Tsunade's Resolve to Become a Medical Ninja

The Senju Clan Land

Little Tsunade cradled a thick book and read it with tireless concentration. The cover showed a diagram of the human body. It was a medical text treasured by the Senju Clan.

In Konoha at the time, bloodline clans monopolized the village's knowledge. Ordinary civilian ninjas graduated from the Ninja Academy with only the Three Basic Jutsu.

Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique.

Civilians had only a few ways to learn other Ninjutsu.

They could sell their services to a bloodline clan, or earn merit on the battlefield and exchange it for Ninjutsu.

If they were lucky, their Jonin instructor might teach them a technique or two, but that was exceedingly rare.

Nearly all of Konoha's Jonin came from ninja clans, and the clans had rules against freely passing their techniques to outsiders. Of course, anyone was free to teach techniques they had developed themselves.

Knowledge of Medical Ninjutsu was naturally invaluable, and only the great ninja clans had the privilege of possessing it.

Mito Uzumaki sat on the threshold of the room, basking in the sun. Its warmth fell over her. People liked to bask in the sun as they got older, and she was nearing fifty. In a world where ninjas generally died young, that was already a ripe old age.

Seeing Tsunade recover from her grief so quickly made Mito genuinely happy. Her granddaughter certainly made her proud.

She didn't know why Tsunade had suddenly started studying Medical Ninjutsu. She'd never shown the slightest interest in it before.

The Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan were born with immense Chakra. Legend had it that they inherited Yang Release from the Sage of Six Paths, making them naturally suited to Medical Ninjutsu. That was why their clans had more medical texts than anyone else.

Mito Uzumaki knew the subject inside and out. When Tsunade was little, she had planned to teach her a few things, but Tsunade hadn't been interested. She'd preferred studying powerful Ninjutsu.

Now she'd changed her tune, and had started studying Medical Ninjutsu out of the blue. Mito Uzumaki couldn't be bothered to wonder why. As long as her precious granddaughter was happy, that was all that mattered.

As long as Tsunade studied diligently, Mito Uzumaki was confident she could train her into the strongest Medical Ninja in the Ninja world.

Tsunade stared at the dense text on the page. Many of the technical terms were so obscure that she couldn't make heads or tails of them. She wanted to tear the precious book to shreds.

It looked like she'd run into trouble.

Mito Uzumaki sat there, basking in the sun while watching Tsunade's expression.

Tsunade was about to blow a fuse. Mito couldn't just keep sitting there in the sun.

"Little Tsunade, having some trouble?"

Mito Uzumaki got to her feet and went over to Tsunade, then looked at the page. It covered Yang Release and the structure of the human body. The material was beyond Tsunade's current knowledge.

"Grandma, there are so many terms here that I've never seen before. And here, why does Chakra..."

It was a good habit to ask when you didn't understand something.

Tsunade knew that well. Her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, was skilled in Medical Ninjutsu, so with an expert right beside her, she naturally wanted to ask until she understood.

"Yang Release is..."

"..."

Mito Uzumaki patiently explained everything to Tsunade. When she reached an important point, she paused on purpose to see if Tsunade could figure out the key herself with a hint.

Tsunade would one day become the greatest Medical Ninja in the Ninja world. Her talent for Medical Ninjutsu was unquestionable. She lived up to Mito Uzumaki's expectations, answering naturally and even drawing conclusions of her own.

Mito Uzumaki was delighted. Her Medical Ninjutsu had a worthy successor.

"I'm going to become Konoha's strongest Medical Ninja!"

Having just grasped the material, Tsunade was confident again and began making bold declarations. Mito Uzumaki suddenly found herself curious. Tsunade's goal used to be to become Konoha's first female Hokage.

"Little Tsunade, tell Grandma, what made you interested in Medical Ninjutsu?"

The smile on Tsunade's face faltered. A hint of sadness flashed across it, but she still managed to smile.

"Grandma, when I was on a mission at Konoha Hospital, I saw a lot of wounded ninjas who'd come back from the front lines. Every one of them looked so miserable, and some even died from their injuries."

"If I were an excellent Medical Ninja, I could definitely save them."

"Maybe if I were better at Medical Ninjutsu and had gone with Second Grandpa, I could have treated him when he was injured. Maybe he wouldn't have died."

Tsunade's naïve words made Mito Uzumaki's heart ache. Tsunade had never been to war and didn't understand its cruelty. The opponent who had taken Tobirama from them wasn't someone even an excellent Medical Ninja could have defeated.

Tsunade's words brought a sudden sadness over the room. Mito Uzumaki hurriedly changed the subject and continued explaining Medical Ninjutsu.

Outside the Senju Clan Land, Toma Senju hurried home as soon as he returned to Konoha, eager to see Mito Uzumaki.

The gates, usually left wide open, were now shut tight. That only deepened the unease already weighing on Toma Senju's heart.

"Open up!"

Toma Senju pounded on the gate. A head poked through a crack, and when the person saw Toma Senju, they immediately opened it.

"The young lord is back."

"What's going on? Why are the gates closed in broad daylight?"

They'd closed the gates, of course, to keep out the clans who were trying to pry for information.

The young lord probably still didn't know that the clan head, Tobirama Senju, had fallen in battle. The gatekeeper shouldn't be the one to tell him. They'd leave that to Mito-sama.

The Senju Clan Member on guard said,

"Mito-sama gave the order. She's waiting for you inside."

Those words placated Toma Senju.

Toma Senju nodded and hurried toward Mito Uzumaki's room. He soon found her.

"Mother, I'm home."

Mito Uzumaki heard him and looked toward Toma Senju outside the room, then hurried out to meet him.

"You're a good boy. You've gotten stronger, and tanner, too."

Mito Uzumaki looked Toma Senju over. He'd once been a somewhat immature boy, but the trials of the battlefield had turned him into a man who could stand on his own.

"Tsunade's here, too. Have you been behaving yourself in the village? You haven't been secretly gambling behind Grandma's back again, have you?"

"I haven't!"

Tsunade threw herself into Toma Senju's arms. She hadn't seen her father in a long time, either.

"Mother, you called me back in such a hurry. Has something happened in the village?"

"Come with me."

Sadness crossed Mito Uzumaki's face. She was about to take Toma Senju to another room to talk.

"Uncle, where's Tobirama? I haven't seen him in ages. Is he still in the Hokage's office?"

Toma Senju asked casually. Tsunade, still in his arms, heard him. She'd only just managed to hold herself together, but now she couldn't keep it in any longer. Tears streamed down her face.

"Second Grandpa, he... he's dead!"

"Waaah!"

Mito Uzumaki gave her son a reproachful look. She'd taken him to another room specifically so Tsunade wouldn't be reminded of her grief.

Now she had to comfort her all over again.