"Students, starting today, the academy will offer a new elective course: Medical Ninjutsu. Those interested may attend. The schedule will be posted later—check it if you're curious."
When Tsukiki heard this, he was instantly intrigued. Medical ninjutsu played a huge role in war. During the Warring States period, the Uchiha had never valued it—until the Senju rose to power.
Hashirma Senju, with his slug summons, drastically reduced Senju casualties, negating the Uchiha's numerical advantage. Slowly, the Uchiha fell behind.
Later in the Warring States, the Uchiha lost not just because of Izuna's unexpected death—which crippled their top-tier strength—but also because their numbers dwindled relentlessly.
The root cause was medical ninjutsu. It was the Senju's greatest asset in dominating the shinobi world, though it was overshadowed by Hashirama, the "God of Shinobi," and never gained wide fame.
Additionally, medical ninjas were weak in combat, easy targets for enemies with little self-defense ability. They often suffered the highest losses on the front lines.
Even Konoha's leadership disapproved of sending medical ninjas to the battlefield—let alone promoting their development. Tsunade's proposed medical reform found little support at the jonin meeting.
The Third Hokage knew medical ninjas were crucial, but training them was harder than training chunin—and their survival skills were pitifully low.
But Tsunade was special—his student, a Sannin, the renowned Princess Senju Tsunade. Reluctantly, he allowed her to start an elective course at the academy. Large-scale training, however, was postponed indefinitely—at least until after the war.
"Tsukiki-kun, you seem really interested in medical ninjutsu. You're not actually thinking of learning it, are you? You're an Uchiha—since when do Uchiha study healing?"
Amahara Tsukiki rolled his eyes at Hyuga Rin but didn't answer, leaving the cunning girl confused and full of questions.
Others might not know, but Tsukiki did: the Uchiha had invested heavily in medical training. During clan drills, a medical ninja was always on standby—proof of their emphasis on the field.
The first day of the new semester was light on classes. Tsukiki had mentally prepared to graduate early and become cannon fodder, but contrary to his expectations, it seemed he'd stay for another term.
The academy had originally compressed all courses into six months, but with the frontline in an odd stalemate, early graduation was put on hold.
So two new courses were added: Medical Ninjutsu and the Will of Fire—plus practical combat. Other subjects were dropped. Unlike the medical elective, the Will of Fire was mandatory—absences meant no graduation.
The Will of Fire was essentially the Third Hokage's version of ethics class, aimed at boosting loyalty to the Hokage from a young age.
Tsukiki thought it over all morning and decided to learn medical ninjutsu. Though spreading himself thin was risky, mastering it could boost his survival odds on the battlefield.
Of course, as a ninja, he couldn't neglect his core skills—that would be putting the cart before the horse. With his mind made up, Tsukiki regained his confidence and clarity.
Noticing her deskmate's resolved expression, the scheming Hyuga Rin grew even more curious—but they weren't close enough for her to ask. She could only bury her questions.
The next afternoon, Tsukiki brought his notebook to the medical ninjutsu classroom—a large lecture hall that could hold hundreds.
But he found fewer than forty students there, mostly girls. Very few boys had shown up—less than ten.
Soon, the instructor entered. The class erupted—especially the girls—because their teacher was Senju Tsunade herself, the famous Sannin.
"Quiet."
The room fell silent instantly—Tsunade's presence was overpowering.
"Does anyone know what a medical ninja is?"
"I do! Medical ninjas are amazing—they save lives. My mom was healed by a doctor at Konoha Hospital. I want to be a great medical ninja too!" a girl answered eagerly after raising her hand.
"Good, but that's not the full picture. Medical ninjas do much more. Take these textbooks—I'll explain later. But I hope you all stick with it."
Tsunade signaled outside, and two assistants brought in stacks of books to distribute—after taking attendance.
When it was Tsukiki's turn, the assistant glanced at him twice—he was the oldest boy in a room full of girls, standing out noticeably.
After writing his name and class, Tsukiki received a book: Fundamentals of Medical Ninjas. It looked impressive.
"Amahara Tsukiki… Strange name. Is 'Amahara' even a clan in Konoha? Even if he persists, it'll be hard for him to become a great medical ninja. Male medics exist, but they're far behind females."
"What are you two discussing? Something about that boy? Is there a problem?"
Tsunade noticed her assistants whispering, and so did Tsukiki—his senses, sharpened from clan training, picked it up easily.
They thought they were quiet, and with the students chattering excitedly over their new books, even a jonin would struggle to hear them without jutsu. Thanks, Uchiha training.
Knowing they were talking about him, Tsukiki stayed calm—flipping through his book, eyes never leaving the page, but his attention remained on Tsunade and her team.
"Enough. At their age, they care about jutsu. We're lucky this many are interested in medical ninjutsu. Turning him away would hurt the field's development."
Tsunade settled the matter. Medical ninjutsu was just starting—challenges were expected. She'd thought more would enroll, but less than a tenth of the academy had come.
She'd prepared for failure—every beginning is hard. This course was a test—to see if medical training in the academy was feasible and to pave the way for future reforms.
Tsukiki sighed inwardly in relief. He'd finally made this choice—if he'd been rejected for being male, it would've been a major blow.
Thankfully, Tsunade didn't allow it. Though her assistants weren't wrong—one was even a male medical ninja himself, which confused Tsunade even more.
Soon, Tsunade began the lesson. She wasn't yet the legendary medic-nin she would become—her teaching was still inexperienced, and the three laws of medical ninjutsu weren't even mentioned.
She pushed for medical reform because of her brother Nawaki's death. If he'd had a medical ninja nearby, he might have survived. That's why she believed in training medics—though everyone thought it was just a personal reaction.
But they didn't know: she'd wanted this all along. Nawaki's death only made her act sooner.