Rejection of Apprenticeship

Early 42nd Year of Leaf Village

Hyuga Iwa had already been attending the Medical Class for some time.

Having had no medical experience in his previous life, he seized every minute and second at school, constantly absorbing the knowledge his teachers imparted.

To that end, Hyuga Iwa had specifically revised his original training schedule, adding time for studying medicine.

In the Medical Class, Hyuga Iwa had also met Tsunade's future disciple—Kato Shizune. At this point, Shizune seemingly had yet to become Tsunade's apprentice. Unfortunately, he had not succeeded in finding a master either.

Hyuga Iwa sat in the classroom, organizing his books and stacking them neatly one by one.

Trauma identification and treatment, herbalism, biological identification, infectious diseases, pediatrics, pharmacology, principles of chakra healing...

Judging by their titles, Hyuga Iwa felt that these books covered subjects that would at least have been taught in university in his previous life. Yet in this world, they were required studies for children who would have been elementary school students—or even kindergarteners—in his previous life!

The ninja world was cruel. Compared with the previous era when samurai ran rampant, countless ninjas went to war at a young age.

Honestly, Hyuga Iwa was fortunate to possess an adult soul. It gave him more room for thought and understanding than his classmates when studying medical knowledge, while the knowledge from his previous life helped him grasp the key points and draw inferences from them.

After only a few months of study, Hyuga Iwa had already stood out across the entire Medical Class!

The name of a medical genius spread like wildfire.

However, the Hyuga Clan was a major clan of ocular techniques, and the Gentle Fist was the martial art that had made them famous throughout the land.

Medicine?

No matter how good he was at medicine, what did that have to do with the Hyuga Clan? They simply could not tolerate someone in the clan abandoning its traditions!

Several Hyuga children his age came to trouble Hyuga Iwa every other day. However, he was far too cunning and often avoided them, leaving them empty-handed.

That day, Hyuga Iwa held a book on identifying human acupoints and studied it as he flipped through the pages.

It was a book introducing the acupoints of the human body, not something students of their grade were supposed to learn. However, Hyuga Iwa's progress had far surpassed that of his classmates, so he had borrowed it from his teacher.

The medical instructor also thought highly of Hyuga Iwa and hoped another medical genius would emerge in the future. Thus, the instructor made an exception and lent him the book.

From this book, Hyuga Iwa learned about the distribution of acupoints in humans throughout the Shinobi World.

The human body had 361 chakra points, while the channels through which chakra flowed were called meridians. In the meridian system through which chakra circulated, eight locations where chakra gathered ran down from the head: the Open Gate, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death.

These Eight Gates formed the foundation of the Eight Gates Formation. By opening these "gates," a ninja could temporarily gain tremendous power. But if the eighth gate, the Gate of Death, was opened, that ninja would die once their life force had burned away completely.

The Eight Gates Formation... In truth, all the knowledge of the Eight Gates Formation was covered in these medical books. Anyone who paid attention could learn about it. Yet the only people who had truly mastered it were Might Duy and Might Guy!

Even Kakashi Hatake in the future could only open as far as the fifth gate at most. The final three gates were simply impossible for him to open.

So, the body was the foundation of everything!

Of course, Hyuga Iwa was not studying medicine solely for this reason. Having a rough understanding of the Hokage's plot, he knew that medicine—no, biological knowledge—could achieve things far more incredible than anything from his previous life!

Under normal circumstances, ninjas could not sense their own acupoints and meridians at all. However, the Hyuga Clan, who possessed the Byakugan, could see the meridians and acupoints of others.

But even the Hyuga Clan could not see their own meridians and acupoints!

The primary requirement for the Eight Gates Formation developed and perfected by Might Duy was to sense the Eight Gates through extreme training, then open them.

But Hyuga Iwa was different. After he had initially learned how to sense them, he combined that ability with his knowledge of human acupoints and meridians. Through the Byakugan, he vaguely "saw" the state of those Eight Gates!

However, Hyuga Iwa did not rashly attempt to open them. Before finding a better method of control or forging a tougher body, doing so would be courting death!

Hyuga Iwa knew that methods of gaining power by overdrawing one's potential never ended well!

As he thought, Hyuga Iwa suddenly remembered the Hyuga Clan's technique—the Gentle Fist.

The Gentle Fist was a taijutsu style that sent one's chakra into an enemy's body, damaging the enemy's chakra pathways—the "meridian system"—and internal organs. Only when paired with the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, could it display its true power.

At the same time, because internal organs could not be trained, even powerful ninjas would often suffer fatal injuries after being struck by the Gentle Fist.

Then, since the Hyuga Clan destroyed their enemies' meridians, the clan should possess knowledge regarding meridians and acupoints.

