“So—”

  After leaving the mission assig offiara Ensui raised his hand, as always, and said, “Meet tomorrow m outside the Forest of Death.”

  Typically, ninja taking on a mission like “Clearing Wild Beasts in the Forest of Death” would o coordih the appropriate personnel, such as the Barrier Corps or Anbu. As the team’s jonin leader, Ensui usually hahese formalities himself.

  “See you tomorrow,” said the three members of Team Five before they dispersed.

  Link pulled out his small wallet and ted his savings—just over 14,000 ryo. pleting this k mission would push him past the 20,000 ryo mark, bringing him closer t an experieninja to teach him jutsu.

  There were many ways to learn jutsu: family iance, apprenticeship, teacher instru, or vilge-sporaining. But most of these options weren’t avaible to him. The most practical route was to simply—

  Pay for it.

  Whether purchasing scrolls for low-level ninjutsu or hiring a personal tutor, money was key to improving his skills.

  That said, most genin didn’t even think about such options…

  Because they didn’t have enough chakra.

  Take Sakura Haruno as an example of an exceptional graduate. In the first part of the series, her chakra stat was 2, meaning that casting even a single elemental ninjutsu would pletely drain her.

  By trast, her teammate Sasuke Uchiha’s chakra stat was 4. When he used Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu in battle, Kakashi Hatake was astonished, remarking that “a genin shouldn’t have this much chakra.”

  The differeween chakra levels isn’t linear. As Kakashi himself expined, Naruto’s chakra level of 8 made him four times more powerful than Kakashi’s 6.

  By this logic, Sasuke’s chakra reserves were also four times greater than Sakura’s.

  For most genin, their chakra levels were so low that they couldn’t even sider using elemental jutsu regurly. A typical genin’s skillset sisted of the Three Basic Teiques and some simple academy-taught jutsu.

  Link, through rigorous training, had slightly more chakra than most of his peers. His reserves were roughly on par with Tenten’s chakra level of 3.

  Still, that wasn’t enough to make learning advaninjutsu worthwhile. Even if he mastered aal jutsu, using it in battle would leave him pletely drained.

  For instahe only elemental jutsu Link had learned so far was Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu. Though it mutated into Link-style: Headhunter Jutsu, the chakra cost remaihe same. During his battle with Kakashi, a single use of this teique drained him to the point where he couldn’t maintain his Substitution Jutsu and passed out.

  Uhese circumstances, what good would learning more elemental jutsu do?

  Absolutely none.

  Link couldn’t help but envy other reinated individuals who could spam ninjutsu right after crossing over. Despite his disadvantageous starting point, his releraining had helped him catch up to his peers. Yet he still couldn’t incorporate ninjutsu into his regur bat style, which frustrated him to no end.

  So, he decided to focus on saving money and gradually improving his chakra reserves. Once his chakra levels increased, he could hire an experieninja for proper training.

  The pride he once held as a reinator had been thhly ground down by reality. He no longer aspired to have a legendary figure like the Sannin as his teacher. At this point, he’d be thrilled to have a skilled in to guide him.

  Nara Ensui was a petent instructor, but expeg him to teach advanced jutsu was unrealistic. Even Sakura, under Kakashi’s tutege, didn’t learn any specific jutsu during her early days as a genin. Kakashi focused solely on building her foundation.

  This wasn’t favoritism—it was just reality. Most genin didn’t have the chakra to use advaeiques, even if they learhem. Memorizing a thousand jutsu ointless if you could only use one before colpsing.

  Besides, a jonin leader wasn’t obligated to teach their subordinates new jutsu.

  Link knew he o pn his future indepely. His unique abilities might accelerate his promotion to in, but once he reached that level, he’d have to take full responsibility for his growth unless he found a mentor.

  …

  “Hmm, this afternoon…” Link flipped through his notes, scratg his head. “It’s the mediinja lecture.”

  The Mediinja Training Program ecialized course designed fenin, aimed at f potential medics. It had been part of the system even before the events of Part One of the inal series.

  This program didn’t teay actual mediinjutsu.

  Mediinjutsu was a rare and demanding field requiring precise chakra trol, extensive knowledge, and ialent. Even the simplest medical jutsu, Delicate Illness Extra, was cssified as B-rank and beyond the reaost genin.

  Basic healing teiques, like using chakra to stimute cell regeion, were already covered in the Academy’s curriculum. Link had excelled in this area, as his chakra trol was exceptional. Releasing chakra for minor healing came easily to him, which made the program less appealing.

  His disi stemmed from two main reasons:

  1. Lack of i or y. The course focused on medical theory and fual healing teiques, which either didn’t i him or were skills he’d already mastered.

  2. Insuffit chakra reserves.

  His limited chakra meant he had to carefully ration his energy for bat. Using it to heal others felt like a waste. Basic healing was enough for him; widespread medical support wasn’t feasible with his current limitations.

  However, he couldn’t ighe trainiirely. The hands-on lessons often involved practig on injured animals uhe guidance of experienced mediinja. These sessions were excellent for honing chakra trol.

  And for Link, improving his chakra trol was essential for prolonging the use of effective Stands.

  Relutly, he decided to attend.

  “Of course, half the time, these sessions turn out to be b medical theory lectures,” he thought with a sigh. But it was the st css of the day, so he figured he might as well go.

  After finishing lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, he sed his mission gear for casual clothes and arrived at the medical css’s designated 15 minutes early.

  Bleam