Soon after, Haseo quickly transported Kushina and Minato Namikaze to Konoha Hospital.
Although Minato's injuries appeared extremely severe, his condition was actually the easiest to handle. In contrast, Kushina—who showed no visible wounds—had a far more complicated issue.
Although Minato looked like a bloody mess, practically any intern medical ninja could handle his injuries—it was nothing more than cleaning the wounds, stitching them up, and wrapping him in bandages. Maybe add a blood transfusion for good measure.
That said, this guy might seem gentle on the outside, but clearly had a tough side—he didn't utter a single sound while being sliced open or while having his wounds treated.
Kids his age would normally be howling like babies at this point. No wonder he could stay calm even when someone pierced through his chest later—this kind of grit was clear even back then.
While treating Minato's external wounds, Kushina was handed over to the doctors for a thorough examination.
Roughly an hour later, the doctor Haseo knew and trusted most within the hospital—apart from Tsunade—came before him.
"Dr. Yakuji, how is that child doing?"
"That kid? Ah, you mean little Kushina? Simply put, her condition resembles someone struck by lightning—almost charred on the outside and steamed inside… Luckily, the high-voltage current passed through very quickly and lasted only briefly."
Dr. Yakuji was quite familiar with Haseo, so he spoke without reservations. From his calm tone, Haseo sensed that Kushina's condition should be manageable.
Still, he found the doctor's description slightly imprecise—Kushina hadn't been hit by lightning; she seemed more like she'd been tied into an electric chair and given two full rounds of 'treatment' sessions.
Of course, that was merely Haseo's personal bias—the doctor's explanation was clearly closer to reality.
"Generally speaking, cases like this aren't easy to treat. However… we've encountered similar cases previously, so now we can manage her condition pretty well," Dr. Yakuji explained.
Similar cases? Haseo momentarily failed to grasp what the other meant.
At this moment, the doctor suddenly placed a hand on Haseo's shoulder and leaned in close. His expression turned very serious. "Haseo, the symptoms on this girl Kushina are nearly identical to those you once experienced when you drastically evaporated your body mass—they're just incredibly mild versions.
I'll only say this once: whatever reckless nonsense you enjoy getting into, don't ever teach such harmful techniques to a child like her. Her judgment isn't mature enough to know when—or even if—it should ever be used.
You'd be playing with her life—you could kill her."
This scolding caught Haseo off guard—he felt a wave of embarrassment wash over him.
Of course, Dr. Yakuji had every right to criticize Haseo—he had saved Haseo's life more than once, and had already been working at Konoha Hospital since before Haseo originally arrived in the village.
However, the problem was that it wasn't Haseo who had taught that Kinjutsu to Kushina. Even if he had been out of his mind, there was no way he would teach such a jutsu to a child... Sealing it and handing it over to Tsunade had already pushed him to his limit.
But now there was no way for him to prove his innocence. Should he tell Dr. Yakuji that this wasn't his doing? If it wasn't Haseo himself, then who was the "culprit"? That technique was clearly his own.
Even Haseo sometimes ended up taking the fall for someone else's mess.
Right now, he didn't yet know where this accusation had come from—but no worries, this would be simple to figure out with a quick investigation.
"So Doctor, can Kushina fully recover, and roughly how long will she need to heal?" With no possible explanation at all, Haseo decided to flip past this topic directly—denial was pointless, and admitting would be even worse, so simply ignoring it was better.
Dr. Yakuji took a step back, then continued with his usual tone, "She'll definitely have to stay in the hospital for at least two weeks, and you must promise me she won't use that ninjutsu ever again.
That you managed to 'shrink back' and survive is nothing short of a supernatural anomaly in medical terms. Do you really expect others to do the same?"
"I promise, I absolutely promise!" Haseo hastily replied.
What Dr. Yakuji had just said sounded like claiming Haseo's survival under those circumstances was merely a case of heaven looking the other way.
Previously supported by the Senju clan and now having full authority over the Uzumaki, Haseo had basically become someone who could strut around Konoha without fear. Even toward the Third Hokage, he dared occasionally talk back. However, doctors were still creatures he dared not provoke.
Apparently satisfied with Haseo's anxious and apologetic attitude, Dr. Yakuji nodded and then returned into the ward behind him to continue treating Kushina's injuries.
Tonight would once again be an especially busy night for the medical staff.
After treatment, Kushina was carried into a private room.
Once confirming Kushina was stable, Haseo left the unusually well-behaved Black Cat to look after her while he himself hurried back toward the Uzumaki District.
At the moment, Haseo thought his cat was being particularly obedient because its paw had been slashed by Wind Blades earlier, leaving it rather depressed. Fortunately, the doctor had already treated its injury, so Haseo figured its mood should soon recover.
Many injured people from the previous battle were steadily brought in, and Dr. Yakuji no longer had time to spare attention on Haseo. Compared to staying here observing the wounded, Haseo urgently needed to understand just how severe the damage to the Uzumaki District actually was.
By now, an entire night had passed, and daylight began to show.
Quickly returning to the now-calm Uzumaki District, although the battle had quieted down, the damage from last night was still clearly visible—the streets and certain houses had sustained considerable damage, with some areas completely collapsed.
Looking at the scene before him, Haseo remained silently speechless.
Konoha's defenses against the Kumo Envoy Team were nearly impenetrable. Yet, despite that, just one mid-operation mistake gave the enemy a mere ten-minute window to act—barely enough time for concealment and assembly. Even so, those brief ten minutes had caused such consequences.
"Lord Haseo, we have received a general casualty report."
Noticing Haseo's arrival, Ka-jin hurried over with a serious expression.
"Skip the material losses and report only on personnel," Haseo instructed.
"Yes, Lord Haseo. During last night's battle, no one from the Uzumaki clan had died. Five sustained serious but non-fatal injuries, and about twenty others suffered minor wounds of varying degrees..."
Up to this point, the report was acceptable—such damage could even be considered negligible. However, Ka-jin had not finished speaking yet.
"Additionally, there is one person missing."
Haseo came to a sudden halt, his face darkening with concern.
"Missing?"
"Yes, Lord Haseo."
"Could he have been buried under the rubble? Have you organized search and rescue teams?"
"The search efforts are ongoing, but my gut feeling tells me it's not as straightforward as a simple disappearance..."
"So... did the missing person happen to be a child?"
Clearly, Haseo had guessed correctly. Ka-jin could only steel himself before continuing the description of the missing individual. "The missing person is a nine-year-old child who lived alone with his mother. He had never attended the Ninja Academy, nor had he received formal ninja training—he was just an ordinary member of the Uzumaki clan.
That house was indeed damaged during last night's battle and subsequently destroyed. However, by dawn we only managed to rescue the mother from inside. As for the child, he has vanished without a trace... The mother is among those gravely injured."
Judging merely from the age of the missing person, Haseo already sensed something suspicious.
"Have all the deceased Kumo ninja identities been verified and cross-referenced?"
He quickly asked, beginning to fear that Kumo might have succeeded after all.
"They have been confirmed. All the dead bodies matched exactly with members of the envoy group," Ka-jin replied. He had re-verified everything immediately after realizing someone had gone missing.
As far as they could tell now, no Kumo ninja had successfully escaped—much less taken a child from the Uzumaki clan with them.
"Continue searching for the missing person. Once the mother regains consciousness, question her about what happened back then… If we still can't find him, it would mean the number of enemies involved wasn't limited to just those we saw."
"You mean... ?"
Haseo exhaled lightly before replying:
"A spy."
He had underestimated the problem before. It seemed like things weren't over yet.
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