12

Spring turned to autumn, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.

Konoha Village flourished under the governance of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Internally, he boldly reformed, cracked down on corruption, and established a clear system of rewards and punishments, revitalizing the entire Village's atmosphere.

Externally, relying on the information advantage provided by the simulator, he was always able to anticipate the enemy in small-scale skirmishes with other Ninja Villages, achieving victory with minimal cost, which steadily increased Konoha's prestige.

The villagers and Ninja who had once doubted his succession were now completely convinced. Rumors of the Third Hokage's "almost demonic wisdom" had even begun to spread throughout the Ninja World.

And the Sarutobi Squad, personally mentored by him, had grown into Konoha's most dazzling new stars.

Jiraiya was still boisterous, but his strength was no longer that of the dead last from back then; he handled Ninjutsu with skill.

Tsunade's mastery of her monstrous strength Taijutsu grew deeper, and more importantly, under Hiruzen's deliberate guidance, her talent in Medical Ninjutsu was fully unleashed.

As for Orochimaru, he was completely engrossed in the mysteries of life.

His research into Ninjutsu had delved into the cellular and fundamental Chakra levels, and he often proposed theories that even Hiruzen found astonishing.

These two years, Hiruzen Sarutobi lived a full but exhausting life.

He was like a diligent gardener, carefully pruning every branch of the great Konoha tree, preventing them from growing astray.

Today, he was preparing for a major move.

Hokage Tower, executive meeting room.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at the head of the table, flanked by several Hokage Advisors: Utatane Koharu, Homura Mitokado, and Danzo Shimura.

Akimichi Torifu, that fatty, was lazy and disliked meetings, so he only attended for certain important decisions. As for Uchiha Kagami, he was busy cultivating his clansmen.

Their expressions were much more relaxed than two years prior, and their gazes towards Hiruzen were filled with conviction.

In these two years, Hiruzen had completely won over these old partners with his irrefutable, divine-level predictions.

On the conference table lay a thick proposal.

On the cover, a striking line of large characters read—"Proposal on Establishing a Konoha Medical Ninja System and Popularizing Medical Ninja in Regular Squads."

The proposal was co-authored by Tsunade and Orochimaru.

But everyone knew that the true driving force behind it was the Third Hokage himself.

"Have you all read it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over everyone. "Share your thoughts."

Silence filled the meeting room.

After a long while, Homura Mitokado pushed up his glasses and was the first to speak.

"Hiruzen, I admit, the concept of this proposal is very... groundbreaking," he carefully chose his words. "Equipping a squad with a dedicated Medical Ninja can indeed greatly increase the squad's survival rate and mission sustainability."

"However," he changed his tone, "we must consider practical issues."

"Training a qualified Medical Ninja requires far more resources and time than a regular combat Ninja. They need to learn a vast amount of human anatomy, undergo precise Chakra control training, which will severely cut into their time for practicing combat Ninjutsu."

"This also means that in a squad, the Medical Ninja is often the weakest link in terms of combat power. In peacetime, is large-scale training not a waste of resources?"

Homura Mitokado's words echoed the sentiments of most people present.

"Homura has a point."

Utatane Koharu immediately agreed, "Our Konoha's Ninja resources are already stretched thin. Every Genin who graduates is a valuable combat asset. If we have them switch to Medical Ninja, it's tantamount to weakening our overall military strength."

"Furthermore, establishing an entirely new Medical Department requires enormous startup capital and facilities. Our Village has just gone through a war and is in ruins, so our finances may not be able to support such a huge expenditure."

Koharu and Homura Mitokado, as staunch supporters of the Second Hokage's system, had a very pragmatic, one might even say conservative, way of thinking.

In their view, the core value of a Ninja was combat. Any action that weakened combat power was unacceptable.

Tsunade, as one of the proposal's authors, was also present at the meeting. Hearing the two's objections, her small face flushed red, and she suddenly stood up.

"Advisor Homura, Advisor Koharu! This is shortsighted!"

