“The two girls are very impressive, Lord Hokage. Konoha’s trainihods have improved signifitly—there are many things now that we’ve never seen before.”

  The daimyo was quite satisfied.

  Female ninja had always been at a disadvantage in the shinobi world. Over the years, very few kunoichi had risen to prominence, and battle-ready mediinja were even rarer.

  However...

  Both Rin Nohara and Kurenai Yuhi had dispyed remarkable bat prowess.

  Especially Kurenai.

  Even though the daimyo wasn’t a shinobi, he could still tell—when Rin was first caught in an illusion, Kurenai could have ehe match right then and there.

  After all...

  Not many people could survive a punch like that.

  “This is all thanks to Kanda Kyoichi. He has a real talent for teag—Kurenai is his disciple.”

  “Kanda Kyoichi? He’s also a mediinja?”

  “His expertise in mediinjutsu is sed only to Tsunade.”

  The daimyo narrowed his eyes slightly, gng toward the stands.

  Sed only to Tsunade...

  That kind of praise was no small feat.

  Indeed...

  He was a genius, much like the Sed Hokage.

  A shame...

  A man like that could never be brought into his service.

  The daimyo sighed inwardly.

  But then, his eyes suddenly widened in surprise as he looked toward Kyoichi’s se again. “Wait... Is that Tsunade?”

  “Yes, she returo the vilge retly.”

  Hiruzen’s smile widened.

  He knew his own people well—just because Tsunade was back didn’t necessarily mean she was staying food.

  However...

  That wasn’t how the daimyo saw it.

  Seeing Tsunade’s return, he was thrilled.

  Never mind anything else—just her ability to heal a rge number of shinobi could shift the tide of battle. Not to mention her powerful mediinjutsu, strategic prowess, and immense bat strength.

  With her back, even if Konoha had to face two great ninja vilges at ohey wouldn’t be afraid.

  This battle was as good as won!

  After that, the daimyo lost i in the rest of the fights.

  But then...

  The match showed him what true excitement was.

  Shisui vs. Might Guy!

  Might Guy opehe First Gate, while Shisui pushed his Body Flicker Teique to the limit. The battlefield was filled with their afterimages, moving at lightning speed.

  If Kurenai and Rin’s match had been an iing showcase of bat-ready mediinja...

  Then this ure close-quarters bat at its fi.

  Sword versus taijutsu!

  Uchiha-Style kenjutsu, Konoha-style kenjutsu, Wind Release Sword Teiques...

  No frills.

  Just pure spectacle!

  However...

  Somehow, the attacks didn’t seem all that powerful in the end.

  And to the daimyo’s astonishment, the seemingly goofy-looking ninja actually won.

  He didn’t uand.

  But...

  Hiruzen did.

  That kid, Shisui, was definitely holding back again.

  Of course...

  Even if Shisui had gone all out, he wouldn’t have stood a ce against Guy in the Eight Gates state. At this stage, Guy’s overall bat ability was undoubtedly higher than Shisui’s.

  So, the match was arrahis way for a reason.

  Both fighters got to showcase their strengths, and Shisui, who wasn’t even aiming for a promotion, got exactly what he wanted.

  After the Exam

  As soon as the third round ended, Kyoichi left immediately.

  The oute had already been decided in the seatch—this was just a formality.

  ...

  Later, Kyoichi and Tsunade went to the hospital to che Hayate Gekkō’s dition.

  “Your surgery erfect. He’s rec well—he should be able to move normally in about a week.”

  “How long until he’s as strong as a regur person?”

  “That’s hard to say.”

  Tsunade shook her head.

  There was no pret for a Kekkei Genkai-reted illness like this, making it impossible to predict the exact recovery timeline.

  “We’ll o monitor him regurly, collect data... We might even try periodic toxin removal, to see if we find a baween sustaining his Kekkei Genkai and maintaining his health.”

