That night, inside the Uchiha compound.
Under the dim yellow light, Uchiha Gen looked at the desk piled with books over a meter high and sighed. No matter the world, studying medicine was a grueling job. The prerequisite medical knowledge was simply too vast; these books far outnumbered the textbooks used at the Ninja Academy.
Fortunately, the Sakura Haruno character card was still very useful. Although Academy-era Sakura was rather lackluster in actual combat, her learning ability was top-tier—perfect for chewing through these dry tomes. Still, even with her theoretical prowess, finishing all these books would clearly take a considerable amount of time.
Might as well look at the scroll Orochimaru-sensei gave me.
With a thought, Uchiha Gen produced the scroll he had long since wiped clean of slime.
This style… looks like the contract scroll for summoning Ninja Crows.
He slowly unrolled it; indeed, it was a summoning scroll, only the artwork was eerie—a depiction of the gates of hell. Tucked inside was a neatly written sheet detailing the technique.
Summoning Jutsu: Rashōmon.
In the original timeline, only three people ever used it: the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama; peak-period Orochimaru, one of the Sannin; and the Sound Ninja duo, Sakon and Ukon. Each summoned a different number of gates, and the effects varied wildly. The first two used them to block Tailed Beast Bombs, while Sakon and Ukon used theirs to stop Kiba's Wolf Fang attacks.
Whether looking at the upper or lower limits, the technique's potential was high. The fact that powerhouses like Orochimaru and Senju Hashirama employed it proved its defensive power far exceeded ordinary barrier Ninjutsu. The learning requirements, however, were harsh.
Uchiha Gen studied the notes Orochimaru had copied out in his own hand.
"Rashōmon is said to predate even the Shinobi Sect. Legend claims that after the Sage of Six Paths subdued ten thousand demons and created the Pure Land, he left Rashōmon as the gate separating the living from the dead. Whether the tale is true is impossible to verify, and the gate's real location is debated, yet no claim is correct. Only the summoning scroll was passed down through the inheritors of the sect. During the Warring States, it came into the possession of the Senju Clan. This scroll is merely a copy; after inscribing your name and performing the reverse summoning seals, you are transported near the gate…"
No wonder people called Rashōmon the gateway to hell—it might actually be true.
Perhaps it truly is the gate isolating reality and the Pure Land. The Second Hokage's meticulous notes confirm that an extremely rich supply of Yin Release chakra sustains the gate, likely to repel any living being that approaches. Each gate bears bells that emit sound waves; under the influence of Yin Release chakra, they generate powerful vibrations, making approach difficult.
According to records left by the First Hokage, he—thanks to potent, hand-seal-free regeneration—reached the fifth gate. Apart from him, only I have managed to stand before the third…
Uchiha Gen continued reading Orochimaru's training notes.
Besides Orochimaru and the First Hokage, no one in Konoha had reached the third gate. Even Senju Tobirama and Hiruzen Sarutobi had tried countless methods, yet both were stopped at the second. The vibration waves were pervasive; they weren't mere sound. Wind Style and Water Style could only weaken them slightly, never fully block them. Other defensive Ninjutsu barely helped; one must basically endure them head-on.
If only two gates were summoned, the defense was decent, but for Kage-level powerhouses, it was nothing special. Orochimaru, thanks to his soft-body modifications, the Orochi Substitution, and experience left by predecessors, had managed to reach the third gate and inscribe his summoning mark there.
Uchiha Gen remembered that in the original timeline, the conjoined Sakon and Ukon also possessed self-healing surpassing ordinary ninja—essentially two health bars. No wonder Orochimaru repeatedly warned that the contract must be formed only with his permission.
The next day.
From that day onward, Team Orochimaru's routine fell into a cycle.
After an early breakfast, they headed to the training ground for low-intensity warm-ups under Orochimaru, then spent their sharpest hours learning useful knowledge: tracking and anti-tracking, battlefield poison countermeasures, and identifying, destroying, or bypassing enemy traps. Finally, there was field first-aid—especially the last two, which Orochimaru taught in minute detail, as if wishing to cram the knowledge directly into their skulls.
All of it was about keeping you alive on the battlefield. Clearly, when it came to staying alive, Orochimaru was the expert among experts.
Uchiha Gen was certain that if a catastrophe capable of wiping out the entire shinobi world ever struck, his beloved Orochimaru-sensei would be the last to die—and the most likely to escape even then. Master even half of Orochimaru's survival skills and you'd live through a Great Ninja War.
The rest of the day was devoted to hellish training. It wasn't fatal, but it pushed you right to the edge. With detailed body data as a baseline, Orochimaru's regimen was scientifically precise, draining every last drop of stamina until you didn't even want to move.
Orochimaru wasn't worried about injuries; his expertise was top-notch, and if anything went wrong, he could always cart them off to the Senju Residence for Tsunade to heal—nothing serious would happen.
Every other day, training paused and missions took over. These were no longer C-ranks; they followed standard procedure, performing D-rank missions like any fresh Genin squad.
Weeding, catching runaway cats, harvesting rice, cleaning rivers—tasks other teams found tedious were low-intensity relaxation for Team Orochimaru. Even so, Orochimaru didn't waste the opportunity.
D-ranks aren't meant to build combat skill; they deepen team coordination and teach cooperative tactics. Every ninja must start with them, learning the mission cycle—acceptance, briefing, execution, and debriefing—before ever leading a team solo.
Normally, a half-day of rest followed a D-rank, but rest wasn't idle: it was self-scheduled training time.