Fallen Petals, Just a Little Tear

Shingu Senju sat blankly, leaning against a large bundle.

He had handed over most of Mitsuki's hair to his elder sister, Seigetsu Senju, who would build a cenotaph for her; he had also secretly kept a lock of Mitsuki's hair for himself.

The girl who had grown up with him, attended school with him, and graduated with him had suddenly become so distant, as if she were nothing more than a dream.

He had not yet told her that, actually... actually, he liked her, liked the pleasant scent she carried.

Now, it had turned into he had liked her.

It was not that he had changed, but that she was gone.

Vanished, reduced to dust.

Shingu Senju began to retch, continuing until his stomach was completely empty.

He took off his glasses and silently wiped away the tears pooling behind the lenses.

Why, why did it have to be this way...

They all said that death was inevitable for a ninja, that a ninja must face life and death squarely and grow accustomed to it. Many people in the camp had lost family, friends, or teammates, and they all seemed to move on quite quickly.

But Shingu felt that he could not move on.

"Shingu! Come with me!"

A voice startled Shingu Senju; it was Jonin Mei Senju, the captain of the medical division.

Following Mei Senju into a tent, Shingu Senju saw his elder sister, Seigetsu Senju.

Seigetsu was Mitsuki's cousin, and seeing her, with features somewhat similar to Mitsuki's, stirred a strange feeling in Shingu's heart.

If Mitsuki had grown up, would she have looked much like Seigetsu?

Mei Senju said, "Seigetsu, Shingu, myself, and Princess Tsunade—we are the only Senju Clan ninjas left on the front lines."

Shingu's face turned pale for a moment; so, it was really this dire.

Mei Senju said, "Seigetsu, I agree with your proposal to form an alliance, to save ourselves and survive, and to change the Senju Clan starting now.

On the operating table, I have sent away one severely wounded Senju clansman after another.

After sustaining their first injury, they would advance instead of retreating, eventually suffering more and more wounds until their conditions became critical.

I have had enough!

Starting today, Shingu Senju will join the medical division.

Before this decisive battle, several Senju ninjas in the medical division requested to go to the front lines. I will never make that mistake again; I will not let them go into combat.

Seigetsu, Shingu will be my disciple from now on. I will do as you said and arrange for all the recently graduated Genin of the Senju Clan to be trained as medical ninjas."

Shingu Senju was confused; the two seniors seemed to have some special arrangement for him.

He said, "Senior Mei, Sister Seigetsu, I do not know if I have any talent for medical ninjutsu. If you make me a medical ninja, wouldn't that be a waste of Konoha's precious resources?"

A look of disdain appeared in Mei Senju's eyes as he said:

"Koharu Utatane and Biwako Sarutobi are both medical ninjas, and they keep stuffing people into Konoha Hospital one after another. How many of those people have any talent for medical ninjutsu?

The medical standards at Konoha Hospital have declined severely in recent years precisely because of their constant interference.

Shingu, do not be afraid. Your chakra control and your Senju bloodline make you far more suited for medical ninjutsu than the average person.

No matter how bad you are, your talent is still far better than those sent by Koharu Utatane."

Hearing this, Shingu Senju felt a bit more at ease.

He did not want to become a burden.

He gripped the hair in his palm tightly; Mitsuki's dream had been to become a medical ninja.

After leaving the main camp, Seigetsu Senju found Kawadera Uchiha once more.

Kawadera Uchiha was sitting on a wooden stake, his left elbow resting on his knee, head propped up, staring at the ninja blade slowly swaying in his right hand as he practiced the Senju Style: Willow.

"Kawadera! I have taken the first step and successfully persuaded Senior Mei Senju. He has treated many Senju ninjas, yet even more have died on his operating table.

He could no longer stand it; the injuries sustained by the Senju ninjas are always too severe.

He has taken Shingu Senju as his disciple to teach him medical ninjutsu."

"Very good. At least that child, Shingu, might live a little longer."

In the middle of the night, inside the command headquarters' Jonin tent, a post-battle meeting was being held.

Naraichi was monotonously reciting the number of Rock Ninja killed, the losses on the Konoha side, and the subsequent operational plans.

When it came to the rotation list, Naraichi asked:

"Are there any Jonin present who wish to apply to return to the village for rotation? If not, I will draw up a list myself."

A few seconds later, Naraichi noticed Mei Senju stand up.

It was not just Naraichi looking at Mei Senju; Princess Tsunade also turned her gaze toward him.

