Physical Examination

Yugakure, inside an inn.

Tokiju was lying on a large bed while Tsunade examined him, paying special attention to his eyes.

After crying in the street for a while and calming down, Tsunade had immediately noticed the eyepatch over Tokiju's left eye.

Thinking that Tokiju's eye had been injured, she had immediately tried to take a look, but he had stopped her.

As if! His left eye was no ordinary eye, and there might well be someone with ulterior motives out on the street.

Seeing Tokiju signal her with his eyes, Tsunade realized that there might be something fishy about her little brother's left eye.

And that wasn't all. She'd been too emotional to notice earlier.

But now that she was seeing him up close, she realized that his right eye seemed unusual too. She didn't remember her little brother having such beautiful eyes.

Could it be that during the twenty years he'd been gone, he had awakened some incredible Kekkei Genkai?

Unable to figure it out, Tsunade decided not to think about it.

Although she was curious about Tokiju's Kekkei Genkai ability, if he didn't want to say more, she wouldn't press him. She was his older sister, after all.

She knew very well that a ninja's personal information was extremely important.

For a ninja, prying into someone else's information without permission wasn't just an ordinary provocation. It was the sort of thing that would get you hit hard.

Though she managed to suppress her curiosity, there was still something very important she needed to do.

That was to give Tokiju and the little girl with him a full-body examination.

Tsunade wasn't blind; she could tell that Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari had a close relationship. They had probably been together all these years.

And twenty years was a long time. Over such a long period...

What was the condition of her little brother's body?

Had he been injured?

Did he have any hidden ailments?

Did his awakened Kekkei Genkai have any side effects?

Why did he still look six years old after all this time?

Could this affect his future?

With so many questions, there was no way she could afford not to worry.

After all, he was the only family she had left.

If anything happened to Tokiju, she might really do something foolish. In fact, it might not even be a question of "might."

To check on Tokiju's condition, Tsunade grabbed him with one hand, took Uchiha Hikari's hand with the other, and said, "Come with me. I'm giving you both a full-body examination. I won't feel at ease otherwise."

Seeing his big sister haul him up and hearing what she said, Tokiju didn't resist.

After all, he also wanted to know whether anything had happened to his body over the years without his realizing it.

Uchiha Hikari didn't resist either as Tsunade led her along. She felt much the same way Tokiju did.

Tokiju had told her long ago that his big sister was the strongest medical ninja in the Ninja World, and that she was adept at every kind of Medical Ninjutsu.

Medical ninjas hadn't existed during the Warring States period, but she could understand what the term meant.

Knowing that Tsunade was skilled at medicine and that she wanted to give her a full-body examination, Uchiha Hikari naturally didn't refuse.

Like Tokiju, she wanted to know the exact condition of her body, so she let Tsunade do as she pleased.

After all, she had only recently gained her freedom. Who would want to suffer when they could live a healthy life?

Bamboo Pole Nagato: I strongly suspect you're taking a jab at me.

And so, Tsunade took Tokiju and Uchiha Hikari back to the inn where she and Shizune were staying.

After tossing Tokiju onto the bed, Tsunade immediately began carefully examining him.

He had thought it would be an ordinary examination, but once it began, it became so excruciating that Tokiju was ready to die.

Tsunade's examination was far too thorough. She nearly stripped him naked.

If Tsunade hadn't noticed Uchiha Hikari standing nearby and left Tokiju a pair of underwear to preserve his modesty, he would have been completely naked by now.

Watching Tokiju's tearful, helpless expression, Uchiha Hikari stood to the side, covering her mouth as she giggled.

Hearing Uchiha Hikari's giggles, Tsunade's face darkened.

She tossed Tokiju's clothes back to him and said, "Your examination is over. You can get out."

At those words, Tokiju was overjoyed. He hurriedly got dressed and fled the room.

Seeing Tokiju leave, Uchiha Hikari was just about to follow and tease him when Tsunade's large hand came down on her shoulder.

"Don't think you can escape either. You're next," Tsunade said sternly.

At that, Uchiha Hikari's raised lips immediately drooped, and she looked at Tsunade nervously.

"I... I don't need an examination. I'm fine."

She spoke softly. She had wanted a full-body examination earlier, but no one had told her it would be like this!

But Tsunade wasn't having it. She picked Uchiha Hikari up, tossed her onto the bed, and began examining her thoroughly, leaving no detail unchecked.

After experiencing firsthand the ordeal Tokiju had gone through, tears of indignation ran down Uchiha Hikari's face.

She wanted to die. She wished she had never been born.

After conducting a thorough examination, Tsunade's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

She looked at Uchiha Hikari, tossed her clothes to her, and said gravely, "There's a serious problem with your body, especially your eyes. They've been implanted with many foreign cells. If left untreated, your eyes may mutate in the future."

At this, Uchiha Hikari's eyes dimmed.

She knew her own body well. If she could, she wouldn't even want these eyes.

Looking at Uchiha Hikari's downcast expression, Tsunade changed her tone. "But you don't need to worry too much. During the examination, I found a special energy gently helping those foreign cells fuse with your own."

"If there's enough of that special energy, your cells will absorb all the foreign cells. Your eyes will return to normal, and you may even retain the energy from those foreign cells."

At these words, Uchiha Hikari's eyes brightened again, and she immediately understood what was behind it.

These past few days, she had absorbed that miraculous Starlight Energy with Tokiju every night.

Only that wondrous Starlight Energy could have such an incredible effect.

Thinking of this, Tokiju's figure appeared in her mind again, still looking like a little brat.

Yet somehow, his presence seemed so imposing to Uchiha Hikari.

Remembering their time in the Sealing Space, she had only spent the last two or three years there with Tokiju.

But Tokiju had occasionally told her about what came before.

She hadn't thought much of it before, but now she suddenly realized what kind of life Tokiju had lived during those past ten-plus years.

The pressure of suddenly arriving in an unknown space, the pressure of learning Sealing Jutsu, the pressure of breaking the seal—and, most importantly, the burden of loneliness.

Uchiha Hikari couldn't imagine just how much pressure Tokiju had endured before he broke her seal.