Konoha Hospital.
On an idle afternoon with no patients, Tsunade lounged in her chair, legs hooked over the edge of the desk. Bored, she toyed with a pen and kept sneaking glances at Uchiha Jin across from her.
Jin sat in a swivel chair, leafing through the medical notes Tsunade had handed him, a custom set of advanced materials prepared just for him. His long fingers turned the yellowed pages, pausing now and then as a slight frown tugged at his brow. The new forehead protector on his brow caught the light, a cold gleam that marked his fresh rank as genin.
Catching that gleam, Tsunade suddenly asked, "So why the rush to graduate early? Kushina has been on me nonstop to help her apply too."
Jin closed the notes and let a sly smile curl his lips, drawing out his words on purpose. "Because I could not wait to have Sister Tsunade as my jonin leader. Does that answer satisfy you?"
"Smooth talker. Think I am as easy to coax as Kushina?" She snorted, the pen hitting the desk with a sharp PA! Yet the corner of her mouth tilted upward anyway.
"Want a different reason?" Jin pretended to ponder. "Maybe I wanted to get here sooner and help lighten your workload."
"Learning to be slippery at your age. What is it going to be like when you grow up?" She snatched an apple from the desk and tossed it.
Jin caught it cleanly, wiped it on his sleeve, and took a big bite. "Speaking of which, do you not take missions anymore? Kushina keeps dreaming about you leading us out of the village once we graduate."
Tsunade arched a brow, eyeing him with a half-smile. "What, you want to go too?"
"I do not mind either way," Jin said with a shrug. "But someone is dying to, spending all day fantasizing about high-rank missions and glorious battle."
"She would. But Kushina cannot leave the village on a whim, even after graduation, she will probably..." Tsunade's voice trailed off, turning heavy.
"Kushina's situation is special, but..." Jin started to say more when a rush of footsteps cut him off. The door flew open and a nurse appeared, face drained.
"Lady Tsunade, we have a critical case. We need you in surgery right now."
Tsunade met Jin's eyes. Neither wasted a word. They strode out together.
They hurried into the operating room. One look at the uniformed shinobi on the table and Tsunade's brows knit. "The wound is already infected. We will need to excise the tissue, and..."
"I will take it."
Jin stepped in before she finished. Tsunade moved aside without argument.
He approached the table, gave the mangled wound a single glance, then set his palm lightly on it. A soft green light flickered. Before their eyes, a gash to the bone began to knit closed. Necrotic flesh revived, healthy granulation tissue surged, and in moments the site was whole again.
"No matter how many times I see it, it is absurd. This ability makes medical ninjutsu feel pointless," Tsunade said, arms folded, her tone a mix of awe and resignation.
"You were the one who told me medical arts are good for far more than this. Why are you the one losing heart now?" Jin flashed a grin as he stepped back from the table.
"Just venting," she sniffed, tucking loose hair behind her ear.
The shinobi on the table stirred, then jolted upright when he recognized them. "Lady Tsunade, Lord Jin!"
Jin blinked at the recognition, looked the man over, then nodded as it clicked. "You are from Root."
"Yes. I am part of Lord Danzō's patrol squads on the border." His gaze lingered on Jin's face, as if double-checking.
"Got it. Report in immediately." Jin's expression sharpened.
The man bowed to them both, then blurred from the room in a string of swift steps, showing no trace of the mortal injury from moments ago.
"Looks bad," Tsunade said to the empty doorway, weight in her voice. "Feels like our quiet days are over."
"War, huh. The only question is who makes the first move this time." Jin answered lightly, though a spark of anticipation flickered in his eyes. War meant masses of shinobi on the move, and his shadow space had a healthy appetite for such resources.
At that very moment, in the Hokage's office.
"Danzō" and Sarutobi Hiruzen hunched over a desk buried under intelligence scrolls.
"Sunagakure has begun transporting supplies," Hiruzen said, tapping a red mark on the map, his brow furrowed. "They are building fortifications on the front line." His finger slid to other points. "Kumogakure and Iwagakure are also making moves." Then he pointed toward the Land of Water. "As for Kirigakure, the sea keeps the news slow."
He straightened, took the pipe from his mouth, and knocked it on the desk. "What is your take?"
Smoke curled, blurring his grave expression.
"We should not sit and wait for them to finish preparations." "Danzō's" reply came hard and precise as he jabbed the map. "Best to strike first and sabotage their supply lines."
It was exactly the kind of hawkish line Danzō would give. Hiruzen nodded, then added, "I agree in principle, but that would hand the other great nations an excuse for a full-scale war. We still do not have the daimyo's sign-off."
"Even if we cannot be first to strike, we must be ready. Send the White Fang to the front. With him there, and Root in support, we can steady the situation and keep the Sand in check." "Danzō" indicated a strategic choke point along the Wind-Fire border.
Hiruzen thought long and hard, then gave a slow nod. "Alright. We will start with that. I will speak with the daimyo again. At the very least, during this war, Konoha needs enough initiative."