The Medical Department's primary responsibilities are to train medical ninjas internally and research medical ninjutsu.
Due to the confidential nature of medical ninjutsu, general medical treatments are not conducted within the Medical Department.
Only patients with extremely severe injuries or special conditions are admitted there.
Under normal circumstances, injured or sick individuals receive treatment at the Konoha Hospital.
All new recruits trained by the Medical Department intern at Konoha Hospital to gain experience.
If a medical practitioner does not possess exceptional medical talent and strong medical skills, they will not remain in the Medical Department but will instead be assigned to Konoha Hospital as senior doctors or management.
Simply put, the Medical Department is where elite medical ninjas gather, while ordinary medical ninjas serve at Konoha Hospital.
Although Konoha Hospital is a newly established facility with no prior precedent, the experience gained by medical ninjas during the First Shinobi World War, along with the systematization suggested by Fumori Masaki, has allowed Konoha Hospital to develop a robust system.
While it may seem nascent, it is sufficiently complete and only requires gradual expansion in the future.
For the civilians within the ninja village, this was their first encounter with such a novel place.
Most people had never seen a true medical practitioner; when they fell ill, they could only resort to folk remedies.
Those with mild illnesses would recover, while those with severe conditions in towns with doctors fared better.
However, those in remote mountain villages could only rely on luck.
Now, Konoha Hospital possesses a level of medical expertise far beyond their imagination.
What they once considered incurable diseases were easily resolved by medical ninjas, without even breaking a sweat.
After all, these were civilians who hadn't seen much of the world, so they made a fuss over even slightly serious illnesses.
While some cases were indeed tricky, the current Konoha Medical Department had endured even the epidemics in the Land of Rain, so what was there to fear?
That experience in the Land of Rain provided invaluable lessons to the Konoha Medical Department.
The Land of Rain was always a hotbed for epidemics, and the medical ninjas who went there endured immense suffering to control the spread of diseases.
For the civilians of the Land of Rain at the time, their joy was immeasurable, and they were deeply grateful to Konoha Village.
During the Shinobi World War, the Hidden Rain Village, despite some reservations, granted full access to the medical ninjas sent by Konoha Village.
However, with the war's conclusion, the suspicious leader of the Hidden Rain Village gradually changed his attitude.
He consistently believed that Konoha Village harbored ill intentions, surely planning to gather intelligence on the Hidden Rain Village to gain an advantage over the Land of Rain in the future.
Konoha Village was indeed not acting out of charity.
The Land of Rain's unique location, situated between three countries, made it a crucial transportation route.
Due to its rainy climate, agriculture within the Land of Rain was dismal, leading to reliance on imports from other nations.
Konoha Village's assistance was partly intended to collect medical data to enrich the Medical Department's case studies, and partly to foster good relations with the Land of Rain.
If this vital transportation route could be managed effectively, it would be beneficial in curbing the influence of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.
The leader of the Hidden Rain Village might not have necessarily discerned Konoha Village's true intentions.
Or, even if he did, he had no intention of accepting his fate.
He, a man of humble origins, had always harbored animosity towards these powerful nations.
Although the Hidden Rain Village dared not provoke Konoha Village, restrictions on medical ninjas grew increasingly stringent.
Eventually, they couldn't act without explicit permission, chilling the hearts of these medical ninjas who, more or less, felt pity for the dire situation in the Land of Rain.
Fortunately, Hanzo intervened to mediate.
Ninja villages are organizations that emphasize hierarchical relationships.
Konoha Village, due to its harmonious development, might be somewhat relaxed, with friendly superior-subordinate relations.
But in a place like the Land of Rain, the Hidden Rain Village's hierarchy was as solid as a fortress.
Even with Hanzo's immense power, he could not defy the village's orders, unless he intended to usurp control of the village.
Therefore, Hanzo felt deeply apologetic to these medical ninjas who had come to aid his country's citizens.
When the Konoha ninjas, unable to endure further, decided to leave, he did not try to dissuade them, knowing that this was precisely what his village's leader desired.
After the Konoha ninjas departed, Hanzo even specifically wrote a letter for them to take back, either to Fumori Masaki or the Second Hokage, expressing his village's strong desire to maintain good relations with Konoha Village.
