Five days later.
The next time Moonlight Ruyun saw his uncle, it was in the ninja hospital.
His aunt's eyes were red, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
Not wanting to upset his uncle, she could only stifle her sobs, her shoulders shaking.
Gekko Naoto lay pale-faced in the hospital bed.
"What are you crying for? I made it back, didn't I?"
"And you're still saying that! Your arm..."
His aunt looked at the sleeve that now hung empty.
Gekko Naoto's lips moved a few times. As a ninja who specialized in swordsmanship, he knew all too well what losing his dominant hand meant.
His strength had plummeted.
Looking at his weeping wife and concerned nephew, he forced a faint smile.
"At least I'm still alive."
His aunt nodded. That was their only consolation.
"Ruyun, come here."
Moonlight Ruyun walked over in silence. He had received the news during class.
An ANBU member had delivered the news on Lady Tsunade's orders, and he had requested leave before rushing over.
He looked at his uncle's severed arm and asked, "Was this mission dangerous?"
Gekko Naoto nodded, his mouth twitching. "The mission is confidential. Anyway, if Lady Tsunade hadn't been there..."
He didn't finish, but the outcome wasn't hard to guess.
Moonlight Ruyun sighed softly. This was the world of ninja.
Cruel.
Dangerous.
Chaotic.
Without strength, leaving the village on a mission meant becoming a lamb to the slaughter, another achievement for a ninja from some other hidden village.
"Let's not talk about that." Gekko Naoto blinked and feigned a relaxed tone. "I kept our promise as men and made it back before the day of your showdown."
His scheduled duel with Minato Namikaze was tomorrow.
Moonlight Ruyun nodded silently.
He remembered Kushina reassuring him a few days ago that Tsunade was very powerful. Suddenly, he felt grateful that Tsunade had led the mission.
She had made it possible to fulfill a promise that had practically screamed a death flag.
His uncle held out his remaining hand, curling it into a fist.
After a moment of silence, he made a fist and gently bumped it against his uncle's.
"So, feeling confident?"
"Yes!"
He looked at his equipment slots: [Kushina Uzumaki's Red Hair], [Hiruzen Sarutobi's Pipe].
Two pieces of equipment, one providing strength, the other amplifying the power of Fire Release.
He couldn't claim he would beat Minato Namikaze, but injuring him shouldn't be a problem.
That was precisely his goal.
As long as Minato Namikaze was injured, and he could get his blood on that kunai...
"Good! I'll definitely come watch."
"But your injuries..."
"It's fine. I already asked before you came."
Moonlight Ruyun clicked his tongue. Seriously?
What kind of constitution was that?
His aunt raised her eyebrows. "You're trying to tough it out again! I heard the doctor too. You have to stay in bed and rest. No moving around!"
That sounded more like it.
If his uncle could still run around with injuries like these, he really would have suspected that his surname was actually Senju.
Only after his aunt spent a long time persuading him did his uncle reluctantly agree to rest properly and not attend the match.
At noon, just as he was about to leave.
His uncle called him back, hesitated for a long while, then let out a heavy breath.
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't want you to become a ninja at all."
His uncle's gaze was complicated as he said self-deprecatingly, "Before my older brother passed away, he asked me to raise you into a jonin. But I'm not even a jonin myself."
He listened quietly.
"I've thought it through, too. Simply becoming a ninja isn't enough. A genin? A chunin? Once you're on the battlefield, no one will pity the weak. If you don't want to die, you have to become strong yourself."
"I don't have the ability, or the confidence, to make you into someone truly strong."
"So I'm going to find you a good teacher."
At that, he looked at his uncle in surprise.
Find a good teacher?
Naturally, he had considered that himself.
But at first, his talent hadn't been enough to attract the attention of the Hokage's faction.
Later, after meeting Kushina Uzumaki by chance, he had entered the sight of Konoha's highest authorities in a single leap.
Mito Uzumaki herself was the most powerful backer he could ask for.
That had actually led him to set aside the idea of finding a master for the time being.
"Who did you have in mind?"
He instinctively thought of Tsunade.
She was the likeliest choice. His uncle already had ties to her, and he had only survived this mission thanks to her.
But... if he became Tsunade's apprentice, he wasn't sure whether he had any talent for Medical Ninjutsu, or whether he could meet her requirements.
His uncle nodded. "I have an idea. I want to ask Lord Hatake Sakumo to take you as his disciple!"
Moonlight Ruyun: "..."
He had thought it would be Tsunade, but it turned out to be Hatake Sakumo.
There was no question that Hatake Sakumo was incredibly strong.
Excluding Mito Uzumaki and Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hatake Sakumo was probably Konoha's strongest fighter at present.
His record was exceptionally brilliant, yet he had one unavoidable weakness.
That was... his Will of Fire wasn't strong enough.
One look at how the Will of Fire was passed down made that clear.
Aside from Hashirama Senju, who had brought peace to a chaotic era, every Hokage had either blood ties or a master-disciple relationship with the previous Hokage.
Hatake Sakumo, meanwhile, would one day be attacked by Konoha's spiteful villagers for causing a mission to fail by saving his teammates.
If the same thing happened to Tsunade or the others, it wouldn't even cause a ripple. Any hint of trouble would be suppressed immediately.
"Uncle, let's forget about it for now. We can talk about it after I graduate from the Ninja Academy."
Seeing how determined his uncle was, he decided to stall for the time being.
Just then.
Knock, knock, knock!
Several knocks came from the ward door, and Moonlight Ruyun opened it.
Kushina stood outside, carrying several boxed lunches.
"What brings you here?"
"Tsunade told me." Kushina wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Oh, and she also said to come see her in her office later."
"Come in first. Lady Tsunade wants to see me?" Moonlight Ruyun was a little puzzled.
Kushina nodded and entered the ward.
His uncle and aunt both looked over.
His aunt stood up, hastily wiped the tears from her face, and managed a faint smile. "And you are?"
"My name is Kushina Uzumaki. I'm Ruyun's classmate."
Kushina greeted them a little awkwardly.
"Kushina?" His uncle felt as though he had heard that name somewhere before. A few seconds later, it clicked. "Wait, your surname is Uzumaki?"
Kushina tilted her head. "Yes. Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no, not at all." His uncle gave his nephew a complicated look.
He remembered where he had heard Kushina's name.
It was something Tsunade had said a few days ago.
He had thought she was a girl from the Senju Clan, but she was from the Uzumaki Clan instead.
He held the Uzumaki Clan's name in equal awe.
As distant relatives of the Senju Clan, the Uzumaki Clan had also been renowned during the Warring States era.
They had once caused the Uchiha enormous trouble.
But for some unknown reason, after the First Hokage founded the village, the Uzumaki Clan hadn't joined it, choosing instead to establish Uzushio Village themselves.
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