Kushina, I'm Back.

Kushina's tightly furrowed brows finally smoothed out on the bed, her rapid breathing turning long and steady. Her cracked lips stopped trembling, and even her pale cheeks regained a hint of color.

She slept peacefully, as if she were merely having an ordinary dream, one no longer stained with blood.

Tsunade's eyes widened, her fingers still hovering in mid-air, her voice laced with disbelief.

"It's actually... suppressed?"

Jiraiya leaned in, looking at Kushina's calm face and then at Lin Zi, his expression complex.

"Why doesn't your natural energy affect him? It's all Senjutsu, after all..."

Lin Zi glanced at him sideways, his golden slit pupils filled with undisguised disdain.

"The sage energy of Mount Myoboku focuses on enhancing Taijutsu and Genjutsu; naturally, it's different from the Ryūchi Cave chakra that commands the surrounding energy."

He paused, looking toward Tsunade, his tone returning to a flat indifference.

"The malice is sealed for now. It should remain stable for a few days."

"For a permanent cure, it will depend on your treatment, combined with her re-organizing the sealing jutsu once she wakes up."

Shizune, holding Tonton, let out a long breath and nearly collapsed onto the floor, whispering to herself.

"Thank goodness... thank goodness..."

The tense atmosphere in the room finally began to dissipate.

Just as the three were speaking, Kushina's fingers, which had been lying still on the bed, suddenly twitched.

She lifted her eyelids with extreme slowness, as if she had been asleep for so long that the very act of opening her eyes had become difficult.

Sunlight leaked through the gap in the curtains, causing her pupils to constrict sharply. Physiological tears welled up in the corners of her eyes, and as she blinked, her vision shifted from blurry to clear.

The first thing she saw was Jiraiya's magnified face, filled with worry, with Tsunade standing beside him, arms crossed and brows knit into a knot.

Kushina struggled to sit up, but the moment her elbows lifted her half an inch, her entire body went limp and fell back.

She spoke weakly.

"Lord Jiraiya... Lady Tsunade..."

"Don't move!"

Tsunade stepped forward in a flash, pressing her palm onto Kushina's shoulder with a force that was gentle yet irresistible, pinning her back into the pillow. She deliberately stiffened her face, feigning severity.

"Kushina, your body is in no condition for any activity. Just lie there and get some proper rest!"

"That's right, Kushina," Jiraiya leaned in, smiling with a guileless expression that couldn't hide the worry in his eyes. "It's not going anywhere. Just lie down."

"Is that so..."

Kushina took two breaths, her gaze sweeping over their faces before a bitter smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Did Minato ask you to come back? Honestly... he's always so reckless..."

Her words carried a hint of complaint toward Minato Namikaze, but they were filled more with an irrepressible worry and heartache, until she forced her eyelids up and looked past Jiraiya's shoulder.

She saw the person standing in the shadows.

Kushina's pupils contracted violently, and her voice shifted in pitch.

"Orochimaru?!"

"Yes, it is I."

Lin Zi took half a step forward, emerging from the shadows with a flat tone.

"Your husband invited me back to help treat your injuries, so there is no need to worry. If you have anything else to say, wait until Minato arrives and tell him then."

He finished speaking and stepped back half a pace, retreating to the edge of the shadows once more.

Kushina stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly lowered her eyelids and fell silent.

Before long, as if she had come to some realization, she raised her eyes again. The fear in her gaze had vanished, replaced by a calm tinged with gratitude.

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

Lin Zi raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise flashing through his golden slit pupils.

"Oh? I hadn't expected that... You are much smarter than that foolish boy Minato."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jiraiya jumped up on the spot, nearly hitting the ceiling. "Orochimaru! Minato is not a foolish boy! He is my proudest student!"

Seeing Jiraiya about to launch into a long-winded lecture, Lin Zi rubbed his forehead in resignation, his snake-like eyes filled with the weariness of "here we go again."

Too lazy to argue, he turned to look at Shizune, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Shizune."

"Ah... ah?!"

