Waking Up in the Hospital

The scent of disinfectant stubbornly drilled into his nasal cavity, carrying an unquestionable sense of sterility and coldness.

Uchiha Ling's eyelids fluttered a few times before he slowly opened them.

What met his eyes was a familiar yet strange wooden ceiling, along with bright sunlight slanting in through the window, casting long, luminous patches across the floor.

The sensation in his body returned bit by bit, like the tide rushing back after receding. A clear, dull ache radiated from his left shoulder and right flank, tightly compressed and suppressed by thick layers of bandages.

The hospital... Uchiha Ling murmured to himself, his consciousness fully clearing.

Fragments of memory rapidly pieced themselves together: the pitch-black forest, the biting gleam of blades, the ferocious faces of the Cloud Village ninjas, and Kushina's hair, burning like a flame.

And that final moment, when he had shielded her beneath him, using his own narrow back to take that heavy, brutal blow head-on...

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice sounded from nearby. Uchiha Ling turned his head slightly to see a female ninja from the Medical Corps, dressed in a white nurse's uniform and wearing a smile, standing by the bed with a clipboard in her hand.

"Mm..." The sound he produced was somewhat hoarse.

"How do you feel? Is the wound still hurting badly?" The nurse stepped forward, skillfully checking the medical chart and IV drip hanging by the head of the bed.

"It's alright, I can bear it." Ling tried moving his fingers, confirming that he had regained control over his body.

"You lost quite a bit of blood, and your internal organs suffered some shock; you need to rest for a while. But young people have strong recovery rates. The Third Hokage specifically ordered the best medicine to be used, so there won't be any lingering complications."

The nurse recorded the data, her tone relaxed. "You've become a little hero, you know, little one from the Uchiha Clan. Now the whole hospital—no, I'm afraid the whole village knows about what you did."

Just as she was speaking, the ward door was pulled open with a loud "clatter."

"Ling--!!!"

A red figure rushed in like a whirlwind, practically throwing herself at the bedside, the wind she stirred up fluttering the curtains.

Uzumaki Kushina's eyes were still slightly red and swollen, but they were dazzlingly bright at this moment, filled with undisguised worry, joy, and an indescribable agitation.

"You finally woke up! That's great! Do you have any idea how you scared me?!" Her voice was loud, carrying a nasal tone from having cried, yet it was full of vitality. "The doctor said you're okay, is that true? Does it still hurt? Do you want some water?"

[Received intense joy from Uzumaki Kushina +80!]

[Received deep worry from Uzumaki Kushina +80!]

[Received agitation from Uzumaki Kushina +80!]

[Received gratitude from Uzumaki Kushina +80!]

[Received guilt from Uzumaki Kushina +80!]

A series of system notifications rang out in his mind, and emotion points flooded in like a breached dam.

Uchiha Ling looked at the face filled with concern before him, his heart stirring slightly. He forced a somewhat weak smile onto his face: "You're too loud, Kushina... I'm fine now."

Kushina carefully helped him sit up, but when she saw the ghastly wound on his left flank, her tears broke through the dam instantly.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, it's all my fault! If I hadn't snuck out, you wouldn't have been hurt..." Her voice choked with sobs, her hands trembling as she wanted to cover Ling's wound, yet she was afraid of causing him pain.

Ling smiled weakly and wiped the tears from Kushina's face: "Why are you crying... didn't I say I'm fine?"

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of teasing: "Besides, to be a hero saving a beauty—what's a little injury like this?"

But his teasing didn't make Kushina happy; instead, it made her cry even harder: "How can you still joke at a time like this! I saw you losing so much blood last night... what would I have done if something happened to you?" She hugged Uchiha Ling tightly, fearing that if she let go, he would vanish.

Uchiha Ling could feel Kushina's body trembling, and he could also sense the intense guilt deep within her heart.

Uchiha patted her back gently, comforting her: "Don't worry, I'm not that easy to kill. Don't forget, I am Uchiha Ling, the man who will become Hokage in the future."

In the original plot, Uchiha Ling thought to himself, Minato seemed to have dealt with these Cloud Village ninjas in a flash. With my current level, I should be able to mop the floor with Minato, so why did I end up in such a miserable state with these Cloud ninjas? Is this the butterfly effect?

Just as he was thinking this, there was movement at the door of the ward again.

Namikaze Minato's figure appeared there, still wearing that sunny, gentle expression, though there was a trace of fatigue and concern between his brows.

He was carrying a bag of fruit.

"Ling, I heard you woke up. That's great." Minato walked in and placed the fruit on the bedside table, his smile sincere, though his eyes held a hint of melancholy. "That night... thank you."

Minato knew very well that if it weren't for Uchiha Ling, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"I heard from the Third Hokage that you fought to the death last night and took down three jonin and two chunin. Ling, you've become so strong already; I have to work hard to catch up!" Minato continued.

"Just good luck, I suppose. They probably underestimated me because of my age, and besides, I am of the Uchiha Clan!" Uchiha Ling said, revealing his Two-Tomoe Sharingan once more.

One had to realize that Uchiha Ling was only in his fourth year at the Ninja Academy. To be able to awaken the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at this age was, if not unheard of in the Uchiha Clan, at least one in ten thousand.

[Received sincere gratitude from Namikaze Minato +40!]

[Received admiration from Namikaze Minato +20!]

Immediately afterward, another knock sounded at the door; it turned out his classmates had come to visit Uchiha Ling as well, all of them expressing concern for his injuries and the events of the previous night.

[Received respect from Classmate A +40!]

[Received surprise from Classmate B +35!]

[Received approval from Uchiha Clansman C +55!]

[Received...]

The system notifications in his mind were practically continuous, and all sorts of emotion points grew steadily. Joy, surprise, respect, gratitude, curiosity... these emotions transformed into warm currents, not only filling his "account" but also acting as a form of nourishment, making his body, weakened by injury, feel significantly more comfortable.

Uchiha Ling maintained a perfectly measured, slightly tired, and shy smile on his face, responding to everyone's concern one by one, while his mind raced.

Sure enough, high risk, high reward. This rescue mission, while nearly costing me my life, has brought me immense fame and a massive haul of emotion points.

He mused to himself, Especially within the Uchiha Clan—an Uchiha who possesses the "Will of Fire" and is willing to risk his life to save his comrades—this image is incredibly valuable.