Two weeks had passed since the Senju Clan launched its first full-scale Medical Ninjutsu training program, and Konoha had begun to notice.
Word of mouth had spread, whispers of Tsunade Senju taking personal students, of shinobi learning advanced medical techniques directly from the granddaughter of the First Hokage herself, and civilians being allowed to study anatomy and healing theory without ever lifting a kunai.
But within the Senju compound, away from the growing buzz and eyes of the outside world, the reality was simpler, harder, and infinitely more exhausting.
Kuma Senju stood just outside the massive training field, hair a mess, uniform wrinkled, dark circles forming beneath his eyes like bruises from a forgotten spar.
Tsunade stood in the middle of the field like a war general, her pristine lab coat replaced with a short, sleeveless tunic and tight gloves. Her eyes were sharp, tone sharper.
"Everyone, line up by rank! Genin to the left, Chunin center, Special Jōnin to the right. Civilians with staff in the north quadrant."
Over three hundred people shifted into lines.
What had started as forty shinobi had ballooned into a program bigger than most Academy divisions.
Kuma glanced at the lines, then at his notes.
Three hundred total:
260 Shinobi (split between Genin, Chunin, and Special Jōnin)
40 civilians (mostly clan-adjacent)
15 staffers hired with Tsunade's five-million-Ryo budget
1 increasingly tired Clan Head
Kuma let out a long, slow breath, 'Still worth it.'
The clan was beginning to trust him, and word of mouth was spreading fast. Even some non-Senju shinobi had approached quietly, asking if they could observe the lessons.
"Leaf training," Tsunade barked, holding up a single, fresh leaf.
It trembled slightly in her hand from the morning breeze.
"If you've ever trained your chakra control at the Academy, this should be familiar. If it's not… we're in for a long week."
A few chuckles echoed weakly from the Genin side, Tsunade ignored them, "The goal is simple. Mold your chakra. Channel it to your forehead. Stick the leaf there, then hold it. Minimum requirement, twenty seconds."
She made a hand sign, pressed a leaf to her forehead, and didn't even blink, "Those who fail will repeat it until you pass. Staffers will monitor timing and provide adjustments. If you pass, you move on with me to the next phase. Questions?"
Silence.
"Good," She clapped her hands once. "Begin!"
The field exploded into motion, staffers ran between students, stopwatches sounded across the field, leaves flew, dropped, and clung.
Tsunade wandered between the lines, clipboard in hand, the results were… mixed, Genin were shaking with effort, Chunin tried to bluff their way through it, and Special Jōnin mostly succeeded but some wavered.
The civilians simply watched, some taking notes, others practicing deep breathing under the guidance of medics who now doubled as anatomy instructors.
Twenty minutes in, Tsunade raised a flag, "Results!"
Hands shot up, leaves dropped, Tsunade walked to the center again, voice clear.
"One hundred passed," Groans, winces, and muttered curses rippled through the field.
"That's one hundred of three hundred," she added, "which means… two-thirds of you are walking chakra batteries with no control."
Kuma winced from the sidelines, "Brutal," he muttered.
Tsunade turned to the remaining shinobi, "You failed to hold a leaf to your face for twenty seconds. How are you even alive? How do you mold chakra in the field? Are your clones just bad drawings? Do you trip while walking on water?!"
A few heads lowered, "Thought so."
She gestured to the staffers, "Split them. The remaining shinobi go with the instructors. We'll boost your raw reserves first, then rebuild your control."
Then she pointed to the civilians, "Non-chakra users will continue anatomy study and support prep in the north field. Your lesson today is circulatory systems. No fainting."
As the groups broke apart, the one hundred shinobi who had passed remained in the center with Tsunade, She turned to them, all confidence and fire.
"You passed the first step, but Medical Ninjutsu isn't about strength. It's about precision. The next stage will be harder. I'll be watching. And if you fail… there's no third chance."
The students swallowed hard, Kuma smiled faintly from the shade, This was how greatness began.
Tsunade didn't wait long after the leaf test to move on, "Alright," she barked, walking to the middle of the newly split-off group of 100, "You passed the leaf test. Good. Now, let's see if you can use that chakra somewhere other than your face."
She pointed toward the cluster of massive trees bordering the Senju training ground, the trunks rose high above the compound walls, each thick enough to hide three people standing shoulder-to-shoulder behind them.
"Tree-walking. Climb to the top. Hang upside down from a branch for twenty seconds. You fall, you start over. You can't hang, you fail."
There was a groan from a few Genin, Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "Complain again, and I'll make you climb with weights."
No one groaned again, Kuma watched from the sidelines, leaning against a tree with a small smile. This was nostalgic, and tree walking had been one of the first real chakra control drills in the anime. Simple. Effective.
