The Idea of Clinging to Powerful Patrons

That noon.

After another medical training session, Mikami Yu, Nohara Rin, Uchiha Obito, and Baicao, a few years their senior, walked out of the classroom together. Several stretchers rushed past them in the corridor, carrying ninjas covered head to toe in bandages, their faces twisted in pain.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant.

"Lately, it seemed like more and more wounded people were being sent to the hospital, and their injuries were generally quite serious..."

Nohara Rin clenched the strap of her medical kit in her small hand and spoke softly.

"I heard it was because the friction with the Land of Lightning had escalated. And in the Land of Wind to the south, some unidentified people were beginning to stir as well. Border outposts were being attacked repeatedly... It might get even worse in the future."

Baicao looked rather worried as well.

Unlike Mikami Yu and Nohara Rin, Baicao was already an official ninja. While receiving training, he also assisted full-fledged medical ninjas.

With the number of wounded at the hospital steadily increasing lately, manpower was in short supply. As a newly promoted medical ninja, he had begun getting busy too, sometimes without even having time to attend training classes.

At that moment.

Obito puffed out his chest indignantly and waved his fist. "Hmph! It's just war, what's there to be afraid of? Once I awaken my Sharingan, I'll drive all those bad guys away! I'll show them how formidable Konoha and the Uchiha are!"

"Rin, don't worry. I'll definitely protect you!"

"..."

Nohara Rin opened her mouth but said nothing.

Though Obito's words seemed terribly childish to her, he meant well after all, so she could not bring herself to say anything.

Mikami Yu, standing beside her, rolled his eyes. By the time you awaken the Sharingan, the Third Shinobi World War will practically be over.

Even setting aside that "old grandpa" behind Obito, one prerequisite for awakening the Sharingan was a teammate's sacrifice, which was inherently at odds with protecting Nohara Rin. Obito's promise was destined to be nothing more than empty words.

Still...

Obito only needed to think about when he would awaken his eyes.

But Mikami Yu had much more to consider.

As everyone knew, surviving in the Shinobi World required influence, connections, and bloodlines.

Mikami Yu had no bloodline, but he had the system, which could make up for that somewhat.

As for the other two, he needed to give them some thought.

Growing stronger through the Gala System took time, but the stormy Shinobi World would not give him that much time to develop peacefully. Before he grew powerful enough to stand above everyone else, it would be best to cling to a powerful patron who could shield him from the wind and rain.

During this period, the thickest thighs to cling to were undoubtedly the Three Ninja.

Mikami Yu had originally agreed to attend medical training with Nohara Rin partly because he hoped to run into Tsunade by chance and find a way to build a connection with her. Unfortunately, after being here for so long, he had not even caught a glimpse of her.

If he lowered his standards, Jiraiya and Orochimaru would do as well.

There was no need to mention the former.

Orochimaru might be sinister, but strictly speaking, he treated his students quite well. Whether it was Mitarashi Sweet Potato... cough, he misspoke, Anko, or Kabuto and Sasuke, he taught them with dedication and was truly willing to give them good things. Though he loved planting Cursed Seals on people, it was fine as long as one did not use them carelessly, and they could even help with weight loss.

But one of those two was busy wandering the world, while the other was engrossed in biological research. They were just as difficult to meet.

Therefore,

Mikami Yu could only set his sights on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He planned to display sufficient "talent" in this graduation exam, pair it with his little essays about the "Will of Fire," inspire Hiruzen Sarutobi's appreciation for talent, and have him personally arrange a path for him—perhaps finding a reliable Jonin to serve as his teacher.

However, there was a potential risk in doing that: he might catch the attention of a certain unnamed 5.5th-generation Pot Kage. Kakashi had been an example of that before.

So, he needed to think through the possible scenarios in advance and prepare contingency plans.

"I'm full."

Inside Ichiraku Ramen.

Mikami Yu set down his bowl.

Nohara Rin and Obito beside him wiped their mouths at the same time.

After that, Nohara Rin went to the Konoha Library to look up information, Obito returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound to train, while Mikami Yu headed to the training grounds on the western side of the village to clear his daily Gala tasks.

Ever since his affection with the Transformation Technique had reached its maximum, Mikami Yu had reduced the time he spent training it. Each day, he merely greeted it, practiced symbolically for a dozen or so minutes, then focused most of his energy on several other Ninjutsu.

His highest priorities were the Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, and Healing Technique.

Next came Wild Water Wave.

—In this graduation exam, Asuma was the most likely contender to compete with Mikami Yu for first place. His chakra natures were Fire and Wind, so Mikami Yu decided to focus on Water Style to counter his Fire Style.

Of course,

The more important reason was that "Wild Water Wave" only needed 16 more affection points to advance, while Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu needed 21. Both were C-Rank Ninjutsu, so the difficulty of winning them over should be roughly the same. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it was naturally better to prioritize the former, which could potentially advance in a short time.

As for the "Eight Gates"...

Mikami Yu was a little intimidated by that thing.

Every day, the moment they met, it started with running a hundred laps around Konoha. After resting for three to five minutes, it moved straight into a twenty-kilometer cross-country run. Who could endure that?

Only a training fanatic like Might Guy, who trained himself to death as long as it did not actually kill him, could hold up under it.

Mikami Yu had considered using the Transformation Technique to turn himself into Might Guy before [practicing] the Eight Gates. But maintaining the Transformation Technique itself consumed chakra. Starting such insane training under those conditions was equivalent to adding extra weight to himself, making it more trouble than it was worth.

Therefore,

He could only avoid the Eight Gates for now, trying not to seek her out proactively. He planned to try again after raising his constitution a little higher.

Incidentally,

The difficulty of winning over different Ninjutsu in the Gala System varied. The earliest "Transformation Technique" had gone from 10 to 100 affection in just over a month, but "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu," which entered the conquest list on the same day, only had a little over 50 affection now.

Although Mikami Yu had spent different amounts of time on those two techniques, it was obvious that the Transformation Technique gained affection faster.

The Eight Gates was even more obvious.

As an A-rank forbidden technique and an "overpowered conquest target" recognized by the Gala System, its affection was ridiculously hard to increase. It often took several rounds of [conversation] and [practice] just to gain one point.

But it was understandable.

Judging from the Transformation Technique, maxing out affection likely meant being able to open all Eight Gates. If a Ninjutsu that training fanatics like Might Guy and his father had needed ten or twenty years to master completely could be perfectly conquered by him in one or two months, that really would be a little unreasonable.

Fortunately, affection would not decrease.

So being slower was not much of a problem.