Tsunade Takes a Disciple

Nonō and Amamiya Maki followed Tsunade briskly toward Konoha Hospital.

Nonō's hands trembled slightly the whole way.

Tsunade was only a few steps ahead, her golden ponytail swaying in Nonō's field of vision. Every swing made her heart beat a little faster.

Every few seconds, she took a deep breath and slowly released it, forcing down her panic with a clumsy method she had devised herself.

Amamiya Maki walked beside her without once turning to look at her.

"It'll be fine. You just need to believe in yourself more."

Nonō glanced at him, then returned her gaze to the road ahead.

"...Mm. Thank you, Maki."

She silently finished the rest in her heart.

Thank you for always staying by my side.

By the time they reached Konoha Hospital, the entrance was already packed solid.

There were no ordinary patients lining up to register. The crowd consisted entirely of ninja returning with injuries.

Some leaned on crutches, some had arms in slings, and some sat in wheelchairs with blood seeping through the bandages around their legs.

The injured had completely filled the narrow corridor outside the entrance.

A ninja with half his head wrapped in bandages rested against the wall with his eyes closed, clutching a wooden prosthetic limb to his chest.

Fresh cuts marred its joint, clearly damage sustained in battle.

The instant Tsunade appeared at the street corner, the noisy crowd surged toward her like a disturbed swarm of bees.

"Lady Tsunade! Please heal my leg! I can't lose the ability to go on missions!"

"Lady Tsunade! My whole family depends on me! Please save my hand!"

"Lady Tsunade!"

The moment Tsunade stepped through the hospital entrance, the dense crowd surrounded her.

This had always been her biggest headache.

Most of the injuries present did not require her personal attention at all.

Torn ligaments, shattered bones, minor chakra disturbances-all were routine injuries the Medical Team could handle.

But most of the injured were stubborn beyond reason.

They would rather endure their pain for several extra days than let anyone but her treat them.

After all, lasting complications could leave a ninja sidelined at best, or permanently shut out of missions and battle at worst.

Without the ability to undertake missions, they could no longer create value for the village.

In Konoha, no one cared about people who had no value.

"All Medical Ninja, take your positions. Same procedure as always-split the patients up for treatment!"

"I'll be here overseeing everything!"

At Tsunade's command, the Medical Ninja inside immediately stepped forward in an orderly fashion to take charge of the injured.

Reluctant though they were, the patients did not dare disobey Tsunade. They obediently followed the medical staff to their assigned treatment areas.

Only one person in the crowd refused to cooperate.

"You're the hospital director, and you won't treat me yourself? Who's going to take responsibility if some ordinary doctor leaves me with permanent damage?"

Amamiya Maki leaned beside the reception desk, quietly watching this Konoha troublemaker argue in public.

Clearly, this was the man's first time seeking treatment here. He had no idea just how formidable Tsunade was.

Any ordinary ninja would have been overwhelmed with gratitude and deference upon seeing her.

She was an elite Medical Ninja capable of dragging the dying back from the Pure Land.

Yet someone actually dared challenge and question her to her face.

Maki had to admit that this Konoha nuisance was willing to gamble with his life to stay true to his troublemaking persona.

Finally, a normal doctor-patient relationship.

Tsunade slowly turned around.

Her expression fell somewhere between "Have you gone mad?" and "Is your brain broken?"

After days of sleepless exhaustion and a prolonged barrage of noise from the crowd, her patience had long since run dry.

She stared at the troublemaker before her, a cold smile curling her lips.

"Let me make something clear."

"Even if I accidentally kill you during treatment, I can bring you back on the spot."

With that, she raised a hand and pointed to Nonō beside her.

"You're up. Start with this one."

Nonō immediately stepped forward, swiftly questioning him and recording his injuries.

His left leg had a severely torn ligament. Even the slightest mistake during treatment would leave him permanently disabled.

She wheeled the patient into the operating room, then turned to fetch the anesthetic.

Amamiya Maki had already secured him to the operating table and was holding the vial she needed.

"Just focus on the surgery. Leave the other work to me."

This was a specially equipped operating room at Konoha Hospital, reserved for training Medical Ninja.

There were no conventional scalpels inside.

The core assessment for a Medical Ninja was chakra manipulation.

