Kawadera Uchiha and the others in his squad arrived outside a tent on the edge of the Medical Department.
Nawaki Senju lay inside. Their squad had been assigned to guard him.
Kureya Inuzuka said, "If the enemy could assassinate the young clan leader once, they can do it again. We can't let our guard down."
"As acting squad leader, I'll set up a schedule. We'll take turns resting for three hours each, and at least two people must stay on guard here."
While Xingyue Senju was away, Kureya Inuzuka was in charge of the squad.
Ken Aburame said, "Kureya, I support your coup. Xingyue's off being a medical ninja, and the squad can't go without a leader. An acting leader doesn't count."
"Ken Aburame! As your squad leader, I order you to shut up!" Kureya Inuzuka said.
"You go rest first. Come back in three hours and relieve Kawadera. Kawadera, you'll relieve me three hours after that. Then we'll keep rotating."
Just then, Xingyue Senju walked over and said, "I'm sorry, Kureya. We still need you here."
Kureya Inuzuka said, "The Inuzuka Clan and the Senju Clan have been close for generations. It's only right that we do this!"
"Besides, we're not protecting some young master of the Senju Clan. We're protecting a future top-tier shinobi who could become one of Konoha's towering pillars!"
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Nawaki Senju would become one of Konoha's strongest fighters.
Nawaki Senju had a dedicated guard squad not because he was the young clan leader of the Senju Clan, but because of his potential.
Ken Aburame pulled a notebook from his ninja tool pouch and scribbled:
"When sucking up, compare someone to a 'towering pillar' and you can make Xingyue Senju beam with joy. Learned something new—I learned something new!"
Ninja Dog Akamaru barked and leaped up, biting Ken Aburame's notebook.
Xingyue Senju smiled as she watched Ken Aburame chase after the dog.
Kawadera Uchiha had thought Ken Aburame had a problem with him. He hadn't expected Ken to have a problem with everyone, taking jabs at all of them equally. That made him feel a lot better.
When Xingyue Senju came out of Nawaki's tent, she saw Kawadera Uchiha doing stationary training outside—one-finger push-ups.
After fifty one-finger push-ups, Kawadera Uchiha stopped and rubbed his sore fingers.
In the original story, Might Guy's training was measured in thousands. You didn't know how big the gap in their Taijutsu talent was until you tried it. He couldn't even manage a hundred.
Xingyue Senju watched Kawadera Uchiha massage his fingers, lost in thought.
She'd seen a Medical Ninjutsu technique in one of Tsunade's scrolls that could ease muscle soreness caused by overtraining.
After twenty days of training, with the memories and insights Tobirama Senju had transmitted to him, Kawadera Uchiha tried opening the Third Gate, the Gate of Life.
With the Gate of Life's self-protective mechanism gone, he extracted a huge amount of chakra. His skin flushed red, and his veins bulged.
He hurriedly checked his stats panel.
After all this training, his base [Strength] had risen from 3.9 to 4.1.
After opening the Third Gate, all three Taijutsu stats increased by 1.5!
[Physique] went from 6.2 to 7.7, [Strength] from 4.1 to 5.6, and [Speed] from 6.8 to 8.3.
The boost the Forbidden Technique, the Eight Inner Gates, gave to Taijutsu was far too powerful.
After opening the Third Gate, the Gate of Pain, he was already a Taijutsu-focused Special Jonin.
The progress he'd made in twenty days was comparable to a year or two of hard Taijutsu training for someone else.
A few minutes later, Kawadera Uchiha felt his body reaching its limit, so he quickly ended the Eight Inner Gates.
He figured that in ordinary battles, he should open only the first two gates. His skin wouldn't turn red, so he'd look as he usually did, and the strain on his body would be lighter.
With two gates open, each of his three Taijutsu stats increased by 1. That was still a very good boost.
That night, Xingyue Senju returned to the squad's tent and motioned for Kawadera Uchiha to follow her.
