Big Sis Tsunade

"Ugh... That hurts."

Seeing Uchiha Matsuri wake up, Kushina Uzumaki, who had been keeping watch by his side for a long time, exclaimed excitedly, "You're finally awake!"

"How long was I asleep?" Uchiha Matsuri opened his eyes, feeling sore all over.

"You've been unconscious for three days," Kushina Uzumaki said.

"Is that so..." Suddenly, Uchiha Matsuri seemed to remember something and urgently asked, "How's Nohara Shin?"

"Shin was just like you. He'd lost too much blood and was unconscious, but luckily, Lady Tsunade was there. He woke up two days ago." Kushina Uzumaki changed the subject. "By the way, when did you become so concerned about other people?"

"..." Uchiha Matsuri didn't answer.

Strictly speaking, neither in his previous life nor in this one had Uchiha Matsuri been the sort of person who cared about others. Yet this time, after truly experiencing "death," he could clearly feel how much he cared about his companions.

The door to the hospital room opened with a bang.

A woman with long blond hair, dressed in a white coat, walked in.

"Lady Tsunade." Kushina Uzumaki bowed her head in greeting.

"You're awake." Tsunade nodded to Kushina Uzumaki, then asked Uchiha Matsuri with concern.

"Mm. Thank you, Lady Tsunade," Uchiha Matsuri said gratefully.

At this, Tsunade frowned slightly and waved a hand. "I don't like people calling me Lady Tsunade. It feels too formal. If you don't mind, you can call me Big Sis from now on."

"Yes, Big Sis Tsunade." Uchiha Matsuri smiled.

For the next half hour, Tsunade chatted with Uchiha Matsuri about various things, then gave him some careful instructions.

"Big Sis Tsunade is so gentle." Watching Tsunade leave the hospital room, Kushina Uzumaki blurted out.

"Heh, is she?" Uchiha Matsuri instantly thought of Tsunade's powerful Strength of a Hundred Fist from the original story, and of how Jiraiya had ended up with five broken ribs.

Hokage Office.

After hearing Tsunade's report that Uchiha Matsuri had woken up, the Third Hokage couldn't help recalling how Orochimaru had answered his doubts three days earlier. Orochimaru had said that true ninja lived on the edge of a blade every day, and that only those who had experienced life and death could grow faster and better.

"Could it be that my thinking is too outdated?" the Third Hokage muttered to himself.

Two days later.

Ignoring Tsunade's warnings, Uchiha Matsuri sneaked out of the hospital.

"Only nine days until the next assessment, but I'm still far too weak." Uchiha Matsuri looked at his bandaged arm and muttered to himself.

During his two days in the hospital, Uchiha Matsuri had thought about how he could quickly increase his strength in such a short time.

Given his current physical condition, summoning a contract beast in battle was indeed the best way to increase his strength. However, of the few contract beasts he was most likely to obtain, the Third Hokage's Enma was out of the question. As the Hokage's summon, how could a mere Genin like him possibly gain the right to summon it? Princess Tsunade's Katsuyu mainly served a medical purpose, so that could also be ruled out.

That left only Orochimaru's Manda and Jiraiya's Gamabunta. Manda was unruly by nature, so expecting to command him in battle was unrealistic. That left only Jiraiya's Gamabunta.

However, to Uchiha Matsuri's disappointment, Jiraiya had refused his request. The reason was simple:

Uchiha Matsuri didn't even have enough chakra to summon a contract beast.

After his disappointment, Uchiha Matsuri turned his attention to Tsunade's Yin Seal.

At first, Tsunade had rejected Uchiha Matsuri without the slightest hesitation. Was he joking? Many Jonin couldn't learn this S-Rank jutsu, let alone a newly graduated Genin like him.

After Uchiha Matsuri's persistent pleading, Tsunade finally agreed to teach him the Yin Seal.

What Tsunade hadn't expected was that Uchiha Matsuri would grasp the basics of the Yin Seal in just one week.

"This child has such incredible talent. He learned in one week what took me half a year to master." Tsunade regarded the Uchiha kid she had once looked down on with a complicated expression.

After obtaining the Yin Seal, Uchiha Matsuri pressed his advantage and asked to learn Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu. At first, Tsunade didn't think he had any talent for it. But after watching him accurately use the Healing Jutsu and Hemostasis Jutsu after hearing an explanation just once, she no longer worried about his aptitude.

During his three years at the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Matsuri had constantly practiced controlling his chakra. As a result, he showed a unique "talent" for learning Medical Ninjutsu.

During his life-or-death battle with Orochimaru, Uchiha Matsuri had already realized how important Medical Ninjutsu was. As long as he mastered it, even if he was gravely injured in battle, he could quickly recover on his own and keep fighting.

Therefore, during the two days after waking up, Uchiha Matsuri hadn't wasted this precious time. Instead, in just two days, he had learned some basic Medical Ninjutsu and gained an initial grasp of the Hand Seals for some intermediate Medical Ninjutsu.

Nine days wasn't a long time, but it wasn't short either.

Aside from diligently practicing Medical Ninjutsu and using the Yin Seal to accumulate chakra, Uchiha Matsuri did what he used to do at school: lie in the grass beside the Training Ground and secretly copy other ninja's jutsu and Hand Seals with his Single Tomoe Sharingan.

Nine days later.

Uchiha Matsuri, Kushina Uzumaki, and Nohara Shin arrived at the Training Ground on time, only to see that Orochimaru was already there.

"Come on. Let's go pick up a mission." Orochimaru glanced at the three of them, outfitted for battle.

"What? Pick up a mission?" Nohara Shin asked in confusion.

"Heh. You're too weak. You're not qualified to fight me." Orochimaru suddenly widened his snake-like eyes and spoke in a deeply amused tone. "So we'll just take a mission instead. Besides, this is the first and last time I'll take a mission with you. After this, the three of you will have to handle missions on your own."

"Do you have a problem with that?" Orochimaru's eyes suddenly turned cold, and an intense pressure emanated from him.

"N-no problem," Nohara Shin replied with a stiff smile.

Mission Assignment Office.

"What? You want to take a B-Rank Mission? This is ridiculous!" An elderly-looking Chunin in charge of assigning missions sprang to his feet and slammed the table.

"Lord Orochimaru, you're not joking, are you? According to the usual practice, Genin who have just graduated from the Ninja Academy are normally assigned a few D-Rank missions to get some experience. Unlike the simple, safe D-Rank missions, B-Rank Missions are very dangerous. Only Chunin are assigned those." A ninja beside him patiently explained.

"Enough nonsense. I know all that. If the Third Hokage asks, tell him I made the decision." Orochimaru had already lost patience. He reached out and took a B-Rank Mission card.

"This is interesting." After looking at the B-Rank Mission card, Orochimaru let out a strange laugh. "Now that we've accepted the mission, let's go."

"Yes."