Healing Karura

Inside the tavern, Karura and Senju Genma shared another round of fine wine.

Karura drank heavily. Although her body was battered and broken, she still possessed a sliver of chakra, which meant she was neither drunk nor able to drown her sorrows.

Watching Karura's dejected expression, Senju Genma's eyes flickered as he said, "Actually, I have a way to heal you. Would you like to hear it?"

"Even Lady Chiyo is at her wit's end, so what could you possibly do?" Karura pursed her lips, though a glimmer of hope shone in her eyes.

If one could become a ninja once more, who would be content to remain an ordinary person?

But that spark of hope quickly dissipated.

She was from the Land of Wind, and Genma was a ninja of Konoha. Even if he truly had a way, he would never help her.

Unfortunately, Genma was not a normal person. His goal was clear, and he knew exactly what he wanted, so he asked, "Do you trust me?"

Karura was silent for a long time before she replied, "I do."

She didn't even know why she had said such a thing.

Perhaps it was because she longed to be a ninja again, or perhaps it was because Genma had once saved her life.

"Look into my eyes!" Senju Genma said, activating his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Genjutsu: Mangekyo Sharingan!

"You..." Karura, still suffering from her unhealed wounds, was even more vulnerable than an average ninja. The moment she laid eyes on the Sharingan, she sank into the genjutsu, becoming a mere puppet.

Wasting no time, Genma pulled Karura up, and the two headed to an inn within the oasis town.

Entering the room, Senju Genma and Karura sat facing each other on the bed.

Genma slowly reached out his hand toward Karura, then... snapped his fingers.

"Hey! Wake up! Are you alright?"

Karura regained her senses and jumped in fright.

She scooted backward, clutching her legs to her chest.

"Where is this? What did you do to me?" She felt as though the scene before her was something she had seen in the late-night reading materials from Shueisha, which made her heart tighten.

Senju Genma spoke up, "This is an inn. Don't be so nervous, alright? I haven't done anything yet!"

Karura checked her body and, finding nothing amiss, let out a sigh of relief.

"Then why did you bring me to an inn?"

Karura's gaze was filled with wariness.

Having been a ninja for many years and having read quite a few Shueisha publications, she immediately thought of many unspeakable things.

Regardless, their current location and posture were far too strange.

Besides, she was an ordinary person now. If Senju Genma wanted to force himself on her, should she accept it? Or should she just accept it?

She might as well accept it.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm here to treat your injuries. I couldn't exactly do that out in the open, could I?"

"I possess an ability that should be able to heal you, but it's too troublesome to explain, so I just brought you here directly," Senju Genma said with a shrug. "What did you think I was going to do?"

Karura's face flushed red, and she lowered her head.

After a moment, Karura asked in a muffled voice, "It's nothing. Is what you said true? Can you really heal me?"

Genma replied, "We have to try, don't we?"

Karura looked up into Genma's eyes. "Then what do I need to do?"

Genma met her gaze, his eyes turning red with patterns formed by black lines.

"This is... the Sharingan?" Karura asked.

In truth, Karura couldn't be certain what kind of eyes they were; she only felt they resembled the Sharingan. Coupled with the fact that Genma was a Konoha ninja, she asked the question.

However, even though she had discovered Genma's secret and knew she might be silenced for it, she felt no fear at all.

"That's right." Genma admitted it openly, as if he had no defenses against Karura at all.

Karura was stunned. He just admitted it? Did he not realize the shock it would cause for a member of the Senju Clan to possess the Sharingan? Even though she had grown up in the Hidden Sand Village, she had long heard of the feud between the Senju and Uchiha clans!

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell someone?"

"First of all, after spending time together twice, I trust your character," Genma said, blinking slowly. "Secondly, the current situation is that I am the butcher and you are the meat; what could you possibly do?"

"Besides, I am kind-hearted. Seeing you endure such pain, I couldn't bear it."

"Furthermore, as a Konoha ninja, if I heal you and you tell the Hidden Sand Village about me, what do you think your fate would be?"

"In times of war, an enemy ninja helping you for no reason—how could that ever be explained?"

It was all nonsense. Not only did Karura not believe these words, but Genma didn't believe them himself.

The reality was that Genma had used his Sharingan genjutsu to probe Karura's memories, learning exactly what kind of person she was, while simultaneously planting a contingency plan through the illusion.

Karura was fundamentally a kind person, someone who felt deeply and wished others well. In short, she was a good person, and she held a fair amount of affection for him.

Thus, for his own selfish desires, Genma chose to heal Karura.

Karura wore a suspicious expression. She had indeed heard that the Senju Clan was a clan of love, but wasn't this display of affection a bit excessive?

Looking up at Genma, a sense of relief welled up within her.

It couldn't be helped; that face was truly one filled with great love, far too capable of putting people at ease.

"I won't tell anyone."

"That's good." Genma reached out a hand toward Karura.

"What are you doing?"

"Hold out your hand; I need to check your physical condition."

Karura extended her hand, and Genma gripped it tightly as a green light shimmered over his palm.

After examining Karura's body with medical ninjutsu, he discovered that the damage was indeed severe. It wasn't just her internal organs that were injured; the trauma to her muscles and bones was also immense.

Under such circumstances, it was only natural that Chiyo couldn't treat her; even Tsunade might not be able to heal her. Fortunately, Genma possessed special means.

In an instant, Oonamuchi was activated, and a bewitching light flashed across Genma's left eye.

If even Tsunade's medical ninjutsu might not be able to heal Karura, then Genma's medical ninjutsu certainly couldn't.

However, Oonamuchi could absorb and release life force. Since medical ninjutsu could not treat Karura, he would simply replenish her life force and let her body heal itself.

Just like Genma's own Sage Body, an abundance of life force could allow for automatic recovery from injuries without the need for hand seals.

Green life force flowed through his arm and into Karura's body.

Karura intended to speak up and ask a question, but she was interrupted by the influx of life force.

To her pleasant surprise, she discovered that her body had actually begun to repair itself. The heavy sensation weighing down her body was fading away.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but the sky outside the window had shifted from bright to dark by the time Genma finished treating Karura.

Releasing Karura, Genma let out a long sigh.

Genma had life force in abundance—he had absorbed who knew how much using the power of Oonamuchi—but the consumption of his ocular power was very real.