"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Host: You have established a Level 2 bond with the original character 'Uchiha Shisui'!"
"Reward points received: 500 points!"
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, Host: You have established a Level 10 bond with the original character 'Uchiha Sasuke'! (Relationship has undergone a fundamental qualitative change! Unlockable for viewing after adulthood)"
"Reward points received: 1500 points!"
These were a series of notifications that rang out last night, especially the massive 1500-point income and the meaningful "relationship qualitative change" remark. However, the huge point gain did not bring joy; instead, it made Naruto, who was currently guarding the hospital bed, feel a wave of uneasy guilt and remorse.
Let's rewind a bit to late last night.
When Menma and Shisui returned to the underground base of the [Cinder] organization in the Land of Hot Springs with a completely unconscious Uchiha Itachi via the Flying Thunder God Technique, the situation was chaotic.
Some of the Uchiha Clan members who had been transferred there earlier had already begun to regain consciousness. They found themselves in a completely unfamiliar underground facility, surrounded by equally bewildered clan members, their memories still stuck at the moment their homes were attacked and they were knocked out by the Masked Man.
This obvious act of "kidnapping" was enough to plunge any ordinary person into extreme panic. Whispers and anxious questions filled the air, and the atmosphere was tense to the extreme.
As soon as Menma and Shisui appeared, they immediately attracted all the suspicious and uncertain gazes.
Without any delay, Menma and Shisui confined Itachi, who had lost his sight and power, to a special isolation room.
Then, they immediately faced the restless crowd. He took off his fox mask, revealing the face familiar to many clan members—Uchiha Shisui.
Next was... "Everyone! Please be quiet! Listen to me! I am Uchiha Shisui! There's no need to panic! We haven't been kidnapped; rather... we've been rescued from a plot of extermination targeting the Uchiha Clan..." and so on.
Shisui explained the current situation, Danzo Shimura's conspiracy, and the refuge provided by the [Cinder] organization to the shocked clan members in the most concise way possible.
All these complex tasks of appeasement, explanation, and stabilization were left entirely to Shisui and Hizashi by Menma.
After all this was done, this [Menma] Shadow Clone, who had been running around all night and was greatly depleted, finally could no longer maintain itself, and with a "bang," it dissipated into a puff of white smoke.
All the memories, fatigue, and gains it carried instantly returned to the consciousness of its main body, Uzumaki Naruto, who was far away in Konoha Hospital.
Time returned to the present.
Naruto looked at Satsuki's eyes, which still held traces of fear and sadness, and his heart was ready. He planned to take enough time to carefully explain to her why his penetrating wound had healed, and he even prepared to reveal the existence of Kurama within him to her.
He organized his words, waiting for Satsuki's inevitable questions about his injuries.
But...
Satsuki's reaction was completely beyond his expectations. She didn't eagerly press him about his injuries; she just looked at him with misty, unfocused eyes, her voice light as a feather.
"Naruto... is this... a dream? Or... was everything that happened last night... just a terrible nightmare?"
Naruto shook his head, "...It's not a dream. What happened last night, and now... it's not a dream."
Hearing this answer, Satsuki's voice trembled even more deeply. "Then why... I clearly saw... at that time... you bled so much... clearly..."
Her gaze fell on the spot near Naruto's heart; there was only torn clothing there, no trace of injury.
Naruto tried to explain in as lighthearted a tone as possible. "Well... it might be a bit complicated to explain. It's a rather special ability... that I have built into my body, I guess?"
"After getting injured, I heal much faster than ordinary people..." He carefully laid the groundwork, preparing to smoothly introduce Kurama's existence.
He waited for Satsuki, as usual, to ask him with curiosity or dissatisfaction, "What kind of ability is it?" or "Tell me clearly!" and so on.
However, once again, Satsuki's reaction caught him off guard.
She didn't ask further.
She just lowered her head slightly, her black hair falling to cover her expression. After several seconds, he heard her softly murmur repeatedly.
"I see..."
"So that's how it is..."
She didn't delve into what that "special ability" was, nor did she question whether the explanation was reasonable.
After confirming the only important fact—"Naruto is really okay" and "Naruto is still safely by her side"—everything else became irrelevant.
Then, she reached out, her fingers gently taking Naruto's hand. She didn't speak again, just leaned there silently, letting tears fall soundlessly.
The tears were no longer a hysterical breakdown, but a complex release of surviving a disaster, mixed with endless sorrow and a faint sense of peace.
Naruto looked at her like this, and all the explanations he had prepared were stuck in his throat. He ultimately chose silent companionship.
Just as this atmosphere of sorrow and quiet permeated the room, there was a soft knock on the ward door. A medical ninja entered.
"Excuse me."
The medical ninja's voice was as soft as possible, "We just received an urgent notification from Hokage-sama... regarding the situation of the Uchiha Clan last night... it seems that a very small number of survivors were found in the clan compound... two of them... seem to have a direct blood relation to you."
------
"Although the vital signs of the two patients are currently stable, their internal organs suffered extensive burns and damage. With the current level of medical Ninjutsu... we cannot perform effective repair surgery safely."
"I'm very sorry... the possibility of them waking up is extremely slim. Please, the family should prepare for the worst."
In another ward, the medical ninja explained the situation with a heavy tone. His gaze fell on the two hospital beds placed side by side at the front of the room, where the unconscious couple, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, lay quietly.
Their faces were as pale as paper, and they were hooked up to IVs and various monitoring tubes to sustain life.
This was the result of Menma's previous intervention—he had merely used the combination of Gold Experience and Crazy Diamond to forcefully sustain their lives, stopping the most fatal deterioration of their injuries, but he had not fully healed them.
Satsuki's small face instantly lost all color, and the roller coaster of emotions once again severely impacted her young heart.
The immense joy that had just ignited, knowing her parents were still alive, was instantly shattered by this cruel diagnosis of "worse than death."
"...What does that mean?" Satsuki's voice trembled almost incoherently. Subconsciously, she clutched Naruto's hand tightly, with such force that Naruto felt a slight pain.
The medical ninja looked at Satsuki with pity and helplessness. "It means... these two survivors, in all likelihood... will remain in this sleeping state, perhaps... never waking up for the rest of their lives. Please... prepare yourself mentally for the long term."
In reality, the medical ninja knew in his heart that Konoha was not without someone who could heal injuries of this severity—the legendary Sannin, Lady Tsunade, might have a way.
But as a mere medical ninja, he had no right to make such an illusory promise to the family, nor could he guarantee that he could persuade that esteemed person.
Satsuki seemed to have been drained of all her strength. She slowly, somewhat unsteadily, walked to the chair by the bed and sat down, her small body trembling like a withered leaf in the wind.
Seeing Satsuki like this, a complex emotion also surged in Naruto's heart. He hadn't expected that Konoha's current medical level couldn't even completely heal such injuries?
A hint of doubt and self-blame quietly emerged—had he made a mistake by not completely healing them at the time?
But at this moment, he had to suppress these thoughts. He walked to Satsuki's side and said in an incredibly firm tone, "Satsuki... it's okay. Uncle and Aunt will definitely recover, they will definitely wake up."
Satsuki looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, "But... the doctor said..."
"No!" Naruto interrupted her, saying word by word, "They will be fine! I promise you! Soon, they will come home healthy and well! They will all be fine! I am one hundred percent sure!"
His tone was so certain.
The medical ninja beside him watched Naruto "comforting" the family in such a way, assuming it was just stubbornness and wishful thinking from not wanting to accept reality. He sighed inwardly, shook his head helplessly, and quietly left the ward, leaving the space to the two children.