Tsunade Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. She said, "Decline? But why?
Ryu: Well, after I graduate, I have some plans to try and find my own fated summon.
Tsunade Her surprise deepened; she said, " A fated summon? Ryu, do you even realise what you're turning down? Anyone else would jump at the chance to contract with one of the legendary Three Great Sage Lands without a second thought!"
Ryu nodded and said, "Aunty, for once, I would like to gamble like you. Who knows? I could find another legendary place like those three."
Tsunade's eye twitched in anger as she replied, "Well, I can't argue with that kind of ambition. Just be careful not to bite off more than you can chew."
Ryu asked, "I will be careful, aunty."
Tsunade's eyes twitched again. She said, "Alright then. Suit yourself."
Ryu smiled confidently and said, "I'll make sure to come back in one piece, Aunty."
Tsunade thought, "So he's serious about trying his luck with the fated summon."
Ryu smirked and said, "Don't worry, aunty; I will only try it after graduating."
Tsunade replied, "Who said that I am worried? You will find a legendary summon if you succeed; even if not, you already have a legendary summon right with me. Whatever happens, promise me you'll come see me after you graduate. I'll still have this contract scroll for you."
Ryu said, "Okay, Aunty Tsuande."
Tsunade said, " And Ryu... look after yourself while I'm gone. I have left some jutsu scrolls with your grandfather, as promised. You are smart enough to learn them by yourself from the scrolls."
Ryu replied, "Thanks, aunty."
Tsunade turned to leave.
Ryu said, " Take care of yourself too, Aunty. And try not to gamble away all your money. You're terrible at it anyway."
Tsunade Stopping in her tracks, she turned back, a playful glare on her face and said, " Brat. Mind your own business."
With that, Tsunade turned again and left the Senju training grounds, heading towards the village gates, leaving Ryu to continue his training alone.
After his training shifts, Ryu went to see Nono Yakushi to begin his medical officer course, a step made possible by his early graduation based on his significant advancements in the medical field.
Ryu thanked her sincerely for her support throughout his time at the medical academy.
Nono smiled warmly, shaking her head slightly. "Please, your achievements are entirely the result of your own hard work and incredible talent."
"Now", Nono continued, getting down to business, "I will offer you the same privileges for the medical officer course as they were for your medical apprentice course. You are allowed to attend only the mandatory classes, skipping the optional ones."
She then clarified, "However, this flexibility is only possible if your tests and grading for early graduation are considerably harder than everyone else's, just like before." She added another detail, "You could even apply for early graduation after completing just half the course, provided you manage to complete all the assignments by then."
Ryu considered the terms and appreciated the freedom to avoid classes and said, "I agree to the conditions, Nono-sensei."
Ryu then added, "Though I think I'll take my time with early graduation this time around. Between the company and the Ninja Academy, my schedule is quite demanding already."
Nono said, "You can take it slow then. There is no hurry."
Ryu said, "Now is the time to progress quickly. Exciting developments are occurring in the company. I appreciate the flexibility of distance learning, which is a great help."
"I understand," Nono replied, recognising the pressures he faced even at his age.
She then shifted the topic and said, "Speaking of your work, what are you focusing on next? What project will occupy that brilliant mind now?"
Ryu's expression became focused. "I'll be working on growth hormones," he replied, "specifically those targeted to increase bone mass."
Nono's eyes widened slightly at the sudden shift in topic from his last research paper. From an anti-TB drug to delving into hormones – the breadth of his interests was astonishing. A look of surprise, mixed with undeniable pride in her student, crossed her face.
"Growth hormones?" Nono enquired, prompting him to elaborate.
"Yes," Ryu confirmed. "I currently have two patients at home, Nono-sensei. One has a severe case of Brittle Bone Syndrome, and the other has dwarfism." He explained the challenge, "For the case of dwarfism, due to them nearing puberty, standard hormone therapy might not be as effective as it could be, but I intend to try nonetheless."
