Ninjas Were Just Work; Raising Deer Was Life! (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

After a bout of chaos, the small room finally returned to peace.

Tsunade sat leisurely on the bed.

Yakushi Nonō deftly cleared away the table food.

Meanwhile, Nara Kaikei was gulping water into his mouth, trying to calm agitated mood.

"Kaikei, come over. The food is ready."

Yakushi Nonō placed three small stools before the small table. She first beckoned to Nara Kaikei, then gave Tsunade a slight bow.

"Lady Tsunade, time is limited, so please forgive the humble hospitality."

"Not at all! I was the one who intruded so abruptly."

Tsunade nodded in response, her manner exceedingly courteous and polite, entirely unlike before.

After a few polite greetings, the three sat around the small table together. The atmosphere was indescribably harmonious.

"Thanks for the meal!"

Nara Kaikei was the first to pick up his chopsticks, stuffing a large mouthful of food into his mouth as the panel refreshed once more.

[Eating... Your [Precision] attribute has received a slight increase...]

So it wasn't an illusion just now! I found a way to increase [Precision]!

Nara Kaikei was overjoyed and automatically increased both the frequency and speed at which he picked up food.

Eating increases Physical Energy! Reasonable. This is way too reasonable!

Seeing Nara Kaikei actively eating, Tsunade also picked up a few bites with him. Her beautiful eyes immediately lit up.

"Nonō! This is delicious! Your cooking is incredible!"

"Lady Tsunade flatters me. They're only some simple home-style dishes."

Yakushi Nonō smiled gently and added more food to Nara Kaikei's bowl before asking as if casually.

"By the way, Lady Tsunade, what were you doing just now?"

"I was planning to check Kaikei's body."

Tsunade stuffed another bite of food into her mouth. The rich, delicious flavor made the corners of her brows lift unconsciously.

"Didn't he just graduate from the Ninja Academy? Twelve is far too old for a genin!"

Back in the chaotic Warring States period decades ago, ninja children had indeed gone to war very early.

After Konoha was established, however, that adverse situation improved to some extent. For example, Tsunade graduated from the Ninja Academy and officially became a genin at the age of six.

By Year 48 of Konoha, although some "child prodigies" could still graduate from the Ninja Academy early, Konoha's stipulated graduation age was nine. In the future, that standard graduation age would continue to be pushed back to twelve.

Yet Nara Kaikei had not graduated until he was twelve, on top of all that strange talk about his "weak body"...

Tsunade was indeed somewhat interested in checking Nara Kaikei's body.

It could also be considered a return for what Nara Kaikei had done earlier.

"I see..."

For some reason, Yakushi Nonō felt relieved. She wiped the dangerous scene from her mind.

"Then did Lady Tsunade discover anything?"

It was not as though Yakushi Nonō did not know about Nara Kaikei's weak body.

As an elite medical ninja, she had also been greatly troubled by this problem, yet she had never found a solution.

Perhaps Lady Tsunade, one of Konoha's foremost medical ninjas, had discovered something else?

Yakushi Nonō waited expectantly.

"Nara, give me your hand!"

Tsunade put down her chopsticks and gave orders.

Although Nara Kaikei was obsessed with eating, he was not as completely engrossed as before. Hearing this, he extended his left hand again.

Tsunade grasped Nara Kaikei's palm. Yang-attribute Chakra brimming with life force flowed from her palm into his body, conducting a detailed examination of his insides.

As a member of the Nara Clan, Nara's Physical Prowess and cell strength are nowhere near what a child his age should have. He's practically like a five- or six-year-old ninja child who has just entered school!

As the investigation deepens, Tsunade's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.

His Chakra amount is pitifully low as well! How did Nara deal with that spy jonin just now? Right, the Nara Clan's Shadow Secret Technique! That Special Yin Release Secret Technique apparently doesn't require Conventional chakra consumption...

Tsunade quietly released Nara Kaikei's little hand and fell into thought.

To be honest.

Nara Kaikei's physical problem was not complicated.

It truly was a very simple case of a weak body, or perhaps physical energy deficiency.

Tsunade could come up with a detailed and comprehensive body conditioning plan within minutes.

But conditioning the body could not rely on the doctor alone. It also required the cooperation of the "patient" and the "environment."

The most basic requirement of Tsunade's conditioning plan was for Nara Kaikei to temporarily stop using all ninjutsu to avoid further depletion of Physical Energy.

But that simply was not realistic!

The Third Shinobi World War was about to break out. As a student who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy and a Genin Reserve of Konoha, Nara Kaikei being sent to the battlefield was practically a foregone conclusion.

Under such circumstances, how could Nara Kaikei possibly stop using ninjutsu?

And if a child with such an extreme lack of Physical Energy and severely insufficient Chakra amount were sent to the battlefield, that would be no different from sending him to his death...

