"The 'Involution' Ninja (Part 1)"

At the end of April in the 46th year of Konoha, those who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy officially stepped onto the path of the shinobi.

Perhaps having heard too many "ninja stories" at school, most squads lost their motivation after being "brutally beaten" by D-rank missions during their first month.

Early graduation did not equate to possessing outstanding ninja talent, and the village leadership did not assign elite jonin to this batch of students.

Squads with high grades were led by jonin, while those with lower marks were rotated between different chunin leaders.

As for those who gave up the ninja profession just one month after graduation, there was no need to pour any more resources into them.

In the eyes of the village leadership, as long as they maintained a respectable number of genin to successfully digest low-level missions, that was enough; thus, the dreams of many young ninjas were shattered once again.

Beyond performing missions, genin with special talents enjoyed better treatment after graduation!

The Intelligence Department needed to replenish its ranks, the Barrier Division "recruited" every year, the Police Force handled its own internal intake from the Uchiha Clan, and Konoha Hospital never turned away potential medical ninjas.

Ninjas also needed to earn a living; those from large clans had family support, while civilian ninjas could only rely on "grinding."

Shu Furukawa could not yet feel the troubles of a genin; there were only a handful of ninjas in the village who had mastered advanced medical ninjutsu, so even though he lacked experience, he was still highly sought after within the Medical Corps.

"You did your best, Shu! Being able to hold on this long to say goodbye to everyone has already exceeded our expectations."

"A ninja must face life and death head-on!"

Hearing the senior's reprimand, the several fifteen-year-old youths in the ward stopped their tears; witnessing their teacher sacrifice himself to protect them had been a massive blow to them.

Seeing this scene, Shu Furukawa sighed inwardly, his face showing a look of concern:

"The internal organs have suffered extremely severe damage; remember to perform emergency treatment immediately next time."

"Do not let your teacher's expectations go to waste; the future still relies on you to carry on this will."

"Yes!"

The youths bowed in response. Although Shu Furukawa was young, ninjas were judged by their strength and talent, and everyone felt that these words were very reasonable.

The jonin from the Sarutobi Clan nodded slightly upon seeing this; Shu Furukawa did not act like a child at all, and when it came to "handling special situations," many adult ninjas could not even achieve what he had.

Behind him, Shizune, Kanpo, and Hyakuso all wore sad expressions; they had been unable to help at all while participating in the treatment, and this was not the first time it had happened.

Shu Furukawa did not attend to his own team members' emotions for the moment, focusing instead on finishing the final tasks.

After the Sarutobi jonin and the youths thanked him and left, Shu Furukawa casually channeled the energy he had [Collected] into his body.

To Shizune and the others, Shu Furukawa was merely holding his forehead to relieve his fatigue:

"Shu, come and rest for a while; your complexion doesn't look good."

Hearing Shizune's concerned voice, Shu Furukawa nodded, and thinking of the past month's work, he asked:

"Are the other special care wards full as well? It looks like the conflicts are escalating; it's rare for C-rank missions to have accidents so frequently."

Kanpo, who was more familiar with hospital operations, gave a wry smile and whispered:

"They're all full, Captain. It's all our fault for being useless; we can't resolve combat missions, and we can't even use the Mystical Palm Technique well in the hospital."

"You are still young; you will surely become excellent medical ninjas in the future!"

"Hyakuso has made great progress recently; this is the result of an accumulation leading to a breakthrough. Do not give up on studying knowledge; understanding basic principles is a great help to ninjutsu."

It looked a bit strange for Shu Furukawa, who wouldn't turn nine for another few months, to say these things, but his two team members were completely convinced and responded loudly at once:

"Yes!"

After finishing the day's work in the evening, Shizune once again wore a satisfied smile as she followed Shu Furukawa to ask for advice on ninjutsu. When the two entered the office, Tsunade immediately looked up and said:

"Good work!"

"Teacher is sleeping again, right? There is still some ink on your right cheek."

Hearing Shu Furukawa's words, Tsunade subconsciously wiped her face twice. Shizune leaned over and whispered to her, and only then did she realize she had been "tricked" into revealing the truth:

"You must be looking to get beaten up! This weekend at Training Ground 3!"

Tsunade yelled angrily after wiping away her drool, and only after flicking Shu Furukawa's forehead until it turned red did she feel satisfied. She then took out a report and asked:

"Are you researching the effects of chakra on cells?"

"You could also say it's the effect on life, Teacher. I'm just curious about the formation of Kekkei Genkai."

Shu Furukawa did not hide his intentions. Seeing Tsunade's serious expression, he added:

"I saw some notes from the Second Hokage in the archives. The chakra refined by each person is different; it seems other villages have even developed some bloodline ninjas based on this."

Tsunade was naturally aware of the contents of the archives, and after a moment of contemplation, she recalled which notes Shu Furukawa was referring to:

"That involves the issue of jinchuriki. The chakra of Tailed Beasts is different from that of humans, and some ninja villages have conducted experiments on that basis."

"The development of some release techniques stems from this, but more importantly, the ninja themselves must possess that specific talent."

"In short, it is a very complex problem. At your age, you should lay a solid foundation and expand your applications based on existing ninjutsu."

Shu Furukawa did not argue. What he actually wanted to figure out was what the energy from [Collection] really was.

Recently, after the frequency of the "White Fang's Bloody Nightmare" had decreased, he had completed two more [Collections] this month—one from an ordinary chunin, and one from the Sarutobi jonin today.

The impact of the former was negligible, merely expanding his sensory range slightly, but the latter was crucial; it would, in all likelihood, replenish his fire-attribute chakra.

"You're right, Teacher. I won't delve too deeply into it; it's still a bit too early for me!"

Taking the initiative to offer his assurance, Shu Furukawa once again displayed his ability to take good advice, which left Tsunade very satisfied. She stood up, beckoned the two of them over, and said cheerfully:

"We're going to the Chinese Izakaya tonight. After a month of hard work, I need to properly unwind."

"And then we can head to the bathhouse..."

Shizune loved the current rhythm of her life; it was far more fulfilling than being at the academy, and she could stay by Shu Furukawa's side the entire time.

Seeing the two of them start bickering again after discussing ninjutsu, the girl immediately hurried to their side. This was her simple, unadorned life as a genin.

In early May, as the holidays arrived, Shu Furukawa went through his routine training. Everyone else was busy with missions, leaving only Katsuyu to occasionally offer commentary in her soft, sweet voice:

"Lord Shu is progressing very quickly. Once your cells are influenced by natural energy, you won't have to worry about chakra in the future."

"However, the nature transformation of a ninja's chakra must be achieved through Lord Shu's own efforts; I cannot assist with that."

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

A massive fireball erupted from Shu Furukawa's mouth. Having basically mastered the nature transformation of fire-attribute chakra, the [Collection] had achieved its intended goal.

After finishing this basic fire-style ninjutsu, Shu Furukawa felt reasonably satisfied as he looked at the crater in the ground. Although he recalled that fire-style techniques were mostly "all smoke and no damage," mastering a new technique was still a good thing:

"Katsuyu, the next step is to find the primordial chakra to verify my hypothesis."

"I am very much looking forward to it, Lord Shu. This is your path of evolution."

"..."