Chapter – 384 Amazed Tsunade

After separating from Itachi, Kuroto rushed towards the second floor of a particular Izakaya.

And here he found the sight of a beautiful blonde old hag drinking sake, while a black-haired Kunoichi of the same generation as Kuroto was taking care of the blond hag with a helpless expression, and at the side sat her pig.

These two or rather three are none other than Sannin Tsunade, Shizune, and the emergency pork Tonton.

The Kunoichi noticed Kuroto's arrival and waved her hand signaling Kuroto to come in.

After taking the seat in front of the two Kunoichi, Kuroto said with a bow, "I am sorry for making you wait Tsunade-sama, Shizune-chan."

Tsunade said with a bored look, "Look who it is, the pesky little brat who used to be Orochimaru's running dog, you sure have grown up, I never would have imagined that the weak kid of back then would reach where you are now."

Kuroto was not offended by Tsunade's rude manner of speaking, and said politely, "Being praised by one of the legendary Sannin is nothing short of an accomplishment for my weak self."

"Weak-self, sure… so what did you want to talk to me about… hurry up and out with already, I don't have much time, this is a short break I have, I would rather put it to good use while gambling somewhere than just wasting time with a kid here." – Tsunade said while folding her arms under her chest.

Shizune smiled awkwardly upon hearing Tsunade's words, "Ahahaha… please don't mind her Kuroto-san, Tsunade-sama has not taken a rest for the past 7 days, so she is a little tired."

"Shizune, I am sitting right here!" – Tsunade berated Shizune.

"Sorry-sorry Tsunade-sama." – Shizune apologized.

Kuroto said with a sigh, "I never expected that you would remember me Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade continued with her bored look, "I never would have expected either, if not for the fact that I met up on old acquaintance on my why to Konoha…"

Kuroto said in a confused tone, "You mean?"

Tsunade took a sip of sake, then said while shaking her head, "I mean nothing, I am not in the mood of reminiscing those days… now speak what do you want to talk with me about, I am running out of time…"

After thinking a little, Kuroto said, "Alright, I wanted to ask if you would be willing to take a disciple who wants to learn Iryo Ninjutsu from you…"

Kuroto's words made both Tsunade and Shizune frown, "You want to learn Iryo Ninjutsu?"

Kuroto shook his head, and said, "Not me… Yui wants to learn Iryo Ninjutsu."

Tsunade asked with a confused expression, "And who is this Yui?"

"Well, she is my fiancé, a Kunoichi from Hyuga Clan…" – Kuroto answered.

Tsunade said, "Whatever, if she wants to learn Iryo Ninjutsu, she can just go ahead and apply at Konoha Hospital, there is no need to come to me… moreover, why are you the one asking me? If she wants to learn Iryo Ninjutsu then why is she not the one asking me?"

Kuroto said with a light smile, "I will be honest with you Tsunade-sama, it's because she has never known or met you personally, I am not saying that I know you too well either, but at least I have met with you a few times back when I was still a fresh genin under him."

Tsunade took a sip of sake, then said, "Figures… but if she wants to learn Iryo Ninjutsu, then she can just go ahead and apply at Konoha Hospital…"

Kuroto said, "She was ready to apply at Konoha Hospital, but I want her to personally learn from you Tsunade-sama, under your guidance, her real talent can bloom…"

However, Tsunade shook her head, "Look kid, you might be Orochimaru's disciple, but I am not interested in teaching anyone anything… If she really wants, she can just learn from Konoha Hospital."

Kuroto sighed, "Figures it wouldn't be this easy, if a Sannin were to accept just about anyone as their disciples, then people will never stop coming."

Tsunade nodded with an impressed expression, "Look, you aren't too shabby at figuring out things… now if you'll excuse me… I have to go and take care of a few things, also mind paying the bill for me, I did not bring my wallet."

After taking the last sip of the Sake, Tsunade noticed Kuroto's silence and noting that he had nothing else to say she got up and started to leave.

Shizune kept looking in turn at Kuroto and Tsunade… she was about to walk away when Kuroto suddenly spoke, "Tsunade-sama, I will make you a deal, no two deals… I will make you two deals; would you consider listening to me?"

Tsunade stopped in her tracks and asked with a bit of curiosity, "What kind of deal…?"

Kuroto said, "Someone once told me about the proposal you once made during a Jonin Council meeting after the second shinobi world war, the proposal was about assigning an Iryo-nin to each four-man squad… Although your proposal was indeed a brilliant one, unfortunately, it was never accepted because it was rather unfeasible."

Tsunade frown upon being suddenly being reminded of the past memories, "And let me guess, that someone was Orochimaru? I am again surprised that he would share such things with you… but then again, it did seem that he valued you quite a lot… be that as it may, what are you trying to say here?"

Kuroto said, "Valuable or not does not matter to me, and my point is that your proposal may have been a very good one… but it was a bit unrealistic because of its unfeasibility at that time due to war…

The current situation is not any better with how severe the losses have been during the third great shinobi war, immediately followed by Kyuubi's chaos, then several small-scale wars, and conflicts with Akatsuki and Amatsukami, in these years, people have died one after another…

I am sure Tsunade-sama must have been aware of the correct records of the recent death toll in the combined raid the three villages performed against Akatsuki…"

Tsunade nodded and prompted Kuroto to continue:

"In such a situation, where every life is very important to resist Akatsuki and Amatsukami. The need for Iryo-nin, who can keep shinobi and people alive is more than ever.

