Duel Invitation to Rin Nohara

Jueming issued a duel invitation.

"Eh?" Rin Nohara did not understand.

"Even medical ninjas need healthy bodies. After all, Medical Ninjutsu is training in the 'Yang Attribute.'"

Jueming nodded.

"Won't you come exchange some taijutsu insights with me?"

"Oh." Rin Nohara hesitated slightly before stepping forward.

"Then... Rin Nohara, I'm making my move!"

Jueming walked right up and slapped her shoulder with his palm.

Rin Nohara staggered back several steps.

[Kidney Development +1]

The system displayed a notification.

Below Kidney Development +1 was a faint line of smaller text.

Limb Strength +1, Endurance +1.

Then, once Rin Nohara came to her senses, she attacked.

The result was...

Jueming blocked her little fist.

After taking several of Rin Nohara's counterattacks like that, the system gave no notification.

That meant...

Jueming struck out with another palm, hitting Rin Nohara's shoulder for the second time.

[Kidney Development +1]

Watching Rin Nohara get knocked back by him, Jueming understood.

For the skill "Grass Release—Grass—Eat Meat" to take effect and trigger the Kidney Development +1 notification, he had to be the stronger party and actively bully girls.

In other words, the Sadistic Route.

Jueming did not dislike that at all.

"Rin Nohara, be careful!"

Smack! Bang! Whack!

[Kidney Development +1]

[Kidney Development +1]...

Make the Senju Clan great again.

After careful analysis, there were at least three ways to achieve that.

1. Reach the pinnacle of the Six Paths through his own strength and surpass Hashirama Senju. Then the Senju Clan's name would surely resound throughout the world.

2. Lead the Senju Clan to rise. If the entire clan rose, then the overall environment would become great.

3. If one day the Senju Clan failed, if they all suffered genetic mutations, then before that day came, he had to prepare in advance. At the critical moment, he could preserve the spark of their bloodline. By finding many beautiful and outstanding women, he could pass down the Senju Clan's excellent genes.

Jueming happened to be carrying out all three revival plans.

And what Jueming was doing as he engaged Rin Nohara in a Friendly Spar was precisely the third plan.

He would get to know girls such as Rin Nohara, Uzuki Yugao, Natsu Hyuga, Mitaraishi Anko, Kurenai Yuhi...

He would lay the groundwork for interactions with them in advance.

If the Senju Clan ever truly failed in the future, he could naturally continue getting close to them and use that to keep the Senju Clan alive.

"Only those who endure hardships can achieve greatness!"

"Suffering now is so you won't suffer when you face enemies in the future."

"Rin Nohara, I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Medical Ninjas Also Have a Tomorrow!"

Smack! Whack! Bang!

As Jueming threw out his moves, he lectured Rin Nohara on the great principles of life.

[Kidney Development +1]

[Kidney Development +1]...

Only when the class bell rang did Jueming stop.

After lying back down on the bench, he began tallying his gains.

"Huff... huff..."

Meanwhile, Rin Nohara had only exchanged blows with Jueming for a few minutes before she could no longer keep going.

She sat at her desk and looked at Jueming, who was Lying Flat.

His face was not red, his heart was not racing, and he was not even breathing hard.

Rin Nohara could not help thinking, Jueming was right. I need to work hard and train properly too...

"This guy..." Kakashi Hatake rubbed his chin, unable to make sense of it.

"Rin."

Obito Uchiha watched the goddess he liked sparring in taijutsu with someone else, and he felt somewhat unhappy.

He did not understand what this feeling rising in his heart was, but it made him uncomfortable.

"The strength in my limbs has increased."

Lying on the bench, Jueming clenched his fists and found that his Limb Strength had clearly increased.

The Limb Strength boost brought by the skill "Grass Release—Grass—Eat Meat" was greater than the effect of "Grass Release—Grass—Lying Flat."

It could be understood as a kind of specialized enhancement.

Like how running strengthened the whole body, while lifting dumbbells only increased upper-body strength.

"If I keep training this skill..."

Jueming began to imagine it.

If the strength in his limbs increased explosively, what kind of scene would that be?

Probably... the next time he faced an opponent like Senju Akira, he could confront her head-on.

Then he remembered that members of the Senju Clan could fall ill at any moment and mutate into terrifying monsters.

A tremendous sense of insecurity arose in Jueming's heart.

Stronger... become stronger...

Mito Uzumaki, however, thought, Did Senju Jueming develop psychological trauma because of Senju Akira? Is that why he specifically finds girls to bully, satisfying his false sense of strength?

Obviously, Rin Nohara was no match for Jueming at all.

Mito Uzumaki decided to observe a little longer.

During class, Jueming worked hard at lying down.

After class, he went to spar with Rin Nohara in taijutsu.

Since they had only just enrolled, some students could not even read yet, so what they learned in class was very boring.

To Jueming, it was a complete waste of time.

Fortunately, lying down could increase his stamina.

"Senju Jueming."

Mito Uzumaki's voice rang out.

"Earlier, that Uchiha mentioned 'half a year,' but you did not seem to care."

"What about it?"

Jueming thought back.

Did the half-year period Tekka Uchiha mentioned have some special significance?

"Didn't you ask your homeroom teacher, Funano Daikoku?"

Mito Uzumaki prompted him.

Jueming had previously asked Funano Daikoku when he could graduate.

"Normally, it takes one year."

Mito Uzumaki continued explaining.

"Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru enrolled at age five and graduated at six."

In Mito Uzumaki's era, some super geniuses could graduate from the Ninja Academy after one year, and then...

And then they were sent to the battlefield to kill people?

Jueming silently thought that Konoha truly was a terrifying organization.

Mito Uzumaki did not know Jueming was criticizing her inwardly. She continued, "Judging from what that evil Uchiha kid said, Konoha has likely undergone some changes during the six years I was gone."

What changes?

An organization set rules.

Children entered the Ninja Academy at five and could wield blades to kill people at six. That showed it was undeniably dark.

But if the rule allowing graduation at six had been changed to allow graduation at five and a half, what did that mean?

"Konoha is beginning to decline?" Jueming frowned.

"That is very likely."

Mito Uzumaki nodded.

Six was already very young, yet Konoha had moved the earliest graduation age forward to five and a half.

Either Konoha's higher-ups had gone mad.

Or this ninja village, Konoha, was beginning to decline and had no choice but to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.