Of course, this incident further worsened Hanzo's standing within the Hidden Rain Village, essentially putting him at odds with the leader.
If not for Hanzo's astonishing strength, the Hidden Rain leader would have acted long ago.
Upon learning of this, Fumori Masaki discussed with Tobirama whether to support Hanzo's ascension to power.
The benefits derived from a hostile village leader versus a pro-Konoha ninja leader were clearly two different matters.
However, due to the ongoing ten-year peace period stipulated by the Five Kage Summit, during which no one could interfere with other nations, the matter was temporarily shelved.
Fumori Masaki wondered if Hanzo would take over the village's authority from the Hidden Rain leader during the ten years of balance among the Five Great Nations.
At least, in the original history, this was the case; as long as no one else interfered, Hanzo would eventually become the leader of the Hidden Rain Village.
Of course, at that time, Fumori Masaki had no intention of letting Konoha Village and the Hidden Rain Village become enemies; instead, they would join forces.
Even if the Second Shinobi World War broke out, Konoha Village would have an easier time, not having to face the pressure of the legendary demigod.
Entering Konoha Hospital, Fumori Masaki could see some civilians and ninjas who had come for treatment.
Because Tobirama had the idea of enticing civilians to become ninjas, the benefits at Konoha Hospital and the Ninja Academy were quite good, affordable for most civilians.
The descendants of heroes who died fighting for Konoha also received preferential treatment.
Fumori Masaki thought about where Tsunade was studying and headed in that direction.
Although Tsunade possessed exceptional medical talent, she was still an inexperienced child.
No matter how superb her techniques, she needed to accumulate experience, so she was sent to intern in the Medical Department, practicing under the supervision of senior medical ninjas.
Throughout Konoha Hospital, Tsunade was likely the youngest, at six years old, already interning in the hospital.
Other newcomers were either still in training or already over ten years old.
"Hm?" Fumori Masaki paused, his footsteps faltering.
He seemed to hear Tsunade's voice, along with a boy's voice, both gradually growing louder.
"White-haired one, stop right there!" Soon, Tsunade's voice came through, sounding exasperated.
Then, a boy bounced out from around the corner of the hallway, running and making a face backward, saying, "Who would stop, you idiot?"
With that, he ran incredibly fast.
Tsunade followed closely, panting.
Seeing Fumori Masaki not far away, her face lit up with joy, and she shouted, "Kazemori, help me stop him!"
The white-haired boy revealed a look of "oh no," not expecting the adult in front of him to be someone the girl knew.
However, holding onto a sliver of hope, he ran at full speed, intending to slip past head-on, not even fearing an adult.
"This child..." Fumori Masaki thought silently.
The boy had white hair and red markings under his eyes.
Such distinct features immediately revealed his identity.
So, Fumori Masaki stepped forward, and with a single grab, he caught the fellow who was about to pass him.
"Ugh, ah ah ah..." The boy found his collar grabbed from behind.
He struggled stubbornly, even trying to use ninjutsu to escape, but it was useless.
"Don't struggle.
The Substitution Jutsu should only be used in front of people weaker than you.
If the gap is too wide, forget about deceiving others; you can't even dodge," Fumori Masaki said, seeing the boy trying to use the Substitution Jutsu.
The essence of the Substitution Jutsu is to use high speed to swap places with a pre-prepared substitute object.
In short, it's a form of sleight of hand.
In front of an expert, the Substitution Jutsu's true dodging direction can be easily seen.
If one doesn't have corresponding strength, they will be easily countered.
Therefore, in duels between experts, unless one's experience is superior or their body flicker is stronger, the Substitution Jutsu is not considered.
Given the vast difference in strength between the boy and Fumori Masaki, how could the Substitution Jutsu possibly work?
When the opponent used chakra to move, intending to swap with a substitute, Fumori Masaki made only two movements: release and grab, then he caught the boy back in his hands.
"No way! You're as strong as Sarutobi-sensei!" The boy turned his head in disbelief.
By this time, Tsunade had run over, happily saying, "Thanks, Kazemori."
She then ran up to the boy, clenched her fists, and showed a chilling expression.
