Miss Haruno Sakura came to my office today requesting medical apprenticeship. She is not the first, sadly. I have rejected many prospective students in the past: some on personal assessment, others on lackluster aptitude. I have turned away current Jōnin, even my own father. I have stood firm with my decisions. Medical ninjitsu is still too novel, too rapidly changing a field for even the most able minds to accept. Its half-truths, half-lies, and persistent exceptions—in many cases, medical specialization is even more challenging than the work of Hokage.

That said, I took Miss Haruno in. I had to. Her eyes—they wouldn't have accepted "no."

They reminded me too much of my own.