The Hokage's Art of Compromise

Tsunade sat in her office at Konoha Hospital, recalling what Mirai Uzumaki had whispered in her ear yesterday—

"People always prefer a compromise. Say a room is too dark and you want to open a window here, and everyone will definitely object.

"But if you propose tearing off the roof, they'll come negotiate and agree to open a window instead."

"It's the same with assigning medical teams to ninja squads!"

"Just directly propose establishing a Medical Division! If they refuse, resign from your position at Konoha Hospital. To keep you from leaving, they'll definitely compromise!"

"Then negotiate it out. Each side takes a step back, and you can suggest starting with a small-scale trial—assign medical ninja to selected squads, with the candidates trained by you. That way, they'll have nothing to say."

"Once the benefits of assigning medical ninja become clear later on, the Jonin aren't blind. They'll definitely agree!"

It sounded... surprisingly reliable?

"Lady Tsunade! A critically ill patient is waiting for treatment!"

"If he's not dead, make him wait!"

"What if he dies?"

"Then send him to the morgue! Why call me?!"

The injured patient: ???

Tsunade made up her mind to try Mirai Uzumaki's suggestion first!

Ignoring the patients in the hospital, she headed straight for the Hokage's office.

Tsunade had always been the type to act the moment she made up her mind.

Leaving Konoha Hospital, she strode toward the Hokage Office Building. The ninja she passed all gave her wary looks and stepped aside—Princess Tsunade's imposing aura made it obvious she was off to smash someone's place up.

Bang!

The Hokage's office door was kicked open once more.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been reading documents with a pipe in his mouth. The tremendous bang made his hand jerk, scattering ash all over the desk.

He looked up at his disciple standing in the doorway, her blonde hair disheveled and her gaze sharp. A vein throbbed at his temple.

"Tsunade... how many times have I told you? Knock before you come in—"

"Old man, I have something to tell you." Tsunade walked straight to the desk, slammed both hands down with a smack, and leaned forward to stare Hiruzen Sarutobi in the eyes.

"I want to establish a Medical Division under Konoha Hospital, specifically responsible for training and assigning medical ninja on the battlefield."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, then slowly set down his pipe. "A Medical Division? Wasn't this discussed at the last Jonin Assembly?"

Tsunade enunciated every word. "That's why I'm not here to discuss it today. I'm here to notify you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned. "Tsunade, this involves budgets and staffing. It's not something one person gets to decide, you—"

"Fine." Tsunade straightened, folded her arms beneath her chest, and thrust it out proudly, revealing a deep cleavage.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't been Tsunade's teacher, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from sneaking a glance down her cleavage!

Tsunade continued, "If you don't agree to establish the Medical Division, then I'll resign from every position I hold at Konoha Hospital right now. From now on, nobody should come looking for me when they get sick."

"The Senju Clan has plenty of businesses anyway. It's not like I'll starve!"

The office fell silent for three seconds.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe nearly fell to the floor.

His eyes widened as he looked at his female disciple, whose face clearly said I'm not joking. Ten thousand thoughts raced through his mind—

Tsunade was Konoha Hospital's golden signboard, the strongest medical ninja in the entire ninja world.

Countless nobles and high-ranking officials from major nations came to Konoha for treatment solely because of the name "Princess Tsunade."

If she quit, Konoha's medical reputation would suffer by at least half. It might even affect the Land of Fire's international prestige.

"You—" Hiruzen Sarutobi opened his mouth, then closed it again. Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a noticeably softer tone. "Tsunade, we can discuss this. Calm down—"

Compromise and concession seemed to be carved into Hiruzen Sarutobi's bones.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made so many absurd decisions in the original story.

"I'm very calm." Tsunade pulled over a chair, sat down, and crossed her legs. "Either establish the Medical Division, or I resign!"

"Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!" The Hokage's office door was pushed open again.

Sakura Utatane and Homura Mitokado entered, along with Danzo Shimura clinging to them!

Konoha's F4 was complete!

Sakura Utatane's voice was shrill. "Do you have any idea how much it will cost to establish a hospital division, Tsunade?"

"You can't establish a department just by slapping your head and deciding to do it!"

"If you act recklessly and a lack of funds causes Konoha's other departments to stop functioning, affecting the entire village, who will take responsibility?"

Danzo Shimura had something to say as well. "Tsunade, ninja are consumables to begin with! Instead of wasting your thoughts on establishing a Medical Division, why not help this old man research human modification? I can agree to your resignation from Konoha Hospital!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's forehead veins bulged as he listened. Good grief, what did they think the Hokage's office was?

A marketplace? One or two of them could come whenever they wanted and argue whenever they pleased?

Did they have any respect for him as the Hokage at all?!

"Enough!" Hiruzen Sarutobi could no longer endure it and slapped the desk.

"Danzo, shut up first!" He took a drag from his enormous pipe. "Tsunade cannot resign. That is the bottom line! And stop obsessing over human experimentation. It isn't allowed!"

Tsunade's face was full of disdain. If it wasn't allowed, then punish him!

Just saying a few painless words like that—someone who didn't know better might think he supported him!

If the old man merely annoyed Tsunade, then Danzo Shimura made her physically sick!

All day long, he was like a bug crawling in a gutter, scheming and groveling in ways that disgusted her.

After making Danzo Shimura shut up, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke earnestly again. "How about this, Tsunade? Establishing a Medical Division is a major matter, and the village's finances can't support it right now.

"If you have any other ideas, you can tell us. We'll do our best to resolve them. Just don't resign."

Sakura Utatane wanted to say something else, but Hiruzen Sarutobi shot her a glare, and she kept quiet.

After all, her goal was simply to prevent the Medical Division from being established, lest her authority be diluted.

As for whether ninja were injured or died, she didn't care. It wasn't as though she went to the battlefield or had to carry out missions.

Tsunade took a deep breath, knowing the timing was right.

"Old man, there's no need to immediately allocate funds or expand the staff, and I'm not asking you to assign medical ninja to every squad all at once! What I want is simple—"

She raised one finger.

"Start with a trial!

"I'll personally select several ninja squads and assign them medical ninja trained by my own hand.

"We'll see the results and collect data. If the results are poor after a year, I, Tsunade, will disband the Medical Division myself without another word."

Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent.

But Sakura Utatane grew anxious. Wasn't this still about establishing a Medical Division? Hiruzen, you can't agree to this!

Unfortunately, Tsunade was glaring at her fiercely right then. She was frightened stiff for the moment and didn't dare speak.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Tsunade for a long time. This disciple of his really was stubborn enough to give anyone a headache.

"...If it's a trial, how large will the scale be?" In the end, he still let out a sigh.

Compromise it was! Wasn't the Hokage meant for compromising?