Nonō had a gift for Medical Ninjutsu.
Minato Namikaze had burning enthusiasm while his talent remained undiscovered.
It wasn't fair.
But fairness had never mattered in the Shinobi World.
He gritted his teeth and finished his last push-up, then climbed to his feet and settled into his opening stance again.
He could manage another set.
He had to do another set.
Two months was neither a long time nor a short one.
Long enough for the students of Class 1-A to get a clear sense of one another's abilities.
Short enough that most of them were still learning the basics of kunai throwing.
But for some people, this past month had been more eventful than an entire year.
Minato Namikaze was one of them.
Every morning at five, while Konoha was still shrouded in mist, he had already finished his tenth lap around the Training Ground.
Kunai throwing, the Clone Technique, chakra control-he scheduled every aspect of his training down to the minute.
And the motivation driving him to such lengths was, really, quite simple.
He glanced toward the back of the classroom.
Amamiya Maki and Yakushi Nonō sat side by side, each with a medical textbook as thick as a brick open in front of them.
Nonō took notes as she read, occasionally furrowing her brow in thought before her face lit up with understanding.
Amamiya Maki leaned back in his chair, occasionally turning a page or pointing at Nonō's notes and offering a few comments.
They were studying real medical knowledge.
Not the sort of common knowledge taught at the Ninja Academy, like how blood was red.
They were learning how to prepare poisons and antidotes, provide emergency treatment for wounds, and map the chakra pathway system.
The first time Minato Namikaze saw those two books, he was dumbfounded.
They were only six.
And he hadn't even fully mastered chakra nature transformation yet.
"No. I can't fall behind."
So he doubled his training.
[Detected: Host has caused psychological pressure to "Minato Namikaze"] [Pressure Points +25] [Obtained: Spatial Perception fragment ×1]
Amamiya Maki didn't even look up.
Over the past month, he had received so many similar notifications that he had grown numb to them.
Minato's Pressure Points output was far too reliable.
As long as he and Nonō read in front of him, the Pressure Points rolled in right on schedule.
Eventually, he developed a habit: whenever Minato looked their way, he deliberately turned a page and shot him a look that said, Why are you still practicing the basics?
The results were outstanding.
\n[Pressure Points +15] [Obtained: Body Flicker Technique fragment ×1]
Senju En was a good teacher.
She had spent twenty years as Head Nurse at Konoha Hospital, and whether it was poisoning, external injuries, or disrupted chakra, she could explain a treatment plan for just about any case.
As long as it didn't violate Konoha's regulations, she held almost nothing back.
Of course, Nonō absorbed ninety percent of what she taught them.
En first discovered Nonō's talent during their third lesson.
That day, she explained "the principles of fine chakra control in the Hemostasis Technique," then asked each of them to repeat what they had learned.
Nonō stood up and not only repeated the principles word for word, but also raised a question En herself had never considered.
"If we increased the precision of chakra control from millimeters to micrometers, could we directly stitch ruptured capillaries back together?"
En froze.
Then her eyes lit up.
It wasn't the polite, perfunctory kind of reaction that said, "That's a very good question."
It was the light in the eyes of someone who had worked the same job for decades and finally met a junior who understood what she was talking about.
After that, En's enthusiasm for teaching rose several notches.
She had originally planned to teach only the most basic theory, but her lessons grew deeper and more detailed as she went.
As for Amamiya Maki?
Amamiya Maki was part of the scenery.
"Teacher En, Nonō's understood it again. Doesn't that put you under pressure?"
[Detected: Host has caused psychological pressure to "Senju En"] [Pressure Points +8] [Obtained: Medical Ninjutsu talent fragment ×1]
En glared at him, but she wasn't actually angry.
She wasn't about to take a six-year-old's smart mouth to heart.
Besides, to be honest, Amamiya Maki might have had a foul mouth, but he was no slow learner-he simply fell far short of Nonō.
There was nothing to be done about that.
In the original story, Nonō was the designated "Wandering Miko," one of Konoha's strongest medical ninja.
Comparing talent with her was just asking to be humiliated.
But Amamiya Maki had his own path.
Every day after school, Minato put in extra practice at the Training Ground.
Kunai throwing, the Clone Technique, taijutsu sparring-rain or shine.
Once Amamiya Maki joined him, Minato's training went from "extra solo practice" to "partner sparring."
"One more time."
Minato climbed off the ground and wiped the dirt from his face.
"You're no match for me right now."
Amamiya Maki stood where he was, his breathing steady.
Those vitality fragments from the Senju Clan hadn't been for nothing.
They were only fragments, but his stamina recovery already far exceeded that of other children his age.
When sparring with Minato Namikaze in taijutsu, he could last at least twice as long.
Minato said nothing and simply took his opening stance.
Their taijutsu sparring lasted more than forty minutes, interspersed with attempts to counter each other's Clone Techniques and contests in kunai throwing.
Whenever Minato's progress began to bring him close to Amamiya Maki, the latter quietly opened his system panel and synthesized the fragments he had accumulated recently.
His proficiency with the Body Flicker Technique rose a notch, his reaction speed in taijutsu improved, and his kunai throwing grew more accurate.
Then Amamiya Maki widened the gap again in their next round of sparring.
Minato's expression visibly grew more serious.
"That move just now was faster than yesterday."
"Was it? Maybe I'm just in good form."
[Detected: Host has caused psychological pressure to "Minato Namikaze"] [Pressure Points +40] [Obtained: Body Flicker Technique fragment ×3]
Minato fell silent for a few seconds, then nodded firmly.
"Again."
Amamiya Maki silently gave the system a thumbs-up.
Minato churned out Pressure Points for him.
He used those Pressure Points to improve his strength and widen the gap, which put Minato under even more pressure and made him produce even more.
What did a perpetual motion machine look like?
Exactly like this.
As their training sessions grew longer, Amamiya Maki and Nonō returned to the Orphanage later and later.
Matron Yuki didn't say anything. The Orphanage was loosely run to begin with, and as long as they didn't stay out all night, coming home a little late didn't matter.
But one evening, Amamiya Maki suddenly remembered something.
Minato Namikaze's parents had owned a home, hadn't they?
In the original story, Minato was an orphan, but his parents had left him a home.
It later became Minato and Kushina's home, and after that, Naruto lived there alone.
Minato was only six now, so the place ought to be empty.
Or rather, Minato was living there alone.
"Minato."
After training ended, Amamiya Maki suddenly spoke.
"Your place is pretty big, isn't it?"
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