Konoha Village, the Hokage Building, inside the conference room.
Uchiha Chiya sat in the corner, his fingertips rubbing the Konoha symbol on his forehead protector.
The meeting had already lasted two and a half hours. The air was thick with sorrow and oppression.
He slightly raised his head. His three-tomoe Sharingan opened inadvertently, emitting a faint dark red glow under the dim light.
He scanned the solemn or weary faces in front of him one by one.
The shadow brought by the war had already enveloped everyone in Konoha.
"Next, let's talk about the combat losses."
"Within ten days, at the border between the Land of Rain and our Land of Fire, the confirmed ninja casualties are seventeen Chunin and six Jonin."
The voice of Hokage Advisor Homura Mitokado was calm, almost numb.
The scroll in his hand slowly unrolled on the table. Each name stabbed into Chiya's eyes.
These were all living people, but now they had become cold numbers.
Chiya secretly tightened his grip on his forehead protector, his knuckles turning white from the force.
This was the reality of the ninja world.
Without strength, even survival was a luxury.
"Chiya, what's wrong with you."
A low voice came from beside him.
Chiya looked sideways, meeting those eyes as dark as ink.
He was Uchiha Fugaku, a few months older than Chiya, and Chiya's cousin.
He was now frowning slightly as he looked at Chiya.
"Just thinking about the war situation."
Chiya replied flatly, the scarlet in his eyes disappearing immediately.
"Pay attention to your image. We are here for the meeting, representing the Uchiha clan."
Fugaku's voice dropped even lower, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Chiya was already used to Fugaku's nagging. He nodded helplessly.
At that moment.
A clear voice from the front broke the silence of the conference room.
"Enough!"
Her voice trembled slightly with agitation. Her bright brown eyes were full of stubbornness.
The person speaking was the granddaughter of the "God of Shinobi," the princess of the Land of Fire, Tsunade.
Tsunade.
Tsunade.
Tsunade.
Tsunade at twenty-four was still young and impulsive.
Her fair face was flushed with sadness. Her willow-leaf shaped eyebrows were tightly knit together.
Her blue robe opened slightly with her movement, revealing the white inner wear that hugged her perfect figure.
Tsunade.
"At least half of these casualties could have been avoided!"
She tightly grasped the heavy... necklace at her chest. It was the relic of the First Hokage, and also the last memory her brother Nawaki left for her.
Tsunade's brother Nawaki had died just a few days ago.
The main reason for his death, in her view.
Was that his team was not equipped with a medical ninja to provide timely treatment.
"If only the teams were equipped with medical ninjas."
Tsunade's voice stopped abruptly, suppressing her emotions.
Equipping teams with medical ninjas?
This scene, it seemed somewhat familiar.
Chiya's gaze swept past Tsunade, then looked at her two teammates.
Orochimaru wore a faint, almost imperceptible sneer at the corner of his mouth. Jiraiya was frowning, a rare sight.
At the head of the table, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath from his pipe. The shadows between his wrinkles deepened.
Homura Mitokado adjusted his glasses, his tone cold.
"The war is imminent. We don't have sufficient resources or time to train medical ninjas."
Conference room.
"That is precisely why, because of the war, we need to train them even more!"
Tsunade's slender, jade-like hand slammed onto the table.
Her voice seemed squeezed out from between her teeth.
"It is precisely at times like this that training is even more necessary. If we don't train now, then when? Even training one could save the lives of several, even more than ten, ninjas! I think you simply don't want to do it!"
The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly tensed.
Chiya's eyes flickered. Tsunade's proposal indeed hit the mark. Training medical ninjas was imperative.
But during this war period, the attitude of Konoha's higher-ups was clearly more inclined towards short-term combat power.
[Host detected multiple key characters in the vicinity. System activation.]
A mechanized voice abruptly rang out in Chiya's mind.
His body stiffened sharply. His pupils contracted slightly.
System?
Chiya was not unfamiliar with this thing!
Could it be?
After eighteen years of transmigration, his golden finger had finally arrived?!
[System activation successful.]
[Character panel activated.]
[Task triggered: Intercept Tsunade.]
[Reward: The Hundred Healings Jutsu or one Advancement Card.]
Chiya took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart.
"System, display the character panel."
[Name: Uchiha Chiya]
[Age: 18]
[Chakra: 1 Kaka]
[Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Three Tomoe)]
[Skills: Genjutsu Proficiency, Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Three Basic Academy Jutsu, etc.]
[Proficiency: Possesses thorough understanding and skilled mastery.]
[Sharingan-copied ninjutsu, shurikenjutsu, basic taijutsu, and other mandatory content are not displayed on the panel.]
Chiya was stunned when he saw the chakra value on the panel.
"System, system!"
"1 Kaka? What unit is this!"
[Answering host, 1 Kaka = the chakra amount of one Kakashi.]
"..."
Kakashi, a unit of measurement?
He almost couldn't hold back.
A dead meme was actively attacking me!
But now was not the time for this. The task reward was the key.
The Hundred Healings Jutsu, Tsunade's signature technique, could freely use chakra stored in a seal, even breaking the constraint that medical ninjas cannot fight.
But he didn't have the long-term chakra accumulation from the Strength of a Hundred Seal, nor a massive chakra reserve as backing.
For him, an Uchiha with only 1 Kaka of chakra.
Having this technique didn't seem like it would offer much advantage either.
And the other reward!
The Advancement Card. The introduction said it could advance ninjutsu, taijutsu, or Kekkei Genkai!
