Inside Konoha Hospital, outside the operating room.
Hyuga Yu put on a white surgical gown and stood in front of the sink. As the water flowed through his fingers, he was somewhat absentminded.
His right eyelid was still twitching.
It had been twitching all the way from the Black Tower to this place, making him feel rather flustered and irritated.
"Kid Yu, are you alright?"
The voice of Hospital Director Shiraishi came from behind him, gentle and carrying a hint of concern.
Yu turned off the tap, shook his hands dry, and when he turned around, he had already restored that calm expression of his:
"I'm fine, Master Shiraishi. How is Rin Nohara's condition?"
"Everything is prepared." Shiraishi nodded, looking toward the operating table. "The Three-Tails chakra you purged for her previously has generated once again, and this time it is even more violent. If we don't deal with it soon..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already crystal clear.
Yu nodded, pushed open the door, and walked into the operating room.
The operating room was not large. Under the shadowless lamp, Rin Nohara—whose body was severely contorted and deformed, resembling a mountain of bones and flesh—lay quietly on a specialized operating table. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady; it appeared she had already been anesthetized.
Her complexion was much paler than it was a week ago, and traces of cold sweat remained on her forehead.
Yu walked over to the side of the operating table. A group of medical ninja participating in this surgery followed and gathered around the operating table. The three hospital executives—Shiraishi, Matsumoto, and Furofuki—served as the primary assistant, secondary assistant, and anesthesiologist respectively. Separated by just a wall, a group of attending physicians from various departments gathered in front of the real-time surgical field monitors to learn—these were the future young executives of Konoha's Medical Squad.
Above and to the side of the operating room, inside the surgical observation room behind the glass curtain wall, sat three Konoha executives: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzō Shimura, and Koharu Utatane.
A surgery to handle the side effects of a partial Tailed Beast transformation rampage in a Jinchūriki was rare in the ninja world. Furthermore, this surgical plan integrated the Yang Release technique theories proposed by Yu.
In designing this surgical plan, Yu did not include his "controllable Yang Release," mainly because his Yang Release was quite special and lacked universal applicability.
Rin Nohara's surgery was not only meant to fulfill the agreement reached with Minato Namikaze, but even more so to demonstrate the prospects of Yang Release to the hospital executives and Konoha's higher-ups.
The first round of capital injection into the Headquarters was unconditional support granted by Konoha's and the Land of Fire's executives out of "courtesy" toward Yu.
However, moving forward, if no results could be produced, it would be hard to say how long this "goodwill" could be maintained, whether stable supplies would be provided, or if they would feign compliance while secretly betraying him.
This surgery concerned the second round of capital injection into the "Headquarters," as well as Yu's subsequent plans to advance the cultivation of the Tenseigan.
At this moment, Yu stood by the operating table, suppressing the faint sense of unease in his heart. He took a deep breath, raised both hands, looked at Director Matsumoto opposite him, narrowed his eyes slightly, and suddenly asked:
"Master Matsumoto, for this surgery, we didn't assign an instrument nurse. Is it going to be you handing over the instruments?"
Director Matsumoto chuckled merrily. "I'm old; I can only act as the secondary assistant to pull retractors and help you out. As for the instrument nurse, of course we have one."
"Rest assured, we brought over Konoha's strongest nurse."
Yu immediately wanted to curse. Exactly which instrument nurse was so impressive that she dared to be late when the surgery was about to start, putting on such grand airs—was she tired of living?
However, before the words could leave his mouth, Yu's heart gave a sudden thud. Out of the corner of his eye, he instantly caught sight of a graceful figure in the corner of the operating room, stepping on flickering faint teal light dots as her body materialized from faint to solid.
Yu's face stiffened and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, swallowing all his dissatisfied words right back down.
It was a girl wearing a nurse's uniform and cap. She was 162 centimeters tall, her pretty face still bearing a trace of youthfulness, but those eyes of hers—Those faint teal eyes, clear as a green lake, were currently staring quietly right into Yu's eyes, meeting his gaze and offering him a sweet smile.
Hyuga Natsu.
