Hope for Limb Regeneration

Konoha Hospital.

Nawaki had been unconscious for a full week.

These past few days, Tsunade had remained by his bedside without leaving for even a moment. Only after Shiraha and Kushina repeatedly urged her did she go rest for a while.

In fact, Nawaki had basically passed out of mortal danger when he left the operating room. He had simply lost too much blood and suffered a mild concussion; otherwise, he should have woken up long ago.

What worried everyone most now was what would happen after Nawaki woke up.

With injuries this severe, he would not only be unable to become a ninja—daily life itself would be highly inconvenient. He would likely need someone to care for him.

Could Nawaki accept such an outcome?

Losing something after having it was far harder to accept than never having it at all.

One injury had directly ended every possibility in Nawaki's future as a genius.

At noon, after Shiraha and Kushina finished lunch, they went to the hospital together to visit Nawaki and bring Tsunade her meal.

Jiraiya, one of the Three Ninja, had already headed to the western border. However, they had heard that Sunagakure had deployed the Third Kazekage, Elder Chiyo, and the Puppeteer Squad under her command.

Chiyo was not only a Kage-level powerhouse, but she was also exceptionally skilled with poison. Ordinary Medical Ninjutsu could not dispel it at all.

Konoha was currently unable to deal with the poison used by Sunagakure's Puppeteer Squad, so they could only hold their ground without fighting. But that was not a long-term solution.

Clearly, Tsunade, the medical expert, had to go to the front lines.

Shiraha had examined the injuries of poisoned ninja sent back from the front. This was a toxin that directly affected Chakra. If an antidote could not be developed, then the poison had to be slowly extracted with the Mystical Palm Technique.

However, the Mystical Palm Technique was a high-level Rank A Medical Ninjutsu that combined offense and defense. Even within the Medical Corps, only a very small number of people could use it.

Yet there were many poisoned ninja. If they treated them one by one with the Mystical Palm Technique, there simply would not be enough time.

Furthermore, the Mystical Palm Technique demanded extremely precise Chakra control and consumed considerable mental energy. Even among those who had mastered it, few could sustain it for long periods.

Shiraha and Kushina arrived outside the intensive care ward.

Two Chunin stood guard at the door. Since Shiraha and Kushina were not outsiders, they were allowed in directly.

"Tsunade-sensei, eat first."

Seeing that Nawaki had yet to wake up, Shiraha placed the lunch box on the small table beside the neighboring hospital bed.

Tsunade had been sleeping directly in the ward these past few days so that she could look after Nawaki at any time.

After speaking, Shiraha gave Kushina a meaningful look.

Kushina understood. She sat beside Tsunade and gently took her slightly cold hand. "Tsunade, eat first. When Nawaki wakes up and sees you like this, he'll feel awful too."

Tsunade nodded faintly at that.

Nawaki's vital signs had basically stabilized. Logically, he should wake up within the next day or two.

But as the battle situation at the front changed, she could not remain in the village forever. Yet with Nawaki still unconscious, how could she leave without worry?

Shiraha opened Tsunade's meal box for her and handed her the chopsticks. The fragrance of the food immediately spread through the room.

Though Tsunade had little appetite, she still finished the entire meal.

After all, checking Nawaki's body required Chakra as well. She needed to replenish enough energy.

Shiraha and Kushina simply sat quietly at her side, keeping her company.

Sometimes words were pale and powerless. Silent companionship, on the other hand, might offer Tsunade a little comfort.

"You two should still have school later, right? Go to class first. I'll be fine here," Tsunade said softly after a while, seeming to come back to herself.

"Today is Saturday. There's no school," Kushina said. "Tsunade, let us stay with you a little longer."

"Oh, right." Tsunade nodded.

About another hour passed before Nawaki's eyelids fluttered slightly. Tsunade's body jolted, and she hurried to his bedside to check on him.

"Nawaki? Nawaki!" Tsunade called softly. "How do you feel?"

"Si... Sis..." Nawaki slowly opened his eyes, his voice hoarse and dry. "My leg hurts so much!"

Tsunade's eyes reddened. Fighting back her tears, she began examining Nawaki with Medical Ninjutsu.

Nawaki seemed to understand his current condition as well.

His reaction was much calmer than Shiraha had expected.

Nawaki glanced at Kushina and Shiraha beside him, then gave a miserable smile.

"Shiraha, I'm sorry. If I had listened to you and not been so reckless... maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this."

"Nawaki, focus on recovering first. Don't think too much," Shiraha consoled him.

Nawaki nodded and looked at Tsunade. "Sis, don't worry. I feel much better. Where's Orochimaru-sensei?"

"Orochimaru blamed himself deeply after you were injured. A few days ago, he went to the Land of Lightning. When he returned, he was seriously injured."

Tsunade explained.

"Nawaki, Orochimaru, he..."

"This was all caused by me. It has nothing to do with Orochimaru-sensei. You can't blame him. You need to explain things clearly to the clan elders," Nawaki said, showing that he understood. "Orochimaru-sensei's injuries...?"

"I will." Tsunade nodded. "Orochimaru's injuries aren't serious. He'll recover soon."

At that moment, Shiraha recalled a major event that had spread through the Shinobi World over the past few days.

Could Nawaki's injury have been connected to Kumogakure? Had Orochimaru gone to avenge Nawaki by killing Kumogakure's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, causing the Eight-Tails to go berserk, resulting in the deaths of eight Elite Jonin and injuries to dozens of Jōnin?

How great a risk would he have had to take to accomplish that?

Shiraha truly could not tell that the normally quiet, composed, and calm Orochimaru could be so protective of his own. He had such admirable courage.

Tsunade looked at Shiraha and Kushina. "Shiraha, Kushina, Orochimaru's injury is classified information. I hope you'll keep it secret."

Because Orochimaru had "failed in his duty of care," resulting in Nawaki being gravely wounded and nearly dying, the Jōnin of the Former Senju Clan were all deeply dissatisfied. In particular, some old fogies who had not given up the Senju name kept fanning the flames, trying to blow the matter out of proportion.

The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, had dissolved the Senju Clan on the spot, intending to erase the boundaries between clans so that all ninja would have only one identity: Konoha.

However, after Sarutobi Hiruzen succeeded him as the Third Hokage, he did not continue enforcing that policy. As a result, some ninja from the Former Senju Clan wanted to rebuild the Senju Clan.

Nawaki was their hope!

Only the First Hokage's grandson could carry out such a task with true legitimacy and encounter the least resistance.

Now that hope had been shattered, someone had to bear their anger.

But Tsunade did not blame Orochimaru. Who could have expected something like this to happen?

Besides, Tsunade had seen for herself how Orochimaru treated Nawaki.

"Yes, Tsunade-sensei." Shiraha understood the importance of the matter.

As for Kushina, she would be even less likely to say anything carelessly.

"Sis, I want to eat dango," Nawaki suddenly said.

Tsunade froze for a moment, then comforted him softly. "Nawaki, you can't eat that yet. Once you're feeling better, you can have anything you want. I'll have Shiraha and Kushina buy it for you."

She did not say she would go herself, because Nawaki waking up meant she had to head to the front-line battlefield.

"Sis, don't worry about me. I'm fine. The village needs you!"

Nawaki was unusually calm as he smiled.

His attempt at strength was truly heartbreaking.

At that moment, Shiraha suddenly spoke.

"Nawaki, your leg isn't completely without hope of being healed."

PS: Using Jōnin, Elite Jonin, and "Kage-level" to roughly distinguish strength is too troublesome to write, so I'll do it this way from now on. I bet someone will point out that there's no concept of "Kage-level" in Naruto.