Shizune, still holding Tonton, was so immersed in the shock of "Orochimaru is saving someone" that she jumped at being named.

"Go notify Minato," Lin Zi said, his tone flat but beyond questioning. "Tell him Kushina is awake."

"O-okay! Lord Orochimaru!"

Shizune snapped out of her daze, clutching Tonton as she turned and bolted, nearly tripping over the threshold before stumbling away down the corridor.

Tsunade stood by the bed, her fists clenching until they cracked, the veins on her forehead pulsing rhythmically.

"Now we just wait for Minato to arrive. We'll find out exactly who extracted the Nine-Tails that night. I'll make sure that bastard pays."

"Exactly, exactly!" Jiraiya chimed in, his face full of righteous indignation. "To dare turn Kushina into this state—it's absolutely intolerable! Whoever it is, this Sage won't let them off!"

"Enough."

Lin Zi turned around, his golden vertical pupils sweeping over the two noisy figures, his tone carrying an unquestionable command to leave.

"Get out. You two are too loud; give the patient some time to rest."

"Lord Orochimaru, I'm fine..." Kushina spoke weakly, attempting to prop herself up.

"Rest well."

Lin Zi cut her off, walking toward the door without looking back.

"There are heavier burdens waiting for you ahead. Tsunade, Jiraiya, let's go."

He pushed the door open and stepped out first, his black ponytail flashing through the gap before vanishing into the backlight of the corridor.

Tsunade glanced back at Kushina on the bed, her expression softening slightly as she reached out to tuck in the corner of the quilt.

"He's right. Save the rest of the talk for when you've seen Minato and recovered for a while."

Jiraiya, walking at the rear, gave Kushina a dramatic thumbs-up.

"Rest well! Once you're better, this Sage is treating you to barbecue!"

Watching the three figures depart, Kushina nodded gently and closed her eyes once more.

This time, her brow finally smoothed out completely.

Minato arrived quickly; before Shizune had even returned, a flash of gold streaked across the end of the corridor, and the next second, Minato Namikaze was standing at the door.

The air currents stirred by the Flying Thunder God technique whipped the dust on the floor into a small vortex; clearly, he had teleported the moment he received the news.

"Kushina? Is she awake?"

"Whoa," Jiraiya leaned in, "you really are protective of your wife, kid."

Lin Zi leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, his golden vertical pupils shifting toward the room, his tone flat.

"Go on in. She... has suffered quite a bit."

Minato nodded and moved to rush inside, but halfway through his stride, he suddenly came to a dead halt.

He turned around to face Lin Zi, and then—

He bowed deeply.

It was a near ninety-degree bow, his forehead almost touching his knees, his hands pressed flat against his trousers, his entire body taut like a drawn bow.

He held the pose, motionless, as if time had stretched thin in that moment.

"Thank you, Lord Orochimaru."

Minato's voice came from below, muffled and carrying a tremor that only ever leaked out in the dead of night.

"If it weren't for you... I truly wouldn't have known what to do."

The Yellow Flash, the fastest man in the ninja world, sounded like a child who had made a mistake, his tone stained with an imperceptible sob.

Jiraiya couldn't bear it any longer; he walked behind Minato and slapped him on the back, pushing him forward until he stumbled.

"Alright, alright! Stop dawdling! The three of us are going to get barbecue, and we don't want to get mixed up in you two lovebirds being mushy!"

With that, he reached out with his left arm to hook Tsunade's shoulder and his right to snag Lin Zi's neck, forcibly dragging them toward the other end of the hall.

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Mm."

Lin Zi didn't resist, letting Jiraiya hold him as he walked away without looking back.

Tsunade swatted Jiraiya's paw away in disgust, but her footsteps followed along regardless.

Minato remained in his bow until the sound of their footsteps had completely vanished at the end of the corridor, only then slowly straightening up.

He stood at the door, exhaling and inhaling repeatedly, his chest heaving until he finally swallowed the bitterness in his throat.

He reached out, pressed his palm against the door panel, and pushed it open gently.

"Kushina, I'm home."