"Konoha's Dimensional Pirate: Reborn Uchiha Gin"

"He-heh!" Tsunade laughed, waving her hand dismissively. "Alright, alright—I'll be more careful next time. It's just a door—don't be so uptight!"

Gin rolled his eyes.

"So why are you here? Aren't we supposed to be focused on expanding and reforming the Ninja Hospital? Or organizing the construction of district clinics and regional medical centers? Where do you find the time to just drop by?"

After all, with the expansion of Konoha, the medical infrastructure had to keep pace. It was unrealistic to expect everyone to rush to the central Ninja Hospital. Many cases would be too urgent, and sending patients all the way across the village would be pointless.

Thus, a network of regional hospitals and clinics needed to be established. In the future, Konoha was projected to grow into a sprawling city with hundreds of thousands—maybe even millions—of inhabitants. It was crucial to plan ahead.

Moreover, improving the medical system would ease the transition when the Land of Fire—and perhaps the entire Ninja World—unified under one banner. That would require not just skilled shinobi doctors but trained personnel of all kinds. Local clinics wouldn't need elite med-nin; ordinary medical-nin and interns would suffice.

Eventually, these facilities would be integrated with the reformed Ninja Academy and public schools. Specialized medical classes would be introduced for aspiring med-nin, and medical training paths would open for civilians training as doctors and nurses. After all, most of the future population would be civilians with no access to medical ninjutsu.

"That's exactly why I'm here!" Tsunade leaned across the table, eyes serious now.

"I know the Uchiha Clan built their own hospital, and it's headed by that top-class doctor—Dr. Kureha. I really need someone like her. Can I ask her to help?"

She paused, then added urgently, "Also—what about some of the med-nin your hospital has trained over the years? Couldn't a few transfer to the village hospital? We're critically understaffed, and with your massive goals, I just can't do this alone!"

She sighed.

"Besides, now that you're Hokage, no one at the village hospital would dare deny treatment to or sabotage the Uchiha. There's no longer any need to maintain such a large independent hospital—it can be trimmed down to a lean ninja staff, right?"

She squinted at him. "Oh, and have you already signed off the contracts with the doctors for the pharmaceutical plant on Drumm Island?"

"Maybe it's time to move some of them to Konoha?" she suggested. "They could work in the Ninja Hospital and teach at the Academy. If there's a shortage there, you can always recruit new people from the island. There's no sense in keeping them tied down there."

Clearly, this was the real reason she'd come—without this support, the sweeping reforms to the medical system would collapse.

"Ah..." Gin smiled sheepishly. "You're right. I overlooked this. Ninety percent of the Uchiha hospital staff can be transferred to your medical department. I'll also send 40 more doctors from the Pirate World."

"They're already studying chakra control and medical ninjutsu, and their progress is impressive. Don't worry about their adaptation. Their knowledge of medicine from the Pirate World will actually strengthen our ninja medical systems."

"But about Dr. Kureha..." he added with a wry chuckle. "You'll have to speak with her yourself. I can only issue the authorization for the transfer—whether she accepts or not is up to you."

Though Kureha was under contract and held Gin in high regard, that didn't mean she had lost her will or individuality. Her loyalty extended only to Gin—her judgment of others remained sharp and independent.

"What? Even you can't make her come?" Tsunade groaned. "So I'll have to go beg her personally? Hopefully, she's in a good mood."

In recent years, Tsunade and Kureha had spoken often, exchanging techniques and consulting on difficult cases. Kureha's medical skill easily surpassed even Tsunade's. And now, with her mastery of Chinese medicine, ninja medical systems, and chakra theory, she had become nearly peerless. Even in medical ninjutsu, she had achieved an almost frightening level of perfection. She was a true genius.

"He-heh. When the time comes, dangle all the medical research and hospital data as bait," Gin suggested, smirking. "She won't be able to resist."

Before, when Gin lacked power, the Third Hokage's distrust of the Uchiha Clan made it impossible to give Kureha access to the full hospital archives. Even Tsunade had been restricted by the old regime's paranoia. Kureha had to acquire knowledge through informal exchanges with Tsunade.

Compared to the vast body of medical knowledge accumulated by Konoha over the decades—and the millennia-long heritage of the Senju and other clans—what Kureha had before was only a drop in the ocean.

"Oh! That's right!" Tsunade's eyes lit up. "I totally forgot—we're no longer under the old man's rule. I can invite her to the village hospital and give her full access to everything!"

"That'll definitely work. Okay, I'm off! Don't forget to transfer those 40 doctors from the Pirate World, and give me the authorization to relocate staff from the Uchiha Hospital!"

