Two Years

At night, Shiraishi Yoshijo lay in bed tossing and turning; having slept all day, he couldn't fall asleep now, his mind constantly occupied by the problem of Shiraishi Eizawa.

During dinner, he had probed indirectly to ask about the state of Shiraishi Eizawa's health.

Shiraishi Eizawa had been quite blunt, telling him directly that if not for the sealing jutsu developed by his grandfather, he would already be lying in bed waiting for death.

At the time, Shiraishi Yoshijo had asked in surprise, "Are there no medical ninja who can treat it?"

But Shiraishi Eizawa's reaction was even stranger, as he countered, "What is a medical ninja? Are you talking about physicians?"

The two stared at each other in confusion, until finally, Shiraishi Yoshijo realized that Konoha had only been established for a dozen years, and Tsunade was not even ten years old yet.

The Konoha medical system would only begin to be established under the strong advocacy of Tsunade.

Now, the very concept of a medical ninja did not exist; everyone simply took medicine and saw doctors for their ailments.

The Konoha Hospital could currently only perform some simple surgical procedures.

After Shiraishi Yoshijo finished explaining what a medical ninja was, Shiraishi Eizawa fell silent for a long time.

"In the Warring States period, ninja clans were hanging by a thread; if you weren't strong, others would bully you. No clan would waste time researching such ninjutsu, as everyone poured all their effort into enhancing combat power."

"Konoha hasn't been established for many years, and we've already had a ninja world war; there hasn't been time to develop it. The idea is good, perhaps you could try."

At that moment, Shiraishi Yoshijo was dumbfounded.

It was easy to say, but a medical ninja was not something an ordinary person could become; it required not only a vast amount of medical theory but also technique and talent.

If he were just learning medical ninjutsu, he might be able to master it quickly by relying on his chakra control, but to create medical ninjutsu from scratch...

That was hell-level difficulty.

Shiraishi Yoshijo thought for a long time, then simply got up, went into the courtyard, sat on the steps, and stared at the moon in a daze.

His mind kept replaying the events of these past years: his grandfather, his parents, and those clansmen—all of them had vanished, leaving only an uncle to keep him company, yet it seemed this uncle was about to disappear as well.

People die, he consoled himself, but it was hard to bear; he felt a stifling pressure in his chest.

When his grandfather died, he was powerless; it was already astonishing enough that a baby less than a year old could speak.

When those clansmen donned their armor and rushed to the battlefield, he was still stumbling as he tried to run on his short legs.

When his parents died, he began to learn how to practice with shuriken.

Was he now to watch helplessly as the last of his kin died?

The more he thought, the more restless he became; he stood up, walked to a wooden post, and punched it.

"It really does hurt."

Clutching his small fist, Shiraishi Yoshijo sat down with his back against the wooden post.

Should he give it a try?

He thought to himself, if medical ninjutsu could truly save Shiraishi Eizawa's life, why not do it?

Living without any goal didn't seem to have much meaning anyway.

Furthermore, if he became skilled at medical ninjutsu, even if he went to the battlefield, he would be stationed in the rear; survival shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Then I'll give it a try."

Saying this, he stood up, kicked the wooden post hard, and then punched it again.

In the darkness, Shiraishi Eizawa stood by the window watching his little nephew kick and punch the wooden post, shaking his head; yet, as he turned away, he couldn't stop the smile from touching his lips.

The next day, Shiraishi Yoshijo asked for leave; as for the reason, he claimed he had overexerted himself.

Shiraishi Eizawa had placed a bookshelf in his room, densely packed with various scrolls and books, and then gave Shiraishi Yoshijo a look before heading out to drink.

Shiraishi Yoshijo stared at the bookshelf, his scalp tingling; there were at least a thousand books there, and even if he read one a day, it would take him three years.

He pulled one out at random; it was about the classification of butterfly species and their various living habits.

Heh, he could do nothing but offer a bitter smile.

And so, his boring study time began.

He held a book while eating, held a book while walking, and even brought a book to the toilet.

To be honest, he hadn't been this diligent even for his college entrance exams in his past life.

By the time his injuries had mostly healed, he returned to his true self and reported to the Ninja Academy, where he was greeted warmly by his teacher, Kawano.

Jiraiya was still causing a stir in the class, and Orochimaru was quite curious about what kind of injury his desk-mate, whom he had only seen once since the start of school, had sustained.

Shiraishi Yoshijo naturally couldn't tell the truth, so he just brushed it off as a cold.

Compared to the books on the shelf at home, the books at the Ninja Academy seemed quite simple; Shiraishi Yoshijo finished learning that material in about a month.

He got full marks in theoretical knowledge, but as for practical training, well, it was just average.

Except for his shuriken throwing, which was decent, he was at the bottom of the class in everything else.

Jiraiya was at the bottom in theory but got full marks in practical training.

Tsunade and Orochimaru got full marks in everything.

There is one person who must be mentioned: Hiruko. This guy somehow ended up becoming a "brother in misfortune" with Shiraishi Yoshijo.

