Jonin Meeting

In the Hokage Building, the conference room.

Representatives from various ninja clans and the cream of the crop among Jonin were gathered around the spacious long table.

Qingguang was also seated here at this moment.

As Konoha's recent rising star, thanks to his heaven-defying affinity, Fugane and Fugaku, this father and son duo had ultimately sent him to represent the Uchiha Clan.

Orochimaru, seated opposite Qingguang, had a flicker of anticipation in his eyes. "Qingguang-kun, I didn't expect you to represent the Uchiha in this meeting."

"Senior Orochimaru, today's meeting is extremely important. The clan head and the minister must work hard to prevent spies from other villages from gathering intelligence."

Not only Orochimaru, but everyone else present was also somewhat surprised by Qingguang's attendance.

Before long, someone wearing a Konoha vest, with black, medium-length hair cascading over his shoulders, a somewhat youthful face, but eyes as sharp as an eagle's, entered.

"Qingguang, it's been a while. The recent changes in the Uchiha have been well done," Senju Itsuki said, crossing his arms as he sat down and glancing at Qingguang.

Qingguang merely nodded slightly, offering no further response.

He knew Senju Itsuki's personality; he was taciturn and usually remained silent.

However, within Konoha's high command, second only to the Hokage and the three advisors, his position as the Jonin squad leader was unquestionable.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi and the three advisors entered the conference room, this Jonin meeting officially began.

"Everyone, according to the village's current intelligence, not only Konoha, but also Sunagakure and Iwagakure have seen a significant increase in the number of ninja operating near the borders of the Land of Rain recently."

"With the New Year approaching, regardless of anything else, to maintain the stability of the village, all mission requests below Rank A are prohibited from leaving the Land of Fire until after the spring."

Most people could understand this decision and raised no objections.

The anticipation of war was something everyone present had been aware of for months, and it came as no surprise.

After the various departments had reported, Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his gaze to Tsunade, who was sitting beside Qingguang. "There is one more matter, which everyone should be aware of. Due to age, Utatane Koharu no longer has the energy to continue as the head of the Medical Department. Not long ago, the Medical Department was transferred to Tsunade's charge."

"Tsunade, state your thoughts."

Tsunade took a deep breath, stood up, and then distributed the photocopied documents in her hand, passing them one by one to everyone present.

She then began to explain according to the original content of the proposal.

Most people reacted with silence, only Utatane Koharu's expression was not good, her look at the document was uncertain.

Good for you, Tsunade. A new broom sweeps clean, and you're already trying to overturn my previous arrangements to prove yourself?

Hmph, the power struggles among the village's higher-ups are not as simple as you imagine.

After finishing the explanation of the entire plan in the document, feeling a bit dry-mouthed, Tsunade scanned the crowd, then her gaze fell on Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Ultimately, whether the reform of the Medical Department could continue depended on the decision of this Hokage.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers lightly tapped the armrest of his chair, making a continuous dada-da sound.

When the sound stopped, he spoke, "Tsunade, if Konoha's ninja squads in the future could indeed have one medical ninja among every four members, then the casualty rate of ninja would indeed be greatly reduced."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade's face immediately lit up with joy.

It seems this old man isn't as rotten as I imagined.

Seeing Tsunade's reaction, Orochimaru smiled. This girl is still as naive as ever.

"However."

"However, what?" Tsunade asked, while a bad premonition already formed in her heart.

"The village currently does not have sufficient funds to further support the reform of the Medical Department. This plan can be discussed later."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's words were to the point.

The others also did not express any opinion in support of the Medical Department's reform, and they all echoed Hiruzen Sarutobi's decision.

"The idea is good, but now is not the time. What a pity for Lord Tsunade's good intentions."

"Lord Tsunade need not worry. Such reforms are beneficial to Konoha and harmful to none. It is simply that the external crisis facing the village has not yet been resolved. We can discuss it later."

"Lord Tsunade..."

These constant addresses of "Lord" and words of "pity" flooded Tsunade's mind.

Tsunade looked at the hypocritical smiles on their faces and finally understood the sense of powerlessness Qingguang had on his face that night when he spoke to her about Minato.

So, it really is like this...

She clenched her fists and lowered her head in silence.

Must it be shelved indefinitely like this?

Just then, Qingguang stood up, his voice bringing a glimmer of hope to Tsunade.

"Lord Hokage, although this reform plan cannot be fully implemented at the moment, there are a few points that I believe can be achieved now."

"If war truly breaks out, the advantage of medical ninja will greatly preserve the village's fighting strength. What do you think?"

Among those present, Qingguang was the first to speak out against the majority.

His statement was surprising, yet within reason.

After all, he was the "sunshine" of the village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned, beginning to consider the feasibility of Qingguang's words. Several points in the proposal could indeed be implemented, but doing so would also affect some of the vast network of interests he had maintained until now.

In the past, this had been the cornerstone of his role as Hokage, maintaining the village's stability and allowing no room for error.

But now, the village's safety was what he cared about most. Konoha superseded everything. He had to re-evaluate and reconsider those policies.

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi hesitated, Senju Itsuki, who had remained silent until now, opened his eyes. "Lord Hokage, I believe the early medical training class and the drug research and development team at the Ninja Academy are feasible."

"If war breaks out, we must guard against the poisons of Amegakure and Sunagakure."

Although Senju Itsuki did not understand medical ninjutsu, as the leader of the Jonin squad, he knew that the former did not require much funding. The Senju Clan, though disbanded and integrated among the civilians, still had many ninjas who inherited the Senju surname, like himself. There were at least several hundred in Konoha.

Aside from some older veterans, most of the others were young people from the baby boom after Konoha's founding.

They were now around thirty to forty years old, forming a part of the village's core strength.

In terms of the entire Jonin squad, Konoha had over a thousand Jonin on the surface. The Uchiha clan had the most, nearly a hundred. The second largest group was ninjas surnamed Senju, numbering over fifty.

Not to mention, there were also dozens of Jonin, like Tsunade, who were descendants of the Senju but did not inherit the surname.

If all of them were added together, the number of Jonin would even surpass that of the Uchiha.