Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san

Two years later.

The 25th year of Konoha.

June, on a hot summer day.

A small merchant caravan, on its way to another country, was suddenly attacked by a group of masked criminals. The caravan's guards, including four ninja hired from Konoha at high costs, fought back fiercely.

After a brutal battle, they managed to fend off the attackers. However, everyone was severely exhausted and needed time to recover their strength.

During the break, a Konoha ninja, dressed in Chunin gear, approached a young man napping under a large tree. The young man lay comfortably with his legs stretched out and his head resting on a pillow, as if in total relaxation.

This scene enraged the ninja, as the young man, named Tōshirō, had been completely indifferent during the fight. While they were battling and risking their lives, this young man had been lying down, unmoving. This wasn't just a metaphor—he had literally done nothing.

"Tōshirō, why didn't you join the fight?" the ninja asked angrily.

Tōshirō lazily opened his eyes and gave a mocking look, "Huh, are you joking? I'm a weak medical ninja who can't even kill a chicken. Do you really expect me to fight? My job is just to heal you if you get seriously injured, that's all."

The ninja retorted, "You only know one healing technique, how does that make you a medical ninja?"

This wasn't the first time the ninja had been frustrated with Tōshirō's nonchalant behavior.

But Tōshirō dismissed him, continuing in a nonchalant tone, "Can you stop your yapping? You're annoying me. If you've got nothing useful to say, just go away—I want to sleep."

The ninja's anger reached its peak, and he decided to teach Tōshirō a lesson.

"Stop, now's not the time for internal disputes!" said the leader, a Jonin in charge of the mission.

But the ninja insisted, "Sir, let me handle this just this once. I can't allow someone like him in the team. How can he call himself a ninja and act like this?"

The ninja lunged at Tōshirō, attempting to strike him by surprise.

But he didn't expect what happened next. Before his blow could land, Tōshirō turned into white smoke, leaving behind only a pillow. In a flash, Tōshirō appeared behind him, pointing his finger as if holding a gun to the ninja's head.

With a smirk, Tōshirō said, "You made two mistakes. First, I never considered you my comrades. Second, I never wanted to be a ninja in the first place."

"Such speed!" the Jonin leader was shocked.

The enraged ninja tried to attack again, but Tōshirō easily dodged his strikes.

With disdain, Tōshirō advised, "Here's a tip for you: with your skill level, you'd be better off quitting as a ninja and raising pigs instead. Otherwise, you'll end up as cannon fodder without even realizing it."

These words were deeply insulting, pushing the ninja to fury, determined to fight Tōshirō with everything he had.

But before the fight could escalate, the leader's stern voice intervened: "Enough. No more fighting."

The ninja reluctantly withdrew, while Tōshirō shrugged indifferently, grabbed his pillow, and returned to his spot, lying down in a quiet place to sleep again.

The angry ninja turned to the leader, seething, "Commander, look at that arrogant jerk! He told me to go raise pigs. Do you realize how humiliated I feel?"

The ninja could hardly contain his rage, having worked hard to become a ninja and bring pride to his family. How could he accept being told to raise pigs?

The leader, calm, shook his head and said, "Alright, calm down. Don't let your emotions control you during a mission. If there are issues, we'll discuss them after the mission when we return to the village."

Though the leader was reluctant to admit it, he knew that talented individuals had some leeway to act freely. And Tōshirō was one of those people. Despite his poor reputation in the village, even the Hokage occasionally turned a blind eye and supported him.

This wasn't the first time Tōshirō had been transferred between teams. While the average ninja wouldn't have such privileges, Tōshirō was treated differently.

Determined, the ninja said, "Commander, can you report to the Hokage that Tōshirō needs to be removed from our team? This guy has no sense of teamwork and relies only on himself. His presence will ruin our group cohesion and disrupt missions."

The ninja continued furiously, "He's just a ninja with a Kekkei Genkai. What gives him the right to act so arrogant? Even though he's strong, he doesn't understand that true strength comes from the bonds between comrades, not individualism."

The leader nodded after some thought and said, "Alright, I'll bring it up with the Hokage when we return. I'll request that Tōshirō be reassigned to another team."

The ninja finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he was about to be rid of the burden of Tōshirō.

...

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat, reading yet another request to transfer Tōshirō from a team, looking visibly tired.

The request was worded politely but clearly meant, "This person is very talented, but he doesn't fit with us. We'd prefer him to be reassigned elsewhere where he can be better utilized."

Sarutobi observed the repeated complaints regarding Tōshirō. Every team the ninja had been a part of ended up with the same result: conflicts, tension, and failure to cooperate.

The Hokage recalled the first time he heard about Tōshirō when Tsunade had told him about his talents. Back then, he had quickly promoted him to the rank of "Genin" and had Tsunade personally present him with the ninja headband.

The hope was that teamwork and camaraderie would gradually change him, but Tōshirō was more stubborn than expected. He had made it clear that he didn't want to be a full-fledged ninja. Whenever he was assigned a mission higher than "C" rank, he would find excuses and avoid it.

Tōshirō had burdened many teams, and everyone avoided him due to his individualistic attitude and reluctance to work in a team. Yet, dismissing him completely wasn't an option. Tōshirō had extraordinary abilities, comparable to Orochimaru, someone the Hokage valued highly.

Additionally, there were other reasons to keep him. Tōshirō was from the Uchiha clan, but he didn't possess the famous Sharingan eyes. Even so, he was distinct from the rest of his clan in his actions and demeanor. The Hokage hoped to use him as a watchful eye within the Uchiha clan.

Influenced by his former mentor, Tobirama Senju, and his personal experience seeing the drastic changes in his close friend after acquiring the Sharingan, Sarutobi became highly cautious of the Uchiha clan.

The best way to monitor this clan was by recruiting individuals from within to act as internal observers.

And the most effective way to safeguard against potential threats was to cultivate eyes within the Uchiha.

He had already succeeded in recruiting several members of the Uchiha, including Suikage, a descendant of Uchiha Kagami. These individuals had a vision that extended beyond the boundaries of the clan and were loyal inheritors of the Will of Fire.

However, the number of such individuals was still too small, and more eyes had to be discovered to keep an eye on the Uchiha.

(End of Chapter)

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