Team 8

Chapter 24: Reunions and Revelations

Hinata looked up from the scroll she was reading. The muscles along her spine protested as she straightened up. She'd lost track of time again and she was only halfway through Tsunade-sama's notes on chakra-stimulated nerve regeneration. Her new teacher was re-writing the book on what could and could not be done. With what she was reading now, many injuries thought to be career-ending could become mere inconveniences. She slowly stretched as she made a note of her place in the huge scroll.

The door opened and Shizune-sempai stuck her head in. "Still at it?" she asked. "You need to take a break, Hinata," she chided in a kindly tone.

"My apologies," Hinata said quickly. "I lost track of time. This work with regenerating nerve cells... it's amazing!"

Shizune smiled. "Yes, a little too amazing, sometimes."

"I'm sorry," Hinata said quickly, "I don't understand."

Shizune motioned for Hinata to follow her, and spoke as they left the classroom. "These more advanced techniques are highly effective, but they require extremely good chakra control, not to mention large reserves to sustain them. Tsunade's best work gave birth to techniques that only she and a handful of other people will ever be able to use. That's great for special cases, but for the overall population the impact will be minimal."

"I've heard her talk about the lack of qualified medic-nins," Hinata replied.

"That's part of it," Shizune agreed. "There is also an element of... well, you know the saying about how it's easier to destroy than to create?"

Hinata nodded.

"Well, it's also a lot easier to destroy than to repair," Shizune declared with a grimace. "Most shinobi can spend much less time training with their elemental affinity and see a lot more progress. If Tsunade had taken her natural chakra reserves and control, and spent all that time working on lightning jutsu, she could easily have humbled the best lightning users in Kumo. That's one reason there aren't more combat medic-nins... most active-duty shinobi concentrate on things that increase their combat effectiveness."

Hinata frowned. "But if treatment is delayed until after the patient is evacuated, the prognosis is usually so much worse!"

"That's true," Shizune agreed, "which is why we're starting this program. Tsunade thinks the improved treatment outcomes are worth the extra training required. But some would argue that having more combat-oriented ninja is the better strategy."

Hinata thought about this for a moment as they made their way down the hall. "Who do you think is right?" she asked after a moment. One thing she admired about Shizune-sempai was that while she was utterly loyal to Tsunade, she wasn't afraid to disagree with her mentor.

Shizune smiled. "I think that combat medics may not be needed as much in peace-time, or when there is only light skirmishing. Injuries may occur, but they are not as common, and highly skilled shinobi focused on offensive techniques can eliminate their enemies quickly enough to avoid injury. However, in war-time or extended operations in hostile terrain, mistakes are more common, and injuries will occur with greater frequency. Highly skilled shinobi can suffer mortal or career-ending injuries, but the availability of highly skilled, immediate medical care can often reverse that. I think, in the long run, Tsunade's plan will save far more resources than it costs Konoha."

Hinata nodded as she digested this train of thought, but Shizune wasn't done.

"So," she continued, "from a resource use perspective, it's more effective when the need is most dire. But that doesn't even address what Konoha stands for. You've heard the Third Hokage talk about the Will of Fire before, right?"