Five days later.
Gekko Ryun saw his uncle again at the Shinobi Hospital.
His aunt’s eyes were red, tears falling like broken strings of beads, pattering down one after another.
Not wanting to make his uncle sad, she suppressed her sobs, her shoulders trembling as she wept.
Gekko Naoto lay on the hospital bed, his face pale.
“Why are you crying?
I’m back, aren’t I?”
“Don’t say that…
your arm…”
Aunt looked at the empty sleeve.
Gekko Naoto’s lips twitched a few times.
For a shinobi skilled with a sword, he knew all too well the consequences of losing his dominant hand.
A sharp decline in strength.
Looking at his weeping wife and his concerned nephew, he forced a faint smile.
“At least I’m still alive.”
Aunt nodded—this was the only comfort.
“Ryun, come here.”
Gekko Ryun silently stepped forward.
He had received the news during class.
An Anbu member, claiming it was on Lady Tsunade’s orders, had informed him of the situation.
He had asked for leave before rushing over.
Looking at his uncle’s severed arm, he asked, “Was the mission very dangerous?”
Gekko Naoto nodded, his lips curling slightly.
“The mission details are confidential.
In short, if Lady Tsunade hadn’t been there…”
He didn’t continue, but the outcome wasn’t hard to guess.
Gekko Ryun sighed softly.
This was the world of shinobi.
Cruel.
Dangerous.
Chaotic.
Without strength, once you left the village on a mission, you were like a lamb to the slaughter, becoming another Hidden Village shinobi’s achievement.
“Let’s not talk about this,” Gekko Naoto blinked, pretending to be relaxed.
“I kept the promise between men and returned before your decisive battle.”
Tomorrow was the scheduled duel with Minato Namikaze.
Gekko Ryun nodded silently.
He thought of how Kushina had comforted him days ago, saying Tsunade was incredibly skilled.
Suddenly, he felt grateful that Tsunade had led the mission.
It made that promise, which had seemed almost impossibly optimistic, possible to fulfill.
Uncle extended his other hand, forming a fist.
After a moment of silence, Gekko Ryun lightly bumped it with his own fist.
“So, do you have confidence?”
“Yes!”
He glanced at his Equipment Slot: [Kushina Uzumaki’s Red Hair], [Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Pipe].
Two pieces of equipment—one providing strength, the other amplifying the power of Fire Release.
He wouldn’t dare claim he could defeat Minato Namikaze, but injuring him shouldn’t be a problem.
That was precisely his goal.
As long as he could draw blood with that kunai…
“Good!
I’ll definitely come to watch.”
“But your injury…”
“It’s fine.
I already asked before you arrived.”
Gekko Ryun clicked his tongue.
Was that right?
What kind of physical constitution was this?
Aunt frowned.
“You’re pushing yourself again.
I heard the doctor say you must rest in bed and not move!”
That made more sense.
If he could still bounce around with such an injury, Gekko Ryun would have to suspect his uncle was actually a Senju.
After much persuasion from his aunt, his uncle reluctantly agreed to rest properly and not attend the duel.
When Gekko Ryun prepared to leave at noon, his uncle called him back.
After hesitating for a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.
“If it were possible, I wouldn’t want you to become a shinobi at all.”
His uncle’s gaze was complicated, and he said self-deprecatingly, “Before your father left, he entrusted me with raising you to become a Jonin.
But I’m not even a Jonin myself.”
He listened quietly.
“I’ve come to realize that becoming a ninja isn’t enough.
Genin?
Chunin?
Once you’re on the battlefield, no one will pity the weak.
If you don’t want to die, you have to become strong yourself.”
“I don’t have the ability, nor the confidence, to raise you into a strong person.”
“So, I plan to find you a good teacher.”
Hearing this, he looked at his uncle with some surprise.
Find a good teacher?
Naturally, he had thought of this idea himself.
It was just that, with his talent initially, he couldn’t attract the attention of the Hokage’s faction.
Later, after accidentally crossing paths with Kushina Uzumaki, he stepped directly into the view of Konoha’s highest authority.
Mito Uzumaki herself was the thickest branch to cling to.
So, for the time being, he had set aside the idea of finding a teacher.
“Who is the teacher you mentioned?”
He instinctively thought of Tsunade.
This was the most likely choice.
After all, his uncle had connections with Tsunade, and it was thanks to her that they survived this mission.
But…
if he were to become Tsunade’s disciple, he wasn’t sure if he had any talent in Medical Ninjutsu or if he could meet her requirements.
His uncle nodded.
“I have an idea.
I want to ask Lord Hatake Sakumo to take you as his disciple!”
Gekko Ryun: “…”
He had thought it would be Tsunade, but it turned out to be Hatake Sakumo.
Hatake Sakumo’s strength was undoubtedly formidable.
If Mito Uzumaki and Hiruzen Sarutobi were excluded, Hatake Sakumo should be Konoha’s top combatant at present.
His record was extremely glorious, but there was one unavoidable flaw.
That was…
his insufficient concentration of the Will of Fire.
Just look at how the Will of Fire was passed down.
Aside from Senju Hashirama, who brought peace to the turbulent era, every Hokage either had a blood relationship or a master-disciple relationship with the previous Hokage.
As for Hatake Sakumo, in the future, he would be attacked by Konoha’s ungrateful villagers for saving his teammates at the cost of mission failure.
If the same thing happened to Tsunade or the others, it wouldn’t even cause a ripple—any sign of trouble would be suppressed immediately.
“Uncle, let’s forget it for now.
We can talk about it after I graduate from the Ninja Academy.”
Seeing his uncle’s determined attitude, he decided to delay the matter.
Just then.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
A few knocks came from the hospital room door.
Gekko Ryun opened it.
Kushina was standing outside, holding several lunch boxes.
“What brings you here?”
“Sister Tsunade told me.” Kushina wiped the sweat from her forehead.
“Oh, and Sister Tsunade also said for you to go to her office later.”
“Come in first.
Lady Tsunade wants to see me?” Gekko Ryun was somewhat puzzled.
Kushina nodded and walked into the hospital room.
His uncle and aunt both looked over.
His aunt stood up, hastily wiping the tear stains from her face, and forced a smile.
“And you are?”
“I’m Kushina Uzumaki, Ryun’s classmate.”
Kushina greeted them somewhat nervously.
“Kushina?” His uncle felt like he had heard this name somewhere before, and it took him a few seconds to react.
“Wait, your surname is Uzumaki?”
Kushina tilted her head.
“Yes, is there something wrong?”
“Oh, no, nothing.” His uncle glanced at his nephew with a complicated expression.
He remembered where he had heard the name Kushina before.
It was from what Tsunade had said the other day.
He had thought she was a girl from the Senju clan, but it turned out she was from the Uzumaki clan.
He held a deep reverence for the name of the Uzumaki clan as well.
As distant relatives of the Senju clan, the Uzumaki clan had also been renowned during the Warring States period.
They had once caused significant trouble for the Uchiha clan.
However, for reasons unknown, after the First Hokage founded the village, the Uzumaki clan did not join but instead chose to establish their own Uzushiogakure Village.