Mei Senju was the most outstanding medical ninja on the front lines besides Princess Tsunade and held considerable prestige. He said, "Jonin Naraichi, I apply to return to the village for rotation."

He did not state his reason, nor was there any need to.

"Very well. Jonin Mei Senju has been serving on the front lines for a year and two months; it is indeed time for her to rotate off." Naraichi looked toward the other jonin. "Does anyone else wish to request a rotation?"

Seven or eight more jonin submitted requests for rotation, which Naraichi noted down; these reasonable requests were naturally to be granted.

Tsunade, however, felt it was strange, as the philosophy of the Senju Clan dictated that one should not proactively request a rotation.

Once Mei Senju returned to the village, she would be the only Senju Clan jonin left on the front lines.

After the meeting concluded, Naraichi carried a large bundle of scrolls to Hiruzen Sarutobi for his signature.

One of the reward scrolls was eventually delivered into the hands of Dazhou Yamanaka.

"An S-rank mission reward! 1.2 million ryo?"

For the temporary formation of the Anti-Air Unit on the battlefield, the Hokage had granted him an S-rank mission reward.

He hurriedly checked the records on the scroll; Kawadera Uchiha, as the true initiator, had received an A-rank mission reward of 700,000 ryo.

That's good, that's good; at least Kawadera Uchiha wasn't treated unfairly.

He intended to deliver the mission reward to Kawadera Uchiha personally to make up for the guilt he felt over stealing the credit.

However, he needed this achievement too badly; he had been stagnant for a long time and was in desperate need of an opportunity.

After finding Kawadera Uchiha, Dazhou Yamanaka said:

"Kawadera, you are a special Uchiha, and you are my lucky star.

I won't say much more, but I have it all in my heart. This is your A-rank mission reward. Your idea for the Shrapnel Explosive Tag will be extremely useful for the Anti-Air Unit the village plans to form in the future.

Kawadera, if you ever want to peek into someone's thoughts, just knock them out and bring them to me; I will help you extract the intelligence from their brain.

Given our relationship, I will absolutely keep it a secret for you!"

"There's a perk like that too?" Kawadera Uchiha said. "Alright, alright, if I have a need, I will come find you."

After sending Dazhou Yamanaka away, Kawadera Uchiha suddenly had an idea; he prepared to upgrade the Shrapnel Explosive Tag.

He drew up the blueprints.

Using a steel needle the thickness of a finger, with cracked, convex-concave patterns on the surface, and filling the interior with three explosive tags, he could create something like a grenade that could be thrown at high speeds, much like a senbon needle.

Once he returned to the village, he would forge a batch of these needles.

The next day, a large group of ninja set off to return to Konoha.

After leaving the camp and entering the Land of Fire, the atmosphere of the entire team changed.

The oppression brought by death vanished, and the visible relaxation on everyone's faces was clear to see.

The return journey to Konoha would take five days.

One night, Seigetsu Senju was in her tent, performing muscle repair for Kawadera Uchiha.

After finishing the repair on his gluteus maximus, making it firmer, she flipped Kawadera Uchiha over.

The long blade entered the sheath, warm and slick.

Outside the tent, a patrol squad of ninja occasionally passed by, and the two of them stifled their groans carefully, which made Kawadera Uchiha feel even more stimulated.

Half an hour later, Seigetsu Senju's fragrant sweat dripped onto Kawadera Uchiha's chest.

Green medical chakra shimmered in Seigetsu Senju's hands; she lowered her head to tinker for a moment, then looked up, staring at Kawadera Uchiha with eyes full of amorous intent:

"Didn't you say you wanted it firm? Why aren't you firm anymore?"

"You bled for the first time; for your sake, I endured so much! I can't be firm anymore."

"I am a disciple of Master Tsunade, a medical ninja of the Senju Clan! The blood, it was just a tiny tear; I secretly healed it a while ago!"

Upon hearing this, Kawadera Uchiha realized he was in trouble.

The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had not intermarried for generations—could it be because their physical stamina simply couldn't keep up?

Madara Uchiha was devoted to Hashirama Senju; could it be that Madara Uchiha had such strong taijutsu that they were... evenly matched?

No wonder the Senju Clan valued taijutsu. Genjutsu and ninjutsu could be practiced casually, but if one wanted true happiness, it had to be taijutsu.

Some transmigrators who came here actually obsessed over practicing ninjutsu; wasn't that purely losing the big for the small?

"I'll fight you Senju Clan people to the death!"