Inside an empty tent in the Medical Department, Xingyue Senju said:
"Teacher Tsunade says I have a great talent for Medical Ninjutsu. I've already learned the basics of using medical chakra to ease muscle damage.
Lie down, Kawadera. I know you've been training Taijutsu like crazy lately. I can help repair and relax your muscles."
Kawadera Uchiha was skeptical. "Are you actually confident, or do you just think I'm tough enough to be your test subject?"
A few minutes later, Kawadera Uchiha fell silent.
Xingyue Senju's medical chakra flowed between Kawadera Uchiha's muscles, making him feel so good he nearly groaned.
He'd heard that mastering martial arts took both money and resources. Nutrition and medical care were essential to building up the body; otherwise, you'd be left with hidden injuries.
Getting close to Xingyue Senju... No, as they put it here, after forging a bond with Xingyue Senju, he could also benefit from the Senju Clan's Medical Ninjutsu.
"Hm? W-wait! You have to massage the gluteus maximus too?"
His butt tensed as Xingyue Senju's soft hand pressed against Kawadera Uchiha's gluteus maximus.
"I saw how much you like doing squats, so of course I have to massage your gluteus maximus. I'm not saying anything, so why are you being so fussy?"
After massaging him for a few minutes, Xingyue Senju said, "You have to admit, squats really do make your butt perk up."
"If you use Medical Ninjutsu to heal me after I work out, will it get even perkier?"
"Of course."
"Then I have a bold idea!"
Kawadera Uchiha turned around to face Xingyue Senju.
Xingyue Senju blushed and punched Kawadera Uchiha in the thigh.
"Pervert! That's not bold—you're a pervert!"
After giving Kawadera Uchiha a beating, Xingyue Senju suddenly said:
"Kawadera, Shiro Uchiha, a Jonin from your clan, has been missing for three full weeks. The command center has declared him dead. Did you know?"
Kawadera Uchiha was stunned. He'd been worried that Shiro Uchiha would see through his lie and come looking for trouble.
"I didn't know. I only met Shiro Uchiha a few times. I didn't think even an experienced Jonin like him would be killed."
Xingyue Senju thought of her father and murmured, "On a battlefield like this, who can claim they won't die?"
Ten days later, Tsunade left Nawaki Senju's tent looking exhausted and spoke to the members of his guard squad:
"His month of bed rest is over, and Nawaki has recovered fairly well.
Keeping him at the front will only drain our resources. We're short-handed, so I'm entrusting your squad and two medical ninja from the Senju Clan with escorting Nawaki back to the village."
Xingyue Senju had been learning Medical Ninjutsu for a month and was still practicing on Kawadera Uchiha. She needed to travel with experienced medical ninja.
After leaving the camp, Kawadera Uchiha frowned slightly.
He'd saved Nawaki Senju, but Tsunade's sense of responsibility was so strong that she'd assigned only Xingyue Senju's squad to escort him.
He had no idea how determined the person who wanted Nawaki Senju dead was.
He had no idea what would happen after Nawaki Senju survived.
The story's course would change drastically because of Nawaki Senju. It wasn't just Nawaki—Tsunade wouldn't develop hemophobia, and Orochimaru wouldn't go rogue for the time being. They were all variables.
Two medical ninja carried the paralyzed Nawaki Senju as they slowly headed toward the Naka River.
Once they reached the Naka River, they could board a boat and travel downstream at a faster pace.
The trip back to Konoha would take at least two or three weeks.
Kawadera Uchiha was on edge the whole way.
After traveling for more than a week, the group finally reached the Naka River.
Another squad sent by Tsunade was waiting there with a boat ready, moored by the bank.
Kawadera Uchiha saw the other Konoha squad and felt slightly reassured.
Good. There were two squads on the river route, so they should...
The two medical ninja were carrying Nawaki Senju along the gangplank.
An explosion suddenly erupted!
There was an Explosive Tag beneath the gangplank!
Did Nawaki Senju absolutely have to be blown to pieces?
Before you continue