The combat test at the Shinobi Academy had already concluded when a large number of medical shinobi entered the scene, which is why Shinji appeared at the Hidden Leaf Hospital.
After helping Kusa Ino send off the young shinobi from other villages, Shinji and Kusa Ino arrived at the medical team's conference room.
By this time, the room was already filled with people.
As an intern in the medical team, Shinji consciously sat at the outermost edge, quietly waiting.
Soon after, Tsunade entered the room accompanied by Shizune and Yakumo.
After scanning the room, Tsunade asked sternly, "Has everyone arrived?"
A medical shinobi from the room quickly stood up and answered, "All medical personnel are here. You may begin the meeting now!"
Tsunade nodded and signaled for Shizune and Yakumo to take their seats.
Yakumo had already spotted Shinji sitting in the corner. She looked at him for a while before averting her gaze.
On the stage, Tsunade cleared her throat and said, "The Hidden Mist, Hidden Stone, Hidden Cloud, and Hidden Sand villages have officially submitted surgery requests to the Third Hokage. We're about to face a tough battle."
A medical shinobi raised his hand and asked, "Tsunade-sama, why should we agree to their surgery requests? 'Wood Release' is clearly our own technique!"
As soon as the shinobi spoke, the conference room erupted in discussions.
Many medical shinobi held similar views, believing that 'Wood Release' was the Hidden Leaf's secret weapon, and even though the five great shinobi villages were in an alliance, they shouldn't be sharing such a crucial secret!
Tsunade raised her hands to silence the room.
Once it quieted, she said, "Do you think that if we refuse to perform the surgery, they will simply give up?"
Many shook their heads.
Take the Hidden Cloud for example. When the Hidden Leaf brought Kushina, who had special abilities, to the village to be the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, the Hidden Cloud sought to steal her. If it weren't for the timely intervention of the young Fourth Hokage, Kushina might have been taken by the Hidden Cloud.
Later, the Hidden Cloud even coveted the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan. The head of their peace negotiation delegation attempted to sneak into the Hyūga clan's compound during the night and kidnap Hinata, the Hyūga clan's eldest daughter.
When this plot was uncovered, it indirectly led to the death of Neji's father, Hiashi.
It could be said that once a village is targeted, the other shinobi villages will resort to covert methods if they can't openly act, whether by stealing or kidnapping!
In this way, Yakumo's safety couldn't be guaranteed.
At this point, another medical shinobi stood up, saying, "If that's the case, then they've already broken the alliance."
Tsunade gave him a look. "And then what? Tear up the alliance? Or start a war?"
The shinobi hesitated, unsure of how to respond.
Tsunade addressed the room, "You all need to understand something: maintaining the alliance with the other four villages is the best choice for the Hidden Leaf right now. If the five great shinobi villages turn against each other over 'Wood Release,' it will only benefit the Akatsuki organization!"
Although there were still murmurs in the room, the voices were quieter, and the previous anger had dissipated.
Shinji in the corner secretly smiled.
He knew very well that the reason the Hidden Leaf had agreed to share the surgery with the other four villages was that they were confident the volunteers from other villages wouldn't survive the surgery. In that case, 'Wood Release' wouldn't be leaked, so they were openly announcing the sharing of the surgery to win people over.
If the surgery could really be widely spread, the Hidden Leaf wouldn't back down on this matter, even at the cost of offending the other villages.
So, in the end, it was all a calculated move!
As the discussions gradually calmed down, Tsunade began to explain the surgery arrangements.
The Hidden Mist had sent four volunteers, the Hidden Stone and Hidden Cloud had five each, and the Hidden Sand had only three.
With seventeen volunteers in total, the medical team would have to conduct seventeen Initial Cells Transplant surgeries in a short period.
Once Tsunade finished outlining the surgery arrangements, she assigned the detailed list of personnel.
"Shizune, you're in charge of Group 1!"
"Mitsui Kiri, you're in charge of Group 2!"
"…"
"Kusa Ino, you're in charge of Group 17!"
The people whose names were called stood up and came forward to receive their surgery assignments from Tsunade.
Tsunade then announced, "The group leaders for all seventeen teams and Yakumo will stay behind, while the rest can disperse."
Shinji stood up and left the meeting room with the others.
Before long, Kusa Ino found him alone and invited, "Shinji, would you be interested in joining my team?"
"Of course!" Shinji smiled.
Naturally, he was eager to participate. Experiencing an Initial Cells Transplant surgery firsthand would be far more valuable than experimenting on his own.
Kusa Ino then explained the expectations for the surgery: "This time, medical shinobi from the other villages will also be participating. So, in the surgeries, not only must we ensure that they don't find any flaws, but we must also make sure that the Initial Cells don't leak out."
Shinji immediately understood.
It turned out that Tsunade had kept the seventeen team leaders behind to explain this matter.
But it made sense! As long as the samples of Initial Cells didn't leak, no matter what new technology other villages developed, they wouldn't be able to perform Initial Cells Transplants secretly.
In the following days, this large-scale surgery quickly replaced the previous academy combat test as the topic of conversation for the people of the Hidden Leaf.
Some people supported it, others opposed it.
The opposition mostly held the view that 'Wood Release' belonged to the Hidden Leaf and shouldn't be shared with the other villages.
The supporters hoped to maintain the alliance of the five great shinobi villages to prevent another war, as it had only been ten years since the end of the Third Great Ninja War, and many still had lingering fears from that conflict.
Moreover, because of Yakumo's strong performance in the combat test, the other four villages were full of anticipation for the upcoming surgeries and were actively preparing.
To them, it seemed that as long as they could survive the surgery and obtain 'Wood Release,' even a young child of eight or nine could become a jonin in an instant!
The Hidden Mist, which had only sent four volunteers, and the Hidden Sand, which had sent only three, even requested the Hidden Leaf to increase the number of volunteers.
Of course, the Hidden Leaf promptly rejected this request!
Tsunade also made sure to let the leading jonin of the other villages know, through various channels, that they shouldn't have too high expectations for the outcome of the surgery. The success rate would be very low.
While all eyes were focused on this matter, Karin was quietly blending her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in her apartment.