Yagura mentioned him before?
Did someone put pressure on him and force him out of the running?
Regardless of how suspicious and paranoid Zabuza became in the classroom…
…
Meanwhile, after arriving at the selection site, Tachibana Kenji couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
Aunt Keiko wasn’t one of the examiners.
Including himself, there were only three candidates in total.
Tachibana Kenji recognized the other two as girls from Classes Three and Five who consistently ranked near the bottom.
They had most likely come to participate because they were worried about failing the graduation examination.
However, it wasn’t just the small number of candidates that surprised him.
Even the examiners themselves didn’t seem to take this selection very seriously.
The two instructors chatted casually in a corner of the training hall.
After waiting for a while and seeing that no more candidates were coming, the younger of the two finally spoke.
“Each of you, perform the Three Basic Techniques once.
If you successfully perform all three, get yourselves over to the hospital for training.” “Um…
excuse me, isn’t this supposed to be a medical ninja selection?” One round-faced girl timidly raised a question.
Apparently, she had some confidence in her medical abilities.
But Tachibana Kenji shared her confusion.
While the Three Basic Techniques weren’t difficult, all the medical knowledge he had crammed into his head recently suddenly seemed rather unnecessary.
The younger examiner appeared to be growing impatient.
“We’re selecting qualified ninja for medical training.
If we don’t test the Three Basic Techniques, what else are we supposed to test?
Can any of you even do anything else?” Well, when he put it that way, it did make a certain amount of sense.
Still, this selection process was so casual that even Saionji Keiko probably hadn’t expected it.
Anyone who couldn’t master the Three Basic Techniques after three years at the Ninja Academy clearly had problems of their own, so Tachibana Kenji paid no attention to the two girls beside him.
He simply began forming hand seals and performed the Three Basic Techniques in succession.
There were no flashy displays or unnecessary flourishes.
Once he had finished, he looked toward the two examiners.
“Fine.
Fill out this form and report to the hospital before the end of today.” The examiner handed Tachibana Kenji a blank form that had already been stamped and gestured for him to hurry along.
[Ding!
You have left the Ninja Academy without graduating.
Achievement unlocked: “The First Step Toward Becoming the Richest Man Alive.”] What kind of dropping out is this supposed to be?
And what’s with the richest man nonsense?
Tachibana Kenji grumbled internally about the system’s shameless achievement as he walked out of the Academy, completely ignoring the helpless looks of the two girls behind him.
Having chosen to participate in the medical ninja selection only to fail, the two of them would probably have an even harder time at the Ninja Academy from now on.
…
Kirigakure Hospital.
Everything before him remained shrouded in the year-round mist of Kirigakure, giving the world a hazy, indistinct appearance.
Perhaps in three months, he would surpass Momochi Zabuza in strength.
Perhaps the Third Shinobi World War was already on the verge of breaking out.
Perhaps everything he had desperately worked to achieve had merely been an attempt to escape.
But at that moment, it felt as though a ray of light had pierced through the mist and reached deep into his soul.
A faint light shimmered in Tachibana Kenji’s dark eyes, and the corners of his lips unconsciously lifted into a gentle smile.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he smiled from the bottom of his heart.
Tachibana Kenji took a deep breath.
Even Kirigakure’s damp air seemed to carry a hint of sweetness.
“Hey!
Kid!
What are you doing blocking the entrance to the hospital?
Sniffing around like that…
Don’t tell me you’re some kind of pervert!” An angry female voice, still somewhat childish, suddenly came from behind him.
“All right, Mei.
Maybe the kid was thinking about something important.” Tachibana Kenji turned around and saw two people dressed as ninja, one tall and one short.
The person who had spoken was a man in his twenties wearing a jōnin flak jacket.
He had grayish-blue hair styled into a distinctive crest.
Beside him stood a girl about the same height as Tachibana Kenji.
Her reddish-brown hair fell to her shoulders, and she was glaring at him with an angry expression.
“Sorry, sorry.
I’ll head inside right away.” Tachibana Kenji concealed the emotions in his eyes, put on an embarrassed expression, and quickly apologized to the two of them before heading toward the hospital.
As he walked away, he couldn’t resist turning back to ask, “I’m pretty familiar with the hospital.
Is there something you two need here?
I might be able to help.” “None of your business!” The girl clearly didn’t appreciate the offer.
Without even looking at Tachibana Kenji, she headed toward the hospital stairs.
The young jōnin could only give Tachibana Kenji a brief nod before following after her.
Mei Terumī and Ao?
It looks like they’re teacher and student.
It was morning, and there weren’t many people on the hospital’s first floor.
Tachibana Kenji stood where he was and watched the two of them disappear upstairs, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
I didn’t expect these two to know each other so early.
No wonder Ao later became one of Mei’s trusted confidants and served as her bodyguard after she became Mizukage.
Still, I never expected Mei to be such a tomboy when she was young.
There’s not even a trace of the mature beauty she’ll become later.
What Tachibana Kenji didn’t know was that the two people upstairs were also talking about him.
“That kid from earlier seemed to recognize us.” Ao had sensed someone’s gaze on them as they walked upstairs.
“Maybe he recognized you, sensei?
You’re one of the village’s younger jōnin, after all.
It’s not strange for someone to recognize you.” “Perhaps.
He wasn’t wearing a forehead protector, so he looked like a Ninja Academy student.
I just don’t know why he’d be at the hospital at this time of day.” “Forget about that.
Gangtian and Chuan Gu have been injured and hospitalized again.
It was supposed to be such an easy mission!
This time, I’m definitely going to make those two idiots learn their lesson!” The furious Mei clearly hadn’t given the boy from earlier another thought.
Right now, she was far more interested in teaching her two reckless teammates a lesson.