Medical Ninjutsu

Seeing Nonō lose her Combat Power, Kitsuchi immediately withdrew and retreated to stand before Yichen and the other two.

A Jonin on the verge of death might drag Yichen and the others down with him in a desperate counterattack. Kitsuchi did not want to take that risk.

As Kitsuchi and Nonō faced off, Yichen took the opportunity to ask, "Senior Sister, may I ask your name?"

Nonō remained silent.

Yichen continued, "To use a Chakra Scalpel as a weapon against enemies, your Medical Ninjutsu must be exceptional. For someone with such advanced Medical Ninjutsu to be sent out as a spy, you must be a Konoha Ninja."

That was the truth. Even Iwagakure's strongest Medical Ninja could not use a Chakra Scalpel in battle. The Anbu from last time had needed specialized tools to assist him.

Nonō still said nothing.

"After we exposed you at the Orphanage, you did not flee immediately. There must be something more important to you than your own life."

This time, Nonō finally reacted.

Tana and Shinohara understood as well. This nun was doing it for the orphans.

Yichen did not spell it out. Otherwise, would that not make him look like some great villain using the orphans' lives to threaten her?

"We do not doubt your resolve to die, nor do we doubt your loyalty to Konoha, so we will not make things difficult for you in that regard."

"You should, however, think about the things you care about. Perhaps we can make a deal."

"We will not trouble the Orphanage. We will return to the village now, report to the village, and let the village make the final decision."

Upon hearing this, Nonō finally began to take Yichen seriously. If things truly went as Yichen said, she would have enough time to relocate the orphans.

Seeing Nonō's reaction, Yichen let out a breath of relief. A reaction was good enough.

"It seems there is a possibility that we can make a deal."

"What do you need me to do?" This was the first time Nonō had spoken since her identity was exposed.

Yichen smiled. "Don't worry. I do not want Konoha's intelligence, nor do I care what intelligence you obtained in the Land of Earth. You only need to write down the methods and insights behind the Medical Ninjutsu you practice, and we will leave immediately."

Kitsuchi had been curious what sort of deal Yichen would propose. He had not expected this. Though the two sides were still confronting each other, he could not help glancing at Yichen.

Nonō hesitated. She knew the level of Iwagakure's Medical Ninjutsu even better than Yichen, an outsider, did. She also knew what kind of threat it would pose to Konoha if Iwagakure acquired advanced Medical Ninjutsu.

But she cared more about the orphans in the Orphanage. If Iwagakure's higher-ups learned that these children had such deep ties to a Konoha spy, they would most likely not live to adulthood.

Although Nonō belonged to Konoha Root, her sense of belonging to Konoha was not particularly strong. This could be seen from how she had ultimately been willing to give up her Ninja ID for the children of the Orphanage.

Moreover, she had later come out once more to carry out missions for Root because of those orphans, which further showed just how important those children were to her.

Thus, just as Yichen expected, Nonō made up her mind after struggling for only a short while. However, she did not agree immediately. Instead, she first looked toward Kitsuchi. Only after seeing him nod in approval of Yichen's proposal did she agree.

Yichen took out a scroll and a pen from his Ninja Tool Pouch and tossed them to Nonō.

Nonō caught the scroll, spread it open on the ground, and began writing carefully while Team Five watched from the side.

At the same time, Yichen never relaxed his Sensory Ninjutsu. He kept an eye on Nonō while also monitoring the Orphanage.

Fortunately, Nonō did not try any tricks. After writing down the Medical Ninjutsu insights as Yichen requested, she tossed the scroll over.

Yichen called out to Shinohara. Shinohara threw a kunai, its handle striking the scroll and knocking it directly to the ground.

Then Tana formed hand seals and created a clone. The clone stepped forward, picked up the scroll, and opened it to inspect it. After confirming there was no problem, it brought the scroll back and handed it to Yichen before dispelling the Clone Technique.

Maintaining his Sensory Ninjutsu, Yichen opened the scroll and carefully read through what Nonō had recorded. Drawing on his experience from his previous life and the Medical Ninjutsu books he had read in this life, he judged whether it was genuine.

After confirming that Nonō had not deceived him, Yichen said to Kitsuchi, "Captain, it is real. Let's withdraw."

Kitsuchi did not object. He simply grunted, then slowly backed away with Yichen and the others.

After putting some distance between themselves, they ignored the late hour and headed straight for Iwagakure.

After Yichen and the others left, Nonō immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood.

However, as a Medical Ninja, such injuries were not a problem for her. After hastily treating herself with the Mystical Palm Technique, she even made sure to clean up her bloodstains.

Only then did she return to the Orphanage and arrange for the orphans to relocate.

Yichen's group traveled smoothly and arrived at Iwagakure at noon the next day.

At the entrance of the Tsuchikage's Office Building, Tana handed Little Sumire over to the Anbu for arrangements.

Kitsuchi brought the three of them directly to see Ōnoki. After hearing the full account, Ōnoki summoned several advisors as well.

After learning the details, the advisors had differing reactions.

The elderly male advisor did not support Yichen's decision to let the spy go.

However, after reading Nonō's Medical Ninjutsu insights, the elderly female advisor rejected the former's conclusion.

She believed Yichen had done the right thing. The value of those insights was incalculable, enough to raise the village's Medical Ninjutsu by an entire level.

