Saving Nawaki

"At present, there didn't seem to be any rejection response, but his vital signs were still extremely weak. After suffering such severe injuries and undergoing such a major operation, whether he could wake up would depend on fate."

Keiko carefully observed Nawaki, who floated inside a glass tank filled with nutrient solution, oxygen tubes still inserted into him. He spoke helplessly.

"I did everything I could. I did everything I could..." Tsunade panted heavily and wiped the blood from her face. Her lifeless eyes stared at the glass tank as she muttered to herself almost neurotically.

Keiko tightened the bathrobe around himself and glanced at the White Zetsu on the operating table nearby, which had already been cut apart by Tsunade. He could not help recalling the shocking events of the previous night.

After finishing a day of work, Keiko had been soaking in the bath at his villa. Compared to a bathtub, he preferred a traditional pinewood bath barrel. Amid the rising steam and faint scent of pine, the exhaustion throughout his body seemed to drift away as well. It was simply an incomparable pleasure.

Just as Keiko closed his eyes and enjoyed himself, there was suddenly a bang. After a cloud of white smoke dissipated, two extra people had appeared in the bathroom. Keiko focused his gaze and saw Tsunade covered in blood, holding a boy who was likewise drenched in blood. The moment she saw Keiko, she ignored the situation entirely and shouted at him.

"Quick, take me to the underground laboratory."

Keiko stared blankly at Tsunade for about two seconds and roughly understood what had happened. Saving someone was like putting out a fire; there was no time for nonsense. Keiko grabbed a bathrobe and wrapped it around himself, scooped up both Tsunade and Nawaki, then activated Lightning Armor and sprinted all the way to the underground laboratory. He even smashed his own bathroom door to pieces.

This must have been the incident where Nawaki was attacked. But why had Tsunade come here? Konoha's medical conditions were definitely better than this place's, weren't they? Besides, in the original manga, Nawaki had died completely. How could he be saved?

Huh? How had Tsunade gotten here? Flying Thunder God? The Second Hokage Tobirama had been dead for years, and the Fourth Hokage Minato was probably still an elementary school student. Could someone else have mastered that technique? If so, Keiko definitely had to ask them about it later.

Keiko pondered all these questions as he ran, but his feet did not slow in the slightest. The hospital was not far from his villa, and before long, he arrived at the underground laboratory.

After swiping open the door, Tsunade rushed straight to the operating room, placed Nawaki on the operating table, and instructed Keiko.

"The patient has suffered severe blood loss. Go to the blood bank and get 1000cc of type B blood. Turn on the shadowless lamp, prepare the surgical instruments, activate the nutrient tank, and get ready for surgery! I'll get the donor! Hurry!" Tsunade swiftly inserted oxygen and monitoring equipment into Nawaki, then left without even raising her head.

Keiko was no slower. Without asking a single question, he quickly followed Tsunade's instructions, though countless questions still circled in his mind. The biggest was—donor? Where was she going to find a donor?

However, he soon got his answer. Just as Keiko finished transfusing blood into Nawaki's vein, Tsunade walked over gripping the last remaining White Zetsu sample as though she were holding a chick by the neck. Seemingly displeased by White Zetsu's struggle, Tsunade exerted force with her arm. With a crack, White Zetsu's neck twisted instantly to an exaggerated angle. Then, with a bang, she threw it onto the adjacent operating table.

"How's his blood pressure? What about his vital signs?" Tsunade asked as she put on her gloves.

"Blood pressure is 65 over 32, pulse rate is 33. His vital signs are extremely weak," Keiko said while looking at the instruments.

"Ten milliliters of epinephrine! Hand me the instruments. I'm starting the operation!" Tsunade's expression hardened as she took up the scalpel and cut open Nawaki's abdomen.

Keiko, who had long been accustomed to bloody scenes, naturally was not afraid of a mere surgery. He dutifully served as both assistant and nurse at her side.

One moment he handed over instruments, the next he wiped Tsunade's sweat. He did not say a word, merely watched silently as she worked frantically. It was not until he saw her carefully place White Zetsu's slowly beating heart into Nawaki's chest that Keiko completely understood what Tsunade was doing. She was performing an organ transplant!