  Kyoichi spoke while sidering the simirities to the Eight Gates and the Breathing Activation Teique. “Those who use the First and Sed Gates, as well as the breathing teique, should undergo routine checkups as well.”

  Hearing this, Tsuopped iracks.

  After thinking for a moment, she nodded. “You’re right…”

  She had thought even further ahead than Kyoichi.

  Routine checkups and data colle wouldn’t just ehe health of shinobi—it could also help refiheir teiques in the long run.

  They could reduce side effects and lower the difficulty of mastering these teiques.

  Regur medical checkups should definitely be implemented!

  However...

  “You brat, you just keep giving me more work. Afraid I’ll leave the vilge?”

  “No way. Haven’t you already decided to stay?”

  Kyoichi grinned.

  Tsunade was momentarily speechless.

  This kid…

  He’d caught on with just the smallest hint and followed the thread to the truth.

  Annoying!

  Shizune was also stunned. “Tsunade-sama, we’re staying?”

  “You want to keep wandering? Fine by me.”

  “N-no, I… I’d rather stay in Konoha.”

  Shizune fidgeted.

  Traveling with Tsunade had been unstable and exhausting—not ideal for learning and improving herself.

  “For now, we’re staying.”

  …

  Hokage’s Office

  After meeting with the daimyo, Hiruzen had Minato personally teleport him back using the Flying Thunder God Teique. The straight to work on vilge affairs.

  It wasn’t long before a special scroll arrived.

  From the hospital.

  What could the hospital want?

  He unrolled it, sed the tents, and after a moment of thought, a smile appeared on his face.

  Psychological medie.

  Routine medical checkups.

  Both excellent initiatives!

  Of course...

  If it had just beewo proposals, he wouldn’t have been this pleased.

  What truly delighted him was the names on the proposal—

  Tsunade and Kanda Kyoichi.

  “Summon Tsunade… No, have Kyoichi e instead.”

  At first, he wao call for Tsunade.

  But then...

  He residered.

  Tsunade was difficult to talk to—better to let Kyoichi ha.

  Kyoichi quickly received the message.

  He more or less knew what this was about, and Tsunade wasn’t surprised either.

  The old man was definitely going to approve!

  Arriving at the Hokage’s office, Kyoichi found Hiruzen practically beaming with excitement.

  “Kyoichi, is Tsuaying?”

  “For now, yes. Psychological medie and routine checkups need her to oversee them. As for the future… I ’t say.”

  “For now is good enough.”

  Hiruzen sighed, feeling a little mencholic.

  He uood Tsunade’s situatioio stay even temporarily and take charge of these projects was already a major success.

  He let out a deep breath and pced the scroll on his desk.

  “Your proposals are excellent. I’ll have the hospital provide full support—especially for psychological medie. You request anyone you need, including me.”

  Hiruzen spoke solemnly.

  Psychological issues...

  He had never sidered them before. But over the years, he had seen too many shinobi uo perform at their full potential due to mental burdens.

  Gosuke rime example.

  Despite possessing jōnin-level skills, he remained a mere genin.

  This wasn’t just a loss for him—it was a loss for the vilge.

  And he wasn’t the only one.

  Kakashi was another case.

  “Yes, sir!”

  Kyoichi wasn’t surprised.

  Psychological trauma was incredibly ong shinobi.

  Hiruzen thought for a moment, then handed Kyoichi another scroll.

  “This came from the body of a Kirigakure jōnin, recovered by the ANBU.”

  Kyoichi sed it and narrowed his eyes.

  “Lord Hokage, it seems the hardliners in Kirigakure have gaihe upper hand. They may take further a against us.”

  “I agree. Kyoichi, I want you to oversee operations on the Eastern Front.”

  "Me?"

  Kyoichi was taken aback.

  He had only been promoted for less than a year, and now they wanted him to take charge…

  Would the others accept that?

  “With Tsunade and me bag you, you don’t o worry about anything else.”

  Gcell