Uchiha Gen spent the whole afternoon inside the Senju estate, practicing on the rabbit.
Only when dusk arrived and night drew near did the session end. His Hemorrhage Control Technique couldn't be called flawless yet, but under Tsunade's guidance, he had taken the first step; given an undisturbed minute or two, he could now successfully seal a basic wound.
"Good. From here on, you just need to drill until you can stop bleeding quickly on a battlefield—then you'll pass. Here is the next lesson: a Healing Technique that stimulates tissue cells to speed up recovery, and, once you master that, a method of reconnecting severed nerves in live fish. Only after those will you qualify for the Mystical Palm Technique, the foundation of every advanced medical ninjutsu."
Tsunade nodded in satisfaction, a small notebook in hand recording Gen's performance as he learned. This data was invaluable to her. She had more or less finished structuring the entire medical ninjutsu system; all she needed now was a student to test it and provide first-hand figures for tweaking.
Gen's learning speed was impressive—not slow at all—so she held high expectations for him. Once the system proved viable, it could be used to cultivate medical ninja on a large scale. With enough numbers, there would be a real chance of producing high-level medics.
Then, with Konoha's backing, medical ninja could stand alongside Puppeteers and other specialized shinobi professions on the world stage, changing the nature of war, cutting needless casualties, and boosting the village's staying power. And she, Tsunade, would become the founding ancestor of all medical ninja, worthy of her grandfather the First Hokage's fame—a legend in her own right.
Therefore, the better Uchiha Gen performed, the more persuasive her case would be to the Third Hokage and the other village elders.
"Thank you for your instruction, Lady Tsunade."
Gen packed up his tools and bowed. As the sole surviving descendant of the First Hokage, Tsunade—born after Konoha's founding—was unlike other Senju shinobi. Like her grandfather, she didn't cling to the old grudges between the Senju and Uchiha; she was open-minded and free of sectarian bias. If she had something to teach, she taught it.
"You're Orochimaru's student, so we're hardly strangers—there's no need for such formality," Tsunade waved a generous hand.
Just then the door opened and an elderly woman, white-haired with a few streaks of red, walked in leaning on a cane.
"Grandmother, what brings you here?" Tsunade hurried over to support Uzumaki Mito.
"It's almost dinner; of course I came to fetch you. Young Uchiha, will you join us? This rabbit will make a fine side dish. I may be old, but my cooking still wins praise—even the First Hokage couldn't get enough of it."
Uzumaki Mito smiled fondly at Tsunade, then turned to Gen.
"Would it be too much trouble? I could cook—do you like spicy food?"
Gen didn't refuse; he pointed at the half-dead rabbit. He was actually quite skilled in the kitchen; spicy braised rabbit would be no problem.
"Done! It's settled!" Tsunade decreed with characteristic vigor.
But just then, another knock sounded outside.
"Jonin Tsunade, Lady Mito—the Sandaime requests your presence."
Uzumaki Mito and Tsunade exchanged glances. The elder asked, "Do we know what this is about?"
"The Cloud envoys have delivered something. The Sandaime believes it may relate to the seals on the legendary Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths. If we can decipher it, we might be able to retrieve the Second Hokage's body."
The Second Hokage—Senju Tobirama. Back then, Tobirama had led a six-man escort to Kumogakure to sign a peace treaty with the Second Raikage, only to be caught in the Gold and Silver Brothers' coup that killed the Raikage.
During the retreat, Tobirama stayed behind to cover his students, clashing with the Kinkaku Force. The Third Hokage, present at the time, knew every detail; afterward, he personally led search teams to try to reclaim his master.
But the Second wielded the Flying Thunder God Technique and was hailed as the fastest shinobi alive—almost nothing could kill him, barring a few broken exceptions. Chief among them were the Six Paths tools, whose mechanics bordered on rule-bending artifacts that could indeed seal even someone of Tobirama's caliber.
For the Third Hokage, any chance to recover his teacher's body had to be seized with everything he had. He was Tobirama's pupil, raised by him; the title of Hokage had been passed to him by those very hands. If he failed to give his all, both his fellow students and the surviving Senju elders would take offense—to say nothing of the scandal if word spread.
And then there was Danzo, who had always coveted the Hokage seat. If Hiruzen Sarutobi mishandled this, Danzo would leap at the chance to unseat him.
"Looks like we'll miss the spicy rabbit tonight. Off you go, lad; Mito and I will probably be staying at the Hokage Building."
Uzumaki Mito shook her head.
"We'll head out now. Kushina will be home from school soon, so we'll leave the door unlocked."
Tsunade helped Uzumaki Mito out first.
"I'll take my leave as well, Lady Tsunade, Lady Mito."
Uchiha Gen bowed slightly and followed them out, turning toward the Uchiha quarter once outside. A full day's training had yielded rich rewards. Both composite ninjutsu and medical ninjutsu had taken their first steps under Jiraiya and Tsunade's tutelage. In effect, he had now received instruction from all three of the future Sannin.
His next tasks were clear: master the Hemorrhage Control Technique and raise his skill in Wind Style. As Gen tallied his gains, he suddenly paused, frowning at a group of Academy students walking home in the distance.