Tsunade seriously doubted whether, aside from the Nara Clan's [Shadow Secret Technique], Nara Kaikei could even smoothly use the most basic Three Body Techniques with his level of Chakra.

Was she going to watch another boy she knew die meaninglessly on the battlefield with her own eyes...

Tsunade suddenly felt chilled to the heart.

Nara Kaikei was too absorbed in eating to pull himself free, so he had no time to observe Tsunade's expression.

But Yakushi Nonō had been watching the expression of this Medical Master, who could practically be called the pinnacle of medical ninjas in the ninja world.

When she saw Tsunade frown in silence, Yakushi Nonō's heart could not stop sinking.

Even Lady Tsunade doesn't know how to solve Kaikei's physical problem?

Yakushi Nonō turned to look at Nara Kaikei, who had nearly swept away more than half the food on the table, and forced a smile.

"Kaikei, I forgot to ask earlier. Which ninja team were you assigned to?"

If the jonin leading that ninja team was an acquaintance, Yakushi Nonō had already decided to pay them a visit...

"A ninja team? I graduated today. Team assignments are tomorrow."

Hearing Nonō's familiar voice, Nara Kaikei reluctantly shifted his attention away from the food.

"But it's fine to tell you in advance, Sister Nonou... I won't be assigned to any particular ninja team."

"Hm? Why not?"

Yakushi Nonō felt both relieved and surprised, while Tsunade beside her also cast him a curious look.

Normally, Genin Reserves graduating from the Ninja Academy were assigned directly to a fixed team. Under the guidance and assistance of a jonin or chunin team leader, they would become qualified, experienced genin as quickly as possible.

Even if that genin later successfully advanced to chunin, that type of team arrangement would not change. It would merely shift from a teaching arrangement into the most conventional form of a multi-person team.

Only under special circumstances, such as teammates dying unexpectedly while one person survived alone, could a ninja possibly avoid being assigned to a particular team and instead join a specialized ninja unit, or continue working as a "temporary member."

"The formation of Ninja Academy teams is generally based on each person's abilities and traits, achieving the highest efficiency at the lowest cost. Take Pig Deer Butterfly, for example."

Nara Kaikei calmly picked up another bite of food.

"It's not just you. The Ninja Academy teachers also know about my physical problem, so naturally they won't assign me to a fixed team.

"Because if they did, someone with Physical Prowess no different from an ordinary person like me would first become a burden to that team, seriously affecting the other members' ability to carry out missions.

"Second, my own life would not be guaranteed."

As the ninja village of a major nation, Konoha truly did not place much importance on the safety of low-ranking ninjas.

However, Konoha would not knowingly send an incapable Genin Reserve to die for no reason!

By comparison, the neighboring Bloody Mist Village, where one could not graduate as a ninja without killing one's classmates, was simply infamous beyond measure...

"So..."

Yakushi Nonō hesitated.

"So, at my own request, the Ninja Academy teachers assigned me to the Medical Department."

Nara Kaikei put down his chopsticks and extended his right hand to Yakushi Nonō.

"Sister Nonou, from now on, we're colleagues."

Yakushi Nonō instinctively took Nara Kaikei's right hand, but she could not conceal the surprise on her oval face.

"A medical ninja? But Kaikei, your Medical Ninjutsu..."

"With your level of Chakra, how could you possibly be a medical ninja!"

Tsunade grabbed Nara Kaikei's left hand again and kneaded it a few times with no regard for gentleness.

"Medical Ninjutsu is a proper Yang Release ninjutsu!"

"I wasn't assigned to the Medical First Aid Class or the Corpse Disposal Unit."

Nara Kaikei bared his teeth and pulled his poor little left hand out of Tsunade's clutches.

"Let me introduce myself again. Medical Department, Beast Taming and Rehabilitation Class, Genin Reserve."

"A veterinarian?"

Big Fat Sheep's pretty face was filled with speechlessness.

"Your family doesn't raise cats, dogs, or insects—oh, right, your family raises deer!"

The Nara Clan had raised deer for generations while also maintaining the normal operation of Konoha's entire medical system.

But as everyone knew.

For members of the Nara Clan, being a ninja was just work; raising deer was life.

Before retiring, Nara Kaikei's mother had also been a member of the Beast Taming and Rehabilitation Class, specializing in raising deer.

His joining the Beast Taming and Rehabilitation Class could roughly be seen as passing down the torch and carrying on the watch.

Yakushi Nonō finally set aside the worries in her heart.

Among Konoha's many ninja units, the Medical Department's Beast Taming and Rehabilitation Class could basically be called the most idle place. It was so idle that even she, an elite jonin from the same department, had barely heard of it...

Tsunade looked at Nara Kaikei, who was still actively eating, and lightly pinched her chin. She seemed to have found a strategy for solving his physical problem.

The Medical Department's little intern...