Naruto: I Level Up by Drawing Cards

Three days later.

In the training ground.

Uchiha Gen stood in the training ground, looking full of energy, wearing a grey shirt with the red and white fan emblem and a green Konoha Ninja flak jacket over it.

The injuries he sustained while contracting the third Rashomon gate had mostly healed, and the abnormal phenomena on his skin had basically subsided.

As long as the effects of Yin and Yang Release on his body faded, with his level of Medical Ninjutsu, any injury not life-threatening could be healed to a certain extent in a short time.

Aside from some internal injuries that would affect his long-term endurance, he had largely regained his full combat strength, and perhaps even exceeded it due to the existence of the third Rashomon gate.

Orochimaru wore a hemp-yellow kimono with a purple belt around his waist. Although he also wore the green Konoha flak jacket, he seemed increasingly similar to the Orochimaru from the original timeline.

At this moment, Orochimaru was watching the two figures clashing rapidly on the training ground with great interest, nodding occasionally.

Five Gates Might Duy vs. Special Jonin Iwate Kin.

"To allow a low-level Genin to temporarily explode with enough power to rival Iwate, who has mastered Earth Release Nature Transformation—where did you discover this talent?"

"He was doing an errand for the Nara Pharmacy that day and happened to be delivering medicine to me when I saw him. Although his displayed strength was poor, that perfect control over power is something only a top-tier Taijutsu Ninja could achieve. After a bit of testing and brushing off the surface dust, the gold naturally began to shine."

"You have an eye for discovering miracles in the smallest details."

Orochimaru chuckled, watching the fight on the training ground as it began to shift.

Might Duy's foundation was still too poor; he had already fallen into a disadvantage.

His basic physical fitness was only at the level of an ordinary Genin. He could barely open the Sixth Gate, and he couldn't maintain the Fifth Gate for very long, with its power being relatively limited.

Furthermore, he had been a Genin for a long time—and the lowest kind at that. While he had combat experience, he didn't have much experience fighting Chunin or higher-level Ninjas.

Fighting someone like Iwate Kin, whose Earth Release was at the Jonin level, was already a high-level match for him, like a Bronze player accidentally entering a Gold-tier match.

If it were his son from the original timeline, the Fifth Gate state would be enough to crush most people below Kage-level.

"If we can compensate for Duy's physical deficiencies and rebuild his foundation, he won't be weaker than Chen Baojun. Plus, with the Sixth Gate and the last two gates not yet fully developed, his potential would be immeasurable if carefully nurtured."

Uchiha Gen spoke to Orochimaru as he watched Might Duy, who had completely fallen into a disadvantage and was running out of stamina.

"His age dictates that it will be difficult for him to reach his true potential."

Orochimaru's tone carried a hint of regret.

Every Jonin in Konoha is trained from a young age and has a solid foundation.

But Might Duy is only a year younger than Orochimaru. While it's not impossible to improve at this age, trying to fix his foundation now can only be described as too late.

All they could do was patchwork.

Unless there's a massive stroke of luck, Might Duy's potential in his normal state would be basically impossible to catch up to the Might Guy of the original timeline.

"However, if trained well, he could still be a formidable warrior. With such Taijutsu from just the Fifth Gate, I look forward to seeing what the remaining three gates can do."

Orochimaru was very interested in the Eight Gates.

His original ideal was to exhaust all truths and master every Ninjutsu in the world. A Forbidden Jutsu like the Eight Gates was right up his alley.

"Huff, huff, huff... Gen-Jonin, and Lord Orochimaru, I'm... I'm sorry, I couldn't win."

After the battle ended, Might Duy endured the soreness in his body, propping himself up with his hands on his knees, and barely managed to stand while speaking to Orochimaru and Uchiha Gen.

"No matter, Duy. From now on, you don't need to do those low-level missions anymore. Follow us.

I will take you to see a higher level of the Ninja World, gain you more recognition from the Village, and help you perfect your Forbidden Jutsu."

Orochimaru proactively extended a hand toward Might Duy, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Uchiha Gen also saw Might Duy's condition and walked to his side, supporting him with one hand while using the Mystical Palm Technique with the other to relieve his fatigue.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Gen-Jonin!"

Might Duy gave Uchiha Gen a grateful look, then turned to Orochimaru, grinning widely, his white teeth gleaming in the sunlight.

"In the name of youth! Lord Orochimaru, I will definitely not let down your and Gen-Jonin's expectations!"

A new member had once again joined Orochimaru's circle.

With a new member joining, they naturally took the time to understand Might Duy's current family situation.

Although they had a surname, the Might family was no different from commoners except for the name 'Might'. The family of three consisted of Might Duy, his wife who was also of commoner origin, and a one-year-old infant.

This child was Might Guy.

Being a Ninja is a high-income profession, but the cost of living in Konoha is not low either. Might Duy's income was low even for a Genin; looking at the entire Ninja World's social strata, he was essentially a pauper.

His readiness to join Orochimaru's faction was also related to his urgent need to earn money for baby formula.

On their first visit to Might Duy's home, Uchiha Gen and Orochimaru simply brought some useful gifts and gave the one-year-old Might Guy a large red envelope containing 100,000 Ryo as elders.

This was the most reasonable way to give money, under the guise of a subsidy or something similar.

They didn't have the authority yet, nor was it appropriate for them to intervene in such matters. After this, there would be more legitimate ways to provide financial support.

For example, they could post a mission and then take Might Duy along in their squad to complete it.

One hundred thousand Ryo was roughly the income they would receive after splitting an a-rank mission with teammates. For a Jonin, it was just a few days' work, but for Might Duy, it would take half a year to earn—a quite significant sum.

After leaving Might Duy's home, the master and disciple strolled through the streets of Konoha Village, observing the streets that had become somewhat deserted due to the recent increase in war intensity.

"Do you know why I support Tsunade's push for Medical Ninjutsu?"

Near the fork in the road where they would part ways, Orochimaru suddenly stopped and asked Uchiha Gen.

"Is it because you want to use Medical Ninjutsu to assist in experiments and research some Forbidden Jutsu, Orochimaru-sensei?"

According to the timeline, Orochimaru starting his research on Living Corpse Reincarnation should be happening within these couple of years, right?