chapter 2 part 1
Chapter 2: Medical Ninja are More Valuable to Hunt
Nobody liked dealing with Ryoma, and Kazematsuri Takuya was no exception.
Ryoma was not only the current second-in-command of the Medical Unit but also the second-in-command of Root.
"I know your physical condition has always been poor, but the Village is short on personnel, and the new generation trained by the Ninja Academy isn't yet capable of handling too many Missions. And as you know, Lord Ryoma never bothers with suggestions from a Chunin like me; he only demands that others execute orders."
Kazematsuri Takuya was very worried about Tsukasa Kaede's physical condition, always feeling that Tsukasa Kaede would breathe his last the next second—in fact, during Tsukasa Kaede's few active periods, everyone worried about this.
But Tsukasa Kaede stubbornly endured.
"There's no helping it. Ryoma is Lord Danzo's right-hand man. He's stern with even regular Konoha Ninja, let alone a Ninja like me, who came from a War Orphan background."
Tsukasa Kaede revealed a chilling expression, like the sinister grin of a skeleton.
War Orphans were a common group. Any Village, if it had the capacity, would gather a group of young children for instruction.
In the Hidden Leaf Village, Nonō Yakushi had now taken over this work. This woman would become the head of the Konoha Medical Unit in the Third Great Ninja War a few years later.
And the MVP among the War Orphans was naturally Yakushi Kabuto, adopted by Nonō Yakushi during the Third Great Ninja War.
After Tsukasa Kaede was brought back by the people of the Hidden Leaf Village, he was destined not to receive absolute trust.
The Village would only train War Orphans like Tsukasa Kaede in specific directions, cultivating them into functional Ninja who specialized in one area, to be expended at appropriate times—this approach was actually quite reasonable.
Ryoma was the first to come and select suitable candidates. Regardless of whether any of these children were Spies from other Villages, once they entered Root, everything would be fine.
He first selected children with special Bloodline Limits. Tsukasa Kaede had nothing, was half-dead, and looked like he could kick the bucket at any moment, so he naturally wasn't chosen;
Then, on-site tests were conducted to screen for intelligent individuals suitable to become expendable Spies. Tsukasa Kaede had a high fever and feigned idiocy, so he wasn't chosen again.
It was only when the Ninja truly responsible for receiving War Orphans finally arrived that Tsukasa Kaede and the other untalented children were taken away—if abandoning Tsukasa Kaede hadn't contradicted Konoha's founding principles and instilled seeds of distrust in the hearts of other children, Tsukasa Kaede would have likely been left in the wild to die.
"A nation, a Village, but the Village, as a large military district, has too small a total population, even counting the Civilians within it. It needs to constantly acquire available manpower from other towns in the country... The fact that I've managed to survive until now means I should contribute to the Village within my capabilities; this is what I ought to do."
Tsukasa Kaede spoke slowly, his words carrying a touch of sincerity: "I've learned a new Ninjutsu and have been diligently practicing it recently. I hope I won't have to use it."
In this damned world, because of the existence of Supernatural power like Chakra, children just a few years old, as long as they are Ninja, can easily slaughter ordinary people, regardless of their mental state. Naturally, they must participate in intense warfare.
Frankly, in this world, only the Hidden Leaf Village would give Tsukasa Kaede enough time to develop, because the Hidden Leaf Village was the last Village among all participating Ninja Villages to send children to the battlefield.
At least that was the case during the Second Great Ninja War.
The Hidden Leaf Village's founding principle was to protect children. Hashirama Senju thought this way, Madara acted this way, and Tobirama Senju also wanted to carry it out to the end.
However, by the late stages of the Second Great Ninja War, Konoha finally couldn't hold on any longer. Hiruzen Sarutobi sent children to participate in the War, performing simple, peripheral Missions.
Tsukasa Kaede stepped onto the battlefield at that time, using his terribly amateur so-called Medical Ninjutsu to try and heal the wounded. He was disliked in everything he did, eventually being assigned to simple, important, yet not-so-critical work—joining a corpse-transport team to escort Corpses.
He was a War Orphan, cultivated by Konoha for many years, and confirmed not to be a Spy. Furthermore, with his terrible physical condition, he showed no combat talent whatsoever and could be discarded or sacrificed at any time. Thus, he was assigned to corpse-transport Missions, delivering fallen Ninja, both enemy and ally, to designated locations and individuals.
Of course, precious Bloodline Limit Corpses couldn't be entrusted to Tsukasa Kaede for transport. He could only follow the team, escorting the most ordinary and least valuable Corpses.
"I am certain I've passed the critical point; my physical condition is stabilizing. All these years, carefully refining my meager Chakra and repeatedly recuperating my body, have finally paid off."
Tsukasa Kaede followed Kazematsuri Takuya, moving through the lush forest. He could now leap continuously from one giant tree to another, like a normal Konoha Genin.
No one knew the immense, even tragic, effort he had put in! The moment his foot touched a branch, a layer of Chakra appeared on his sole, creating suction, and then he pushed off to jump. He was already very familiar with this sequence of movements.
It was all worth it. Everything in the future would gradually change.
"But then again, compared to my body, Gekko Hayate is already an absolute powerhouse." Tsukasa Kaede paused on a tree for two seconds, coughing and panting, giving his body as much time as possible to recover.
"Just a little more. We're almost at the target location."
Kazematsuri Takuya's expression shifted slightly. He suddenly made a hand gesture, and Tsukasa Kaede and another Medical Ninja immediately stopped, hiding themselves as much as possible.
"Three Comrades spotted. The lightly wounded one is moving towards the Village with two seriously injured individuals. No signs of enemies for now."
Kazematsuri Takuya observed for a while, a doubt in his heart. He exchanged a glance with Tsukasa Kaede before revealing himself. After verifying the password, he began to direct the rescue.
"Captain Takuya, I'm so sorry. We were on a routine patrol and were ambushed by Hidden Mist Ninja who infiltrated! Please save my Comrades; I feel like they're about to die."
The young Genin, covered in dirt and grime, had clearly just endured a fierce battle. His nerves were taut, and he only relaxed after recognizing Kazematsuri Takuya.
Kazematsuri Takuya was somewhat well-known, having treated many people. After all, not everyone had the privilege of accompanying Lord Jiraiya.
Tsukasa Kaede examined the various traces on the ground, assessing the injuries on the three individuals, and asked, "You're a standard four-person Squad, right? Where's the Medical Ninja in your team?"
"Dead. Although Hidden Mist hasn't launched a large-scale War against us, they're well aware that our Village implemented a one-Medical Ninja per Squad system. All their attacks prioritized the Medical Ninja." The Genin was very sad.
During the Second Great Ninja War, Tsunade, Kato Dan, and others made strenuous efforts to implement this system, overcoming various difficulties such as personnel shortages and lack of instructors, gradually raising the status and number of Medical Ninja—even though many of the so-called Medical Ninja assigned to Squads were complete amateurs, with many being Genin who only knew basic healing jutsu.
The Higher-ups of the Hidden Leaf Village didn't know how to build a more cost-effective training system with the fewest resources, and they were constantly experimenting during this period.
For example, War Orphans like Tsukasa Kaede, who possessed pitifully little Chakra, could also be given the title of Medical Ninja.
Until now, with Villages suffering heavy losses, large-scale army operations became increasingly rare, and intrusive Squad-based combat began to gain popularity. Only then did Squads on Missions have more opportunities to be equipped with a Medical Ninja.
Tsukasa Kaede knew even more that in a few years, when the Third Great Ninja War erupted, most standard four-person Squads led by Jonin would be equipped with a well-trained, orthodox Medical Ninja, just like Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara's team.