Yu's right eyelid couldn't help but twitch once more. He turned his head back to look at Director Matsumoto, who was currently looking at his own nose and heart.
Wait, this is what you meant by "Konoha's strongest nurse"?
Old man, did you get something wrong? This woman can't even tell a hemostat and tweezers apart! When you said strongest, did you mean in terms of combat strength?!
"Lord Tennin."
At this time, Natsu spoke up, her voice gentle and her tone respectful. She bowed slightly, her posture completely faultless.
She walked forward holding a tray neatly arranged with surgical instruments, which glinted with a cold light beneath the shadowless lamp.
"The instruments are ready. You may begin at any time."
It wasn't "Shishi-kun" nor "Hyuga Yu," but a standardized "Lord Tennin" that sounded as if it had been measured with a ruler.
Yu looked at her, attempting to read something off that calm face.
Yet he could read nothing at all.
There was no anger, no interrogation, no grievance, and no resentment—only a standard, faultless, respectful facade of a nurse treating a doctor.
This instead sent a chill down Yu's spine.
"You... Why are you here?" he asked nervously in a lowered voice.
Natsu tilted her head slightly, a sweet professional smile appearing on her face:
"I am Konoha's strongest nurse. Does Lord Tennin think there is any problem with that?"
Yu remained silent for a second.
Phrased like that... it seems like there's a problem, yet it also seems like there isn't one.
After all, being able to raise a hand and pull down a meteorite staff from the sky that could blow up the entire Konoha Hospital, even Yu had to admit that within the profession of nursing, you, Hyuga Natsu, truly are the strongest!
But are you really not here to kill Rin Nohara and avenge a personal grudge?!
And what could Yu even say right now?
Say "Go out and swap for someone else"?
Setting aside whether saying those words right now would make the three old folks who had watched the two of them grow up since childhood—and were just waiting to celebrate their wedding—fly into a rage on the spot, even if he spoke those words out loud, he couldn't predict whether that respectful face of Natsu's would tear apart right then and there to chew him up alive and swallow him down.
"...No." Yu gave a sheepish smile, following his gut.
Natsu nodded and stood off to the side holding the tray, as quiet as a sculpture.
The surgery began.
Yu took a deep breath, raised his hands clad in nitrile gloves, and announced the name of this surgery in a deep voice:
"Application of Yang Release—Jinchūriki Partial Tailed Beast Transformation Body Correction Surgery, begin!"
The Partial Tailed Beast Transformation Body Correction Surgery was intended to stimulate and activate the Jinchūriki's inherent self-healing capabilities through the passive effects of Yang Release. Then, external chakra would be used to guide this self-healing capability to heal the Jinchūriki.
In theory, if this could be accomplished, it would be possible to operate in reverse—guiding the Tailed Beast chakra to form Yang Release chakra that even ordinary medical ninja could control, allowing for broader applications.
The surgery combined the practical application of multi-disciplinary theories including the excision of excess bodily bones, meridian repair and reconstruction, and nervous system repair. In the entire Konoha Hospital, only attending-level doctors could understand the theories behind the corresponding parts, and only the top three directors of the Medical Squad could fully comprehend all the various theories encompassed in this operation.
At this moment, hearing Yu announce the start of the surgery, the three directors present also assumed solemn expressions, beginning to assist Yu with the operation while gravely observing every one of his surgical movements.
Yu raised his hands, focusing his attention on Rin Nohara's chest, starting with the heart's blood exchange system.
"Scalpel."
Natsu immediately and accurately handed over the scalpel.
"Here!"
Using the scalpel, Yu precisely sliced a neat incision at the exposed surgical field position on the drape, then reached out his hand—
"Hemostat."
"Here!"
A hand clad in a white glove passed over the hemostat.
Yu took it, clamped the blood vessel, and continued operating.
"Retractor."
"Here!"
A small hand passed it over.
He took it.
"Suture needle."
"Here!"
A small hand passed it over.
He took it.
Everything was going so smoothly it was unbelievable. With Natsu's coordination acting as if she were a mind reader inside his stomach, the surgical process was more than fifty seconds faster than estimated.