Nono nodded, digesting the information. "So," she specified, "your goal is to enhance bone density, especially for the patient with Brittle Bone Syndrome, potentially through the use of synthetic hormones?"
"A synthetic hormone is a good idea, Nono-sensei," Ryu replied, "but my initial thought was about finding a way to trick the thyroid into making more natural hormones to specifically aid bone development."
His eyes lit up slightly with a new realisation as he continued, "But now that you've mentioned it, we absolutely can do both! If we use both methods, the burden on the thyroid gland won't be too extreme, and the required dosage of artificial hormones won't need to be very high either. It could be a much more balanced and effective approach."
Nono considered his reasoning, a thoughtful look on her face. "Combining stimulation of natural processes with targeted artificial intervention... that is very clever indeed."
"Yes, Ryu," she agreed, a note of admiration in her voice. "That sounds like an excellent approach."
Ryu nodded and then added, "With this treatment, I believe I can at least get the patient with brittle bone syndrome to a point where they can walk on their own for short distances. However, they still won't be able to handle the kind of stress that ninja training puts on the body."
Nono's expression turned serious, a hint of concern in her eyes. "Ryu", she asked, her voice gentle but firm, "are you sure you want to try and make someone with a condition like that into a ninja? Based on the condition you've described, he may not be ready to handle the demands of a ninja's life, even with treatment."
Ryu smiled and said, "That's precisely why I'm doing this."
Ryu added, "I believe in his potential and determination and I am willing to provide the necessary support and body modifications to help him succeed in becoming a ninja."
Nono nodded, understanding Ryu's perspective and commitment to helping the individual overcome their limitations.
Ryu then said, "Don't worry. On top of naturally doing it, though, with hormones and bone supplements, I have devised ways to artificially strengthen his bones and have planned a jutsu to aid in mobility as well."
Nono said, "Okay but don't think of doing anything that would be categorised as an illegal experiment."
Nono paused for a second and added, "You know that even the legendary Sannin was branded a criminal due to involvement in kidnappings and conducting illegal experiments on Leaf citizens."
Ryu replied, "I know, sensei. Everything will be done by the books."
Ryu then started working on his new project of artificial hormones and supplements for increasing growth hormone formation in the body. He spent hours and finally has some results. He also documented all the steps. All that was left was testing.
Nono asked, "How do you do it?"
Nono thought, "It generally requires years. In general, you find something new while experimenting and test its effects on the mice and notice the changes and document everything. After continuous exposure, you get the idea of the effects of new drugs; sometimes it is a good effect, sometime its bad and once in awhile you discover something new and amazing in those effects. Though he is yet to test its effects, he is confident that it works."
Ryu replied, "I had a general idea in my own lab and have already conducted preliminary experiments."
Ryu could guess that Nono isn't convinced yet. Ryu said , "Let's start testing on mice. If it works, then the size and weight of mice will increase."
Nono replied , "You can leave animal testing and documentation of it with me."
Ryu expressed his gratitude to Nono and said, "Thank you, sensei, for supporting me."
Somewhere in the cloud village, someone was reading Ryu's previous research paper on anti-TB drugs.
Kabuto Yakushi read the names on the paper, both Ryu and Nono Yakushi's. He smiled and thought , "Atleast one of us is doing better, Mother Nono."
The paper finally reached Kabuto Yakushi as it was publicly available for reading in the Cloud Village. Only the effects of the medicine were shared publicly and the method to produce it was not shared and kept within the founding department. Even if someone were able to get their hands on it, they would not be able to use it commercially, as there are treaties between nations to prevent intellectual thefts where money-making things are involved, as they directly come under the purview of the Daimyo of Nations and no Daimyo wants to lose money or give excuses to other Daimyo to steal from them.
All major villages had some unique products associated with them. Even if someone duplicates it, they can only utilise it for personal use and not for commercial purposes.
The names of Ryu and Nono were widely circulated in the global medical community due to their significant contributions.
##PoWeR StOnEs##
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