There was no way to keep secret the arrival of hundreds of people into Konoha. So… the Uzumaki clan entered Konoha under the identity of "refugees."
Although the actual story was that the Uzumaki clan had collectively left the Land of Whirlpools, provoking a joint forced interception by Kumo and Kirigakure, in order to win greater support and sympathy from ordinary villagers and ninja within Konoha, the Konoha leadership reversed the chronological order of events in the official public statement:
The village of the Uzumaki clan had been heavily invaded by unknown forces. After being unable to resist further and witnessing their village destroyed, they could only seek refuge in Konoha, asking for Konoha's acceptance and assistance.
Indeed, with the village leadership backing the explanation, the Uzumaki clan quickly gained widespread acceptance among the people.
After all, relations between the two sides had already been very friendly. With sufficient reasoning, this migration faced no opposition at all.
An important point was also that the number of Uzumaki entering Konoha totaled only about 300 individuals. Given Konoha's overall population size, accepting such a small number of "immigrants" had virtually no impact on society or the general public.
At the same time, this low number supported the narrative presented by the village, highlighting the tragic circumstances currently facing the Uzumaki clan.
The Uzumaki village should have had far more people than this; yet only this small number arrived. What did that indicate? It showed that the Uzumaki had lost the vast majority of their people during the evacuation process.
Under these circumstances, anyone still speaking ill of their arrival—would that even qualify as human? The Uzumaki who had come to Konoha in small numbers over the past few years had already blended in quietly, known only to the upper ranks of Konoha's leadership.
Needless to say, the Third Hokage knew exactly how to shape public sentiment. No wonder he was the one who brought the Will of Fire to life and spread it across the village.
Putting aside for now the arrangements concerning the entire Uzumaki clan, upon returning to Konoha, Haseo immediately went to the emergency room and was admitted to Konoha Hospital.
"Haseo, I was just thinking it's been a while since you were last hospitalized. I didn't expect you'd become a patient again so soon," said the doctor when Haseo arrived.
Haseo raised an eyebrow. *That didn't sound quite right, no matter how you put it.*
"Doctor Yakuji, I'm an injury case, not a patient… You're not going to perform surgery while smoking a cigarette, are you?"
He was currently facing Yakuji Terasu, the very doctor who had treated him back when he first arrived in Konoha.
Several years had passed, and even now, he remained one of the hospital's key physicians.
"Of course not… Your primary physician is out on a mission, so I'm handling your emergency treatment today," Yakuji said.
So saying, he gestured for Haseo to walk into the inner room.
Shortly afterward, the doctor, having completed the preliminary disinfection procedures, walked in behind him.
Truth be told, Haseo still wished it had been Tsunade treating his wounds. It wasn't about skill—Yakushi was just as skilled. But whenever Tsunade treated him, her touch always felt gentler somehow.
Yakuji, on the other hand, was far more "bold" in his approach.
Haseo was already seated in a chair, resting his injured arm on the table in front of him. Yakuji Terasu approached with a scalpel in hand—and just like that, the treatment began.
His injuries weren't as simple as just a fracture. Although his forearm wasn't exactly "comminuted," there were still bone fragments that needed to be removed.
Surgery was necessary.
Yet despite being an operation, the entire scene strangely resembled getting a haircut...
"To avoid affecting your precision afterward, Ninja like you definitely don't get anesthesia for injuries like these, right? After all, hands aren't feet."
So saying, Yakujī hovered one hand above Haseo's arm while medical chakra seeped from his fingertips. Without hesitation, the scalpel in his other hand sliced into Haseo's bruised, swollen, twisted arm.
A chill ran along the blade's edge. Haseo instinctively winced—well, from today on he officially became "Master Yuni."
"Have you made any progress on dealing with your chakra corrosion issue?" As if trying to distract him, Yakuji struck up a casual conversation.
But it only had the opposite effect. Originally, Haseo could have gritted his teeth and endured the pain in silence, but now he had no choice but to speak through clenched teeth: "Honestly? Still more or less the same. Though lately I found a solution that isn't really a solution."
"A solution that isn't really a solution?"
"Yeah. If the inside isn't working, try an outside approach. When you can't fix the symptoms, dig into the root first."
"Huh?"
The doctor was completely lost, but Haseo didn't elaborate further.
