Soul Trauma

Neji slowly opened his eyes, the world before him seeming to be shrouded in a thin mist.

He tried moving his fingers and discovered that his broken bones had already healed. The chakra flowing through his muscles was smoother than before, his meridians had grown sturdier, and his Inner Qi surged like a rushing river.

"Is the spirit nourishing the body?" he murmured, his voice echoing through the silent tent.

"Why is no one here, Xiao Xi?"

Surprised that Xiao Xi was not by his side, Neji sat up and called out.

Suddenly, a flash of gold passed through the corner of his eye. He turned to look, then froze.

Tsunade lay quietly to one side, her long golden hair spread across the pillow, her face pale as paper.

Her physical injuries had healed, but those eyes that had once brimmed with confidence and dominance were now dull and vacant, as though her soul had been torn from her body.

"Master?" Neji called softly, reaching out to touch her wrist.

There was no response.

The Byakugan activated, and Neji's vision pierced through her skin and into the depths of her body.

He saw murky dark-red matter flowing through Tsunade's chakra pathways. Like venomous snakes, it coiled around her spiritual core and relentlessly eroded her consciousness.

"This is... mental trauma. It has even affected her soul..." Neji frowned deeply. "Creation Rebirth can only restore physical injuries. It can do nothing for the soul..."

"Soul trauma..."

Then he thought of something. He controlled his Dharma Form with his mind, and it raised one hand, formed a seal, and pointed. In an instant, the energy within the surrounding golden vortices surged out of Neji's body like a tide and entered Tsunade's spiritual domain.

"It worked!"

Neji's spirits lifted as the dark-red matter slowly receded. The golden energy advanced and began repairing her battered mental wounds.

Gradually, sweat formed on Neji's forehead. One golden vortex after another vanished, while the dark-red matter grew thinner and thinner.

Finally, at the instant all the energy in the golden vortices around the Dharma Form was exhausted, Tsunade's mental injuries were completely repaired.

The domineering light returned to her eyes, though they no longer possessed their former vitality.

"Brat, what kind of look is that? Hmph, looks like I didn't die. What a shame!"

That lazy yet magnetic mature voice rang out once more as Tsunade supported herself against the bed and sat up.

"Master, the situation is not optimistic. The Evil God's final counterattack was too sinister. It reached your soul, and I have no way to treat this kind of injury!"

Neji said gravely.

"The soul? I have no way to deal with that either. Then let it be. It's not like it's anything special! Ha..." Tsunade said, letting out a long yawn.

"No, it will affect you. You'll have no energy all day and lose interest in everything! Drowsiness and loss of appetite will become normal. More importantly, it will shorten your lifespan!"

Neji's expression was solemn.

"Let's leave it at that for now! By the way, where are those two?" Tsunade asked as she rubbed her eyes and climbed down from the bed.

"I..."

Neji was about to say that he had only just woken up as well when Xiao Xi and Shizune's cries of surprise came from outside.

The two of them then rushed into the tent.

"Lady Tsunade, how... You actually woke up! This is wonderful!" Shizune said joyfully to Tsunade.

"Young Master, you're awake! You scared me to death, sob..." Xiao Xi threw herself into Neji's arms and began crying as she held him.

Neji froze for a moment. Then, seeing that she had truly been terrified, he hurriedly comforted her. Only after quite a while did she blush under Shizune and Tsunade's gazes and retreat to the side.

"Youth is wonderful," Tsunade murmured.

"Lady Tsunade, do you feel any discomfort? I examined you before. Logically speaking, you shouldn't have recovered this quickly! Did you use a forbidden technique again?"

Shizune stepped forward and felt around Tsunade in confusion.

"Get lost, you little brat. Can't you ever hope for something good to happen to me?"

Tsunade slapped her hand away in annoyance.

"I have repaired Master's mental injuries, but her soul was eroded. We need to find a way to restore it!"

Neji explained.

"Huh?" Shizune and Xiao Xi cried out, their faces full of concern. A soul injury sounded like something truly serious.

Shizune recalled all the medical knowledge she had learned, only to realize that she had no solution. She could only turn to Tsunade.

"Lady Tsunade must have a way, right?" Shizune looked at her hopefully.

"No. I know nothing at all about souls, but..." Tsunade hesitated, as though she wanted to say more but did not finish.

"But what? Lady Tsunade, this is no time for reservations. We need to quickly find a way to treat your injuries!" Shizune said anxiously as she watched Tsunade yawn again.

"If it were Orochimaru, perhaps he would know something about souls. But he has already defected from the village. Even I don't know where he is!"

After Tsunade voiced her idea, Neji immediately knew there was no hope of it succeeding. After the Konoha Crush Plan, Orochimaru, whose arms' souls had been sealed, would also set his sights on Tsunade. The Legendary Sannin truly had remarkable faith in one another.

Orochimaru has made such a mess of his own soul. How could he possibly know how to treat yours? Neji muttered inwardly, but he could not say that Orochimaru was a dead end because he had no way to explain himself.

"That's wonderful. As long as there's a way! How about we return to the village and have the Third Hokage send people to search for Orochimaru?"

Shizune suggested, then fell silent as she looked at Neji and Tsunade.

Neji knew that path would not work, while Tsunade simply did not want to see Orochimaru.

After a long while, just as Shizune was about to cry from anxiety, Neji said, "Finding Orochimaru would take too long. The erosion of the soul is irreversible. At most, Master will fall into a deep sleep within a month. I'll ask the Slug Sage. She has lived for over a thousand years, so perhaps she has a solution!"

After voicing his idea, Neji looked at everyone.

Hearing that there was only one month left, Shizune was nearly in tears. The words reached her lips, but she did not know what to say. She could only nod heavily.

Tsunade looked at the determination between Neji's brows with some confusion. However, the waves of fatigue constantly washing over her mind left her with no energy to think. "Fine! Neji, go ask Lady Katsuyu. All right, I'm a little tired. You all go do your own things. I'm going to sleep!"

With that, her head tilted to one side, and she lay back down on the bed, soon sleeping soundly.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune called worriedly. When Tsunade did not respond, she looked toward Neji.

"Senior Sister, don't worry. I'll definitely find a way to treat Master. Soul injuries are not impossible to remove; we simply don't know the method. The Slug Sage possesses a thousand years of knowledge. She will definitely have a solution."

"Mm! I'm counting on you, Junior Brother!" Shizune said after hearing Neji's resolute words.

"Xiao Xi, you and Senior Sister take care of Master. I'll be back soon." Neji spoke to Xiao Xi, then formed hand seals and summoned a Katsuyu clone. After explaining what had happened, it nodded, saying it would return and search through the main body's memories before using the Reverse Summoning Technique to summon Neji.

Not long afterward, an irresistible pulling force appeared around Neji. He clearly sensed space rippling across its surface, like a stone falling into a still, deep pool.

With a bang, Neji vanished from where he stood.