"Are Ninja lives not resources? Is an experienced Ninja dying on a mission because they couldn't receive timely treatment not an even greater waste?"

"A Medical Ninja might not be able to directly kill an enemy, but she can save three teammates! Can't you understand this math?"

Tsunade's rebuttal was powerful, but Koharu and Homura Mitokado merely shook their heads.

"Tsunade, we understand your feelings."

Koharu's tone was calm, "But it is peacetime now. Large-scale casualties will not occur. To invest such enormous costs to deal with low-probability events is not cost-effective from the perspective of the Village's overall operation."

"You..." Tsunade was so angry she couldn't speak.

She looked to her teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi, for help.

However, Hiruzen Sarutobi merely sat there, silent, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table, seemingly deep in thought.

The meeting reached a stalemate.

Neither the supporters nor the objectors could convince the other.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on the Third Hokage at the head of the table, awaiting his final decision.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was frantically communicating with the simulator in his mind.

"Simulate!"

[[Initiating Future Simulation...]]

[[Simulation Scenario: Reject Medical Department proposal, maintain status quo.]]

A blood-red scene unfolded in his mind.

[[Scene One: The Second Great Ninja War fully erupts. Konoha Ninja fall in droves in brutal battles against Sunagakure and Iwagakure.]]

[[Scene Two: A Konoha squad falls into a trap, and the captain is severely poisoned. Because there is no Medical Ninja in the squad, they can only watch as the captain dies in agony. If there had been a Medical Ninja, he could have been saved with just one Mystical Palm Technique.]]

[[Scene Three: Post-war statistics show that Konoha Ninja casualties reach 40%, with over half of the Ninja dying from injuries that could have been treated. Countless experienced core forces are sacrificed in vain.]]

[[Outcome: Although Konoha achieves victory in the war, it is severely weakened and will require many years to recover. Tsunade also suffers an indelible psychological trauma from this war.]]

Simulation ended.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes instantly became incredibly cold.

His finger, tapping the table, stopped.

Peacetime?

Not cost-effective?

How laughable and ironic these shortsighted views seemed in the face of the bloody future.

Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed the table, and the entire meeting room instantly fell silent.

"Peace?"

"How long will your so-called peace last? One year? Two years? Or five years?"

"The clouds of war have never dispersed! They could engulf us again at any moment!"

His voice suddenly rose, echoing in everyone's ears.

"At that time, every Ninja we sacrifice will be because of our hesitation and shortsightedness here today."

"At that time, who among you will take responsibility for those lives that could have been saved?!"

"Is it you, Homura Mitokado? Or you, Koharu?"

The two who were named instantly turned pale, subconsciously avoiding Hiruzen's gaze.

They had never seen Hiruzen so enraged.

At this moment, they seemed to see the undeniable shadow of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju in him, perhaps even... surpassing him.

Danzo Shimura, on the other hand, had been much more subdued these past two years, keeping his eyes downcast.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath, his tone becoming resolute.

"Ten percent of the Hokage's funds will be directly allocated as startup capital for the immediate establishment of the Konoha Medical Department."

"Tsunade will serve as the first Director of the Medical Department!"

"Orochimaru will serve as Deputy Director and Chief Researcher!"

"Starting next semester, all Ninja Academy students must take basic medical knowledge as a mandatory graduation exam subject!"

He looked at Koharu and Homura Mitokado, who were completely stunned, and spoke word by word.

"This matter is ordered by me, in the name of the Third Hokage!"

"There is no room for discussion!"

"Meeting adjourned!"

With that, he no longer looked at anyone's reaction, directly turned, and strode out of the meeting room.

Leaving behind a room full of dumbfounded and deeply shaken executives.

Tsunade looked at her teacher's retreating back, her eyes erupting with immense admiration.

Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado exchanged glances, both seeing shock in the other's eyes.

They realized that Hiruzen's vision might have seen a future completely beyond their reach.

Konoha might truly be about to usher in a new era under his hand.