Yu settled his mind and began the second phase of the surgery, excising the excess bodily tissue from the limbs that had been contorted after the partial Tailed Beast transformation. This part was relatively unimportant compared to the overall treatment, serving mainly as cosmetic processing; once the overall surgery was complete, even if this part wasn't done, Rin Nohara could self-repair over time, it would just take longer.
To put it simply, it was just to make the young girl look better.
"Tweezers."
Natsu's small hand reached over.
Yu took it and looked down—
It was a scalpel.
He raised his head, meeting Natsu's calm Byakugan.
"Lord Tennin?" Natsu tilted her head, still wearing that standard sweet smile. "Is there a problem?"
Yu stared at the scalpel in his hand, then looked at the tweezers clearly laid out on the tray, falling silent for two seconds.
"...It's nothing."
He placed the scalpel back onto the tray and reached out his own hand to grab the tweezers.
On the other side, Director Shiraishi was staring at the various stabilized data following the first phase of the surgery, clicking his tongue in wonder. Catching the pause in Yu's movements out of the corner of his eye, he asked with some surprise, "Kid Yu, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Without turning his head, Yu said, "Continue."
The surgery continued.
However, Yu's right eyelid began twitching again.
Next up—
"Needle driver."
What the small hand passed over was a hemostat.
"Suture scissors."
What the small hand passed over was a pair of tissue scissors.
"Suction tip."
What was passed over this time was a scalpel.
Every single time, the instrument Natsu handed over was off by just a tiny bit from what Yu requested—not completely unusable, but simply awkward to use. It either required him to spend an extra second adjusting it, or he simply had to reach into the tray prepared by Natsu to grab the correct instrument himself.
At first, Yu thought it was an accident.
The second time, he thought it was a coincidence.
The third time, he began to doubt.
The fourth, fifth, sixth time...
Yu was already certain:
Hyuga Natsu was doing it on purpose.
He raised his head, meeting Natsu's eyes once more.
It was still that calm, respectful gaze that was completely faultless. But if one looked closely, one could discover that deep within those faint teal eyes, something was flowing slowly—like an undercurrent beneath ice, calm on the surface, but raging underneath.
Yu suddenly recalled the words Terai and Kakuzu had mentioned:
"Sister-in-law... Hyuga Natsu was attacked by Hyuga Mao, daughter of the religious Grand Elder, and her life or death was unknown."
"That young girl only sleeps for four hours a day, eating her meals right at the clan office."
"She made no demands, voiced no grievances, and sent no messages through others."
"She audited over two hundred shops, recovered five embezzled assets, and organized a hundred Branch House ninja to work in groups."
And while she was doing all of this, where was he?
He was running across half the ninja world for Rin Nohara.
He was rushing back and forth between the Foundation, the Headquarters, and the Daimyō's manor.
He was keeping an eye on the research progress of Hiruko and the others inside the high tower of the Forest of Death.
He hadn't returned home even once.
He hadn't met her even once.
He hadn't offered a single explanation.
Yu lowered his head and continued the surgery.
However, he suddenly felt that the air conditioning in the operating room, set to 16 degrees, was a bit too warm. The instruments in his hands felt somewhat hot, and sweat seemed to be breaking out on his forehead.
He wanted to call out for someone to wipe his sweat, but the words were choked back as they reached his lips. Just as he was about to lean back and handle it himself, a small hand reached over at just the right moment, using a towel to wipe away the sweat on the side of Yu's forehead.
Soon enough, this not-so-important second phase of the surgery was arduous, pulled along back and forth between Yu and Natsu, and finally passed.
The surgery arrived at the third phase, the most critical moment— Yu needed to precisely guide the Three-Tails chakra from Rin Nohara's meridians into the meridians he had reconstructed in advance, turning the Tailed Beast chakra into Yang Release chakra that would take effect on the Jinchūriki.
If there was even a slight mistake, Rin Nohara could die on the spot.
Without relying on the Yang Release of the Tenseigan, but purely on basic guidance of life force, passive Yang Release guidance, and precise surgical capabilities, fine beads of sweat began to seep out on Yu's forehead, his concentration held at an absolute peak.