Hyuga Iwa thought that if the need arose in the future, he could look through the clan's knowledge for inspiration.

Right, there was also Rotation. Its principle seemed to involve releasing chakra from every chakra point across the body while rapidly spinning, causing the chakra to form a spherical barrier that deflected all physical attacks.

If that was the case, the Hyuga Clan's research into acupoints should run quite deep. Perhaps he should devote some effort to training in the Gentle Fist as well?

Just as Hyuga Iwa thought this, the classroom door was pushed open from outside. A student rushed in and loudly announced, "Big news, absolutely huge news!"

"Oh? Let's hear it. What news has you so surprised?"

"Believe me, this is definitely the biggest news of the year." The boy paused for effect, then continued with a grin beneath everyone's glares. "I just passed the principal's office and heard something shocking—Lady Tsunade is supposedly coming to our class to choose an apprentice!"

"Huh?"

"Oh my god, is that true?"

"That's unbelievable. Did I hear that right? Hey, Aya, pinch me."

"Ah, that hurt! So I'm not dreaming."

"What does Lady Tsunade taking an apprentice have to do with you? You think a dead last like you could catch Lady Tsunade's eye?"

"Sigh, you're right. I got excited for nothing."

"I wonder if it'll be Hyuga Iwa. He is a medical genius, after all."

"..."

Upon hearing the news, Hyuga Iwa thoughtfully glanced at Kato Shizune beside him. She was focused on the medical book in her hands, so absorbed that the noise in the classroom seemed not to disturb her in the slightest.

Could Shizune be the one Tsunade takes as her apprentice today? I wonder if I have a chance.

Hyuga Iwa thought distractedly.

Just then, the classroom door opened again. A pair of fair, slender legs stepped inside first, followed by a woman with a diamond-shaped mark on her forehead. The classroom instantly fell silent.

The moment Tsunade entered the classroom, she spotted Shizune sitting there.

"Shizune, come out for a moment."

"Yes, ma'am." Shizune was very familiar with Tsunade. After all, Tsunade had been her uncle's lover, and Shizune had known her for a long time. Part of the reason Shizune studied medicine was her uncle's death. She hoped to become a doctor who could save her companions.

The classroom door slowly closed, but several students pressed themselves against it, their ears tightly against the door as they eagerly eavesdropped.

"Shizune, I want to take you as my disciple. Are you willing?" Tsunade seemed to recall something, and a trace of sadness appeared in her eyes.

"Yes. Please guide me." Shizune did not refuse. In Leaf Village, no one could refuse the chance to become a disciple of one of the Legendary Sannin. Tsunade's medical skill was highly praised even by Chiyo of Sunagakure, and during the Second Shinobi War, she had shone brilliantly, saving countless comrades.

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Shizune herself did not react much, but a huge uproar had already erupted inside the classroom.

"Ah!! It's Shizune! I never expected quiet, low-key Shizune to become Lady Tsunade's disciple!"

"Yeah, I'm so jealous!"

"..."

Listening to his classmates' discussions, Hyuga Iwa thought for a moment before making a decision. He also wanted to try and see whether Tsunade would accept him as her disciple.

He shot to his feet and strode resolutely toward the door.

A few students who noticed Hyuga Iwa's movement whispered, "Hehe, since Lady Tsunade didn't take him as her disciple, he's probably furious, right?"

"Yeah. If it were me, I wouldn't accept it either."

"Hehe, he acts so high and mighty every day. I can't stand the sight of him."

"Shh, keep it down. Don't let him hear you."

Hyuga Iwa pulled open the door, looked at the two women turning toward him in the hallway, and walked over to them.

"Lady Tsunade, may I become your disciple?"

Hyuga Iwa asked directly, a trace of hope in his pale eyes.

Tsunade looked him over from head to toe, then smiled. "You're Hyuga Iwa, right? Give up. I won't accept you as my disciple."

"Why?"

"There are no whys. I just don't feel like it. Kid, no matter what you say, I won't take you as my disciple."

Tsunade stopped Hyuga Iwa from continuing, then turned to Shizune. "All right, I came today for this matter. Shizune, come find me after class. I'll be at Leaf Hospital."

"Yes, Lady Tsunade."

Shizune gave a polite bow, then looked curiously at Hyuga Iwa beside her.

Although Tsunade had rejected him, Hyuga Iwa showed no sadness at all. He said nothing further, merely looked at Tsunade with a faint smile.

Tsunade gave Hyuga Iwa a slightly surprised glance before turning and leaving the school.

As soon as Tsunade left, the classroom door burst open, and the students rushed out one after another. Some congratulated Shizune, while others teased Hyuga Iwa; there was no shortage of either.

Hyuga Iwa shook his head with a wry smile and returned to the classroom.