Yet, your proposal is still unfeasible.

The main reason being Shinobi themselves, especially the ones from the major shinobi clans. In particular, these shinobi are unwilling to become Iryo-nin, the reason is that an Iryo-nin does not fight in battle, so there is no glory attached to it. As such, people don't want to become Iryo-nin…

But what if this changes? Naturally, changing this is not so easy, there are several variables involved… but let's assume this thing changes, and what if one of the Noble Shinobi Clan were to support this endeavor?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, her expression stated that she was a bit interested, "So basically you are trying to say is that the Hyuga Clan will support this endeavor?"

Kuroto nodded, "I will convince Hiashi-sama to support this endeavor."

Tsunade was now more interested, she walked back, took her seat, and ordered more sake, then said, "And are you sure that you can convince Hyuga Patriarch?"

Kuroto said, "I can say so with absolute certainty."

Tsunade was more surprised at Kuroto's bold use of the term 'Absolute', "What gives you the confidence?"

Kuroto shook his head, and said mysteriously, "I have my own methods, Tsunade-sama does not need to worry about that… what I want to ask is what happens after Hiashi-sama supports this endeavor?"

Tsunade said after a while of consideration, "It could change a few things, but one Clan alone is not enough for this… Hyuga Clan may as well be one of the two major shinobi Clan, it is still not enough… the major composition of shinobi comes from the civilian class, and civilians are somewhat unwilling to become Iryo-nin, because… as you mentioned, there is no glory involved in it, therefore, they are unwilling to put too much effort into becoming Iryo-nin…"

"This thing changes when people truly understand the threat Akatsuki and Amatsukami pose." – Pausing here, Kuroto looked around, then said in a light whisper, "The strength of leaders of both the organization is not something that any Kage can match up to… I know this is not something to be happy about, but what is true is true, and we need to accept it and act accordingly to it. Perhaps only someone like Shodaime-sama might be able to match up to them, others can not. What do you think will happen when people of the village come to realize this hard truth?" – Kuroto said.

Tsunade had a realization, "You mean to say people's faith in their Hokage will dwindle?"

Kuroto shook his head, and said, "It could, maybe, but that wouldn't be the case for very long, and it can easily be manipulated into something productive…."

Tsunade nodded, and said, "Hmm, that is true, I guess…"

Kuroto continued, "So, as I was saying when people are manipulated into changing their opinions, they need to be directed into doing something productive, else it will all be pointless, so out of all the options, the option of becoming a shinobi is the best one, as it will give them some degree of power, and along with power some hope.

Faced with the threat of Akatsuki, and Amatsukami, more and more people would also want to become shinobi, to be able to protect themselves, their families, and friends, and this village they love so much, plus this will also give the village more manpower to work with.

Yet, we also know that not everyone can be a shinobi because being a shinobi requires more than just being able to throw shuriken or do tree walking. Not to mention, that even then, there is hardly anything most would be able to do against the likes of Akatsuki and Amatsukami with their strength.

Even Konoha wouldn't have enough funds to train so many of them, only to send them all on their deaths. So, they will need to be given something, something where they can make some difference."

"And that something will be Iryo Ninjutsu? By becoming Iryo-nin, people will have a real chance at saving their loved ones or other fellow villagers?" – Tsunade muttered thoughtfully.

Kuroto nodded, and said, "Exactly."

After a while of thinking, Tsunade said, "What you are saying is indeed correct, but Sarutobi-sensei must agree to this as well…"

Kuroto nodded, and said with a smile, "Sandaime-sama may have found this proposal to be somewhat unfeasible back then… but he will have no choice but to accept it now. And what happens if Sandaime-sama supports your proposal Tsunade-sama?"

"Are you trying to say that you have a method to convince Sarutobi-Sensei as well?" – Tsunade questioned more curiously.

Kuroto nodded, and explained, "I don't but Hiashi-sama does, Hokage-sama has ordered for the nonregistered Clan shinobis to register themselves in Konoha Military, naturally, all shinobi Clans are somewhat resistant to this order, as it will greatly weaken the individual power of each clan…

It is obvious to both of us that these clans can't resist this order for very long and will have to agree to it at some point, as they don't have any other choice.

In such a situation, if the Patriarch of one of the Major Shinobi Clan were to propose a negotiation in exchange for the agreement… and as per the negotiations, Iryo-nins have to be standardized in each four-man squad so as to increase the chances of survival of their clan members…

And obviously, the Patriarch of that major Clan will propose such a negotiation during a Jonin Council Meeting, or perhaps during a meeting where the Patriarch of each Clan is also present, so as to increase the weight of his words.

Faced with such a situation, will Hokage-sama be able to refuse this proposal considering all the things?"

"..." – Tsunade was silent, she was left speechless when everything was said and done.

"Obviously Sandaime-sama can not refuse, because doing so will have a negative effect, it will cause the clans to back away, which is something Sandaime-sama can't afford at such critical times." – Kuroto said in conclusion, "So all the three major problems you were facing back then will be solved at once."

'This kid…!' – Tsunade can't help but be amazed.

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