Yukina...
So she did it after all.
After murmuring to himself, the Third Hokage looked at the separate little tent and sighed softly, a complicated thought passing through his heart.
He had known that Yukina would sacrifice her life.
The moment he saw the resolute look in Yukina's eyes, he had known that she intended to sacrifice herself to save Chiba.
But at the time, he had been unable to refuse.
For one, he knew that once this stubborn girl had made up her mind, not even he, the Hokage, could persuade her otherwise.
Second, the Third Hokage had made a choice. Yukina's blood could save Chiba. Even if Chiba had only one breath left, even if his body had no possibility of recovery and he should not have been able to survive at all...
The Third Hokage knew that Yukina's blood could save Chiba. Even wounds like these could be healed by Yukina's blood.
In fact, long ago, when Yukina had still been a baby, her father—no, her adoptive father, Hyuga Shinsuke—had once brought her to the village to seek protection. He had openly admitted that the Hyuga Clan had been conducting cruel experiments using Yukina's blood.
Hyuga Shinsuke had not gone into detail about the experiments. Out of respect for the Hyuga Clan, the Third Hokage had not pressed him. But from Hyuga Shinsuke's account, he learned that Yukina's blood seemed to possess powerful healing properties and the ability to strengthen the Byakugan. However, it came with enormous side effects. Nearly every Hyuga clansman who directly injected Yukina's blood gained tremendous power for a brief period, along with healing abilities that could instantly mend even near-fatal injuries. Yet once the time limit expired, their entire bodies festered, and they died in horrifying states.
Meanwhile, certain high-ranking members of