Kizaru's Proposal

After hearing Kizaru's words, Tsunade lowered her head; her eyes had turned red from a mix of anger and worry.

"But... but Nawaki is just a child with average aptitude! He didn't inherit Grandfather's talent, he... he..." Tsunade said slowly and sorrowfully, her voice trembling.

"He is the grandson of the First Hokage. He has the potential to awaken a Kekkei Genkai. For other hidden villages, the mere possibility is enough!" Kizaru said bluntly.

Silence, a deathly silence. Now that she was an adult and beginning to stand on her own, Tsunade understood that Kizaru was right.

"What can I even do?" Looking up at Kizaru, Tsunade asked with a sense of confusion, a trace of helplessness deep in her tone.

"The simplest method: make Nawaki give up being a ninja and keep him protected at home."

Tsunade opened her mouth, knowing this was the best and simplest solution, but she could not bring herself to agree.

The image of her younger brother telling her with longing and determination that he wanted to become Hokage flashed through her mind.

Tsunade could not bring herself to be cruel enough to accept Kizaru's suggestion.

How would doing that be any different from killing her own brother?

Shaking her head, Tsunade spoke with difficulty: "I don't agree."

"If you don't let Nawaki give up being a ninja, it will be hard for him to possess the strength to protect himself in a short time, given his talent and aptitude.

In the short term, Anbu ninjas can be assigned to protect him personally, but the situation is tense now, and war could break out at any moment.

When that time comes, once manpower becomes tight, even if the village wants to, it won't have the capacity to arrange ninjas to protect Nawaki."

Looking at Kizaru, Tsunade gave a forced smile and said with a firm expression: "I am Nawaki's sister; I will protect him well!"

Nodding in acknowledgment of Tsunade's stance, Kizaru didn't speak. Instead, he reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a scroll.

Watching him offer the scroll, Tsunade asked with some confusion: "What is this?"

"It's the data analysis we discussed last time regarding the massive role medical ninjas—especially female medical ninjas—can play in war, along with a proposal to increase the training of medical ninjas! I have already signed it as the representative of the Shimura Clan."

Taking the scroll, Tsunade stared straight at Kizaru, momentarily stunned.

The suggestion to increase the training of medical ninjas was something she had proposed three months ago while drinking with Kizaru, venting under the influence of alcohol.

At the time, Tsunade hadn't expected Kizaru to agree; she assumed her junior brother would, at most, offer empty words like everyone else to comfort her.

But to her surprise, Kizaru had voiced his agreement directly and even put forward many beneficial and forward-thinking suggestions.

One must realize that in the Shinobi World, which prizes individual might, medical ninjutsu and medical ninjas are highly undervalued, from the hidden villages down to the average ninja.

Even in the most prosperous and powerful Konoha, medical ninjutsu and its practitioners only gained a degree of importance and development after Tsunade rose to prominence.

That was why Tsunade was so surprised when she heard Kizaru's agreement and his list of reasonable, beneficial suggestions.

Tsunade's surprise was natural, for she did not know that Kizaru possessed a soul from an otherworldly civilization.

In Kizaru's previous life, the immense value of medics on the battlefield had already been proven by history and data.

This was the reason Kizaru supported Tsunade's idea so strongly.

It wasn't about trying to curry favor with her; he simply felt that this proposal was good for the village and would enhance its strength.

And a strong village could further guarantee the leisurely life Kizaru was currently very satisfied with.

Kizaru loved a stable, slack-off life and hated trouble!

But that didn't mean he was afraid of it!

The wars of the Shinobi World stemmed from the unequal distribution of resources between nations; they were the inevitable eruption of long-standing conflicts born from conflicting interests.

Kizaru hated war, but he wasn't a saint willing to sacrifice everything for peace; he only hoped to always be on the winning side.

Therefore, Kizaru supported any action that could enhance the village's strength and increase its war potential!

Not to mention, Kizaru kept a mental list of the assassination attempts against him by the Cloud, Rock, and Sand villages.

Trying to assassinate me, are you? How truly terrifying! I must kick them all into oblivion, one by one!

Taking the scroll from Kizaru's hand, feeling a warmth in her heart and having temporarily set aside her worries, a slightly happier Tsunade didn't rush to open it, but looked at Kizaru and began to speak.

"After Nawaki is discharged, I'll have to trouble you again!"

Rubbing his head, Kizaru gave a shy smile.

"Oh, that's really embarrassing!"

"You guy!" Looking at the junior brother who was both infuriating and delightful, Tsunade didn't know how to describe him for a moment.

Standing to the side, Jiraiya, who had been silent the whole time, looked at Tsunade and then at Kizaru, suddenly feeling a sense of unease.

Had he missed something during the year or two he had been away?

"Is it three months again next time?" Kizaru asked with a smile, looking at Tsunade.

"You!" Caught off guard by Kizaru's question, Tsunade took a deep breath, calmed herself, and said with a deliberately cold face, "Suit yourself!"

"Then let's make it half a year!" After thinking for a moment, Kizaru made his decision.

"Be gentle!" Tsunade, heart aching for her brother, couldn't help but say.

"Don't worry, I'm very fast!" Kizaru said with a slightly cheeky smile.

At this point, Jiraiya finally understood a few things.

He looked at the two of them, shifting his gaze back and forth before finally fixing it on Tsunade.

"Tsunade, Nawaki is your own younger brother!"

"Do you have a better way, then?" Tsunade retorted sharply.

Jiraiya fell silent. He desperately wanted to say that he could ensure Nawaki's safety, but without a hundred percent certainty, he could not bring himself to say those words.

When it came to the life and safety of Tsunade's own brother, Jiraiya could not—and would not—make empty promises!

"Actually, there is a way," Kizaru said, looking at the two before him.

"What is it?" Tsunade asked excitedly.

"Win this war. Hit them hard enough that they're too terrified to reach out again," Kizaru said earnestly.

"That makes sense!" Tsunade's eyes lit up. She thought back to her childhood, when her grandfather, grandmother, and grand-uncle were all still around.

Back then, no one from the other villages dared to lay a finger on her!

She reached out to pat Kizaru on the shoulder, but finding the height difference too great, she had to settle for patting his arm instead.

"This time, let's show them what we're made of!"

"We'll make them feel the pain," Kizaru said with a tone of certainty.

"We'll make them feel the pain!" Tsunade echoed with a firm tone.

Having said that, the two turned in unison to look at Jiraiya beside them.

Facing the gazes of Kizaru and Tsunade, Jiraiya, who preferred peace, could only chime in, "Same here!"