"I've never seen the village this empty," pointed out Sakura, who was currently on her way to the Hokage's House. She looked around, adding, "I wonder where everyone's gone?"
"And there haven't been any good missions lately," Karin complained. "I got stuck babysitting some academy brats on some stupid survival training thing yesterday, too…"
Guy, Kakashi and Asuma still hadn't returned from their missions guarding the diplomatic delegation sent to the Hidden Sand, so Teams 3, 7 and 10 had remained Jōnin-less— and as a result, left unable to take on any missions above C-rank.
"It might have something to do with the Hidden Sand," said Ino, casting an envious sidelong glance at Sakura's breasts, which were flopping up and down under her clothes as she walked. "…I overheard my dad talking about it with Shikamaru's father."
It had been a few days since the Kurosuki family elimination taskforce had returned to the Hidden Leaf Village from the Land of Rivers, and Sakura had spent most of that time in Karin's and Ino's company— training in Medical Ninjutsu under Tsunade's supervision. Due to the mounting pile of paperwork on the Hokage's desk, Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that the only reason Tsunade was being so lavish with her attention was that she simply did not want to do her work…
'Today's the day,' said Inner Sakura firmly. 'We'll ask her about the diamond on her forehead, and then she'll be forced to tell us about the Strength of a Hundred Seal!'
It was all rather vexing.
Sakura had already mastered the Yin Seal, but she couldn't use it, since Tsunade hadn't officially taught it to her yet. She had almost filled it to capacity, but she had stopped just short of filling it completely, since the mark would appear on her forehead.
"Come back here this instant, My Lady!" came Shizune's voice from further on ahead. "You can't keep running away from your work forever!"
"Nonsense!" Tsunade's voice echoed from a distance. "As Hokage, my duty is to the village and its people. Training the girls in Medical Ninjutsu is what I should be doing— think of the lives they'll save!"
As the girls rounded the final corner before arriving at their destination, they saw a busty woman powerwalking as fast as she could manage away from the Hokage building, her large globes jiggling freely under her loose clothes.
'Thank goodness nobody has invented bras yet,' said Inner Sakura dreamily. 'In this world, only I have proper bust support!'
Removing her bra after a long day of physical exertion was one of Sakura's newest pleasures in this life, but even so, she wouldn't trade her System reward brassiere for anything else in the world. The difference between going commando and wearing a bra was like night and day— the strain that her heavy breasts exerted on her Cooper's Ligaments and her back muscles was immense!
"There you are, girls!" said Tsunade, beaming at them— completely ignoring Shizune, whose nagging voice could still be heard in the distance. "To the hospital!"
"We were wondering where everyone had gone, Lady Tsunade," said Ino as they walked. "Is there something big happening?"
Tsunade sighed— she had just escaped work, so the last thing she wanted to talk about was work.
"Nothing that would concern you girls," she said dismissively. "Let's focus on the topic of Medical Ninjutsu, shall we?"
"Then, I've been meaning to ask you about that mark on your forehead, Lady Tsunade," said Sakura, trying to sound as casual as possible. "It looks good on you."
'Come on, spill it,' said Inner Sakura eagerly. 'Teach us the Yin Seal.'
"It really does, doesn't it?" said Tsunade good-humouredly, parting her golden locks with her hand to give the girls a better look at her forehead. "You know, I've changed my mind about going to the hospital— come on, follow me…"
Tsunade abruptly turned on her heel and changed directions. Sakura looked at the other two girls and shrugged, before setting off at a trot after Tsunade.
"Recite the three rules an Iryō ninja must always follow," said Tsunade, as she continued walking ahead of them without turning around to face them. "Karin, you go first."
"Er…" said Karin. "A Medic must never give up on treatment until their patient's dying breath?"
"Correct!" said Tsunade. She then added in a commanding tone, "Sakura, give me the second rule."
On the very first day Sakura had begun to train in the Healing Arts with Tsunade, her mentor had beaten the three fundamental rules into her in a way she wasn't about to forget…
"A Medic must never fight on the frontlines," said Sakura, wincing subconsciously as she remembered the beating Tsunade had given her to drive in the point.
Sakura gingerly rubbed her butt with a hand. It had been three days, and it still hurt…
"Correct," said Tsunade. "Ino, the third rule?"
"A Medic should always be the last of their team to die," said Ino. "A bit morbid, if you ask me…"
"Correct," simply said Tsunade.
They continued wending their way through the village, and a short while later, the group arrived in Senju Park. Sakura was rather surprised— she'd been expecting Tsunade to lead them to one of the many training grounds scattered around the village.
"There is actually a fourth rule for Medic Ninja," said Tsunade, as she finally turned around to face them. "A fourth rule, that as of this moment, only applies to me."
Tsunade paused for a few moments, for emphasis.
"Rule number four," said Tsunade assertively. "A Medic who has mastered Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth and the Strength of a Hundred Seal… may ignore the first three rules!"
Sakura applauded.
"Paired together, those two Jutsu form a Kinjutsu, which I have named the Ninja Art: Creation Rebirth— Strength of a Hundred Technique. A shinobi who has mastered this technique becomes virtually unkillable for as long as they still have chakra."
"…and considering how much chakra can be stored within this Yin Seal on my forehead, that is a very long time indeed," added Tsunade, tapping her forehead, "but bear in mind that this Jutsu does not heal, but regenerate. In exchange for temporary immortality, this Jutsu shaves off your life expectancy. The longer you remain in this state, the more you age…"