Shizune looked up at him.
"Promise me."
Chisen looked at her.
"All right."
Shizune stared into his eyes for three seconds, as though weighing how much that "all right" was worth.
"I'll hold you to that. If you get out of bed again, I'll confiscate your sword."
Something shifted in Chisen's eyes.
Shizune caught it.
"Scared?"
"No."
"Then why did your expression change?"
"Because you don't wield a sword."
"For you, I will." Shizune picked up her medicine kit and stood. "Remember that."
She left.
Kagura waited for her by the door, and they left together. Before the door closed, Kagura glanced back at Chisen.
"Hisai said the other half of your bloodline doesn't resemble any known bloodline limit. I've seen plenty of strange things, from Kirigakure to Kumogakure, from Sunagakure to Iwagakure. But I don't recognize this half of you, either. Still, it doesn't seem foreign. It seems like it's always been inside you, only suppressed by some method."
Chisen looked at her.
"Kagura, do you believe some things are innate?"
Kagura thought for a moment.
"I do. Some things aren't learned or inherited. They're etched into your flesh and bones from the moment you're born. For example..."
"For example, what?"
Kagura left the thought unfinished and shook her head.
"When Hisai gets a little better, have her run another in-depth examination. Maybe she'll have the answer."
With that, she closed the door and left.
When the news reached Konoha, Shikamaru was in the Hokage Building, writing the third draft of his report.
Tsunade slapped a blood-soaked intelligence report down in front of him. The handwriting was crooked, and blood had blurred parts of it, but he could still make out the gist: "Western border of the Land of Fire. Kushida Village. Twenty-three people. Deadline: ninety-six hours. Chisen alone