But then Tsunade turned toward him, "You too."
Kuma blinked.
"…Me?"
"You passed the leaf test," she said sweetly, "but I want to see what your chakra control actually looks like. I'm sure a mighty Clan Head like you wouldn't refuse a simple Jonin-level challenge."
Kuma groaned, "Is this because of the medical budget joke?"
"Yes," she said.
"I hate you."
Tsunade smirked. "Climb."
Soon, all 100 students, including Kuma, were scaling the trunks of the towering trees.
Some charged up recklessly, chakra flaring too hard, others hesitated, crawling with careful steps. Within minutes, slips and falls echoed across the forest like slapstick comedy.
But not all failed.
Minato Namikaze moved with effortless grace, his form sharp and clean, and chakra output so precise it was barely visible. He zipped up the tree, flipped onto a branch, and hung upside down without a wobble.
Kushina followed with a loud yell, "Let's goooo!" Before launching herself after him, nearly skidding halfway up but catching herself with a burst of chakra control that left sparks on the bark.
Kuma, meanwhile, focused, he wasn't a genius like them, but he was a Jonin, and he trained hard.
His steps were solid and balanced, his chakra was smooth, not wild. It wasn't perfect, but it was practiced and deliberate.
He reached the top and hung upside down, Twenty seconds passed with only mild nausea.
When he dropped down, Tsunade was waiting, "Huh," she muttered, sounding vaguely disappointed, "I was hoping you'd fall once."
"I'm built different," Kuma said, wiping sweat from his brow.
"More like built stubborn."
Tsunade turned to the others, "Sixty passed. Forty, stay with the staff. Keep climbing until your legs give out or your chakra does."
She motioned for the rest to follow.
"Next stage."
They arrived at the Senju Clan's lake, wide, calm, and reflective as a mirror in the morning sun. The surrounding trees cast long shadows across the water, broken only by the occasional ripple of a breeze.
Tsunade turned, arms folded, "Chakra controls about balance. Subtlety. Adaptation."
She pointed toward the lake, "Walk on the surface. Maintain chakra output. Balance for ten full minutes."
Murmurs echoed through the crowd, "That's it?" one Chunin asked.
Tsunade raised a hand and snapped her fingers. From the pouch on her hip, she drew a handful of smooth stones, "I'll be throwing these into the lake while you're out there."
She grinned.
"I'll infuse them with chakra. When they hit the water, they'll create ripples, bursts, and sometimes mild discharges. Your job is not just to stay standing but to adjust in real time."
She pointed at the lake, "Move."
One by one, the 60 shinobi, including Kuma, stepped onto the water. At first, it seemed easy.
Everyone remained standing. Even some of the Genin had mastered water-walking to a passable degree, but Tsunade was just getting started.
She launched the first pebble, it landed ten feet from Kuma with a soft plunk, and a second later, a burst of chakra sent a circular ripple across the lake.
He wobbled slightly but adjusted. Five minutes in, it got harder.
Tsunade threw three pebbles at once. They hit at opposite ends, sending overlapping shockwaves across the surface. Some shinobi panicked or overcompensated.
Thirty fell, Kuma was still up, but he was sweating.
Across the lake, Minato and Kushina danced across the water, dodging splashes and spinning midair to keep balance. They laughed. Actually laughed.
Kuma's eye twitched, "Monsters," he muttered. "Genetic freaks. Plot-armored teenagers."
At minute eight, only twelve remained, Kuma's knees shook. His breath came heavier, his chakra flared, trying to maintain surface tension.
Tsunade grinned from the edge of the lake, "Oh, Clan Head," she called sweetly, "Going to let two Genin beat you? One of them isn't even a Senju."
Kuma gritted his teeth, "She's doing this on purpose."
He barely avoided a ripple that surged beneath his right foot, nearly toppling him, his chakra wavered, then restabilized.
And at minute ten… he collapsed, right into the water and he surfaced, coughing, hair matted to his face, robes soaked.
Above him, Tsunade laughed, "Not bad, Kuma. But you have a long way to go."
He flipped her off weakly, of the sixty students. Only seven passed:
Minato Namikaze
Kushina Uzumaki
Three Senju Jonin
One Elite Chunin
Kuma Senju (technically)
They stood at the edge of the lake, soaked but proud, Tsunade nodded, "These are your core. The next phase of medical training will be with these students only."
She looked to the others, still drying off or groaning in the grass, "The rest will keep training with the staff. No shame in it. But if you want to catch up, you'll work twice as hard."
Kuma flopped back onto the grass, arms spread wide, "Why does it feel like I fought another war?"