"Hemostat."
What Natsu's small hand passed over this time was a real hemostat.
Yu took it and clamped a tiny blood vessel.
"Retractor."
What the small hand passed over was a real retractor.
"Suture needle."
What the small hand passed over was a real suture needle.
Everything became normal again, and the process was even more efficient than originally estimated.
Yu felt puzzled in his heart, but had no time to overthink as he devoted all his attention to completing the final operations.
The Three-Tails chakra was guided bit by bit into the meridians by his Chakra Scalpel. After a muffled hum from the crimson chakra inside her, Rin Nohara's swollen and contorted body began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to a normal young girl's form.
Rin Nohara's rapid breathing gradually stabilized, the pained expression on her face gradually smoothed out, and the chakra fluctuations within her body trended toward normal.
Finally, the last stitch was sewn.
Yu let out a long breath, laying down his instruments.
"The surgery is complete. Thank you, everyone, for your hard work!"
The surgical timer froze at 2 hours, 36 minutes, and 55 seconds.
Not a second off from the estimated time.
A quiet burst of cheering sounded in the operating room.
Director Shiraishi looked at Yu with a chuckle, his eyes filled with gratification. "Kid Yu, looks like your surgical skills have improved yet again!"
Yu waved his hand, about to exchange a few pleasantries, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Natsu standing quietly to the side holding the tray, acting as though none of this had anything to do with her.
Her face still bore that standard professional smile.
However, Yu noticed that the fingertips she used to grip the edge of the tray had turned slightly white.
"Rin Nohara needs to be observed for a while longer. Once everything stabilizes, we'll proceed with the final step to awaken her mental willpower," Yu instructed an ordinary nurse nearby. "I've written the precautions in advance on the surgical plan; just follow what's on there."
"Yes." That nurse first cast a cautious glance at Natsu on the side, nodding timidly to Yu in agreement.
After finishing his instructions, Yu turned to Natsu, lowering his voice into a deep tone:
"Natsu, step out with me for a moment."
Natsu curtsied slightly, her tone as respectful as if addressing a superior:
"Does Lord Tennin have any further instructions? If you need post-operative care instructions, I can—"
"Step out for a moment."
Yu interrupted her, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Natsu raised her eyes to look at him, and a flicker of something different finally flashed across those Byakugan—it wasn't anger, nor was it grievance, but a complex, indescribable emotion.
"Yes," she said.
The two walked out of the operating room one after the other.
At the end of the hallway, by the corner.
Yu stopped in his tracks and turned around.
Natsu stood in front of him, still wearing that nurse's uniform, her hands folded in front of her, her head slightly lowered. The hallway light shone over from the side, casting half-bright, half-dark shadows on her pretty, dainty face.
The two remained silent.
Looking at her, Yu suddenly realized he didn't know where to start.
"You..." he began.
"Lord Tennin," Natsu interrupted him, her tone calm. "If you want to ask about passing the wrong instruments during the surgery earlier, that was my mistake. I am willing to accept punishment."
Yu choked.
Passing the wrong instruments?
That was a mistake?
A mistake could still perfectly finish right on the estimated time in the surgical plan?
Do you take me for a three-year-old child?!
"You know that's not what I want to ask!"
Natsu raised her head, meeting his eyes. Deep within those eyes, the layer of ice finally cracked open a fissure, revealing the surging undercurrent beneath:
"Then what should I assume you want to ask?"
Her voice was still calm, but Yu could hear the trembling suppressed with all her might beneath that calm:
"Do you want to ask why I didn't come look for you? Ask why I didn't complain, didn't voice grievances, didn't send messages through others?"
"Ask why I didn't act like a burden, insisting on causing trouble for you?"
"Or do you want to ask—"
She paused, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile that was both sweet and suppressed, as she asked:
"When you ran across half the ninja world to save that woman, did you ever stop to think that I was waiting for you to come home in Konoha?"
"Or, to ask even more directly—"
Natsu stared coldly at Yu, taunting:
"Hyuga Yu, why don't you dare to see me?"
————
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