A medical ninja who is both highly skilled in medicine and capable in battle is quite rare.
Tsunade's proposal carried great significance—if every four-man squad had a qualified medical ninja, the team's survival rate and endurance would increase dramatically. In turn, this would elevate Konoha's overall combat effectiveness and recovery capacity.
If successful, the impact would be tremendous.
On the battlefield, many ninja die simply because they don't receive timely treatment. If a teammate happens to be a medical ninja, the positive effect they can have is easily imagined.
However, while such an idea sounds good in theory, it remains just that—an idea. Realistically, full implementation was nearly impossible, or at best, only partially achievable. Training a medical ninja who could actually hold their own on the frontlines proved extremely difficult.
Even without considering talent, time itself posed a major constraint. A ninja could either spend their time studying deep and complex medical knowledge or focus on frontline combat techniques. Under normal circumstances, it's very hard for any ninja to master both equally well.
Tsunade was more of a "special case" rather than the norm.
It was absurd to expect a highly skilled medical ninja to also be battle-hardened, or to demand that a formidable ninja also be a medical expert.
In fact, even twenty years later, when Tsunade's concept had become one of the mainstream ideas in squad-building across all villages, most so-called "medical ninja" in squads were actually ordinary ninja with some basic medical training. Strictly speaking, they were ninja with limited medical knowledge—not true medical ninja—meaning they were more like "medics" than "professional doctors."
The so-called "medical ninja" within squads fall far short of those working at Konoha Hospital.
Ideal teams did exist, but in small numbers.
After Tsunade submitted her report, the Third Hokage formally discussed the matter with the Elders and began collecting opinions from other ninja. Generally speaking, immediate approval was difficult to obtain.
One key question had no easy answer: Was the medical ninja joining the operational squad there primarily to provide medical support, or as someone who needed protection from the other three members? While a medical ninja's skills deserved respect, who could guarantee they could keep up with a front-line action team instead of becoming a burden during missions?
Therefore, large-scale implementation was out of the question. At best, it might allow limited trials or pilot experiments.
In this regard, her status as Lady Katsuyu, her position as one of the Third Hokage's disciples, and her de facto candidacy for the Fourth Hokage—all without official announcement—lent significant support to Tsunade's new initiative.
And the support was quite considerable.
No need to beat around the bush — Tsunade's affairs were naturally Haseo's concern. Supporting Lord Haseo meant securing the loyalty of an entire faction — Kagenami, Uzumaki, Hatake, and more. Konoha had always been a place where countless small factions coexisted, and Lord Haseo was comfortably seated atop one of them.
From a factional standpoint, Haseo's side carried serious influence indeed. Top-tier fighters like Haseo himself and Sakumo Hatake; specialized auxiliary support from the Uzumaki clan; plus control over the Nine-Tails and its Jinchuriki.
Lord Haseo had never intended to build his own power base — quite the opposite in fact. His original goal had simply been to protect his own little corner of the world. Yet now, that little corner had grown into something critically important.
This group could be considered Konoha's "Rising Tide." If anyone had objections, they could start by facing off against Sakumo Hatake.
Recently, Sakumo Hatake's mood had begun improving slightly. Even though his own son had been "sacrificed" to Lord Haseo as a toy, even when Haseo wasn't in Konoha, that kid would still train thoroughly every day according to the "menu" set by Lord Haseo.
Moreover, as young Kakashi grew older, he became especially firm in his convictions. He came up with a totally self-consistent logic — if the training was tougher, it meant he was learning more skills.
Sakumo Hatake was just playing at it — Lord Haseo was the one truly passing down his legacy...
Truth be told, there was nothing wrong with that mindset at all.
So gradually, Kakashi actually started seeing Lord Haseo as more like a real father. That was utterly ridiculous — pushing someone so hard yet somehow growing fond of them.
But Kakashi thinking like that almost drove his mom nuts, causing recent unrest within the Hatake household... No matter how gentle a woman she was, she simply couldn't get behind her husband's decisions when it came to their kid.
Lately, Sakumo Hatake was practically aging himself into gray hair over it... Hmm, still no issues there.
After Kushina introduced Minato Namikaze to the Hatakes, Sakumo's mood began improving accordingly. You could say he'd finally found his "true son."
