"Nice to meet you. Starting today, I'll be the head of this Medical Team. I'm Shiraishi Yoshijo. I look forward to working with you."
Shiraishi Yoshijo gave a brief introduction to the Medical Team members standing in two rows before him.
There were eight members in the Medical Team. Aside from Tsunade, he barely knew any of them.
He was somewhat surprised to learn that Tsunade had trained with the Medical Team.
He'd assumed the woman had taught herself. He hadn't expected her to have formal training.
"First, thank you all for welcoming me. Now, let's take attendance."
After taking attendance and getting a rough impression of the Medical Team members, he dismissed them.
Shiraishi Yoshijo returned to his old office at the hospital.
The office had completely changed. Everywhere he looked, it had a distinctly feminine touch.
Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed.
Ever since he'd left the hospital, the office had become Yakushi Nonō's private workspace.
She had also just stepped down as head of the Medical Team.
He had no prejudice against her. She had only been following Danzo's orders.
Come to think of it, ever since he'd returned to Konoha, Danzo seemed to have vanished completely. No one in the village had heard a thing about him.
He was probably hiding somewhere to recover from his injuries.
Shiraishi Yoshijo sat in the office and lit a cigarette.
He'd taken only two puffs when someone kicked the office door open.
Tsunade strode in.
Shiraishi Yoshijo was at a loss. Tsunade had a terrible temper and a bad attitude, and there wasn't much he could do about it.
After all, Tsunade had even stronger connections than he did.
"Shiraishi Yoshijo, there's a patient."
"Tsunade, are you picking a fight with me on purpose? There's a patient, so why don't you treat them yourself? Why does the head of the team have to go?"
"What did you say? Don't think you can look down on everyone just because you're the head of the team. I'm telling you, anyone without the ability to back it up will eventually be driven out of here."
Tsunade slammed her fist onto the desk. Several cracks instantly appeared across it.
Shiraishi Yoshijo stood up helplessly. "Sure, sure, whatever you say. It's not like you can do anything but talk."
When he reached the ward, Shiraishi Yoshijo saw the patient, with two medical ninja treating him.
A long gash ran across the man's chest and abdomen, the torn flesh making for a gruesome sight.
"Head, he was just brought in. Someone slashed him with a blade. If we don't treat him right away, his life may be in danger."
The two medical ninja explained when they saw him, then stepped aside.
Tsunade stood nearby with her arms crossed, watching him closely.
Shiraishi Yoshijo sighed and reached out, touching the wound with one finger.
The distinctive green light of Medical Ninjutsu shone at his fingertip.
His finger slowly traced the length of the wound.
Two minutes later, Shiraishi Yoshijo pulled his finger away. "All done."
The patient touched the wound and exclaimed in delight, "It's healed already?"
As he spoke, he tried to get out of bed, only to collapse onto the floor.
The two medical ninja hurried to help him up.
"Don't get excited. The wound's healed, but your body will be weak for a few days. Just stay in the hospital for a few days."
Shiraishi Yoshijo finished speaking, shot Tsunade a dismissive look, and turned to leave.
Tsunade stared at him, dumbfounded. He'd healed the patient just by running his finger over the wound.
What kind of Medical Ninjutsu was that?
She'd never seen anything like it.
After Shiraishi Yoshijo left, she hurried over to examine the patient.
After a flurry of activity, Tsunade stared at the medical report in her hands, lost in thought.
There was no doubt that Shiraishi Yoshijo's Medical Ninjutsu worked incredibly quickly.
But the patient's body was now terribly weak.
She knew he'd walked to the hospital himself after being wounded by the blade. Now, forget running—he'd probably struggle to take even a couple of steps.
Was he speeding up the treatment by draining the patient's strength?
Tsunade pushed open the door to Shiraishi Yoshijo's office again.
"What kind of Medical Ninjutsu did you use?"
Shiraishi Yoshijo lit a cigarette and took a leisurely puff before replying, "Why should I tell you?"
You bastard!
Tsunade's punch shattered the office door.
The cigarette fell from Shiraishi Yoshijo's hand.
This woman was outrageously arrogant!
Some people hurried over after hearing the commotion. When they saw what had happened, they kept their mouths shut.
The new head of the Medical Team had picked a fight with the Hokage's student.
Front-row seats to the show.
Shiraishi Yoshijo suppressed his urge to fight back and left the hospital without changing expression.
In the Hokage Office, Shiraishi Yoshijo began listing Tsunade's offenses.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed away at his pipe, looking helpless.
If he could control Tsunade, she wouldn't have such an explosive temper.
"Yi Cheng, go back for now. I'll call Tsunade in a moment—"
Before Hiruzen Sarutobi could finish, someone kicked open the door to the Hokage Office.
Tsunade walked in with Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
The pipe in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand fell onto the desk with a clatter.
Tsunade said, "No need to call me. I'm already here."
Orochimaru smiled. "It seems something interesting has happened."
Jiraiya wore a mischievous grin. "Do you need us to help settle things?"
When he saw the three of them come in together, Shiraishi Yoshijo understood.
Had the three of them joined forces to pick a fight with him?
Even if the patient incident hadn't happened, Tsunade would have found another excuse to blow up at him.
Shiraishi Yoshijo glared at Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi had just picked up his pipe when Shiraishi Yoshijo's look made him shiver.
"Tsunade, you really need to work on your temper. This is Yi Cheng's first day, and you've already caused this kind of trouble. What will people think?"
"I don't care what they think!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a headache coming on.
"What exactly do you want?"
A smile appeared on Tsunade's face. After exchanging a glance with her two companions, she hurriedly said, "Even if his Medical Ninjutsu is highly advanced, I still won't approve of someone like him."
"If you want me to approve of you, you'll have to prove your strength!"
Shiraishi Yoshijo was at a loss for words. Who had encouraged this damn habit of wanting to fight before even saying two words?
Was this the beating he had to take when stepping out of the shadows and into the light?
These three were the bane of his existence.
They'd pinned him down and beaten him back at the Ninja Academy, and even now, they still wanted to do the same.
So they really did look down on him!
Shiraishi Yoshijo finally lost his temper. His face expressionless, he said, "Follow me!"
When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Shiraishi Yoshijo agree, his headache worsened.
He more or less understood that the relationship between his three students and Shiraishi Yoshijo was complicated.
As a child, Shiraishi Yoshijo had been a dead-last, not even measuring up to Jiraiya.
Then one day, that dead-last became their superior. Of course Tsunade would go berserk.
And the way he'd put it yesterday had implied that Tsunade was inferior to Shiraishi Yoshijo.
If Tsunade didn't take the chance to teach Shiraishi Yoshijo a lesson, she wouldn't be Tsunade.
Talk about adding fuel to the fire!
Before you continue