Sitting in her office at Konoha Hospital, Tsunade remembered what Mirai had whispered into her ear the previous day.
“People always prefer compromise.
If you say a room is too dark and ask to open a window, everyone may refuse.
But if you demand that they tear off the roof, suddenly they’ll be willing to negotiate and give you the window.”
“The same principle applies to assigning medical ninja to shinobi teams.”
“Don’t ask for a few field medics first.
Demand an entire Medical Division.
Tell them that if they refuse, you’ll resign from every position you hold at Konoha Hospital.
They won’t want to lose you, so they’ll be forced to compromise.”
“Then, once negotiations begin, you take a step back.
Suggest a limited trial.
Select a few shinobi teams, assign medical ninja you personally trained, and gather results.
At that point, what excuse can they use to refuse?”
“Once the benefits become obvious, the jonin aren’t blind.
They’ll eventually agree to expand it.”
The more Tsunade thought about it, the more surprisingly reasonable it sounded.
“Lady Tsunade!
We have a critically ill patient waiting for treatment!”
“If he isn’t dead, let him wait!”
“What if he dies?”
“Then send him to the morgue!
Why are you asking me?!”
The patient: “???”
Tsunade made up her mind.
She would try Mirai’s method.
Ignoring the hospital’s chaos for the moment, she marched straight toward the Hokage’s office.
Tsunade had always been the type to act immediately once she decided something.
Shinobi along the way took one look at her expression and hurriedly moved aside.
The aura pouring off Princess Tsunade made it obvious she was on her way to cause trouble.
Bang!
The Hokage’s office door was kicked open yet again.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was reading documents with his pipe between his teeth.
The sudden crash made his hand jerk, scattering ash across the desk.
He slowly looked up at his blond-haired disciple standing in the doorway and felt a vein twitch at his temple.
“Tsunade…
how many times have I told you to knock before-”
“Old man.
I have something to tell you.”
Tsunade walked straight to his desk and slammed both palms onto it.
“I want to establish a Medical Division under Konoha Hospital.
Its purpose will be training and assigning medical ninja for battlefield operations.”
Hiruzen paused, then slowly lowered his pipe.
“A Medical Division?
Wasn’t this already discussed at the last jonin meeting?”
“That’s why I’m not here to discuss it today.” Tsunade emphasized every word.
“I’m here to inform you.”
Hiruzen frowned.
“Tsunade, this involves budgets, staffing, and village organization.
You can’t simply decide it alone-”
“Fine.”
Tsunade straightened and folded her arms.
“If you refuse to establish the Medical Division, then I’ll resign from every position I hold at Konoha Hospital.
From now on, anyone who gets sick can find someone else.”
“The Senju Clan has enough property to feed me for the rest of my life.
I don’t need the salary.”
The office went silent for three full seconds.
Hiruzen nearly dropped his pipe.
He stared at his disciple and realized from her expression that she wasn’t joking.
Tsunade was the face of Konoha Hospital and the strongest medical ninja in the shinobi world.
Countless nobles and high officials came to Konoha specifically because of the name “Princess Tsunade.”
If she walked away, Konoha’s medical prestige would take an enormous hit.
It could even affect the Land of Fire’s standing among the great nations.
“You-”
Hiruzen opened his mouth, closed it again, and took a deep breath.
When he spoke next, his tone was noticeably softer.
“Tsunade, this can be discussed.
Calm down first.”
Compromise and retreat seemed almost carved into Hiruzen’s bones.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made so many questionable decisions in canon.
“I’m perfectly calm.” Tsunade dragged over a chair and sat down.
“Either we establish the Medical Division, or I resign.”
“Absolutely not!
This is impossible!”
The office door opened again.
Koharu Utatane entered with Homura Mitokado and Danzo Shimura behind her.
Konoha’s infamous F4 had assembled.
Koharu immediately snapped, “Do you have any idea how much establishing a new division would cost, Tsunade?”
“A department isn’t something you create because the thought suddenly enters your head!”
“If you waste money so recklessly that other village departments can no longer operate, who takes responsibility for the consequences?”
Danzo also spoke up.
“Tsunade, shinobi are ultimately expendable resources.
If you have the energy to create a Medical Division, you’d be better off helping me research human modification.
I have no objection to you resigning from the hospital.”
Hiruzen felt veins throb across his forehead.
What exactly did these people think his office was?
A marketplace?
People came in whenever they wanted and started shouting over one another.
Did any of them still remember that he was the Hokage?
“Enough!”
Hiruzen finally slammed his hand on the desk.
“Danzo, shut up first!
Tsunade cannot resign.
That is the bottom line.
And stop thinking about human experimentation all day.
It isn’t permitted!”
Tsunade looked at him with open disdain.
If it wasn’t permitted, then punish Danzo.
Scolding him twice and letting him walk away hardly sounded like opposition.
If Hiruzen merely irritated Tsunade, Danzo disgusted her on a much more instinctive level.
The man spent every day scheming in the dark like something crawling through a gutter.
Hiruzen silenced Danzo, then turned back to Tsunade in a much more patient tone.
“How about this?
Establishing a Medical Division is too significant a change, and the village finances can’t support it immediately.
But if you have another proposal, say it.
We’ll do our best to accommodate you.
Just don’t resign.”
Koharu looked ready to object again, but one glare from Hiruzen stopped her.
Her true goal was simply to prevent Tsunade from creating a new division and gaining more influence.
Whether ordinary shinobi were injured or killed mattered much less to her.
She wasn’t the one going onto battlefields or risking her life on missions.
Tsunade took a deep breath.
The moment had arrived.
“Old man, I don’t need you to expand the budget immediately.
And I’m not demanding that every shinobi squad receive a medical ninja all at once.
What I want is simple.”
She raised one finger.
“A trial program.”
“I’ll personally choose several shinobi teams and assign them medical ninja I’ve trained myself.
We observe the results and collect data.
If the results are bad after one year, I’ll shut down the plan myself without another word.”
Hiruzen fell silent.
Koharu, on the other hand, immediately became anxious.
Wasn’t this still Tsunade getting her Medical Division through the back door?
Unfortunately for her, Tsunade was glaring so fiercely that she didn’t dare interrupt.
Hiruzen studied Tsunade for a long moment.
This disciple of his really was stubborn enough to give anyone a headache.
“…How large would this trial be?” he finally asked with a sigh.
Compromise it was.
What was the Hokage for, if not compromising?