Small bone fragments were carefully removed, broken bones realigned and temporarily stabilized, muscle bruises cleared, external wounds treated with medical chakra, stitched closed, and finally secured with splints hanging from Haseo's neck. The surgery was complete.
All that remained now was waiting for recovery.
"Good news: the enemy didn't damage any nerves—just surface-level wounds. Your bones didn't even break cleanly enough to make things complicated."
Despite saying that, Yakuji spent nearly three full hours ensuring Haseo's arm healed perfectly. Under his control, even though Haseo's arm was sliced open to a level suitable for anatomy class display, he barely bled at all.
In short, the surgery looked brutal, but wasn't actually reckless.
If only they had a Hyūga ninja handy—as good as an X-ray—the procedure might've gone faster, and Haseo wouldn't have had to endure so many incisions. Unfortunately, he forgot about that possibility entirely.
Then Haseo tried moving his fingers slightly, discovering they responded rather sensitively already.
"Better not move around too much unless you want dislocated bones and another round of separation... I merely accelerated growth at the fracture points, letting your body naturally mend itself back together. This isn't the same as using steel pins."
This causes Haseo to halt his actions immediately. Hmm, he kind of respects how the Doctor handles this—it's not like anyone would want a chunk of metal stuck inside them anyway.
Besides, Haseo has psychological trauma about having metal plates inserted into his body.
After checking that he was all good, he turned to the doctor and said, "By the way, Doctor Yakuji, I brought back a big fish during this mission. But it's already injured and near death. So I wonder if maybe you could..."
Yakuji Terasu gave a gentle smile, then extended his hand pointing toward the door—his way of saying those who've finished treatment can leave now... Obviously, his answer was no.
This doctor might care about humans, but he shows absolutely no sympathy for small animals whatsoever—it's genuinely heartless.
Well, Haseo couldn't exactly treat the most skilled medical ninja as a vet—that'd basically be calling himself incompetent.
Luckily, Samehada's got incredible stamina. Feeding it some of The Two-Tails' chakra might just heal its wounds.
He should've known better than to mess with this fish so bad—chopping it up and stabbing it full of holes, what was the point of all that hassle?
...
Meanwhile, in another location.
Three days later, an uninvited group of visitors once again arrived at the Uzumaki village. By this time, the fire had long since burned out—more accurately, it had died down naturally after consuming all available fuel.
"Just as our scouts reported—no one's left around here," a ninja reported.
The squad leader gave a slight nod—he had expected this all along.
"What about the Kiri swords? How many have we recovered?"
"The Uzumaki ninjas seem to have never bothered sorting the battlefield. The surrounding traces remain exactly as they were during the fight, making the area look quite chaotic... We only managed to find five swords. The rest might have been taken away."
Mist had recovered five swords so far: the Long Blade, the Blunt Sword, the Explosive Sword, the Lightning Sword, and the Twin Blades. However, the Cleaver Sword and Samehada were missing.
"This must be an intentional message left behind—a warning that says 'this is what happens to trespassers'… Are the Uzumaki issuing a threat? And regarding only recovering five swords… Why of all things would Samehada be the one to go missing?"
The captain slapped his forehead, feeling somewhat headache-inducing... When returning this time, he should suggest the village create a special Contract Scroll specifically for the swords. It might seem like closing the barn door after the horse has bolted, but better late than never.
The ninja who had just completed reporting remained silent. He thought to himself, wasn't the Severing Sword also missing? Why did the captain mention only Samehada—doesn't the broken sword deserve any recognition at all?
"Let's take our comrades' bodies back together," the captain gave another order after finishing recovery of the swords.
It was standard practice—each ninja village tried not to leave fallen comrades behind to avoid exposing sensitive secrets.
Subsequently, Mist ninjas began moving the bodies and sealing them for transport... Since this was merely standard protocol in uninhabited areas, some of the ninjas apparently lacked sufficient vigilance.
However, just as two ninja moved aside a corpse, a scroll emerged from beneath it. Then, the scroll suddenly unfurled, and the technique's pattern instantly lit up.
"Something's wrong!"
Todoroki!
In an instant, a storm of shuriken and swirling blood mist carved a blooming flower into existence—its black veins branching outward, crimson petals unfurling in a deadly bloom.
History has proven that humans are fated to fall for the same trap twice—such was the cruelty of the one who had hidden the scroll beneath the body.
After all, those devoted to humanity rarely spare affection for small animals—and vice versa.
Moreover, hatred toward enemies must be deep-seated.
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