Chapter 151: Sage Jutsu

Konoha, Hospital.

Inside the hospital room, a petite middle-aged woman examined Jiraiya and Orochimaru's injuries. After a thorough diagnosis, her expression turned grim, and she reluctantly admitted that she could do nothing to heal them.

Hearing that his two most talented students were beyond saving, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed deeply, his face filled with sorrow. "Even you can't heal them?"

The woman before him, who was about his age, was Chiyo—a highly respected shinobi of Sunagakure. She was not only a master of puppet techniques but also an expert in medical ninjutsu, representing the highest level of medical expertise of this era.

If even she couldn't heal Jiraiya and Orochimaru, then no one else likely could.

Chiyo silently nodded, essentially delivering the final verdict.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru's eyes darkened. Their gazes lost their usual brilliance—it was as if they had been sentenced to a fate worse than death. Being unable to be shinobi anymore was more painful than dying.

A heavy shadow loomed over Sarutobi's face.

"Don't give up!"

At these words, Sarutobi and his two students turned toward the source of the voice. The speaker's expression was resolute as she continued, "If Sunagakure's medics can't do it, then I will."

The one who spoke was none other than Tsunade.

Sarutobi acknowledged that, in terms of medical ninjutsu, no one in Konoha could surpass Tsunade. Despite her young age, she had already become an irreplaceable medical ninja.

But that was precisely the problem—she was still too young. If she had another ten years… no, even five or six years, with her talent, she might stand a chance. But right now, she was far from capable.

"Tsunade, give up. It's already…" Orochimaru spoke in a low voice, his usual confidence gone. Even he had lost all hope.

"How will we know if we don't try?"

Tsunade's eyes shone with determination. Thanks to her experiences from the future, she had personally participated in the treatment of Lee, who had suffered a similar condition. Under the guidance of her future self, she had learned everything needed for this procedure, and she had complete confidence in her ability.

Chiyo, speaking with the wisdom of an elder, cautioned her, "Young girl, confidence is good, but excessive confidence can turn into arrogance—it will only harm you and others."

Tsunade remained silent for a moment before replying, "By regenerating new cells…"

Chiyo's eyes widened slightly. "What…?"

Tsunade repeated, "If we can regenerate their damaged cells, then we can heal them."

Chiyo narrowed her eyes before letting out a short laugh. "Your idea isn't bad, but the problem is—how exactly do you plan to regenerate cells?"

To her knowledge, no medical ninjutsu in the world was capable of such a feat.

As she spoke, she was already looking forward to seeing the look of embarrassment on Tsunade's face when she realized the flaw in her idea.

Sunagakure and Konoha were, after all, rivals. Seeing a Konoha ninja struggle would be rather entertaining.

But Tsunade simply responded, "With the medical jutsu I've developed, of course."

Chiyo scoffed. "The jutsu you've developed…?"

She was about to dismiss it as nonsense when she suddenly realized something was off. Her already wrinkled face filled with shock and disbelief. "What did you just say?"

Tsunade repeated herself.

Even Hiruzen Sarutobi, who knew Tsunade better than most, found this hard to believe. "You've developed such a jutsu? Why am I only hearing about this now?"

"Sarutobi-sensei, maybe you should think about how long you've been Hokage…" Tsunade teased.

Sarutobi chuckled awkwardly.

Ever since becoming Hokage, he had admittedly paid less attention to his students than before.

"If you had this jutsu, why didn't you mention it earlier?"

"Because I only came up with the idea while on a mission. I figured out a way to use it to heal Jiraiya and Orochimaru."

In reality, this jutsu had been developed by her future self while trying to treat Lee. It was then passed down to her, but of course, she couldn't explain it that way.

Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who had been drowning in despair, suddenly felt a glimmer of hope return to their eyes.

But not everyone was pleased.

Chiyo stood frozen, her expression blank.

Are you kidding me?!

A twelve- or thirteen-year-old child had mastered such an advanced level of medical ninjutsu? It would be understandable if she had been taught by someone, but to have developed it herself? That was beyond monstrous—it was incomprehensible!

She thought about her own lifetime of effort, how even at her age she hadn't created anything of this level. Yet, here was a child who had done it before even reaching adulthood.

For the first time in her life, Chiyo felt like all the years she had lived had been for nothing.

She swallowed hard and hesitantly asked, "Young girl, what's your name?"

"Tsunade."

Tsunade?

Chiyo muttered the name to herself, ruminating over it. Suddenly, as if struck by realization, she blurted out, "You're the granddaughter of Senju Hashirama?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately realized her mistake.

It was no secret that the major shinobi villages gathered intelligence on their rivals, especially when it concerned the direct descendant of the "God of Shinobi" himself.

There were things that could be done but not said, and things that could be said but not done.

Gathering intelligence was one of those things best left unspoken.

