Konoha Hospital.
This was the largest public hospital in Konoha. Although it was open to villagers, it was essentially a hospital under the ninja village, dedicated to treating injured and sick ninja. As a result, it brought together Konoha's finest medical practitioners.
"Teacher Kushina, these are the herbs for making antidotes. Lady Tsunade asked me to bring them to you."
In the hospital corridor, three boys around eleven or twelve stood before Kushina Uzumaki, each carrying a basket of herbs. They spoke with eager smiles.
"Oh! I've got them."
"Speaking of which, the Chunin Ninja Exams are coming up soon, aren't they? You three are planning to take part, right?"
Kushina Uzumaki wore surgical scrubs and had removed the mask covering her mouth. Smiling, she accepted the herbs from them and examined them carefully before asking.
"We all signed up, Teacher Kushina. Don't worry—we're definitely going to become Chunin this time!"
The boy standing in the middle thumped his chest as he promised. Just as Kushina was about to ask them something else, a wave of exclamations suddenly rang out from down the corridor.
"Wow! What a cool-looking man. Who is he?"
"He's so handsome! I've never seen him before!"
Hearing the excited voices coming from all around, Kushina seemed to sense something. She looked curiously toward the end of the corridor.
Before long, a young man in black with a sword at his side appeared at the far end and walked toward Kushina and the others.
"Whoa, he's got such a powerful presence!"
"He's scary!"
Kushina's three students were already Genin. They weren't particularly strong, but they had at least some eye for these things. As they watched the man approach and felt the force radiating from him, they were all secretly astonished.
"You finally decided to come back!"