Tsunade sat down beside him, grinning, "Because this is what it takes. If you want a clan that heals instead of dies, you need warriors with surgeon's precision."
Kuma sighed, "…At least let me nap before round two."
Tsunade smack Kuma's back, "Alright, take an hour break to recover chakra."
Soon, that hour passed, and Kuma barely got any sleep when he heard it, "One more test," Tsunade said, loud enough to pull them out of their daze.
All seven groaned in unison, "Don't look at me like that," she smirked, clearly enjoying herself, "This is the last one for today promise."
She lifted her hand slowly, and with a calm exhale, a narrow thread of green chakra emerged from her fingertip. It twisted for a second, then focused, shaping into the number 1, glowing like a firefly caught in the dusk.
(A/N: It's similar to Nen Training In Hunter X Hunter, we're you shape your Aura into numbers using Gyo.)
Kuma blinked, "That's… a number?"
"Yes," Tsunade said simply, "This is a chakra projection exercise. It's far more complicated than walking on water or balancing upside down. It's a technique used only by high-level medical-nin, those capable of chakra scalpel precision or organ repair."
She turned the glowing number toward them, "Your task is to do what I did. Begin with one. If you can form it, continue to two, then three. If you can reach ten… you pass."
Kushina, ever the hothead, grinned, "Easy."
Tsunade raised a brow, "Is it?"
"Yup!" She stepped forward, planted her feet, and forced chakra into her fingertip with fierce focus. It wobbled and glowed.
1.
Then 2.
Her smile widened....
3…
And just as she hit 4, the projection burst like a soap bubble.
"Gah! Damn it!" she yelped, shaking her finger, "It stung!"
Minato tried next, calm, focused, he shaped the numbers one by one with surprising fluidity.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5…
But when he reached for 6, his chakra flickered and collapsed.
Still, even Tsunade looked impressed, "Not bad," she muttered under her breath.
Then came Kuma, "I already know how this ends," he grumbled, stepping up with zero excitement.
He concentrated.
1.
2.
And at 3, it fizzled and died.
"Figures," he sighed, rubbing his temple, "Not my skill set."
The three Jonin were next. All performed about the same, projecting stable energy, but each failing before 3.
Then came Fujino, and the quiet Elite Chunin stepped forward like a shadow. Her expression was unreadable, eyes locked on her fingertip. She formed the number 1 quickly. Then 2. Then 3.
Tsunade's eyes narrowed slightly.
4.
5.
6…
Even Minato looked surprised now.
7.
Kushina leaned in, whispering, "Who is she?"
8.
The projection held, clear, precise, perfectly shaped, and then it collapsed.
But Tsunade was already stepping forward. "Eight…" she muttered,"That's…"
Kuma caught the way her tone shifted, the subtle movement of her eyes, it showed interest, true interest.
Fujino bowed slightly and stepped back without a word, Tsunade took a long moment, then turned to all of them, "Alright," she said, "You all did great. This test wasn't meant to be passed. It's used to evaluate affinity, not skill. Let me explain what your results mean."
She looked at each of them.
"1 to 4? You can learn Medical Ninjutsu, but advanced techniques like chakra scalpels or cell regeneration might never come easy."
"5 to 7?" She nodded at Minato, "You have the aptitude, given time and effort. You can master them."
Then her gaze fell on Fujino, "8 to 10… means you're built for it. Elite potential."
Fujino remained still, as if the praise meant nothing, but Kuma saw her fingers twitch at her side, just slightly.
Tsunade smiled faintly, "I'll be watching you."
She turned to the group, "You've done more today than some medics do in weeks. Keep practicing the number projection. In time, it'll sharpen your chakra control like a scalpel."
With that, she waved them off, "Dismissed. I'm going to check on the other groups."
Kushina practically dragged Minato toward the trail leading out of the training grounds, "Let's get food! I need dumplings. A lot of dumplings."
Minato followed, still occasionally glancing over his shoulder at Fujino. The Jonin departed next, chatting among themselves, Fujino simply bowed to Tsunade, then left without a word.
Kuma stood a moment longer, arms crossed, watching the retreating figures, 'Fujino Senju… I'll need to look through her file later.'
She had outperformed even Minato, and the fact that Tsunade noticed, that meant something. That meant potential.
Kuma turned toward his office, sighing. His clothes were still damp from the water training. His muscles ached, and he was about to return to three hours of paperwork.
'At least the clan's shaping up,' he thought, 'We've got something solid here.'
As he disappeared down the trail, the soft sound of Tsunade yelling at another group in the distance echoed faintly behind him.
And for the first time since inheriting his role, Kuma didn't feel like he was shouldering the clan alone.