Could it be?
Chiya hurriedly thought to himself.
"System, I currently have the three-tomoe Sharingan. Can I use the Advancement Card to upgrade it to Mangekyo?"
[Yes, host.]
Hiss!
Terrifyingly so!
That was the Mangekyo Sharingan!
Just thinking about it made Chiya's heart beat violently.
In this meat-grinder war period of the Second Great Shinobi War.
Having the Mangekyo Sharingan meant absolute strength. It meant having the capital to survive!
The Hundred Healings Jutsu offered limited improvement for the current stage of Uchiha Chiya.
But the Mangekyo Sharingan, once awakened, could multiply his strength geometrically in a short time.
The Advancement Card must be obtained!
As for the task...
Intercept Tsunade?
Chiya's mind raced, trying hard to recall the original plot.
A strange light flashed in Chiya's eyes.
He remembered!
Tsunade once proposed establishing a medical ninja system, but no one supported her.
Dan Katou stood up to support Tsunade, which left a particularly deep impression on her.
Thinking of this, an idea sprouted in Chiya's heart.
Dan Katou, you should just be a good Jonin.
The waters with Tsunade are too deep. You can't handle it!
Let a righteous Uchiha step in!
Thinking this, Chiya quickly stood up, his voice clear and firm.
"I support Lady Tsunade's proposal."
Instantly, all the eyes in the conference room turned towards him.
Dan Kato, who was about to stand up to support Tsunade, was ultimately one step too late.
He looked back at Uchiha Chiya, surprise flashing in his eyes.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe stopped mid-air, making his thoughts unclear.
Tsunade turned and looked at Uchiha Chiya, her eyes widening slightly.
Tsunade.
She seemed not to have expected someone to stand up and support her, let alone that this person would be a ninja from the Uchiha clan.
"Uchiha Chiya?"
Homura Mitokado's tone was icy.
"Is this your personal opinion, or the stance of the Uchiha clan?"
Chiya's expression remained calm. He looked straight ahead, sticking to the facts.
"Medical ninjas can greatly improve team survival rates."
"Currently, the ninja world is embroiled in multi-sided warfare. As long as the battle lines are extended, once the medical ninjas our Konoha Village trains join in, the scales of victory will inevitably tilt towards our Konoha."
Uchiha Chiya saw the unfriendly expressions on the faces of the people at the head of the table.
Then he proposed a compromise method.
"Given the wartime situation, resource scarcity is also a major problem.
Our Konoha can temporarily forgo full training, and instead opt for instruction.
Instruction means prioritizing the use of the shortest time and the fewest resources to instruct a batch of medical ninjas who are qualified to go to the battlefield."
He paused, his tone emphasizing.
"One experienced veteran ninja is worth more than ten new ninjas.
Having one more medical ninja capable of treatment would greatly increase survival rates.
Therefore, training and instructing medical ninjas.
Is not only for winning the current war! It will undoubtedly place us ahead of other nations in the future!"
The air suddenly solidified.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were elusive, making his thoughts unclear. Meanwhile, Danzo beside him frowned almost imperceptibly.
Orochimaru turned his head to stare at Uchiha Chiya. A glint of interest flashed in his golden vertical pupils.
"How interesting."
Orochimaru's hoarse voice sounded.
"Since when did the Uchiha clan start caring about comrades?"
This immediately piqued everyone's curiosity.
In the current Konoha Village.
Most people believed that the Senju clan saw love, not ninjutsu, as power.
In contrast.
The Uchiha clan placed the power of ninjutsu first.
It was understandable for Tsunade of the Senju clan to say such words.
But now, an Uchiha who revered power had also spoken words valuing comrades.
Not only Orochimaru, but other ninjas also sized up Chiya.
Chiya only felt Orochimaru's gaze was extremely invasive.
But in the current situation, the arrow had already left the bow.
He took a deep breath and looked calmly at Orochimaru, speaking word by word.
"Lord Orochimaru, our Uchiha clan is not indifferent to comrades.
On the contrary, precisely because we Uchiha place too much importance on bonds with comrades, we choose to distance ourselves from them.
Moreover, in this war, those sacrificed also include ninjas and comrades from our Uchiha clan.
Konoha is our shared home. Protecting Konoha is the highest standard for our Uchiha clan.
Currently, Lady Tsunade's proposal is precisely a powerful measure to reduce ninja casualties in the village!"
Uchiha Chiya shifted his gaze, looking towards Hiruzen Sarutobi at the front.
"Lady Tsunade's proposal is precisely to give every ninja fighting on the battlefield.
The hope of survival. Isn't this the embodiment of the Will of Fire?"
As his words fell, the conference room fell silent.
Tsunade stared blankly at Chiya.
For a moment, she seemed to see a shadow of her brother in this young Uchiha, that kind of determined gaze for the sake of protection.
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent for a moment. After exchanging glances with Homura Mitokado, he finally spoke.
"We will seriously reconsider the proposals from Tsunade and Chiya. Subsequent results will be notified to everyone."
"Today's meeting is adjourned for now. Dismissed."
People left their seats one after another. Chiya could feel several gazes landing on his back.
"Chiya."
Uchiha Yashiro blocked his path, his gaze sharp.
"After we return, we need to talk."
Chiya nodded.
"Yes."
When Chiya walked out of the conference room, a faint fragrance drifted over.
Chiya looked up. Tsunade was standing at the end of the corridor.
Her arms were crossed. She was looking at him with a complex gaze.
"Shall we chat?"