Tsunade's Concern

"You?"

"Is that You? Why is he so good-looking? This is my first time seeing the face beneath those bandages. So he doesn't look like some monster from the stories."

"I never expected him to be so handsome once he took off the bandages."

"Oh no, I feel like another bunch of girls are going to start chasing him. My position is in danger!"

Ever since the skin on his upper body had healed, he had not bothered to hide it anymore.

Now, he was finally no longer a monster in other people's eyes. It was just that the stares from those girls made Uchiha Yū somewhat uncomfortable.

Am I too handsome?

Well, sometimes being too handsome was a crime too.

It was not his fault.

Living in bandages for so long had given his skin an unusual pallor. The veins beneath it were visible, like green jade etched across his face.

It gave him a peculiar sort of beauty.

The blond and red-haired pair arrived at the classroom together. After being exposed by Uchiha Yū, Kushina simply admitted openly that Minato Namikaze was her boyfriend. She clung to Minato Namikaze's arm in an affectionate display, but the moment they entered the classroom, both of them froze.

"Your looks are actually on par with mine!"

It was Minato Namikaze's first time seeing Uchiha Yū's face beneath the bandages. With his dark golden hair and slightly resolute features—

He had to admit that Uchiha Yū was better-looking than him.

"Shouldn't you be surprised that I took off my bandages? Why is everyone so concerned about my face?"

His face was reflected in the mirror. Watching the two walk in arm in arm, Uchiha Yū felt a wave of lovey-doveyness stuffed straight into his stomach.

"We care about your health too. Your face is way too pale. When we have taijutsu class later, let's go train together."

Minato Namikaze wanted to take Uchiha Yū along, but the instant he reached out, You casually shifted back, leaving a full body's distance between them.

Noticing Kushina's furious glare, he wisely chose not to compete with her for Minato Namikaze at a time like this.

Bang!

Sure enough, the next move landed on Minato Namikaze's head. A bump rose at a visible speed.

"It hurts, it hurts!"

"Why does this scene feel so familiar?"

It was practically a copy of Naruto and Sakura!

"Shouldn't you have helped me out?"

Rubbing his head, Minato Namikaze returned to his seat and raised a fist at Uchiha Yū.

"So you could run away and leave me in your place to take Kushina's beating?"

Uchiha Yū raised an eyebrow, glanced at Minato Namikaze, and said in a pleading tone, "Even though we're friends, you're way too rotten as one. If we ever went to war, I wouldn't dare entrust my back to you."

Minato Namikaze, having been called out so directly, looked thoroughly embarrassed and gave a few light coughs.

"I'm going to become the model ninja. You can entrust your back to me."

"When danger comes, will you carry me away from the battlefield at top speed?"

The title Yellow Flash had yet to emerge, but in taijutsu class, Minato Namikaze's reaction speed was the fastest in the entire class.

Often, the instant his opponent threw a kunai, Minato Namikaze had already made his evasive move.

"If I can't win, I can run too..."

The commotion caused by someone's looks was fairly rare at the Ninja Academy. It even drew the attention of some upperclassmen, who came over to the classroom during every break to take a look.

But just as the dismissal bell rang and Uchiha Yū prepared to push his wheelchair away, he bumped into someone around the corner.

Thump!

"So soft..."

Please do not misunderstand what kind of collision this was.

Uchiha Yū had crashed face-first into the other person's thigh. Under his astonished gaze, the other party simply lifted him up.

Their eyes met. The woman in sharp, practical ninja attire looked at the kid before her and checked again and again that she had not found the wrong person before muttering to herself, "This is the little guy the Third told me to find?"

"How had he changed so much in just a few years?"

She knew about Uchiha Yū. When she had first begun studying medical ninjutsu, she had systematically researched some of the village's difficult and unusual illnesses.

She had even tried treating him once, but when her medical ninjutsu entered his body, it had produced no effect whatsoever.

Meeting him again after several years, his condition was far better than before—so much so that she had not recognized Uchiha Yū at first glance.

"Looks like your body has recovered well."

After examining him carefully, Tsunade could confirm that his body was healing.

All the ulcerated skin had healed, but when she examined lower down, she discovered another layer of bandages, stained with specks of blood.

If his lower body had not fully recovered, Uchiha Yū could not become a qualified ninja.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Uchiha Yū had not expected to encounter Tsunade at the Ninja Academy.

At this stage, Tsunade's title as one of the Three Ninja was only known within the village, but everyone in the village knew her identity. She was Konoha's princess in every sense of the word.

She was also the promoter and founder of medical ninjutsu. Many ninja she had treated were deeply grateful to Tsunade.

Tsunade placed him back in his wheelchair, and a warm current of chakra enveloped his entire body.

"I need to examine your body."

After only a few breaths, Tsunade's calm gaze gained a trace of astonishment, followed by a deep frown.

Through the perception of her medical ninjutsu, Uchiha Yū's body was a complete mess. His lower body in particular seemed to have its bones and muscles separated by something.

"I'm conducting an experiment right now. If you're willing, you can be my assistant."

She tapped Uchiha Yū on the head and explained what being an assistant meant.

"It means studying your body. After all, burns on this scale are common on the battlefield, but they're also fatal."

As the person directly involved, Uchiha Yū raised his darkened face, about to refuse Tsunade's suggestion. No one wanted to become a lab rat.

But a voice behind him interrupted him.

"Lady Tsunade! If you personally treat him, he'll definitely make a full recovery!"

Kushina had spotted Tsunade as soon as she came out.

Because Tsunade also carried some Uzumaki Clan blood, after the Uzumaki Clan was massacred and Kushina ended up in Konoha, Tsunade became her guardian.

"I think Lady Tsunade can do it too."

Minato Namikaze followed right behind her. As for whether Uchiha Yū could stand again, there was only one ninja in the village who could make it happen—Tsunade!

The two spoke in unison. Their words reached Tsunade, and as she looked at Uchiha Yū's darkened face, a smile appeared at the corner of her lips. Her left hand tightened gently, and the handle of You's wheelchair was crushed directly into fragments. In a "kind and friendly" tone, she said, "I don't think you'll refuse, right?"

Can I refuse?

This little body could not withstand a Monstrous Strength Fist!