Chapter 37: Searching for Tsunade
On the Wind Country front, the war was rapidly approaching its climax, and the fighting had grown increasingly fierce.
With a severe shortage of manpower, Konoha was forced to redeploy shinobi from other battlefields. Some genin, originally assigned to logistics and support roles, had even been thrown directly into front-line combat.
Untrained and inexperienced, these genin struggled to contribute effectively—resulting in devastating casualties for Konoha.
Nan's teammates, Anko and Hayate, were faring relatively well. They were fortunate enough to be carrying out missions under the direct leadership of Orochimaru.
Even someone of Orochimaru's level—an elite Sannin who normally wouldn't involve himself personally in combat—had begun taking missions due to the dire shortage of personnel.
But this couldn't go on. The manpower crisis had to be resolved, and the quickest solution was to develop an antidote to the poison wreaking havoc on the battlefield.
That's when Konoha's top brass thought of Tsunade. If they could find her and bring her back, not only could she drastically speed up the creation of an antidote—she was also an immensely powerful combat asset. Her return could ease the pressure on Konoha in both medical and combat capacities.
The challenge, however, was finding her.
Tsunade, known for her gambling addiction and terrible luck, had racked up mountains of debt. To evade her creditors, she frequently disguised herself and moved in secret—so much so that even Hiruzen Sarutobi, her former teacher, had no idea where she currently was.
The Third Hokage convened a meeting with the elder advisors. They concluded that if anyone could locate Tsunade, it would be the other two Sannin: Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who had known her for decades and might have an idea of her whereabouts.
Hiruzen summoned both and explained Konoha's situation, asking them to come up with a way to bring Tsunade back.
Having spent many years away from the village, Jiraiya and Orochimaru indeed knew more about Tsunade's movements than the Hokage did. In fact, they had a general idea of her current location—it wouldn't be too difficult to find her.
However, both men also understood why Tsunade had left Konoha in the first place.
A large part of it stemmed from the village's rejection of her proposal: to assign a medical ninja to every squad. That decision indirectly led to the deaths of both her younger brother and her lover, Katō Dan. The grief and disillusionment broke her trust in the village.
Knowing this, neither Jiraiya nor Orochimaru were confident they could convince her to return.
At that point, Jiraiya proposed a different approach: if someone Tsunade had a personal connection with were to reach out to her, she might be more receptive. Perhaps, moved by past bonds, she'd lower her guard and agree to come back.
The person Jiraiya suggested was Shizune—Tsunade's lover's niece. If Shizune led the mission to find her, the odds of success would increase dramatically.
The Third Hokage agreed. It sounded promising.
However, sending Shizune alone would be risky. She was only a chunin, and if anything unexpected happened along the way, she might not be able to handle it.
So Hiruzen asked Orochimaru and Jiraiya if there was anyone else close to Tsunade who could accompany Shizune.
Since the search for Tsunade needed to remain discreet—any hint of it reaching Sunagakure could invite interference—it was best to keep the team small. A small, low-profile unit would draw less attention.
At this point, Orochimaru made a suggestion.
He recommended that his disciple, Uchiha Nan, join Shizune to form a two-person team.
Orochimaru had discovered during his investigations that Nan's mother, Saki, had once studied medical ninjutsu alongside Tsunade before marrying into the Uchiha clan. Not only were they fellow disciples, but distant relatives—and they had remained close friends until Tsunade's departure from Konoha.
In other words, Nan also had a strong personal connection to Tsunade.
By the time he left the village, Nan's strength had already surpassed that of most jōnin. Under Orochimaru's guidance, he had grown even stronger, learning numerous new techniques and gaining valuable combat experience. Orochimaru estimated his current strength to be at the level of an elite jōnin.
A team consisting of Nan and Shizune should be more than capable of carrying out a mission to locate and return Tsunade.
Plus, such a small team would minimize the risk of exposure—making it less likely to attract enemy attention.
Orochimaru explained all of this to the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen, listening carefully, also recalled Uchiha Nan and the promise he had shown...
Back then, the Third Hokage had been concerned that sending someone as young as Nan to the battlefield might negatively impact his future. That's why he had specifically asked Orochimaru to look after the boy.
He never imagined that in such a short time, Nan would already possess jōnin-level strength. A truly unbelievable prodigy.
Having Nan and Shizune form a team would not only ensure safety but also improve the chances of bringing Tsunade back—while keeping the risk of exposure to a minimum.
However, they were both still young and relatively inexperienced. The Hokage worried that unexpected situations could arise, so he hoped an experienced ninja could lead the mission.
Ideally, that person would be either Orochimaru or Jiraiya, since both knew Tsunade better than anyone and had the highest likelihood of bringing her back quickly.
But both were vital to the ongoing war effort in their respective sectors, and with Konoha's manpower stretched thin, the Third Hokage couldn't afford to pull them from the front lines.
That's when Jiraiya offered another suggestion—his own student: Namikaze Minato.
At this point in time, Minato had not yet earned the title of Hokage or become known as the "Yellow Flash." He was still just a regular jōnin. But his strength was nothing to scoff at—and Jiraiya, as his mentor, understood that better than anyone.
Moreover, Minato's wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was distantly related to Tsunade. That familial connection made him even more suitable to lead the mission.
The Third Hokage agreed. Minato was a highly talented ninja and well-suited for this task.
Even setting aside the family connection, Minato's relationship with Tsunade—through Jiraiya—meant he was more familiar with her than most.
Coincidentally, Minato's team had just returned to the village after completing a mission. Two of his squad members, Obito and Rin, were injured and needed time to recover—so the team was temporarily inactive.
That settled it. The Hokage decided to temporarily assign Nan and Shizune to Minato's team, forming a new squad dedicated to locating and retrieving Tsunade.
With the team lineup finalized, the Third Hokage immediately issued the mission orders to Nan and Shizune, instructing them to return to Konoha at once. Upon arrival, they would join Minato and Kakashi and begin their assignment to find Tsunade.
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At that moment, Nan was still hard at work on the antidote, experimenting with formulations and treating as many poisoned shinobi as he could.
When he received the summons, he quickly understood the reasoning behind the decision: if Tsunade returned, the antidote's development would progress much faster. She was, after all, the best medical ninja in the world.
What surprised Nan, however, was that Shizune wasn't yet Tsunade's disciple. Which meant… this was probably the original point in time when Shizune found Tsunade, leading to the antidote's development and the eventual resolution of the poison crisis.
Nan couldn't help but feel a little puzzled—why had the Hokage chosen him to be part of the mission?
Unbeknownst to him, Nan's mother, Saki, had once studied medical ninjutsu alongside Tsunade. They had been close friends and even distant relatives. But she had never told Nan about it.
Still, Nan was genuinely excited for the opportunity to meet Tsunade.
In his previous life, he had been a world-class doctor—recognized on a global scale. And now, in this life, he would finally meet one of the greatest medical ninja this world had to offer.
He planned to use this golden opportunity to impress her—not just with his medical knowledge and skills, but also with his "silver tongue" and, most importantly (in his words), his god-tier looks.
Ideally, he could charm Tsunade, gain her favor, and learn as much as he could from her. With his fusion of medical knowledge from both worlds, he was curious just how far he could go.