Sigma Man

"Asuma, why didn't you go find Kurenai today?"

Obito lay sprawled across his desk, bored out of his mind.

Rin Nohara was busy organizing her notes nearby, and since he didn't want to disturb her, he had to find someone else to help him kill time.

Sarutobi Asuma crossed his arms over his chest and replied casually:

"I need to study."

"You're full of it."

Obito punctured his excuse without mercy.

He had noticed during class that Sarutobi Asuma had been stealing glances at Yūhi Kurenai the entire time, not writing a single word in his notebook.

Caught in the act, Sarutobi Asuma stopped pretending and let out a disgruntled huff.

After a brief period of observation, Sarutobi Asuma had concluded that Obito was nothing but a simp.

How could a man spend his entire day revolving around a woman?

Pathetic.

As for himself, he only walked Yūhi Kurenai home every day, that was all.

"You guy..."

Listening to the internal conflict playing out in Sarutobi Asuma's head, Obito nearly choked.

He had only struck up the conversation because he sensed that Sarutobi Asuma also had someone he liked, thinking they might have some common ground.

As it turned out, this kid was just acting high and mighty.

Obito turned away and stopped talking.

Sarutobi Asuma ignored him as well, his peripheral vision fixed on Qingyu, who was currently chatting with Yūhi Kurenai.

The two were standing quite close, and while their voices were low, their expressions and gestures made it clear they were discussing something highly technical.

Sarutobi Asuma pricked up his ears to listen.

He couldn't understand a single word.

Sarutobi Asuma silently withdrew his gaze.

Damn it.

The topic was too advanced; he couldn't even get a word in.

If they were discussing Fire Style or taijutsu, he could at least contribute a few points. The Sarutobi Clan had always been famous for their Fire Style, and their taijutsu heritage was nothing to sneeze at; he had been training in both since he was a child.

But genjutsu...

That was completely out of his league.

Sarutobi Asuma suddenly felt a pang of regret for refusing when Sarutobi Hiruzen had offered to hire a genjutsu tutor for him, claiming it would be too much of a hassle.

Soon, the day's classes came to an end.

As school let out, Qingyu sought out Rin Nohara.

"Rin, would you like to go to Konoha Hospital with me?"

"Konoha Hospital?"

Rin Nohara blinked in surprise.

"What are we going there for?"

"Konoha Hospital occasionally holds training sessions specifically to screen students with the aptitude for medical ninjutsu."

Qingyu explained.

"Although a formal system hasn't been established yet, going there allows you to get an early start on the basics of medical ninjutsu."

This system wouldn't be formalized until the era of Boruto at Sakura's suggestion; at this point in time, it was still just a semi-official extracurricular activity.

After all, everything was still quite underdeveloped during this period; there wasn't even a department for child psychology.

And yet, ninja academy graduates were expected to head to the battlefield at the average age of twelve...

"There's such a thing? This is my first time hearing about it!"

Rin Nohara agreed without hesitation.

Qingyu then called over Shizune as well.

This news had originally come from Tsunade, who had told him to visit Konoha Hospital more often so that it would be easier to arrange an internship for him later on.

"Where are you guys going?"

Obito rushed over and called out to Rin Nohara just as she was about to leave.

"Qingyu says there's medical ninjutsu training at Konoha Hospital, so I'm planning to go check it out."

After saying this, Rin Nohara waved at Obito and headed toward the school gate with Qingyu and Shizune.

Obito instinctively wanted to follow, but a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Don't go."

Uchiha Tekka patted his shoulder.

"Our Uchiha clan doesn't have any medical ninja."

They were a clan of battle junkies; where would they find the logic in learning medical ninjutsu?

Obito opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but realized that what Uchiha Tekka said was indeed a fact.

In his memory, he had never heard of anyone in the clan being a medical ninja.

When Uchiha members were injured, they went to Konoha Hospital to be treated by medical ninja from other clans.

Obito stood where he was, watching helplessly as the three figures disappeared into the sunset.

Konoha Hospital.

The three of them walked through the main entrance.

"What a handsome kid."

As soon as Qingyu stepped inside, he heard people whispering.

Several older sisters dressed as nurses stood to the side, their gazes fixed on him with enthusiasm, two of them whispering to each other with smiles on their faces.

Qingyu continued walking forward, his expression unchanged.

Since he hadn't fully developed yet, he was powerless even if he had the heart for it; even the Senju bloodline couldn't carry that.

It was better to just be a sigma male.

Shizune walked in front to lead the way; she was already quite familiar with Konoha Hospital.

Passing through the corridor and turning two corners, the three of them stopped in front of an office with a plaque that read "Medical Team Captain's Office."

Shizune knocked on the door.

"Please, come in."

Pushing the door open, a woman wearing a white lab coat was sitting behind a desk, flipping through medical records.

She looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six, with fine lines at the corners of her eyes, but her overall temperament was very gentle.

"Ah, you must be Qingyu, right?"

Michiko Matsuzaka looked up, her gaze lingering on Qingyu for a moment before shifting to Shizune beside him.

"And the one behind is Shizune, I recognize her."

She smiled.

"Lady Tsunade already gave me a heads-up."

"Hello, Sister Michiko."

Qingyu said.

Although the woman was old enough to be his aunt, Qingyu wisely chose the title "Sister."

The smile on Michiko Matsuzaka's face instantly brightened several times over, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes smoothed out.

"What a sweet-talking child."

She stood up happily, her gaze falling on Rin Nohara, and she hesitated for a moment.

"And you are..."

"My name is Rin Nohara, I'm Qingyu's classmate."

Rin Nohara quickly introduced herself.

"I'm very interested in medical ninjutsu, so I tagged along to take a look."

"I see, welcome, welcome."

Michiko Matsuzaka didn't ask further, turning to call out the door, asking a medical ninja to fetch three cups.

Qingyu looked at the crowded training classroom in the hallway outside, which was packed with young people who had come to attend the lecture; some were even forced to stand in the back row.

"Don't we need to go outside and join the others?"

He asked.

"No need, no need."

Michiko Matsuzaka waved her hand, signaling the three of them to sit on the sofa in her office.

"Since you were introduced by Lady Tsunade, you can just have private lessons right here with me. The classes outside have too many people and the content is too shallow; it wouldn't be suitable for you."

She sat back down in her chair, folded her hands on the desk, and looked at Qingyu with a smile.

Lady Tsunade had specifically instructed her to take good care of these children.

Especially Qingyu.

This was, after all, a clansman of Lady Tsunade.

Seeing this, Qingyu had no choice but to nod.

However, he still shifted his stance to stand closer to the doorway.

His primary goal in coming here was to see if he could pick up any traits.

While Qingyu was waiting, three lines of text suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision.

[Collectable trait detected: Basic Bandaging]

[E-rank trait: Basic Bandaging]

[Effect: Increases wound dressing speed by 10%.]

As expected, you just need a crowd.

Qingyu stroked his chin.

Although he didn't know who had dropped this trait, regardless, it was his now.