The day after the meeting, Yamanaka Tohru received a summons from the Third Hokage. The day before, Yamanaka Inoichi had already told him the outcome of the meeting.
Yamanaka Tohru hadn't expected Orochimaru to speak up for him. He owed his smooth appointment as captain of the medical squad to Orochimaru's help.
Yamanaka Tohru had visited the Hokage Building many times. When the guards at the entrance saw him, they let him pass without asking any questions.
The door to the Hokage Office stood wide open. The Third Hokage had been waiting for Yamanaka Tohru to arrive.
Yamanaka Haruka had been to the Hokage Building many times. When the guards at the entrance saw it was him, they let him pass without asking any questions.
"Hello, Lord Hokage!" Yamanaka Tohru walked straight in through the open door.
When Yamanaka Tohru entered, the Third Hokage's brows were tightly furrowed as he stared at the documents on his desk. At the sound of Yamanaka Tohru's voice, he forced a smile.
"Tohru, you're finally here!"
"Lord Hokage, what did you call me here for?" Yamanaka Tohru knew what it was about, of course, but since it involved a meeting of the village leadership, it was better to play dumb.
"Tohru, I called you here for two things. First, you performed excellently as a Genin, treating many injured people at Konoha Hospital, and you even developed the Healing Talisman. The village has decided to promote you to Chunin!"
"Thank you, Lord Hokage!" Who wouldn't be happy about a promotion? Yamanaka Tohru was no exception.
"Second, Yamanaka Tohru, in the name of the Hokage, I hereby appoint you captain of the medical squad heading to the battlefield in the Land of Wind. You'll be in charge of everything concerning the medical squad, and you'll also have the right to attend war council meetings." After speaking, the Third Hokage handed Yamanaka Tohru the appointment document.
The Third Hokage's appointment was completely different from what Yamanaka Tohru had expected. He'd assumed the role would be similar to that of a battlefield medical team leader in his previous life: simply treating the wounded.
Yamanaka Tohru had never imagined that becoming captain of the medical squad would make him one of the decision-makers on the Land of Wind battlefield.
Only after the Third Hokage had finished reading the appointment aloud did he realize something was wrong. When he saw Yamanaka Tohru take the document, the Third Hokage finally understood that it had been issued to him.
The authority granted in this appointment was almost the same as that given to Tsunade when she became captain of the medical squad. Lately, the Third Hokage had been overwhelmed by the situation at the front. In a moment of carelessness, he had issued such an appointment.
A ruler's word could not be taken back. As Konoha's leader, the Third Hokage naturally wouldn't reverse his decision on a whim.
Besides, although Yamanaka Tohru was only nine years old, the Third Hokage considered him sensible. Even if he attended the meetings, he wouldn't say anything foolish.
And just like that, Yamanaka Tohru received an appointment that shouldn't have been his, making him one of the decision-makers on the Land of Wind battlefield.
As soon as he officially became captain of the medical squad, Yamanaka Tohru's first order of business was to gather his team.
The squad members quickly assembled at the Third Training Ground. They called it a medical squad, but it was quite large: 151 people, including Yamanaka Tohru.
Yamanaka Tohru glanced over them. More than half were his colleagues from Konoha Hospital, and there were also twenty or thirty unfamiliar faces. Among them was an old acquaintance of his: Uchiha Mitsuru.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Yamanaka Tohru. Most of you are my colleagues from Konoha Hospital, and I'm glad to fight alongside you."
Yamanaka Tohru's opening remarks were plain. He didn't deliver a rousing speech or try to assert his authority.
He didn't think any of that was necessary. Rather than spouting a bunch of empty words, he believed actions proved everything. He knew there would be people on the team who didn't respect him, and he'd make them accept him through his actions.
After a brief introduction, Yamanaka Tohru began assessing everyone's Medical Ninjutsu skills. Ninety-two of them could use the nature transformation of the Healing Technique to neutralize toxins. Of those ninety-two, only twelve could use the Mystical Palm Technique.
Those twelve were veteran Medical Ninja from Konoha Hospital, and Yamanaka Tohru knew them all well.
During the assessment, Yamanaka Tohru learned that the team members he hadn't recognized were shinobi from the village, assigned to protect the Medical Ninja.
Among the more powerful ones were Hyuga Mei, a Jonin from the Hyuga Clan; Uchiha Mitsuru, an old acquaintance of Yamanaka Tohru and a Special Jonin from the Uchiha Clan; and two Chunin squads from the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.
Hyuga Mei and Uchiha Mitsuru could handle ordinary Jonin without a problem. The two squads from the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans could take on Jonin just as easily.
Most of the other combat personnel had their own specialties, too. Some were skilled in Sealing Jutsu, some in genjutsu, and others in searching for traps.
Yamanaka Tohru counted 126 Medical Ninja, including himself, and 25 combat shinobi. He then divided everyone into five groups based on their Medical Ninjutsu skills.
The thirty-three people who couldn't use the Healing Technique's nature transformation to neutralize toxins formed one group and were assigned to treat the lightly wounded.
Of the remaining ninety-two, twelve could use the Mystical Palm Technique. The other eighty were split into four groups of twenty, with three of the twelve Mystical Palm Technique users assigned to each group.
Yamanaka Tohru worked alone, going wherever a problem arose that no one else could handle.
After assigning the groups, Yamanaka Tohru dismissed everyone. He stayed at the Third Training Ground, reviewing the various Wind Style Ninjutsu Orochimaru had demonstrated the day before.
Yamanaka Tohru remained alone at the Third Training Ground until the afternoon, when Kushina and Namikaze Minato arrived.
"Tohru? Good, you're here. That saves me a trip. Jiraiya-sensei told the three of us to wait for him at the Third Training Ground," Kushina said.
"Tohru, I heard you were promoted to Chunin?" Namikaze Minato asked.
Yamanaka Tohru nodded. There was no need to keep a small thing like being promoted to Chunin a secret.
"Tohru, congratulations on becoming a Chunin. Here's a gift." Namikaze Minato smiled and handed him a special Kunai.
Yamanaka Tohru took the Kunai. It was the Flying Thunder God Kunai Namikaze Minato had specially made in the original story, engraved with the formula for his Flying Thunder God technique.
"Thanks, Brother Minato!" Yamanaka Tohru thanked him. Kushina looked a little awkward; her student had been promoted to Chunin, yet she hadn't prepared a gift.
Yamanaka Tohru noticed Kushina's embarrassment and said, "Sister Kushina, you can give me your gift when I become a Jonin!"
Hearing Yamanaka Tohru's words, Kushina's embarrassment faded, and she returned to her usual carefree self.
"You three, how can you still be joking around?" Jiraiya's arrival interrupted their conversation.
"The Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure has been chosen. Just recently, he declared that Konoha was responsible for the Third Kazekage's disappearance. Sunagakure has officially declared war on Konoha!"
Jiraiya looked solemnly at the three of them.
The war had begun!
The Third Shinobi World War had begun. War was here—please give this a wave of follows and recommendations, too!
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