Your Own Eyes Shouldn't Need Others to Worry About Them-Wait Until It's Stable

"Lord Sakumo, we'll be leaving as well."

Hatake Sakumo looked at Chiyo and nodded seriously.

"Go."

A knowing glint flashed in the silver-haired man's eyes as he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait!"

Chiyo looked at him in confusion.

Sakumo's expression turned solemn.

"Your achievements will reach the other villages sooner or later. From now on, be extra careful. They may take action against you."

Chiyo paused, then nodded with a soft laugh.

"Yes. Thank you, Lord Sakumo."

With that, Chiyo went after Tsunade.

One ahead, one behind.

The Medical Ninja who had accompanied them hurried after them as well.

When Chiyo lifted the flap of the medical tent—

he saw Tsunade with her back to him, forcefully hurling a bundle of bandages into a supply crate.

"Please take care of the medical supplies, Lady Tsunade."

Chiyo's voice rang out.

Tsunade spun around sharply, her light-brown eyes glaring at him.

Seeing the Medical Ninja following behind him, she forcibly suppressed her anger.

Tsunade stepped past Chiyo.

She began assigning tasks to the Medical Ninja.

"Review the medical manual several times. Tomorrow, I'll test you on the key material. Anyone who can't answer will accompany the severely wounded ninja back to the village!"

"During wartime, we have no need for useless people!"

Everyone's hearts jolted, and the atmosphere immediately grew tense.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!!"

Hearing their unified response, Tsunade nodded sternly.

"Other than the Medical Ninja needed to care for patients,

all of you rest properly and await orders from the Medical Team! Dismissed!"

At her words, everyone quickly departed.

Within minutes,

only Tsunade and Chiyo Uchiha remained in the camp.

Tsunade strode up to him.

"You know the consequences of overusing the Mangekyō Sharingan, don't you?"

Her voice was low, but it carried suppressed anger.

When his achievements had just been announced,

almost everyone had looked at Chiyo with shock and admiration.

Yet not a single person

had cared what price he would have to pay for using that power.

The feeling reminded her of her younger brother, Nawaki.

Back then, people had remembered only "the glory of the Senju Clan," forgetting that he had merely been a child trying too hard.

How much suffering had he endured to uphold the family name...

In the end, he had charged onto the battlefield and lost his life.

She did not want to watch Chiyo become like her younger brother, destroying himself for fame!

Chiyo looked at Tsunade, knowing she was angry about what had happened.

"If you act so recklessly again, I'll..."

"Then you'll sew my eyes shut with needle and thread."

Chiyo smoothly finished her sentence, raising a hand to lightly tap Tsunade's smooth forehead.

"You said that yesterday."

"..."

Tsunade slapped Chiyo Uchiha's hand away.

She turned to fetch a medicine bottle, but Chiyo gently caught her wrist.

"Don't worry."

Chiyo's voice suddenly turned serious.

"I'll be careful. Unless I have no other choice, I won't use these eyes."

Tsunade finally sighed and turned his hand over to check his pulse.

Only after confirming that everything was normal did she fling his hand aside.

"Do your own eyes really need someone else to tell you? Idiot..."

she muttered.

She turned and began searching through the medical supplies.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the tent, casting crisscrossing patches of light across the ground.

"Found it!"

Tsunade found a medicinal herb among the supplies.

After carefully cleaning it, she walked over to the table.

She drew her Chakra Scalpel and precisely sliced it, the blade making faint, crisp sounds as it struck the wooden board.

"This is for you! You have to eat it three times a day."

Chiyo leaned against the medicine cabinet, watching her tense profile. Then he suddenly reached out and pinched away one of the freshly cut slices.

"Hey!"

Tsunade's scalpel trembled.

"That hasn't been brewed yet!"

Chiyo held the slice beneath his nose and sniffed it.

The overpowering smell made him frown deeply.

"This looks like it tastes awful."

Tsunade angrily grabbed him by the collar.

"Put that down!"

Her breath washed over Chiyo's face, carrying a faint sweetness.

Chiyo let her pull him closer, then suddenly chuckled.

