"Let's begin."
Whether Tsunade performs the procedure herself or delegates it to someone else, as long as Karai's injury is healed, the Fourth Raikage does not care who performs the surgery.
Hakushi shrugged indifferently. Solving the explosive bugs he created himself felt rather strange.
Walking over to the Hidden Cloud Jonin, Karai, Hakushi extended his hand over the insect-shaped bulge on his swollen body and gently wiped it.
At a visible speed, the insect-shaped bulge subsided.
Then Hakushi spread out his white coat, skillfully took a surgical knife from a pocket, and made a small incision on Karai's chest.
Immediately after, pale green chakra gathered in his palm, and from the incision, a very small white worm poked its head out. This was the body of the Bursting Insect. Hakushi extracted this white worm from the wound and crushed it in his hand.
The wound on Karai's chest was also healing, and his breathing resumed smoothly.
"Alright, it's done,"
Hakushi turned around and smiled at the Fourth Raikage and others.
"?"
Unlike Tsunade, who was not surprised at all, Hidden Cloud Jonin Amayi was stunned.
Amayi intended to observe the entire process for learning purposes, but... what was all this?
He saw the whole process, but it seemed like he hadn't seen anything at all.
He couldn't understand how Hakushi dealt with the explosive bugs.
Looking at Tsunade and Shizune, who remained calm and composed, and didn't seem surprised, Amayi sank into deep self-doubt about his abilities once again.
Could it be that his level of medical ninjutsu... is really low?
"Since Karai's injury is healed, let's part ways here."
The Fourth Raikage did not understand medical ninjutsu, but knowing that Karai's injury was resolved, there was no need to stay longer.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Raikage kid."
Tsunade smiled as she spoke at this time.
"What else is there?"
The Fourth Raikage looked at Tsunade with confusion.
"Aren't you afraid the Nokizaru Group will cause you trouble again? After all, your subordinates can't get rid of the Bursting Insects, right?"
Tsunade smirked.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to make a deal. I can give you some medicine to eliminate the Bursting Insects. In return, I usually enjoy gambling. You just need to settle my bill next time I gamble. Also, unless I'm mistaken, you might also have been implanted with a Bursting Insect by the Nokizaru Group."
Tsunade laughed as she said this.
"What?"
The Fourth Raikage and Amayi were both taken aback.
Tsunade gestured for the two to calm down.
"Don't look at me like that; I'm telling the truth. If you, Raikage, had direct contact with the Nokizaru Group, there's no reason only your subordinates would be implanted with Bursting Insects."
"Then why..."
The Fourth Raikage doubted.
"If it weren't for that contest, I might not have known. But during the arm-wrestling match just now, I understood. The Bursting Insects are lurking inside you. They haven't erupted because your chakra flow is too fast when in Lightning Style Armor mode, making it impossible for the insects to latch on. But in your daily life, you will definitely use chakra. You can't possibly use Lightning Style Armor all the time. By then, the Bursting Insects will activate... and you've seen the result."
Tsunade glanced at Karai on the bed, hinting.
The Fourth Raikage's face showed a complex mix of emotions.
"Raikage-sama."
Amayi said seriously, reminding beside the Fourth Raikage.
"I understand." The Fourth Raikage nodded, looking at Tsunade, saying, "Alright, give me the medicine... but is it really just to settle one gambling debt for you?"
"That's right. After all, even if I, a Sannin, gamble, I couldn't possibly lose too much, right?"
"Indeed."
The Fourth Raikage nodded.
A ninja of Tsunade's caliber likely gambles as a form of casual entertainment, undeniably with some restraint, and would not gamble excessively without limits.
Moreover, he needs Tsunade to provide medicine to guard against the Nokizaru Group's Bursting Insects.
Having taken the medicine from Tsunade's hand, the Fourth Raikage reached an agreement with her, carried the still-unconscious Karai on his back, and left the inn with Medical Ninja Amayi, their destination unknown.
"That Raikage-sama probably doesn't know about Tsunade-sama's true gambling tendencies yet."
Shizune commented with sympathy.
Because Tsunade's gambling habits truly have no limits and in the gambling world, she is the only recognized "big fat sheep" today.
"Why talk like that, Shizune? We're conducting honest business. I didn't force him to buy the medicine from me, did I?"
Tsunade righteously taught Shizune.
"Yes, yes."
Shizune replied nonchalantly.
She had already pictured the scene of the Fourth Raikage flying into a rage in his office when he received the bill.
"So, how about we discuss our matters now, Tsunade-sensei? Last time, due to being too busy, we didn't have much time to catch up. This time, I want to make up for it. And now it's almost noon, how about I treat you?"
After the Fourth Raikage and his group left, Hakushi smiled and invited Tsunade.
"It seems you won't stop following me unless we clear things up."
Tsunade sighed with annoyance but nodded in agreement.
"Alright, I also want to know what high-level discourse you want to have with me."
Tsunade was quite curious about Hakushi's intentions for seeking her out.
This was likely the first time they were preparing for an open and honest conversation.