Tsunade eagerly held out her hand. Gin smiled, shook his head, and pulled out a scroll. He swiftly wrote up the transfer orders, signed them, and stamped his personal seal. Tsunade snatched the document from his hand.

"Alright, I'm out!" she shouted as she disappeared in a blur.

Mount Myoboku, in the Cave of the Great Toad Sage

On a quiet, misty morning, the ancient Toad Sage, Gamamaru, awoke suddenly. His eyes opened wide in shock, his expression grim.

His dreams had shown him a terrifying vision.

He urgently summoned the elder toads, Fukasaku and Shima.

"Elder, what's wrong? Why did you call us so urgently?"

"Did you have a new prophecy?" Shima asked with dread. "Does it foretell something terrible?"

As they approached and saw the alarm on Gamamaru's face, Shima's concern deepened.

"It does," the Great Toad Sage nodded gravely. "The future has completely changed. The former Child of Destiny no longer exists."

"The Ninja World is heading for upheaval. A great war is coming—countless lives will be lost. But... in the end, the Ninja World will be united under one rule."

"What?!" Shima and Fukasaku gasped in horror.

"Who will unite the Ninja World? Is it good or bad? And what does this have to do with us?" Fukasaku asked, bewildered.

"I don't know who exactly," the Great Toad Sage admitted. "But they're from Konoha. Konoha will one day conquer the entire ninja world. Beyond that, I can see nothing. My visions are fragmented and cloudy. The future is shrouded in darkness—I can't see past it."

"My gift of prophecy... has weakened. Even Mount Myoboku's fate appeared in my dream—ruins and corpses everywhere. Though unclear, it felt like an omen. That's why I called you both here."

A suffocating sense of doom loomed over him.

Some enormous, unstoppable force had entered the world—a variable that even he could not contend with.

"What? Mount Myoboku might be destroyed?" Fukasaku and Shima's faces blanched. "Are you certain?"

Fukasaku furrowed his brow, asking in a grim tone, "Could this be tied to Konoha's unification of the Ninja World? Might they one day attack us? Could this be about Jiraiya?"

"But... that can't be! We've always treated little Jiraiya well!"

"If it's not about Jiraiya, then why would Konoha destroy Mount Myoboku? There's no reason!"

Shima narrowed her eyes at the Great Toad Sage.

"Elder, is this your fault? Did you manipulate little Jiraiya again? Did your prophecies upset Konoha and trigger a conflict? I told you to stop misleading people with your visions! Now look what's happened!"

She was clearly angry. She had always distrusted the Sage's ambiguous prophecies. She believed in them—halfway.

"Woman! Show respect to the elder!" Fukasaku interjected quickly. "He may be senile, but he's still our elder!"

The Great Toad Sage merely let out a sigh and said hoarsely:

"Enough bickering. Yes... I confess. I misled Jiraiya to shape the future of the Ninja World. It also helped elevate Mount Myoboku's status. And... it was tied to a promise I once made to the Sage of Six Paths."

A stunned silence fell over the cave.

"You what? You knew the Sage of Six Paths?!" Shima and Fukasaku exclaimed in shock. "What promise?"

"Yes, I knew him. He was no myth. And the promise... I vowed to observe the Ninja World and guide it when necessary. He wanted it strengthened—to prepare for a great enemy in the distant future."

"So you lied to Jiraiya for that?" Shima scowled. "He believed in you! Maybe that's why your vision showed Mount Myoboku destroyed!"

"Maybe Jiraiya will turn against Konoha, and we'll be caught in the middle," she added bitterly. "And if Konoha's unifying the world... those who oppose them will surely be crushed."

"Very likely," Fukasaku agreed grimly.

"Perhaps..." the Great Toad Sage murmured. "I never expected the future to shift like this. The variable that's emerged—it's beyond even the Sage of Six Paths' designs. That's why my foresight has failed. My dreams... are gone."

He shivered slightly, his voice faint.

"The darkness ahead is not just unknown—it's terrifying."

Shima stared at him. "So what now? Do we stop deceiving Jiraiya? Do we go to Konoha, apologize, and pledge our loyalty?"

That would be best—then Mount Myoboku might avoid destruction. None of them wanted to perish.

All were ancient beings, hundreds or thousands of years old. They were wise—and they cherished life.

"Hmm." The Great Toad Sage nodded solemnly. "Summon Jiraiya. I must explain everything."

"Then you two will go to Konoha, tell them the truth, and apologize. Bring the Summoning Scroll—let Konoha choose new contractors. It will be our gesture of goodwill."

"And also give them my word—I will not report any of this to the Sage of Six Paths."

Whether they understood or not didn't matter. What mattered was sending the right message.

Survival demanded no less.