Morning, the warm sunlight shines over the Hidden Leaf Village.
The village, thriving with people and vitality, looks full of hope under the sun, making one long for its future.
In fact, because of the economic benefits brought by Genjutsu games, many outsiders have recently arrived in the village.
Seeing the prosperous and safe environment of Konoha, many are considering staying long-term or even relocating here permanently.
Though Konoha is a shinobi village, which is theoretically a military stronghold, making it unsuitable for long-term residence, especially for non-shinobi, there are always exceptions.
With the booming industries related to Genjutsu games, Konoha has created many job opportunities, even leading to a shortage of workers.
This shortage is expected to worsen in the future.
This is because the expansion of Konoha has been mentioned, and both the civilians and higher-ups are discussing it.
The problem now is that to expand Konoha, the tall walls surrounding the village need to be dismantled.
These walls are not just simple barriers; they contain various defensive jutsu, forming the village's great protective barrier.
Removing the walls would mean the removal of this barrier.
In times of peace, this might be manageable, but in case of a ninja world war, Konoha would be left vulnerable without the barrier and walls.
Other ninja from foreign nations could bypass the artificial defenses and directly strike at the heart of Konoha, causing massive destruction.
The most critical issue is that the ninja world is on the brink of war, and a third ninja world war could break out at any time, making Konoha's expansion plans stagnate.
However, some small-scale renovations and expansion plans are still underway.
Inside the walls, some buildings are being demolished and repaired, while a new district is being constructed outside the walls.
When the time is right, the walls will be dismantled, and the new district will directly connect to the village.
Anyway, everything was flourishing.
However, just at this moment of prosperity, a piece of bad news suddenly struck Sarutobi Hiruzen, almost giving him high blood pressure, just like his old friend.
"W-What? Tsunade, you, you said your hemophobia... what happened?"
Looking at his female disciple, Tsunade, dressed casually in a gray robe that showed off her bold figure, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt like everything was falling apart.
Hearing Hiruzen's trembling question, Tsunade casually replied, "Tch, old man, didn't I already tell you? My hemophobia flared up. Now, when I see blood, I just become completely powerless. I'm sorry, but I really can't be a ninja anymore, nor can I be a doctor."
Her indifferent attitude, her casual tone, all gave off the sense of someone just giving up.
Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively clutched his chest, feeling like he was about to break down.
Although Tsunade had developed hemophobia after the last Ninja World War, it wasn't as severe back then—she could handle seeing blood, but now it had reached the point where she couldn't even stand it.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had always trusted his disciple and believed she was a capable ninja with a strong heart, someone who would eventually overcome her fear and rise out of the shadow, even if it meant pushing herself.
Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't think of it as "PUA" but believed that the Will of Fire was invincible, and that ninjas, in general, were prone to mental struggles.
In the ninja world, some psychological issues were not considered problems at all.
Moreover, for those who were strong or talented, everyone naturally believed that they could strengthen their will and transcend their struggles.
This was known as a "strong will"—facing problems and finding their own solutions.
That was how Sarutobi Hiruzen viewed Tsunade, the classic "I believe my excellent disciple can figure it out."
A similar thing happened with Uchiha Fugaku in the future.
This father took his young son to the battlefield to witness corpses, which left Uchiha Itachi traumatized and confused, creating psychological issues.
Yet, when Uchiha Itachi needed psychological counseling, Fugaku simply said, "You are my son. I believe you can find your own answers."
So, Itachi Uchiha was forced to think about life philosophy on his own. A young kid, and he came up with the abstract answer of "life has no meaning."
In the end, Itachi also successfully "paid back" his father's trust by sending the entire Uchiha clan to meet the Sage of the Six Paths. Truly, he was a devoted son.
That's why the ninja world produces so many crazy people—it's because they don't think psychological issues are problems.
When something goes wrong, it's because their heart isn't strong enough. And when someone has talent, they just assume that person will figure everything out on their own.
Sarutobi Hiruzen never imagined that the phobia of blood, which he didn't pay much attention to, would develop into a severe psychological condition in Tsunade, to the point where now it felt like his head was about to explode.
Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen probably didn't even know what psychological illness was. In their view, a disease is something that happens to the body.
What's a psychological illness? If the mind is messed up, it's just a matter of having weak willpower, wavering, or going off track, right?
Now, Tsunade, the disciple he trusted, had actually said she was defeated by her fear of blood. This made Sarutobi Hiruzen's mood so confused that he didn't know how to describe it. He felt like something was really off.
Why did this happen?
How could Tsunade, such a strong-willed ninja, end up like this?
Is this fear of blood really a disease? Why would a ninja have a phobia of blood?
Tsunade, looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen who seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't, impatiently asked, "Hey, old man! I've already told you about my situation, so what are you planning to do?"
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen, his thoughts still a bit confused, slightly recovered and said, "Tsunade, I understand your situation. For now, just go back and rest. I already sent a letter to Jiraiya a few days ago, urging him to come back. He should be here soon."
"Once Jiraiya is back, I'll have him spend some time with you. Also, Orochimaru has been in the village recently. Someone has invested in a great personal lab for him. If you want, you can go talk to him."
"Anyway, you don't have to worry about the village matters for now, Tsunade. Just focus on getting better, and I believe you'll be fine."
"After all, you are my proud disciple, the Legendary Sannin of Konoha."
At the end of his speech, Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at Tsunade with warm and firm eyes, showing his unwavering confidence as a teacher toward his disciple.
In Hiruzen's view, by showing such an attitude, Tsunade should feel comforted and touched.
However, after hearing that, Tsunade simply remained silent for a moment, then a hint of disappointment appeared in her eyes. She clicked her tongue and turned, walking away with a stern expression, slamming the door behind her.
The force of the slam was so strong that it shattered the office door, which then fell crookedly to the ground.
Her furious attitude completely confused Hiruzen, leaving him bewildered as to why Tsunade was suddenly so angry.
After all, no one had told him that sometimes, what a disciple needs isn't just empty trust, but real guidance and help.
Head aching and still confused, the Third Hokage could only call in his Anbu to help fix the door.
The Anbu ninja demonstrated incredible skill, repairing the door in under ten minutes, an almost supernatural speed.
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