Children Start with Their Mothers

"Toji-sensei... he is so gentle."

It took a long moment for Matsumoto Waka to snap out of her daze, and she replied softly, "Yes, Sensei. Its name is Little White."

Toji smiled faintly. "All things in this world eventually tend toward a balance of yin and yang. Snakes are cold-blooded creatures, yet this one insists on clinging to you. That goes to show... Waka, you have hot blood flowing through your veins. You are a very warm-hearted person."

He toyed with the white snake for a moment longer before handing it back to Matsumoto Waka. "That is also why I chose you to be the class representative. A person with a warm heart cannot be a bad person."

"My students don't have to be talented at ninjutsu, but they must be good people."

"Toji-sensei..." Matsumoto Waka's eyes brimmed with tears.

In all her years, this was the first time someone had praised her so unreservedly.

Others only saw her keeping company with snakes and would whisper that she was cold, ominous, and a freak. No one had ever spoken to her with such a gentle yet firm tone, telling her—you are warm.

Respect, along with a devotion bordering on reverence, quietly took root in her heart.

In this moment, she wanted to become a person as warm as Toji.

Toji said nothing more, lowering his head to flip through the collected homework assignments one by one.

What profound insights could ten-year-old children possibly write about the three medical guidelines?

In truth, he didn't care about the content.

He was merely using this as a pretext to act as a mentor who would praise his students, creating more natural opportunities to interact with Matsumoto Waka. Her future child was, after all, a rare genius in the Ninja World...

And when it came to children, one had to start with the mother.

"You wrote this brilliantly, Waka." Toji closed the notebook. "I wasn't wrong about you; you have a unique understanding of the guidelines. Your enrollment file says your talent for ninjutsu is average, but you have a great desire to explore the science of ninjutsu."

Waka wiped away the moisture in her eyes, returning to her usual cool, detached demeanor, and lowered her head in embarrassment. "Yes, I am not very good at ninjutsu..."

"No, I don't care whether my students have a talent for ninjutsu."

Toji's tone was earnest. "Everyone has their own field of expertise where they can shine. What I want to ask is, why are you so fascinated by the science of ninjutsu?"

"Because... I just like it?" Matsumoto Waka answered, sounding a bit uncertain.

"My talent for ninjutsu is poor, so I want to develop techniques that even I can learn. Plus, because of Little White, I was often bullied by older children, so I wanted to master medical ninjutsu. That way, even if I couldn't win a fight, I could heal myself quickly."

"..."

Toji listened, but his heart remained unmoved.

He only felt that Orochimaru's initiation of the Konoha Crush plan might have had something to do with his mother's history of being bullied as a child.

The Ninja World was a place rife with bullying.

Konoha had its share of wretched people, too.

From commoner children to the princesses of ninja clans, almost everyone had experienced something similar. People here operated on the assumption that only the strong deserved respect, adhering to the law of the jungle.

It was precisely because of this that his "gentleness" appeared so precious.

Whether Matsumoto Waka had a talent for "science" remained to be seen. But compared to Orochimaru's obsession with pursuing truth, her initial motivation for "exploring science" still lacked a certain depth.

"I see. I understand."

Toji's expression was gentle, but his tone was exceptionally serious. "Matsumoto Waka, I do not pity you. Pity is an insult to the strong. And in you, I see the qualities of someone who can become strong."

"I specialize in medical ninjutsu, but I also have my own insights into the development of ninjutsu. Waka, will you become my disciple?"

"I have always been your disciple, Sensei..."

"I don't just mean a student in the medical class. I mean that after you graduate, you will still be assigned under me to participate in my research projects."

"Of course, this may not be fair to you. Graduation is still a long way off, and during this time, you may encounter ninjas more outstanding than I am. I am not particularly skilled in elemental ninjutsu myself. You can go back and think about it for a while before making your choice."

"No!"

Matsumoto Waka said firmly, "I am willing to be your disciple. In my heart, there is no teacher more outstanding than Toji-sensei."

Toji smiled gently and reached up to remove his plain-rimmed glasses.

Under Matsumoto Waka's stunned gaze, he gently placed the glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"This is the first gift from your teacher. Wear them, and those who bullied you in the past will never dare to look down on you again."

Matsumoto Waka's fingertips brushed the still-warm frames, her voice trembling slightly. "Thank you, Toji-sensei."

"I don't like excessive sentimentality. Between a teacher and a student, it is better to prove one's meaning through action."

Toji stood up as he spoke and took a notebook from the bookshelf behind him. "I will hold my disciples to the strictest standards. That applies to the medical class, and it applies to the science of ninjutsu as well."

"This contains one of my core research projects. From today on, you will study and learn from it daily. I will test you periodically until you are qualified to formally participate in the research alongside me."

Toji paused, his tone filled with an inexplicable emotion:

"The subject of this research is—the Cursed Seal."

The Cursed Seal had a very long history in the Ninja World.

However, the varieties were extremely rare, and generally, only the great ninja clans possessed relevant research, with their findings regarded as "secret techniques never to be passed on."

Cursed seals are generally divided into two categories: binding cursed seals and sage-transformation cursed seals.

Regardless of the type, the one who truly brought them to prominence was Orochimaru, who would come later.

Toji's research into cursed seals progressed extremely slowly, and the results he achieved were limited.

This stuff was probably just like mathematics; if you didn't get it, you didn't get it. Without talent, it was a lost cause, and even piling on time with a long lifespan wouldn't necessarily yield results.

Taking Matsumoto Waka as a disciple was, aside from showing the Senju brothers his bond with the village, largely done with the intention of "planting a willow without expecting shade."

After all, she was the future mother of Orochimaru.

What if she was the true source of the talent Orochimaru used to develop the cursed seal?

A mentor plagiarizing a student's work was shameful, but a disciple filled with admiration for their teacher would likely be more than willing to hand over their research results on a silver platter, all in the hopes of gaining recognition.

And he would only need to watch it all happen with a smile.

A binding cursed seal would allow him to let loose during his experiments on Uchiha Yan; a sage-transformation cursed seal would allow his power to surge significantly.

Either one would be fine.

On the way back from Gospel Hospital to the Ninja Academy, several "acquaintances" who used to bully Matsumoto Waka walked toward her. Someone was just about to step forward to cause trouble when a companion grabbed them, whispering a reminder: "Look at her glasses."

The pair of plain glasses reflected a faint light in the sunset, and the expressions of the group changed instantly as they began to whisper among themselves.

"Why is she wearing Lord Toji's glasses?"

One of them looked a bit panicked: "How about... we buy her some gifts and apologize?"

"Tch, what are you afraid of? You think she'd dare to retaliate against us?"

"What if she badmouths us to Lord Toji, and the hospital refuses to treat our injuries in the future?"

Doctors were people you could never afford to offend.

Not if you didn't want to find yourself without a fallback when you were injured.

"Lord Toji wouldn't treat patients differently. But I heard she's already joined the medical team. What if she becomes a doctor later on..."

"Right, right! Lord Toji definitely wouldn't do anything to us. But that cold-blooded freak Matsumoto Waka would definitely take revenge on us at the hospital."

"Stop talking. Let's just go and apologize to her."