Red Nara

Smiling contentedly, I waved in response. Finally, the year-long course for beginning medical ninjas is over! I won't say it was easy, but the basic knowledge of human anatomy, the habit of absorbing large volumes of information, enhanced memory from constant meditation, and a firm belief that all the knowledge future medics studied would be useful in the chosen profession, greatly eased my life.

I also understood why even basic medicine lessons weren't taught at the shinobi academy — the overall amount of information would have been too great even for the Nara, so this path was either pursued after reaching the rank of genin or just before graduation.

Consequently, a six-year-old among ten to twelve-year-old boys and girls looked quite comical, especially when there was only one head above the desk. But I didn't back down, and I can proudly say that the whole year was not spent in vain!

Thank the gods for jutsu like kage bunshin, otherwise, in all other aspects of my training, I wouldn't have progressed an inch — despite the fact that the basic training course included quite a lot of practical and theoretical information, even more had to be studied at home as homework. So it's not surprising that out of about fifteen students, only four remained, including me, and the remaining three were girls.

Very diligent, smart, and persistent, but girls. Perhaps that's why Ichimaru Nara was always so pleased to see me at every one of his classes throughout the year, especially towards the end.

"Sensei, what will we do next?" I raised my hand.

"After you receive your identification cards, with the qualification of a fifth-degree medical ninja, corresponding to the rank of genin," the teacher gleamed his glasses quite reminiscent of Kabuto, "you will start practicing at the hospital, which I will oversee again. And as soon as you get the opportunity to practice on your own, it will mean that you have become a full-fledged medical ninja and will no longer need constant supervision from a more experienced colleague. But further self-improvement will be on your shoulders."

"And how long could this roughly take?" one of the girls asked.

"On average, from two to three years with due diligence. I know people who only needed a year. My practice lasted about a year and a half, so it all depends on the diligence and effort you put into your work."

Hmm, so roughly by the age of nine or even earlier, I can confidently expect to be invited to work at the hospital full-time... Interesting.

"And what about payment during the practice?" I asked again.

"Due to the constant shortage of qualified personnel, each of your days will be paid as a full-fledged D-rank mission," the sensei replied. "Konoha highly values the work of even interns."

"Could you specify the exact amount? Because as part of the team, I receive only five hundred ryō for each mission of this rank for a full working day, which is clearly insufficient."

I'm curious too, since I don't know the ratio of reward distribution within the team yet.

"If you want specific figures, it will be about one and a half to two thousand ryō — very good money, considering the monthly sum that comes in," the sensei replied. 

"Wow, that amount of money is enough to live on even without a stipend from the Hokage's fund," Nasuri shook her head, still finishing the penultimate course at the academy and currently living in a shelter.

"Exactly! Once you start working as full-fledged hospital staff, the payment will increase several times, and each of you will be provided with an apartment in one of the shinobi quarters for free, so you've chosen the right job," Ichimaru nodded.

"And that's it for questions for now. Quickly go and take photos, and have them here with your documents in four hours. By that time, I'll have all the paperwork sorted out, and practice will begin next week. Three days are free — enjoy the rest while you can, because there definitely won't be any later!"

"Yes, sensei!"