The next morning, after enjoying a breakfast prepared by her mother, Mebuki, Sakura headed off to the hospital to report for duty.
Mebuki was thrilled about Sakura's new assignment. She had worried constantly when Sakura was out on missions, especially after she'd been injured before. Though she didn't say much, Sakura could sense her mother's relief and happiness. Her father, Kizashi, simply offered a few words of encouragement, but Sakura suspected his feelings mirrored her mother's.
Stepping into the hospital, the sharp scent of disinfectant immediately filled the air. Even early in the morning, the place was bustling with people, exceptionally busy. Hospitals were often the busiest places, even in peacetime, let alone in a world plagued by frequent conflict. However, the patient demographic here was quite different from that on Earth.
In the Konoha hospital, trauma and injury cases made up a significant portion of the patients – an unavoidable reality for a shinobi village.
Sakura made her way to Shizune's office. Her senior disciple sister was already there, sitting at her desk.
"Morning, Shizune-senpai! Reporting for duty!" Sakura greeted her cheerfully, noticing Shizune was in the middle of eating breakfast.
"Mmff— cough cough..." Seeing Sakura, Shizune choked slightly on her food, quickly taking a sip of water. "Ah, you're here! Lady Tsunade mentioned it to me yesterday."
"Hahaha, well then, I'm in your care, Shizune-senpai," Sakura said. "What's the plan for me?"
"For now, you can start by assisting me," Shizune replied. "Your skill level is actually high enough to work as a physician already, but Lady Tsunade mentioned you lack practical experience, so it's best you familiarize yourself with things alongside me first."
"Okay. Thank you for taking the trouble, Shizune-senpai," Sakura said politely.
"No trouble, no trouble at all," Shizune said, smiling warmly. "Having you here will lighten my load considerably. Karin will be coming this afternoon as well; you can teach her a few things then."
Alright, more work then, Sakura thought wryly. Still, teaching her junior disciple – especially Karin – was a responsibility she couldn't exactly refuse.
"So, when do we start?" Sakura asked.
"Right now," Shizune said, swallowing the last bite of her breakfast. "First, I'll take you to meet some people."
Sakura followed Shizune through a series of winding corridors until they reached a large room. Judging by the setup, it was a main office area, with several individuals in white coats working at desks.
Upon seeing Shizune, the people immediately stood up and greeted her respectfully.
"Shizune-senpai."
"Senpai."
Shizune acknowledged each of them before leading Sakura to the center of the room. "Everyone," she announced loudly, "this is Haruno Sakura. She is my junior disciple. The Fifth Hokage has assigned her here to learn. I hope you will all get along well."
"Hello everyone, I'm Haruno Sakura. Please take care of me from now on," Sakura quickly added, bowing politely. These were her new colleagues.
"Sakura, this is Doctor Hyakusou," Shizune said, gesturing towards a young man. "He is the supervisor for all the physicians here."
"Doctor Hyakusou?" Sakura vaguely recalled seeing him before, likely when she had come to help at the hospital after Orochimaru's Konoha Crush.
Doctor Hyakusou evidently recognized her too. "Ah, aren't you Lady Fifth Hokage's disciple? You came to help at the hospital after the attack on Konoha."
"Haha, yes, that's me, Doctor Hyakusou," Sakura replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. Her "help" back then had mostly consisted of messing things up, nearly tarnishing her master's reputation in the process.
"It's wonderful to have you joining us!" Doctor Hyakusou said with noticeable excitement. Clearly, being the Hokage's disciple carried significant weight here.
Next, Shizune introduced the remaining physicians in the room. While not a huge number, there were about a dozen people. By the end of the introductions, Sakura found her throat was actually a little dry from all the polite greetings.
Once the introductions were complete, Shizune led Sakura out of the office.
"Are those dozen or so the only physicians in the entire hospital?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Of course not!" Shizune chuckled. "Those supervisors have many other physicians working under them. There's no need to introduce everyone right now; you'll gradually get familiar with them over the next few days anyway."
"Right... Speaking of which, Shizune-senpai, what exactly is your position here?" Sakura suddenly realized that Shizune had a private office, while even the supervising doctors shared the main workspace.
"Me? You could say I'm something like a consultant," Shizune explained. "I handle the difficult and complex cases that the regular physicians can't manage, provide technical guidance, train newcomers, work on developing new medicines, things like that."
"Wow, that's a lot of responsibility!" Sakura exclaimed.
"It's necessary," Shizune's expression turned serious. "As those who inherited Lady Tsunade's legacy, we naturally must contribute our strength to the village. I know you aren't particularly interested in medical ninjutsu, Sakura, but since Lady Tsunade assigned you here, I expect you to approach this seriously and strive to avoid any mistakes. Understand?"
"I understand, Shizune-senpai," Sakura replied, nodding earnestly as she took in Shizune's serious demeanor.
Though Shizune was usually gentle, Sakura knew she was fundamentally a very serious and principled person. Even if Tsunade-sensei made a mistake, Shizune wouldn't hesitate to point it out and would firmly hold her ground until the error was corrected. Sakura had experienced that unwavering persistence firsthand many times during her three years of training. But that was precisely why Tsunade valued Shizune so highly; Tsunade knew she wasn't infallible and desperately needed an assistant like Shizune by her side.
Sakura then began her hospital training in earnest. First, she followed Shizune-senpai to the pharmacology room to help prepare anesthetics. Afterward, she shadowed Shizune during a moderately complex surgical procedure. Sakura observed intently from the side while Shizune calmly performed the surgery, explaining the key points to Sakura as she worked.
Sakura listened with utmost concentration. Surgery was undeniably her weakest area. Back when Tsunade was still battling her hemophobia, Sakura hadn't been able to get much hands-on surgical practice. Her training had focused heavily on theory and simulations. While Shizune was proficient in surgery, she couldn't dedicate all her time solely to Sakura's training, and practice samples weren't nearly as abundant as the real cases available in a hospital setting.
Consequently, Sakura could talk circles around anyone regarding surgical theory, but her actual practical experience was minimal. One of the reasons Tsunade had sent her back to the village after her initial training period was specifically for her to gain this hands-on surgical experience. However, upon returning, Sakura had shifted her focus primarily to combat training. With Tsunade newly appointed as Hokage and incredibly busy, she hadn't had time to oversee Sakura's training. Now, with Team 7 disbanded, it was the perfect opportunity to push Sakura into finally tackling this area.
Watching Shizune-senpai operate, calm and collected behind her surgical mask and cap, Sakura was filled with admiration. Just looking at the bloody scene made her feel a little faint-hearted. Yes, she had killed people before, but killing and performing surgery were entirely different beasts. Killing was swift, brutal – a blade went in clean and came out red. You didn't exactly stop to examine the internal organs.
Staring now at the patient's open torso, at the exposed organs still pulsing with life, a wave of visceral fear washed over Sakura. This scene is just too intense, she thought, her stomach churning. Scenes of killing don't even come close to comparing to this...