After hearing the advisor's explanation, the higher-ups reached a consensus. They judged that Yichen's group's merits outweighed their faults and recorded the mission as an A-rank mission.

Furthermore, the reward for this A-rank mission was 3,000 Contribution Points.

The rewards for team missions differed from those for individual missions. If an individual received such a reward, it would be 3,000 Contribution Points.

Teams were different. To encourage Jonin to serve as captains and guide newcomers, team rewards were always doubled, with the captain taking half.

In other words, Kitsuchi alone would receive 3,000 Contribution Points from this mission, while Yichen and the other two would split another 3,000 Contribution Points.

All three were delighted. Shinohara was simply happy about having an A-rank mission on his record.

Tana was happy because the 1,000 Contribution Points she received this time were enough to save up for the Body Flicker Technique.

Yichen was happy because he had been poor for too long. For more than a year, he had lived frugally to save Contribution Points for Sensory Ninjutsu. Even then, he had only reached his goal thanks to the 5,000 Contribution Points Ōnoki had awarded him last time.

But after redeeming it, he had returned to square one overnight. This income of 1,000 points would allow him to live more comfortably for a while.

After speaking, Ōnoki looked at Yichen again. "Yichen, you did very well this time. You discovered a spy and obtained the Medical Ninjutsu training methods the village urgently needs from that spy."

After a pause, he added seriously, "Yichen, you now have one A-rank mission record and forty-five C-rank mission records. You also have one S-rank, two A-rank, and multiple B-rank or lower non-combat mission records."

"I now announce that you will be given an assessment mission to become a Chunin. Three days from now, the village will arrange for a Chunin to fight you. If your performance satisfies the higher-ups, the village will promote you to Chunin."

Yichen was overjoyed. He quickly dropped to one knee and said to Ōnoki, "Yes, sir."

The advisors exchanged glances, but none raised any objections.

After Yichen and the others left the Tsuchikage's Office Building, one advisor said, "Lord Tsuchikage, with Yichen's contributions and wisdom, there is certainly no problem promoting him to Chunin."

"But is he not too young? Would it be too dangerous for him to lead a team on missions as a Chunin now? Moreover, he does not excel at combat. That does not seem beneficial to his growth."

Ōnoki said, "With his contributions to Sealing Jutsu, he could have become a Chunin long ago if he were not pursuing the path of a combat Ninja. If his Chakra Amount were sufficient, even becoming a Jonin could be considered."

"So there is no issue with promoting him to Chunin. However, his age is indeed a concern. Their class was admitted early to begin with, so having him lead a team too soon would not be a good thing."

"Therefore, after he becomes a Chunin, he will not need to lead a team. Team Five will remain together, and we will disband Team Five in a few years. Only then will we assign team members to Yichen."

The other advisors all nodded. None had any objections to Ōnoki's arrangement.

Returning to Yichen's group, after the four left the Tsuchikage's Office Building, Kitsuchi, Shinohara, and Yichen headed straight for the Training Ground, while Tana went to redeem the Body Flicker Technique.

After arriving at the Training Ground, Kitsuchi said, "Yichen, you will take the Chunin Assessment in three days. Combat is your weakness, so I will give you special training over the next three days."

Yichen nodded. Their previous battles had all relied on teamwork. Under Kitsuchi's deliberate guidance, his leadership ability had improved greatly, but his actual combat ability had not progressed much.

Moreover, their previous battles had all involved the three of them working together. Yichen's main role had been Ninjutsu output. With his two companions supporting him, his Ninjutsu had been fairly effective, but if he were alone, it would be another matter.

Without his companions' cover, even successfully casting Ninjutsu would not be easy.

However, although Yichen had not had many chances for actual combat over the past year or so, his strength had still improved noticeably. There was no other reason than his growing age, which caused both his physique and Mental Power to increase rapidly.

Aside from going on missions, he had never neglected his physical training. Even during missions, he continued wearing Weighted Training Gear.

He had not taken off the weights on his body for the past few years, and they had steadily increased. At first, they weighed only five kilograms. Now, they had reached fifteen kilograms.

The increase in Chakra brought by his improved physique was considerable.

His Chakra Amount had risen from 11C to 42C.

More importantly, his Chakra control had greatly improved as his Mental Power increased.

The result of stronger Chakra control was that his Ninjutsu casting speed had become much faster.

Because his control had strengthened and manipulating Chakra had become easier, the number of hand seals Yichen needed for Ninjutsu had gradually decreased without him even noticing.

His Hand Seal Speed had improved as well.

Yichen's current status panel was as follows:

Name: Yichen

Age: 10

Rank: Genin

Chakra Amount: 42C (Note: 10D = 1C, 100C = 1B)

Mastered D-rank Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique (with a Substitution Wood), requires 2 hand seals, speed 4 per second, Chakra consumption 0.3D;

Substitution Technique (without preparation), 2 hand seals, 4 per second (+1), 0.3D;

Clone Technique, 3 hand seals, 3.1 per second, 0.5D;

Transformation Jutsu, 3 hand seals, 3.1 per second, 0.5D;

C-rank Ninjutsu: Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall, 10 hand seals, 3.1 per second, 1.0C;

Water Style: Water Line Jutsu, 12 hand seals, 2.7 per second, 0.8C;

Earth Style: Earth Rising Spear, 12 hand seals, 2.3 per second, 2.1C;

Sensory Ninjutsu: C-rank;

Sealing Jutsu: B-rank Chakra Wall Jutsu.