"Tsunade, what happened?" Fumori Masaki asked.
"This jerk was rude!
He came for treatment, but he told me I'd definitely have no figure in the future!
What a joke!
I'm still growing now!" Tsunade glared fiercely at the boy.
"Isn't that because you were making fun of me?
Can't I even complain casually?" The boy knew he was doomed and could only try to reason, hoping the person holding him would be lenient.
After hearing their answers, Fumori Masaki immediately understood the whole story.
Ultimately, their quarrel was over this small matter.
He said, "Alright, alright, your mistakes are about fifty-fifty.
Apologize to each other, and let's put this behind us."
"Why should I apologize to this guy..." Before Tsunade could finish, the boy apologized promptly and without hesitation.
The boy looked sincere, as if he truly regretted his actions.
Tsunade was a little flustered.
She glanced at Fumori Masaki, saw him nod slightly, and then mumbled, "Alright, then."
Although Tsunade didn't offer a substantial apology, getting this spoiled girl to say those words was enough.
Fumori Masaki released the boy and asked, "Child, what's your name, and is your Sarutobi-sensei Sarutobi Hiruzen?"
"Yes, Big Brother, do you know Sarutobi-sensei?" The boy landed on the ground, tidied his clothes, and then showed a goofy smile that Tsunade found silly: "My name is Jiraiya."
"Jiraiya, huh.
Did you come here because you were injured during training?" Fumori Masaki nodded, then asked.
"Yeah, but it's just a minor injury.
But I heard there are many pretty older sisters in the hospital, so I came to take a look.
I didn't expect it to be her," Jiraiya said, spreading his hands, a helpless expression on his face.
"What about me?" Tsunade felt as if she had been offended.
Fumori Masaki shook his head with a chuckle and said, "Don't argue over such trivial things.
You'd be better off training hard.
Isn't there a genius in Hiruzen's class?
Don't you want to surpass him?"
"Ah, you mean that Orochimaru guy, right?
Indeed, that guy is really stuck-up," Jiraiya immediately complained.
Just as Jiraiya was expressing his dissatisfaction, two people emerged from the other side of the hallway: Hatake Sakumo and Hattori Hanzō.
Hattori Hanzō, with his eyes half-closed, spoke as soon as he came out: "What's all the noise about?
This is a hospital; you need to keep quiet."
Then, they saw Fumori Masaki and paused slightly.
Hatake Sakumo said, "Kazemori-sensei, why are you here?
There shouldn't be anything to instruct today, right?"
"I just came to see Tsunade because I heard from her aunt that she hasn't been home for several days," Fumori Masaki said, smiling at Tsunade.
Tsunade looked a bit embarrassed.
These past few days, she had gained new insights into the medical ninjutsu taught by Senju Risa, so she had been practicing in the hospital, too busy to go home.
And her family, for some reason, hadn't told Kana about her training, which led to her asking Fumori Masaki.
"Are you two here because of training injuries again?" Fumori Masaki looked at them both.
Before they could answer, Tsunade said, "Yes, and this time it's the most serious."
Hatake Sakumo quickly explained, "That's because we understood some of Kazemori-sensei's words, so we overdid it a bit practicing Lightning Release."
"Me too," Hattori Hanzō replied.
"Kazemori-sensei suggested incorporating sleight of hand into direct combat, and I think I've grasped a bit of the trick."
"Is that so? That's good, but you must pay attention to your own safety.
Since I'm here, I'll take a look at your results first," Fumori Masaki said.
Jiraiya peeked out from the side and asked, "Are they all your students, Big Brother?"
"Yes, your Sarutobi-sensei and I are from the same school, so we can be considered to have some connection through our masters," Fumori Masaki smiled.
"Alright, I need to go guide my students.
You should also go back and practice with your sensei.
Oh, and please tell him for me: let's find some time in a few days to watch the students' practice results together."
Upon hearing this, Jiraiya agreed, then turned and left.
Before leaving, he even made a face at Tsunade, indicating that he hadn't truly repented earlier.
Tsunade didn't miss his gesture and almost chased after him again in anger, but under Fumori Masaki's gaze, she made no move.