"Tsunade, do you know about the Mangekyō Sharingan?"

"..."

Tsunade fell silent for a moment. Her light-brown eyes glared at him, though her grip unconsciously loosened.

"Of course I know about the Mangekyō Sharingan."

She turned her face away, her voice lowering.

"I saw it in my clan's books when I was young."

The medicine grinder rolled heavily across the board.

Her fingertips unconsciously brushed over the Chakra Scalpel.

"Those who awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan are all eventually consumed by darkness."

Chiyo suddenly took her hand and placed it against his cheek, gently rubbing against it.

"Tsunade, do you have faith in me?"

His voice was soft, yet unusually clear.

Tsunade did not answer. She drew a deep breath.

"Chiyo, unless there is absolutely no alternative, never activate the Mangekyō Sharingan."

When Tsunade looked up, she realized that those dark eyes were fixed intently on her.

There was none of his usual teasing in them, only sincerity.

"Tsunade, do you have faith in me?"

Chiyo asked again.

"You're mine. How could I not believe in you?"

She pulled back her hand, though the tips of her ears flushed slightly red.

"Otherwise, I'll use Sealing Jutsu to seal away those troublesome eyes of yours for good."

Chiyo raised both hands with a smile.

"Yes, yes. Lady Tsunade is the most sensible."

The footsteps of patrolling ninja sounded outside the tent. Tsunade suddenly stuffed a packet of medicine into his arms.

"Drink it before bed."

She paused, then added fiercely,

"If you dare pour it out, you're dead."

Meanwhile, near Konoha's border with Amegakure, inside a dark underground chamber.

Droplets of water condensed on the damp stone walls. Orochimaru's golden Vertical Pupils looked like those of some cold-blooded creature beneath the dim light.

He stepped through pooled water and walked down the corridor.

Root ninja stood motionlessly like statues on both sides, the sound of their breathing beneath their masks nearly inaudible.

In the innermost secret chamber, Danzo stood before an experiment table with his cane, his single eye fixed on a pale arm floating inside a cultivation tank.

Tiny buds of flesh were wriggling at the severed limb's cross-section.

"Progress is good."

Danzo's voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping together.

"But it still isn't stable enough."

Orochimaru licked his lips and took a test tube from his sleeve.

Several bits of cellular tissue floated in the pale-green liquid, emitting an eerie glow in the darkness.

"The latest Hashirama Cells extract."

His voice carried a bewitching rhythm.

"As long as the transplant succeeds, the power of Wood Release will..."

Danzo suddenly raised a hand and cut him off.

"We'll discuss it once it's stable."

A trace of mockery flashed through Orochimaru's eyes, but he put the test tube away without objection.

He looked around. This underground laboratory, fully supported by Root, was far better equipped than he had expected.

The cultivation chambers contained organs from ninja with all kinds of Kekkei Genkai.

"The collection of 'materials' has gone smoothly."

Danzo tapped the ground with his cane.

"A new batch of goods will arrive in three days."

Orochimaru's Vertical Pupils contracted slightly as his greedy gaze swept over the precious samples submerged in nutrient fluid.

"Truly... something to look forward to."

"However, it seems something happened over in Amegakure."

Orochimaru was silent for a moment before speaking coldly.

"No matter what happens, as long as we have enough materials, that's all that matters! Our research cannot fall behind!"

Hearing this, Danzo narrowed his single eye slightly.

"I know. For now, focus on conducting your experiments here.

I've already spoken to Hiruzen and arranged for you to serve temporarily in my Root.

As for the Eight-Tails intelligence you wanted, I've continued bringing it up with those people in the village. In a few days, you should be able to act."

Orochimaru gave a casual hum, his eyes fixed on those "materials," paying no attention at all to Danzo's proposal.

"Oh, right. News just came from the Sand Ninja battlefield. There was a survivor in that squad of yours that was wiped out."

Orochimaru's expression stiffened.

A few suspicions rose in his heart.

"Who?"

"Chiyo Uchiha!"

Orochimaru fell silent, and a meaningful expression suddenly appeared on his face.

"Oh? He's actually still alive? This is getting more and more interesting!"