Because he genuinely wanted to learn, Tōji felt the pressure. But he enjoyed it—at least when he was focused on studying, he could forget the dark clouds of war hanging over him.
Those few days working under Orochimaru had felt like living under a shadow. Every morning he woke up with the feeling that he might not make it to nightfall.
With Tsunade's arrival, he could once again feel that the early winter sun was still bright and warm.
After about ten days of first-aid training, Shizune weeded out the students who couldn't keep up.
Tōji was one of the fortunate ones who made the cut. Only about twenty people remained to continue learning the 【Healing Technique】. (In Suna, it was also called the 【Hemostasis Technique】.)
Natchi, meanwhile, had to leave Kikyōyama with the second wave of returning shinobi.
Fortunately, Tōji had already started practicing chakra adhesion back when he'd first learned to mold chakra—first tree-climbing, then water-walking.
At the time, his goal had been to learn the most common D-rank Body Flicker as early as possible—a technique that involved channeling chakra into the feet for a burst of extreme speed.
He'd followed every detailed training method introduced in the original story as early as he could, including the genjutsu-dispelling exercise Jiraiya later gave Naruto.
He couldn't afford to waste his information advantage!
So his chakra control was actually quite good for a genin. After a few days of practice, he'd already gained a solid grasp of the most basic medical ninjutsu—the 【Healing Technique】.
But Shizune didn't continue teaching…
Iwagakure had joined forces with Kumogakure to attack Hi no Kuni.
Suna had started the recently concluded Kikyōyama campaign under the pretext that Konoha was responsible for the Third Kazekage's disappearance—just to shift pressure off themselves.
Not long ago, Iwa forces had ambushed Kumo forces, leading the Third Raikage to single-handedly fight off ten thousand Iwa-nin.
Now the battlefield had split into two fronts—in the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass—with Iwa, Kumo, and Konoha all fighting their own separate engagements.
That was when Suna finally lost. And Iwa, seeing Konoha weakened, sent over a thousand shinobi to invade Hi no Kuni.
Fighting in the Land of Rain and the Land of Grass was one thing—but Iwa troops pushing into Hi no Kuni was a whole different level!
So the ceasefire agreement between Konoha and Suna was accelerated…
By now, most of the Konoha forces at Kikyōyama could be withdrawn!
And Shizune's emergency medical training was cut short halfway.
Part of the forces here would be sent directly to fight Iwa; the rest would return to the village.
Tōji, being the rookie he was, was assigned to head back to Konoha. He'd be traveling ahead of Tsunade's main force, escorting a portion of the supplies back.
『Tsunade would probably leave the village this winter.』 On the road back, with no familiar faces to chat with, Tōji could only let his mind wander. Thinking about everything that had happened over the past days, he felt it was a real shame Tsunade would be leaving.
If Tsunade hadn't left and had become the Fourth Hokage, Konoha would've avoided a lot of disasters. In another eight or ten years, Minato could've taken over as the Fifth—that wouldn't have been too late.
If just one of the Sannin had stayed in the village, Obito wouldn't have been able to pull off the "Nine-Tails Incident" so easily.
As long as the sitting Hokage wasn't the Third, Danzo would've had to be far more restrained.
If Tsunade had been Hokage, Orochimaru wouldn't have harbored such resentment toward Konoha either… A large part of why Orochimaru later wanted to destroy the village was his hatred for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Orochimaru leaving the village was actually a good thing—fewer mysterious disappearances in the village.
Two days later, Tōji finally made it back to Konoha. Among the large crowd gathered at the main gate—his parents were there waiting for him!
"Tōji, you're back!" Amid the noisy bustle, Tōji's family pulled him close, showering him with questions and concerns.