They had to shape chakra into a blade with absolute precision, without the slightest margin for error.

Nonō took a deep breath, and pale blue chakra light bloomed around her hands.

The Chakra Scalpel was an advanced A-rank Medical Ninjutsu, a technique of tremendous caliber.

Even after attaining Sage Mode later in life, Kabuto Yakushi had relied on this technique for years as the foundation of his medical ninja way.

Nonō had never received systematic training in this ninjutsu.

But gathering, shaping, and releasing chakra at a basic level posed no difficulty for her.

Forming blades at her fingertips demanded exceptional Chakra Control.

In Tsunade's eyes, anyone who could not clear even this basic hurdle had no right to be called a genius.

Tsunade folded her arms and leaned against the operating room doorway, observing quietly.

Partway through, an emergency arose in the neighboring ward.

An Anbu Ninja had been afflicted with an unusual poison that had thoroughly invaded his chakra pathways. Any further delay would require amputating his arm to save his life.

She briefly stepped away to intervene, spending forty minutes perfectly extracting every trace of poison from his chakra pathways and saving his entire arm.

Once the emergency was handled, she returned to her original position and continued watching Nonō's surgery.

As she watched, Tsunade could not help marveling inwardly.

Senju En's praise had not been exaggerated in the slightest.

This girl's talent for medicine was truly extraordinary.

The precision of her chakra blade and her control over chakra far surpassed everyone her age.

Separating ligaments and suturing tissue, she worked cleanly and efficiently, without a single unnecessary movement.

Her hands were astonishingly steady.

It was not forced steadiness achieved by deliberately suppressing tremors, but an innate stability etched into her very bones.

She rarely asked questions, but whenever she spoke, she pinpointed the heart of the problem.

Tsunade offered no praise, yet she never left, remaining there to supervise throughout.

An entire day of surgeries and consultations flew by.

By the time the last injured patient was wheeled into the operating room, Nonō's chakra was nearly depleted.

Fine beads of cold sweat covered her forehead, but her hands remained suspended steadily, without the slightest tremor.

Only the chakra light at her fingertips flickered, like a flashlight running out of power that might go dark at any moment.

Seeing this, Amamiya Maki stopped standing by.

With a thought, he activated Deep Blue Point Allocation.

[A-Rank Ninjutsu:

Chakra Scalpel fragments: 891/1000]

[Spend pressure points to increase ninjutsu proficiency?]

[Yes]

A vast wealth of chakra manipulation techniques flooded his mind.

Light flashed at his fingertips, and a sharp, densely formed chakra blade instantly took shape.

Tsunade's eyes shifted slightly at the doorway, and she gave him another look.

She had seen geniuses master the basics in a single day.

But she had never seen someone observe for an entire day and then instantly form a Chakra Scalpel.

Though still at a beginner's level, the blade's density and stability far exceeded those of an ordinary novice.

Using his newly unlocked technique alongside precise Chakra Control, Amamiya Maki successfully finished the procedure.

They sent off the last patient.

The setting sun shone through the window frames, its light shifting from the eastern sill to the western wall.

It dyed the pure white wall a warm orange-red.

Amamiya Maki leaned against a corner of the operating room and let out a long breath.

[Chakra Scalpel: beginner]

[Chakra Control proficiency greatly increased]

[Remaining pressure points: 591]

A-rank ninjutsu required a thousand fragments to fully form, making the entry threshold exceptionally high.

But today, he had thoroughly figured out the pattern.

Once his Chakra Control reached the required baseline, the rate at which his ninjutsu proficiency improved would multiply dramatically.

Studying on his own before allocating points through the system would save the most pressure points.

Apparently, he was not entirely without talent.

As the saying went, genius was ninety-nine percent hard work and one percent system.

Deep Blue, just give me the points!

"All right. That concludes today's consultations."

Tsunade stepped into the operating room, her gaze settling on Nonō first.

"Yakushi Nonō, become my disciple."

"From now on, you'll follow me and study Medical Ninjutsu."

Nonō froze for an instant, then bowed deeply, her voice rising half a pitch above its usual level with excitement.

"Yes! Thank you, Lady Tsunade!"

The golden tips of her hair bounced gently in the sunset, unable to conceal her overflowing joy.