Sakumo Hatake had never split evenly with anyone, nor had Minato Namikaze ever done so either... Slapping both hands together, enlightenment struck.
Hatake liked Minato — a perfectly natural reaction. Honestly speaking, aside from Lord Haseo, who especially favored female apprentices, there was absolutely no reason for anyone to dislike someone like Minato Namikaze.
Polite yet firm in his convictions; young but mature in thought; ambitious without losing touch with reality; gifted and hardworking... aside from some occasional teenage pretension — especially when it came to naming techniques — he didn't have any real flaws.
No matter how strong someone might be, their lifetime remained limited. Someone like Minato, however, was exactly the type able to carry forward another's techniques.
Yet, any beautiful duo inevitably faces a particularly severe issue — the intrusion of a third party.
The more harmonious the pair, the more serious the problem becomes.
One night, as Minato trained at a secluded training field, Jiraiya just so happened to pass by... This encounter seemed coincidental, yet bore inevitability within.
The reason was simple — the training ground was close to the Uzumaki district. Since Kushina had suffered severe punishment from Shikou, Minato hadn't seen her again. Still, unconsciously, he chose to train precisely in such a location.
As everyone knows, right behind the Uzumaki District lies the Hot Spring Town.
Does a young Jiraiya appearing in the Hot Spring Town even need an explanation? His very presence there practically explains itself—Jiraiya, the pervert.
Initially, Jiraiya had only been idly watching Minato train. Now a sage and not a hermit, he simply stood there, absentmindedly observing Minato's movements.
At first glance, Minato didn't seem much different from other young ninjas.
Yet as he watched, something about Minato began to change. He held a short sword and repeatedly practiced stabbing motions—nothing unusual there—but with each repetition came visible improvement.
Steady, unmistakable progress.
According to the Great Toad Sage, Jiraiya's life mission was to mentor others, which is why he sometimes paid special attention to such matters.
Minato Namikaze couldn't compare to Nagato in terms of immediate impact—the moment Nagato revealed his Rinnegan, even Jiraiya was stunned. As for Minato? He was just an ordinary ninja from a common civilian background.
Before long, Jiraiya found himself unable to look away or walk off.
After training for some time, Minato stopped. By then, his body was exhausted; continuing further would only yield diminishing returns, so he decided to end training for today.
However, as he slid the short sword back into the sheath on his back, it knocked against the ninja tool pouch below, sending a scroll tumbling out.
Just as Minato started to bend down to pick it up, a large hand beat him to it.
Minato tensed slightly at first but quickly relaxed—he naturally recognized who it was.
"Jiraiya-sama..."
Jiraiya silently nodded, but as he was about to hand the scroll back, he suddenly sensed something unusual.
"Where did you get this scroll?"
"Jiraiya-sama, it came from Lord Haseo."
At a time like this, Minato couldn't mention Kushina, so he directly named Haseo instead.
Without another word, Jiraiya immediately unfurled the scroll.
"..."
Minato felt momentarily dazed, unable to react quickly enough... Would such a respected figure really just open someone else's sealed scroll like that?
As soon as Jiraiya unrolled the scroll and saw what technique it held, he silently took a deep breath—Haseo wouldn't have given this to an ordinary ninja for no reason. There had to be something more behind it.
The most likely explanation? Haseo believed this child was suited to master this technique.
A child suitable for the [Flying Thunder God Technique]? How could that be possible—it belonged to the Second Hokage!
"Have you practiced this technique before?"
"No, Jiraiya-sama. I was told not to open the scroll without authorization," Minato replied.
In truth, Minato didn't know exactly what kind of ninjutsu was written on the scroll—he only knew it was important.
"Well then, do you want to try it? I can authorize you."
"..."
Though Jiraiya had grown into a composed ninja, let's not forget—he was once a child prodigy who could perform the Summoning Jutsu without even having a contract partner.
A legendary figure who nearly met his end.
Originally, Jiraiya had already made plans to return to the Land of Rain, but now he decided to stay in Konoha for a while longer.
His current actions could be perfectly captured with one phrase:
"Fate has bound this child and me together."
Indeed, Minato and the white-haired boy are fated to cross paths.
P.S. Last two days! Please cast your monthly votes for me — any support would be greatly appreciated!
(End of this chapter)
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