My Techniques are a bit off

"So—"

After leaving the mission assignment office, Nara Ensui raised his hand, as always, and said, "Meet tomorrow morning outside the Forest of Death."

Typically, ninja taking on a mission like "Clearing Wild Beasts in the Forest of Death" would need to coordinate with the appropriate personnel, such as the Barrier Corps or Anbu. As the team's jonin leader, Ensui usually handled these formalities himself.

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

Link pulled out his small wallet and counted his savings—just over 14,000 ryo. Completing this C-rank mission would push him past the 20,000 ryo mark, bringing him closer to hiring an experienced ninja to teach him jutsu.

There were many ways to learn jutsu: family inheritance, apprenticeship, teacher instruction, or village-sponsored training. But most of these options weren't available 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 completely drain her.

By contrast, 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 difference between chakra levels isn't linear. As Kakashi himself explained, 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 consider using elemental jutsu regularly. A typical genin's skillset consisted of the Three Basic Techniques 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 advanced ninjutsu worthwhile. Even if he mastered an elemental jutsu, using it in battle would leave him completely drained.

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

Under these circumstances, what good would learning more elemental jutsu do?

Absolutely none.

Link couldn't help but envy other reincarnated individuals who could spam ninjutsu right after crossing over. Despite his disadvantageous starting point, his relentless training had helped him catch up to his peers. Yet he still couldn't incorporate ninjutsu into his regular combat 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 experienced ninja for proper training.

The pride he once held as a reincarnator had been thoroughly 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 chunin to guide him.

Nara Ensui was a competent instructor, but expecting him to teach advanced jutsu was unrealistic. Even Sakura, under Kakashi's tutelage, 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 advanced techniques, even if they learned them. Memorizing a thousand jutsu was pointless if you could only use one before collapsing.

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

Link knew he needed to plan his future independently. His unique abilities might accelerate his promotion to chunin, 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, scratching his head. "It's the medical ninja lecture."

The Medical Ninja Training Program was a specialized course designed for genin, aimed at fostering potential medics. It had been part of the system even before the events of Part One of the original series.

This program didn't teach any actual medical ninjutsu.

Medical ninjutsu was a rare and demanding field requiring precise chakra control, extensive knowledge, and innate talent. Even the simplest medical jutsu, Delicate Illness Extraction, was classified as B-rank and beyond the reach of most genin.

Basic healing techniques, like using chakra to stimulate cell regeneration, were already covered in the Academy's curriculum. Link had excelled in this area, as his chakra control was exceptional. Releasing chakra for minor healing came easily to him, which made the program less appealing.

His disinterest stemmed from two main reasons:

1. Lack of interest or necessity. The course focused on medical theory and fundamental healing techniques, which either didn't interest him or were skills he'd already mastered.

2. Insufficient chakra reserves.

His limited chakra meant he had to carefully ration his energy for combat. 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 ignore the training entirely. The hands-on lessons often involved practicing on injured animals under the guidance of experienced medical ninja. These sessions were excellent for honing chakra control.

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

Reluctantly, he decided to attend.

"Of course, half the time, these sessions turn out to be boring medical theory lectures," he thought with a sigh. But it was the last class of the day, so he figured he might as well go.

After finishing lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, he swapped his mission gear for casual clothes and arrived at the medical class's designated classroom 15 minutes early.

~~~

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