Then Tsunade turned toward Amamiya Maki.

"Go to the office shortly to sign the paperwork and collect your pay for today."

"I can't have you working all day for nothing."

Amamiya Maki nodded silently.

Translated, that meant there was no apprenticeship for him, but he would not be working for free.

He had expected as much.

Tsunade's standards for taking disciples were extremely strict.

She had only allowed him to follow her and assist all day out of consideration for Nawaki and Grandma Mito.

Still, he would not take a cent less than the wages he was owed.

Securing patients, organizing instruments, preparing medication, handling unexpected errands-he had put in a full day's work.

Working for free would be a straight loss.

He followed Tsunade toward the director's office.

The hospital corridors were now empty and utterly quiet.

They seemed like a completely different place from the crowded, clamorous scene that morning.

Tsunade pushed the door open, walked straight to her chair, and sat down.

She bent over, hooked her fingers around the backs of her shoes, and nudged them off with her feet.

The shoes landed with two soft clacks.

The cool wooden floor met her soles, and she relaxed completely.

She slumped into her chair, stretched out her legs, and crossed them on the edge of the desk.

All the authority of Konoha's strongest ninja fell away, leaving only the palpable exhaustion of someone worn out by work.

After standing through surgeries all day, her feet were slightly red, her toes long and clean.

The skin over the tops of her feet was so thin that the bluish veins beneath were clearly visible.

Amamiya Maki entered the office and was just about to report his working hours.

Then he saw Tsunade extend her feet a little farther, her toes curling unconsciously as she gently rubbed her other ankle.

Her posture was lazy and casual, entirely devoid of her usual forceful intensity.

Amamiya Maki fell silent for a moment.

Was this his pay?

"Sign here."

Noticing his presence, Tsunade casually pointed to the form on the desk.

"The hospital will process today's wages."

Amamiya Maki stepped forward and briskly signed his name.

"Lady Tsunade, you're right."

The sudden remark made Tsunade frown slightly, bewilderment filling her mind.

"What do you mean?"

"Your proposal to establish a structured medical ninja system in Konoha wasn't wrong."

Tsunade straightened at once, planting both feet heavily on the floor, her voice edged with impatience and anger.

"What do you know, brat? Who are you to pass judgment and spout off like that?"

She had witnessed Nonō's extraordinary talent firsthand that day, and it had only strengthened her conviction that her idea was right.

Yet when she had submitted her proposal, hoping only to reduce needless sacrifices, the Third had rejected it outright with a single excuse: insufficient funding.

What she needed wasn't empty approval from a teenager, but concrete support and action at meetings of the village leadership.

The brat before her hadn't even graduated yet. He understood nothing of the political maneuvering or the helplessness involved.

"I may not be able to fully understand what you've been through."

"But I have no family, no one to turn to. I understand the weight of loneliness and sacrifice better than anyone."

"If Konoha had enough properly trained medical ninja, many people could have come home alive."

With those words, Amamiya Maki turned and left the office.

His footsteps slowly faded down the hallway, leaving behind the calm sincerity of his words.

It was exactly the same tone he had used that morning at the Senju Clan Compound, when he had gently praised Kushina's red hair.

Tsunade remained in her languid sitting posture, motionless for a long time.

Those simple words had slipped past all her defenses and stubbornness.

They had struck precisely at the reason she had fought to establish a medical system in the first place.

It had never been about fame or status, nor about proving the worth of her ninjutsu.

She simply wanted to save the ninja who should have returned alive.

She wanted every mission in Konoha to end with a little less sacrifice, a little less parting.

Tsunade muttered a soft, reproachful curse and reached for the signed pay slip on the desk.

Looking at the slightly childish, crooked handwriting on the paper, she silently tucked the slip into the very back of her drawer.

Inside the drawer was a note Nawaki had written some time ago.

A clumsy heart had been drawn on the paper, alongside a simple reminder: "Sis, remember to eat."

She gently pushed the drawer shut, closed her eyes, and leaned back in her chair.

The setting sun slanted through the window, bathing the entire office in light.

It fell across her bare feet, across her faintly furrowed brow, and across the soft glow of chakra that had yet to fully fade from her fingertips.