Tsunade did not deny it; she simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"Tsunade, in a few years, you'll undoubtedly become the most outstanding medical ninja."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's praise sounded like a provocation to Chiyo, who scoffed in response. "Since you have such an exceptional medical ninja, then I suppose you don't need me anymore."

With that, she turned and left in a huff.

Sarutobi tried to persuade her to stay—having one more medical expert would increase their chances—but Chiyo was in no mood to listen and walked away without hesitation.

Watching her leave, Tsunade frowned and muttered indignantly, "Shinobi from Sunagakure sure are petty."

Tōshirō sighed inwardly. This isn't pettiness—she's just using this as an excuse to stay out of the treatment process.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya were the students of the Third Hokage, and their talent was undeniable. As their rivals, Sunagakure naturally wouldn't want them to be healed.

Now that this treatment had "failed," Suna would likely negotiate compensation in some other form, effectively balancing the scales. Their calculations were meticulous.

After Chiyo's departure, the Third Hokage gathered Konoha's best medical ninja, appointing Tsunade as the lead.

To be honest, when she first heard she was in charge, the young Tsunade was quite nervous.

"Just go forward with confidence and do what you must," Sarutobi reassured her.

Putting all their hopes on a young Tsunade wasn't the most cautious approach, but at this point, Sarutobi had no better options.

Tsunade clenched her fists and swore, "I will definitely heal Jiraiya and Orochimaru!"

"Lord Hokage…"

Hearing someone call him, Sarutobi turned his head. "What is it, Tōshirō?"

Tōshirō asked, "I heard that Xu Fu Flowers have excellent healing properties for these kinds of injuries—is that true?"

At the mention of the Xu Fu Flower, Sarutobi sighed. If they had one, the treatment would be much more reliable. "Why do you ask?"

"I've heard that strange and rare items sometimes appear on the black market or at auctions. I'd like to try my luck—maybe I can find someone selling the Xu Fu Flower."

Before Sarutobi could respond, Tōshirō pressed his palms together and added, "As their comrade, I want to do something for them, even if it's small. Please, let me try. I'll return in time for Tsunade's treatment."

In truth, Tōshirō already had Xu Fu Flowers—he had sealed them inside a scroll using fūinjutsu in the future.

But he couldn't just take them out of nowhere. He needed a plausible reason.

Considering that Tsunade wouldn't start the treatment immediately and would need time to prepare, he could use that time to "acquire" the flowers.

With the emotional appeal in place, Sarutobi had no reason to refuse. However, he did ask one crucial question: "Do you have money? If you really find the Xu Fu Flower, I imagine it'll be quite expensive."

"Good point."

"Alright, go to the finance department and withdraw funds. Tell them it's on my orders."

"???"

Tōshirō wasted no time. He went straight to the finance department, where the accountant handed him a scroll, explaining that opening it would reveal a chest of money.

Tōshirō essentially walked away with free money, delighted to receive a full chest of cash. Then, he set off, leaving Konoha.

A few days later, Tōshirō arrived at a luxurious city in the Land of Fire. It was a place where the underworld and high society intertwined, with both auctions and black markets thriving in its midst.

Since he was playing a role, he decided to go all in—staging the perfect act.

Instead of participating in an auction, which would be too expensive to manipulate, he opted for the black market. For a small fee, he could rent a stall, creating a believable setup where he could "find" the Xu Fu Flower and later purchase it himself.

Before heading to the black market, Tōshirō had some preparations to make. First, he changed his appearance in an alleyway. Then, he checked into a small inn under a false identity.

After that, he went to a bank. He took out a check worth a billion and exchanged it for cash.

Since it was his first time making such a large transaction, he was a little nervous, worried they might ask for additional documentation. Fortunately, after verifying the check, the bank simply handed over the money.

A single chest could hold a maximum amount roughly equivalent to "one Asuma." Tōshirō carried three chests back to the inn, locked himself in, and closed the windows and curtains.

Once everything was in place, he bit his finger, pressed his hand to the floor, and with a puff of white smoke, summoned a snow fox.

Looking at the small fox, barely the size of a common dog, Tōshirō shook his head.

Originally, he had hoped to raise it and see if it could transform into a human, but he later realized that was just wishful thinking…

After giving the fox a few simple instructions, Tōshirō sent it back.

Then, with a loud pop, he was reverse-summoned to the Frozen Sanctuary.

Gazing at the endless white snow, Tōshirō felt nostalgic. Aside from his academy days, he rarely visited this place anymore.

Seeing him, the penguin Mani quipped, "What kind of wind blew you here today?"

Tōshirō had always found this penguin annoying, so he immediately threw a stack of money at it.

At first, Mani was furious, but when he saw the thick bundles of cash, his anger vanished instantly, replaced by a wide grin.

Unamused, Tōshirō got straight to the point: "I want to learn Sage Jutsu."

(End of Chapter)

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