He was all talk and no action, constantly making a fool of himself whenever he actually tried to do something.

Some time later, Shiraishi Yoshijo began brazenly reading "extracurricular books" right in the classroom.

As his desk mate, Orochimaru was quite curious and would frequently sneak glances.

Shiraishi Yoshijo didn't mind; after all, it was all theoretical knowledge, and even if Orochimaru read it, he wouldn't be able to learn it anyway.

Sometimes he even intentionally let Orochimaru look, but after a while, Orochimaru lost interest.

Days passed by, boring and uneventful.

Two years later, Orochimaru graduated early.

This caused a sensation in the class, and Tsunade, not wanting to be outdone, also graduated early shortly after.

Jiraiya, as Tsunade's number one sycophant, failed his exams three times in a row before quietly graduating early as well.

Hiruko was quite indignant about Jiraiya's early graduation and would often "pour his heart out" to his brother in misfortune, Shiraishi Yoshijo.

However, Shiraishi Yoshijo would usually just hold his book and reply with things like "You're right," or offer a perfunctory nod.

If Hiruko pressed him too hard, he would put down his book and ask in return, "What did you just say?"

Every time he was asked this, Hiruko's expression would look as if he had eaten excrement; he would curse the bookworm in his heart and turn away.

As time went on, Hiruko stopped bothering Shiraishi Yoshijo altogether.

This led to a situation where Shiraishi Yoshijo became isolated.

His classmates kept their distance from this bookworm, and Shiraishi Yoshijo was happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.

They were all just extras anyway, and he was a man who aspired to be a supporting character.

Kawano-sensei was well aware of the situation in the class and began to chat with him frequently about everything under the sun.

Life, ideals, friendship, the Will of Fire—he would talk about whatever came to mind.

Whenever this happened, Shiraishi Yoshijo would play the part of a good student to avoid having his parents called in.

The first time his parents were called, Shiraishi Eizawa arrived reeking of alcohol.

When he returned, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he tied Shiraishi Yoshijo to a wooden post for some "loving" discipline.

It was a painful lesson.

Shiraishi Yoshijo decided that as long as his parents weren't called, if you told him a rooster could lay eggs, he would agree that the rooster could definitely lay eggs.

Kawano put the most effort into this student and received...

Well, a wounded heart in return.

However, Kawano didn't give up on this student. It must be said that teachers at the ninja academy, shining under the Will of Fire, were quite responsible, so he still didn't give up.

It was just that the nature of their relationship changed.

Kawano-sensei stopped talking about life ideals or the Will of Fire.

He began to talk to Shiraishi Yoshijo about domestic trifles, telling him about his failed marriage, often gossiping about other teachers, and sometimes even dragging Shiraishi Yoshijo to his house for dinner.

To be honest, the food was terrible.

However, Kawano-sensei's fifteen-year-old daughter, Mie, was very pretty. As for his wife, he claimed she had been seduced by a wealthy merchant from the capital of the Land of Fire.

In private, Shiraishi Yoshijo had asked Mie about it, but unfortunately, Mie had just grabbed his ear and called him a precocious brat, which left Shiraishi Yoshijo quite depressed.

As for Shiraishi Eizawa, he continued to live a life of drunken stupor. Aside from the times he was called in by the school, the two rarely saw each other.

Another day passed. Shiraishi Yoshijo was walking down the street, reading a book as he went. Not far away, Jiraiya was walking a pig and complaining, while Orochimaru and Tsunade were talking about something.

At this point in time, they should have already become the Third Hokage's disciples. Were they on a mission?

It had nothing to do with him anyway, so Shiraishi Yoshijo glanced at them and stopped paying attention.

As they brushed past each other, Orochimaru suddenly spoke up: "Yoshijo-kun is still the same as ever."

Tsunade also laughed: "Really, he hasn't changed one bit."

Jiraiya, leading the pig, had an ugly expression on his face.

The incident at the opening ceremony had become an indelible stain on his life. Tsunade often teased him about it, and he had had more than a few unpleasant run-ins with Shiraishi Yoshijo in class.

It was just that Shiraishi Yoshijo never paid him any mind. In two years, he had only said one thing to him: "At the opening ceremony, what on earth were you thinking to do something like that?"

Jiraiya's answer had been infuriating: "My brain got hot, and I just rushed in."

Very good, truly the look of a lecherous glutton; as expected of you, Jiraiya.

At the time, Shiraishi Yoshijo had felt terrible, and flames had practically shot from his eyes as he looked at Jiraiya.

If he hadn't been unable to beat him, he would have made sure Jiraiya knew exactly why his chrysanthemum would hurt so much.

Shiraishi Yoshijo glanced at the three of them, said nothing, and walked away, his attitude icy cold.

Orochimaru's mouth twitched, Tsunade's knuckles cracked as she clenched her fists, and Jiraiya wore an expression that said, "I knew it would be like this."

Fortunately, the three of them didn't do anything out of line; after all, having been classmates, they all knew each other's personalities and temperaments well.

It was just still very infuriating.