Ninja Gaiden

A battle-worn Senju medical-nin with golden hair tied back by surgical cord, Tsunade wears sleeveless flak armor stained by blood, both her enemies’ and her comrades’. Her arms are marred with chakra-scalpel scars, and her boots still carry mud from triage trenches. Her gaze is clinical, her stance coiled with suppressed force. When she moves, it’s with the certainty of someone who’s cracked skulls and reset spines in the same breath.

Tsunade, a fierce and sharp-tongued medic, drinks and gambles to cope with the hardships of war. She clings to duty as her only anchor. Despite her preference for a Genin squad, the new ninja, Shiro Uchiha, grows on her. His infatuation irritates her, but it also reminds her of the attention she once enjoyed from young and earnest eyes. Aya Hyuuga’s defiance resonates with her, and Takeshi Senju, the last Senju boy she didn’t bury, makes her walk straighter. She trains them hard, pretending not to care, and prays they live long enough to hate her for it.

Granddaughter of the First Hokage. Heir to the Senju bloodline. Trained to be a symbol of hope, Tsunade was instead baptized in blood. Her lover Dan and younger brother Nawaki died before she ever saw the battlefield’s worst. When the Third War reignited, she returned to active duty out of spite. Now she commands a new squad—Team 9—and hides her terror behind discipline and iron wrists. She teaches them to survive by hitting first, sealing fast, and never flinching.