A Little Spotting, Just a Slight Tear

Senju Shingu sat dazedly, leaning against a large bundle.

He had given most of Mitsuki's hair to his older cousin, Xingyue. She would build a memorial tomb for Mitsuki, and he had secretly kept a lock of her hair for himself.

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

He hadn't told her yet that he... that he liked her, and loved the pleasant scent she carried.

Now, all that was left was that he had liked her.

It wasn't that he had changed. She was gone.

She had vanished, reduced to dust.

Senju Shingu started vomiting and didn't stop until his stomach was completely empty.

He took off his glasses and silently wiped away the tears on them.

Why? Why did it have to be like this...?

Everyone said that a ninja's death was inevitable, that ninjas had to face death and get used to it. Many people in the camp had lost family, friends, or teammates, yet they seemed to move on quickly.

But Shingu felt he'd never be able to move on.

"Shingu! Come with me!"

A voice jolted Senju Shingu out of his daze. It was Jonin Senju Mei, the head of the Medical Department.

Senju Shingu followed Senju Mei into a tent and saw his older cousin, Xingyue.

Xingyue was Mitsuki's cousin. Seeing her, and how much she resembled Mitsuki, stirred a strange feeling in Shingu.

Would Mitsuki have grown up to look a lot like Xingyue?

Senju Mei said, "Xingyue, Shingu, and I—along with Princess Tsunade—are the only Senju Clan ninjas who survived on the Front Line."

Shingu's face paled for a moment. So... things really were that bad.

Senju Mei said, "Xingyue, I agree with your proposal. We'll form an alliance and save the clan from extinction. Starting now, we'll make changes to the Senju Clan.

"I've watched one badly wounded Senju after another die on the operating table.

"After their first injury, they didn't retreat. They kept advancing, and in the end, they were left with more and more wounds until their condition became critical.

"I've had enough!

"Starting today, Senju Shingu will join the Medical Department.

"Before this decisive battle, several Senju ninjas in the Medical Department asked to go to the Front Line. I'll never make that mistake again. I won't let them go fight."

"Xingyue, Shingu will be my apprentice from now on. As you suggested, I'll assign the Senju Clan's recently graduated Genin from the past few classes to become medical ninjas."

Senju Shingu didn't understand. The two seniors seemed to have made some special arrangements for him.

He said, "Mei-senpai, Xingyue-senpai, I don't know if I have a talent for Medical Ninjutsu. Would making me a medical ninja be a waste of Konoha's precious resources?"

Disdain appeared in Senju Mei's eyes as he said,

"Utatane Koharu and Biwako Sarutobi are both medical ninjas. They've stuffed one person after another into Konoha Hospital. How many of those people actually have a talent for Medical Ninjutsu?

"The standard of care at Konoha Hospital has declined badly over the past few years, and it's because those two keep stuffing people in.

"Shingu, don't be afraid. Your chakra control and Senju bloodline make you better suited to Medical Ninjutsu than ordinary people.

"Even at your worst, you're far more talented than the people Utatane Koharu sends over."

Senju Shingu felt a little more at ease after hearing that.

He didn't want to become a burden.

He clutched the lock of hair in his palm. Mitsuki's dream had been to become a medical ninja.

After leaving the camp, Senju Xingyue went to find Kawadera Uchiha again.

Kawadera Uchiha was sitting on a tree stump, his left elbow resting on his knee and his head propped up by his hand. He stared at the Ninja Blade swaying slowly in his right hand as he practiced Senju Style: Willow.

"Kawadera! I've taken the first step. I managed to convince Senju Mei-senpai. He's treated many Senju Clan ninjas, but even more of them died on his operating table.

"He couldn't take it anymore. The Senju Clan ninjas were all too badly wounded.

"He's taken Senju Shingu as his apprentice and will teach him Medical Ninjutsu."

"Good. At least that kid Shingu will be able to live a little longer."

In the middle of the night, the Jonin Commander's tent at headquarters hosted a postwar meeting.

Naraichi droned on about how many Rock Ninjas had been killed, Konoha's losses, and the plans for the next campaign.

When they got to the rotation list, Naraichi asked, "Does any Jonin here want to request leave back in the village? If not, I'll make the list myself."

A few seconds later, Naraichi noticed Senju Mei had stood up.