Damn, this was way too reckless! No compatibility testing beforehand?! She was just cutting him open like that? This was far too rash! If rejection occurred, wouldn't all this have been for nothing? Fine, maybe she did not consider White Zetsu human and could cut it up however she pleased, but had she considered whether Nawaki's body could endure this?

"Get another 1000cc of type B blood." Tsunade did not raise her head as she continued working. Nawaki's blood had already soaked the operating table, and it would not stop flowing from his body.

Keiko efficiently replaced the blood bag and waited for Tsunade's next instruction. Then he saw her suddenly dip a finger in blood, slap the ground, and shout in a low voice, "Summoning Technique!" A gigantic Katsuyu appeared before the operating table.

"Lady Katsuyu, help me stop Nawaki's bleeding."

Katsuyu did not waste words. She slowly crawled onto the operating table, partially wrapped herself around Nawaki, and emitted a green glow. Before long, the bleeding truly stopped. His blood pressure was stabilized at 80 over 40 and even showed a gradual upward trend.

Watching White Zetsu's white heart gradually begin beating steadily inside Nawaki's chest, Keiko silently gave Tsunade a thumbs-up. For such a complex heart transplant to succeed smoothly under such rushed conditions, it had to be called a miracle.

Thinking back, this White Zetsu had been produced from spores of the Primitive White Zetsu Tobi. Tobi had been created from humans who were first caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and fused with Hashirama Cells. Nawaki was Hashirama's biological grandson, so it was reasonable enough that no rejection occurred.

Tsunade's hands did not stop. Under Keiko's watchful eyes, the liver, spleen, kidneys—nearly all the organs in Nawaki's abdomen were replaced. Looking again at the White Zetsu lying nearby, it had already been completely dismembered by Tsunade.

"Lady Katsuyu, you can let go now. Thank you for your help." After Tsunade stitched up the final wound, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"No need to thank me." Katsuyu crawled down from the operating table and vanished without a trace with a bang.

"Come, help me put Nawaki into the nutrient tank." Tsunade lifted Nawaki by the shoulders, and Keiko hurriedly took hold of his legs.

Only then could the entire operation be considered temporarily concluded.

"Nawaki is a child, while this White Zetsu is an adult. The other organs are manageable, but the heart is troublesome. I didn't completely close his chest cavity just now. Even if he wakes up later, he'll have to stay in the nutrient tank for at least two years. Only after his chest cavity can accommodate this heart, and after another stitching operation, can this truly be considered finished." Tsunade stared blankly at Nawaki in the tank as she spoke.

"Sigh, preserving his life comes first, right? As long as there's life, there's hope." Keiko hurriedly comforted Tsunade.

"As long as there's life, there's hope..." Tsunade chewed over the words twice, then turned around and looked at Keiko gratefully.

"Thank you!" Tsunade gave Keiko a shallow bow, then suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed into his arms.

"Looks like you were under too much pressure." Keiko picked Tsunade up and carefully carried her toward the resting room. Of course she was. First, rescuing Nawaki had consumed a massive amount of chakra. Then she had endured the Flying Thunder God Formation to teleport thousands of miles to Sunagakure. After that, she had completed such an enormous operation. From the beginning of the incident until now, she had gone more than ten hours without food or sleep, her nerves stretched taut the entire time. It would have been strange if she had not fainted.

The moment they entered the resting room, Tsunade slowly woke up. Looking at Keiko holding her, at his long blue hair, at his handsome face—everything about him looked pleasing to the eye. Combined with the faint scent of pine on his body, Tsunade could not resist wrapping her arms around Keiko's neck and kissing him on the lips.

Keiko was caught completely off guard by the sudden attack. He was already wearing very little, and he immediately reacted. More than twenty years before transmigrating, plus more than twenty years after—this old virgin had held back for a full fifty years. How could he possibly endure this? He immediately returned the passionate kiss in his arms.

He had not expected that one response to be so intense, like igniting a pile of dry firewood. Tsunade twisted around and directly pounced on Keiko, stripping herself bare in a few quick motions and revealing her proud figure in full.

Keiko still wanted to say something, but a wet kiss immediately sealed his mouth. Under the double wave of pleasure, he could only give up struggling completely. Forget it, what the hell was there to say? They could talk after it was over. With one hand, Keiko controlled the iron door of the resting room, closing and locking it.