The Senju and the Uchiha both descended from the Sage of Six Paths; their bloodlines and powers were complementary.
From the moment he equipped the Young Tsunade card, Uchiha Gen felt his vigor surge—so much so that it bordered on excessive.
He rolled out of bed, slipped through the window, and headed for a clearing not far from the camp.
He wanted to test the abilities of Young Tsunade and, while he was at it, open the Item Lucky Bag.
He hadn't forgotten: that bag guaranteed one Blue card.
[Use the Item Lucky Bag?]
[Yes!]
[Congratulations! You obtained: Skill-Learning Card (Blue) ×1; Skill-Proficiency Card (Green) ×1; Training-Speed Card (Green) ×1; Exploding Tag ×3 (White); Elastic Wire 20m (White) ×1]
"Not bad at all!"
Uchiha Gen's eyes lit up.
His very first Blue card turned out to be a Skill-Learning Card.
Blue quality meant that, as long as he met the basic requirements and knew the training method, he could instantly master a technique up to B-rank.
Even at B-rank, the ninja world boasted some exceptionally powerful special techniques.
The most famous examples were the closely guarded secrets of the large hidden villages—Kumogakure and Iwagakure.
Those were the Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the Light-Weight Rock and Heavy-Weight Rock Techniques.
Though only B-rank, these techniques involved each village's secret Nature Transformation.
Even with the Sharingan, if your Chakra nature matched, copying them wouldn't grant the subtle intricacies of those transformations.
Now, with the Young Tsunade character card, her Chakra affinities had passed to Uchiha Gen as well.
Like Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi, he now possessed all five natures.
If either of those techniques were placed in front of him right now, he could learn it instantly with the Skill-Learning Card.
And once his Sharingan evolved to two-tomoe or even three-tomoe, he could earn a title like Kakashi Hatake in the original timeline—the Copy Ninja.
As long as a jutsu didn't hinge on a secret Nature Transformation and his attributes and Chakra control sufficed, the Sharingan could copy it on the spot.
As for the two Green cards, they were a pleasant, if not unexpected, bonus; Uchiha Gen used them immediately.
Improved drop rates for Green items—little surprises like these might become the norm from now on.
The Proficiency Card went to Gale Palm, while the Green Training-Speed Card granted triple training speed for the next month.
With that card, advancing his Fire Release Nature Transformation would proceed far more smoothly.
Two hours later.
The moon hung overhead, and the early spring cold pierced to the bone.
As Sarutobi Enjun and Uzuki Ruri finished their own training and passed the clearing, the commotion Uchiha Gen was making drew them over.
"Boom!"
A dirt-smeared fist slammed into the ground, carving a crater nearly a meter across and half a meter deep.
"Gen, what are you...?"
Uzuki Ruri stared at the scatter of holes, bewildered.
"Hey! What powerful Jutsu are you sneaking off to practice this time?"
"Nothing much—couldn't sleep, came out for a bit of training."
Uchiha Gen shook his head.
In two hours, he had pretty much figured out Young Tsunade's abilities:
Chakra-boosted super-strength that amplified muscle power, plus the basic Water and Earth Release techniques most Senju ninja favored.
Beyond that, there was Tsunade's renowned Medical Ninjutsu.
To have established the entire medical-nin system by her twenties, Tsunade needed not only once-in-a-century talent but also years of early study to build the foundation for that monumental task.
Even as a teenager, she could already wield the Mystic Palm Technique for rapid healing and, with the Chakra Scalpel, treat certain internal injuries in tandem.
That level of medical skill would qualify her as a solid—if not outstanding—medical ninja in any era.
"Tch, you're more gifted and work harder than us, Gen."
"You're hopeless—won't even give your buddies a chance to catch up."
Sarutobi Enjun spread his hands in mock despair, sounding like a friend who had caught you secretly studying after claiming to game all night.
Once, he had nurtured ambitions of surpassing Uchiha Gen, but after their last mission, both he and Uzuki Ruri had recognized the gap and abandoned the idea.
Too monstrous—there was no catching up.
Still, they didn't want to be left completely in the dust.
A short while later, the trio returned to the camp.
Until their Chunin applications—filed through Orochimaru—were approved, both teammates remained Genin.
Uchiha Gen was already a Chunin, but still not entitled to a private tent.
That perk began at the Special Jonin rank.
Konoha had more Genin and Chunin than anyone could count, but Special Jonin marked a clear divide.
Special Jonin weren't full Jonin, yet the name carried weight.
They met Jonin standards in select fields, served as Jonin reserves, and could hold administrative posts—though they lacked voting rights in Hokage councils or the full Jonin assembly.
The night passed without incident.
At dawn, before any new missions were issued, Uchiha Gen set out to find Tsunade in the camp.
He had studied Medical Ninjutsu under her before, but with so much to learn, he had only mastered the Hemorrhage Control Technique.
Though she had taught him the Healing Technique, he hadn't even started practicing it.
Now, having skipped straight to the Mystic Palm Technique—the gateway to high-level medical arts—he needed a plausible reason for knowing it.
Super-strength was the same.
In many ways, it was the Senju Clan's signature Taijutsu.
If he used it in front of knowledgeable ninja, they would recognize its origin, so covering it with Tsunade's tutelage was safest.
Finding her was easier than finding Orochimaru.
While Tsunade often joined high-level missions, she usually stayed in the camp treating the critically wounded.