Naraichi wasn't the only one looking at him. Tsunade was, too.

Aside from Tsunade, Senju Mei was the most skilled medical ninja on the Front Line and was highly respected. He said, "Jonin Naraichi, I'd like to request leave back in the village."

He didn't explain why. There was no need.

"Very well. Jonin Senju Mei has served on the Front Line for a year and two months. He deserves some leave." Naraichi looked at the other Jonin. "Does anyone else want leave?"

Another seven or eight Jonin requested leave, and Naraichi noted them all down. Such reasonable requests deserved approval.

Tsunade, however, found it strange. According to the Senju Clan's principles, they shouldn't be the ones to request leave.

Once Senju Mei returned to the village, she would be the only Senju Clan Jonin left on the Front Line.

After the meeting, Naraichi handed a large bundle of Scrolls to Hiruzen Sarutobi for his signature.

One of the reward Scrolls eventually made its way to Dazhou Yamanaka.

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

The Anti-Air Unit had been hastily assembled on the battlefield, and Lord Hokage had awarded him an S-rank mission reward.

He quickly checked the Scroll's records. Kawadera Uchiha, the true originator, had received an A-rank mission reward of 700,000 ryo.

Good, good. At least Kawadera Uchiha hadn't been shortchanged.

He wanted to personally deliver the reward to Kawadera Uchiha to make up for the guilt he felt over taking the credit.

But he really needed this achievement. He'd been stuck for a long time and desperately needed an opportunity.

When he found Kawadera Uchiha, Dazhou Yamanaka said,

"Kawadera, you're a special Uchiha. You're my lucky star, too.

"I won't say anything else. I'll remember this. Here's your A-rank mission reward. Your idea for the Shrapnel Explosive Tag will be extremely useful to the Anti-Air Unit the village forms in the future.

"Kawadera, if you ever want to peek into someone's thoughts, knock them out and bring them to me. I'll extract the information from their brain.

"With the relationship we have, I'll absolutely keep it secret!"

"You offer that service, too?" Kawadera Uchiha said. "All right, if I ever need it, I'll come find you."

After Dazhou Yamanaka left, Kawadera Uchiha suddenly had an idea. He planned to upgrade the Shrapnel Explosive Tag.

He drew up a design.

It was a steel needle as thick as a finger, with a cracked pattern of ridges and grooves along its walls. Filling it with three Explosive Tags would make something like a grenade that could be thrown as fast as a steel Senbon.

Once he got back to the village, he'd have a batch of these steel needles made.

The next day, a large group of ninjas set out for Konoha.

Once they left the camp and entered the Land of Fire, the mood of the entire group changed.

The oppressive weight of death lifted, and the relief on everyone's faces was plain to see.

It would take five days to return to Konoha.

One night, in her tent, Senju Xingyue performed muscle repair on Kawadera Uchiha.

After repairing his gluteus maximus and making it perkier, she turned Kawadera Uchiha over.

The long blade slid into its sheath, warm and slick.

A squad of ninjas on night patrol occasionally passed outside the tent. The two muffled their moans carefully, which made Kawadera Uchiha find it even more thrilling.

Half an hour later, Senju Xingyue's sweat glistened on Kawadera Uchiha's chest.

Green medical chakra glowed in Senju Xingyue's hand. She lowered her head and fiddled with him a couple of times, then raised her face and gazed at Kawadera Uchiha with smoldering eyes.

"Didn't you say you wanted it perkier? Why isn't it perkier anymore?"

"You bled the first time. I was doing it for your sake, and it took everything I had to hold back! I can't make it perkier again."

"I'm a student of Tsunade-sensei and a medical ninja of the Senju Clan! A little spotting, just a slight tear. I secretly healed it a while ago!"

Kawadera Uchiha heard that and realized he was in trouble.

The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had never intermarried. Could it be that their stamina just couldn't keep up?

Madara Uchiha had been devoted to Hashirama Senju. Could it be because Madara Uchiha was so good at Taijutsu, so they were... evenly matched?

No wonder the Senju Clan valued Taijutsu. Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and the rest were fine with a little practice. But if you wanted to have fun, Taijutsu was the way to go.

Some transmigrators came here and got obsessed with training in Ninjutsu. Weren't they just missing the forest for the trees?

"I'll fight your Senju Clan to the bitter end!"