Yuri Inuzuka and Tsunade in Leopard Print

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

In that time, Tsunade's relationship with the women of the Ino–Shika–Cho clans

had grown by leaps and bounds.

Their weekly "tea and massage gatherings" went ahead without fail.

She, Yamanaka Sora, Ria Nara, and Lola Akimichi had become as close as sisters.

Of course, Tsunade had kept up her own training.

The mark of her Yin Seal had grown clearer, and she had become increasingly proficient with the first four gates of the Eight Gates.

One day, Tsunade was training in her backyard, drenched in sweat.

An ANBU operative arrived.

"Lady Tsunade, the Third Hokage has a mission for you."

"The old man has another job for me?"

Tsunade stopped and grabbed a towel to wipe away her sweat.

"The Inuzuka clan's Ninja Hound is sick. It's a difficult case."

"The Third Hokage asked whether you have any experience treating Ninja Hounds and whether you could help."

Tsunade pursed her lips.

"That old man never misses an opening. Is he using my Medical Ninjutsu to make connections again?"

She didn't mind, though. It was what she did best, after all.

Besides, Konoha only had so many major clans.

She had already won over the Akimichi, Nara, Yamanaka, and Hyuga clans.

In Uchiha Mikoto, she had a little admirer among the Uchiha.

If she won over the Inuzuka too, she would have covered almost everyone.

"Wait. Isn't there another clan I'm forgetting?"

Tsunade frowned, certain she had missed one.

"Forget it. If I can't remember, I won't worry about it."

She waved to the ANBU operative.

"Got it. I'll change and head over."

Two minutes later, Tsunade emerged in a leopard-print outfit.

If she was visiting the Inuzuka, she ought to look a little wild!

Tsunade in leopard print~

The ANBU operative swallowed and stole a glance, but didn't dare say a word.

The operative led Tsunade toward the Inuzuka compound.

The Inuzuka Clan Grounds lay on the other side of Konoha, near the Training Forest.

The moment they entered, barking rose and fell all around them.

The current head of the Inuzuka clan came to greet her.

Yuri Inuzuka.

Her name sounded gentle, but she looked anything but.

She appeared to be around thirty.

Her skin was a healthy wheat-brown, and her short hair was neat and practical.

Two red, inverted triangular markings crossed her face, and her gaze was sharp.

Dressed in a close-fitting combat outfit that allowed her to move freely, she carried herself with capable, spirited confidence.

"Lady Tsunade, sorry for the trouble of coming all this way."

Yuri Inuzuka's voice was a little hoarse, heavy with exhaustion and worry.

"Don't mention it. Tell me what happened."

Tsunade got straight to the point.

"It's my Ninja Hound. His name is Fuga."

Yuri Inuzuka spoke quickly as she led Tsunade inside.

"He's been with me for more than ten years. He's my old partner."

"A while ago, he grew listless. His belly swelled, but the rest of him kept getting thinner."

"Our veterinarians examined him and found worms in his stomach."

Tsunade nodded. It sounded like a parasitic infection, which wasn't unusual in dogs.

Yuri Inuzuka's expression darkened as she continued.

"Normally, our herbal remedies or deworming medicine can deal with parasites."

"But this time is different. Those worms seem... unusual. Almost intelligent."

"We tried several treatments without success, then asked someone from the Aburame clan to take a look."

The Aburame clan?

Tsunade paused, then it hit her.

Right! Konoha has the Aburame, the ninja clan that specializes in controlling insects!

They're so easy to overlook that I completely forgot about them!

Yuri Inuzuka didn't notice Tsunade's distraction and went on:

"The Aburame said these are Mutant Parasites they've never seen before."

"They're incredibly resilient, and they seem resistant to ordinary deworming medicines."

"The Special Deworming Medicine they prescribed only quiets the worms for a while. It can't eradicate them."

"At this point, the only option may be surgery to remove them."

"Then why not operate?" Tsunade asked.

"We can't be sure it would work."

Yuri Inuzuka sighed and opened a door.

"Fuga is very weak now. The worms aren't just in his stomach and intestines. They may have burrowed deeper."

"An ordinary operation would be too risky. We didn't dare attempt it, so we asked you to come."

The room was dim, with the smell of herbs and a faint bloody tang hanging in the air.

A large, dark gray Ninja Hound lay on a soft mat on the floor.

Tsunade stepped closer and frowned.

The Ninja Hound was skin and bones, every rib visible beneath a dull, lifeless coat.

Only his belly bulged slightly.

It stood out sharply against the rest of his wasted body.

His eyes were half-closed, and his breathing was faint and rapid.

"How did he get this thin?"

Tsunade crouched and began her examination.

"We're afraid to feed him much,"

a veterinarian from the Inuzuka clan said quietly beside her.

"The more he eats, the more fiercely the worms compete for food. They seem to multiply faster, too."

"They've stolen almost all his nourishment."

Tsunade nodded. The worms were devouring their host's nutrients.

She held out a hand, green Chakra glowing in her palm, and began to sense his condition in detail.

As her Chakra seeped slowly into Fuga's body, her expression grew grave.

It was worse than she had expected.

These weren't ordinary intestinal parasites.

They were tiny and tenacious.

Some clung tightly to the walls of his stomach and intestines.

Others had burrowed into organs much deeper inside his body.

They had spread so far and so deep.

Even if surgery removed the worms from the main sections of his intestines, it would be difficult to clear out those lodged deep in his organs.

And in Fuga's current condition,

even if he survived a major operation, his body would be ruined.

He certainly wouldn't fight as a Ninja Hound again.

He might even struggle to walk normally.

He wouldn't live more than a few years.

Tsunade withdrew her hand and looked at Yuri Inuzuka, her face solemn.

"It's bad."

She told her the diagnosis plainly.

Yuri Inuzuka went pale.

She clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

"Is there... no other way?"

Her voice trembled.

The sight left Tsunade feeling uneasy too.

She searched her memory for another approach.

Surgery was the obvious answer, but its consequences would be severe.

What if they made the worms come out on their own?

An idea flashed through her mind.

She remembered a scene from a television drama she had happened to watch in her previous life.

Wen Sankua's Deworming Method.

The principle was to starve the patient for several days.

When the patient was hungry, the worms would be hungry too.

Then the patient would swallow a measured dose of poison.

The worms would rush to consume it. Even those buried deep in the organs would emerge to feed.

That was how the poison would kill them.

But the risk was enormous.

Controlling the dose was crucial.

Get it slightly wrong, and the poison could kill the Ninja Hound before it killed the worms.

Besides, those worms were "almost intelligent."

Could they react in some other, unpredictable way?

Still, there seemed to be no other option.

After weighing it for a moment, Tsunade said:

"There is one more method. It's riskier, but if it works, it might cure him completely."

Yuri Inuzuka looked up sharply. "What method?"

"Poison."

Tsunade saw her stunned expression and immediately explained the reasoning.

Once Yuri Inuzuka had taken it in, Tsunade said gravely:

"As things stand, you have two choices."

"The first is surgery."

"It's somewhat safer, but the lasting damage would be severe. Fuga would almost certainly be unable to work again."

"The second is poison."

"It's high-risk. He could die outright, but if it succeeds, he may be completely cured."

"It's your decision."

Yuri Inuzuka wrestled with the choice.

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Just as Yuri Inuzuka's lips began to tremble and she struggled to answer,

a weak, hoarse voice suddenly sounded in the room:

"I... choose... the second..."

The voice hadn't come from Yuri Inuzuka.

It had come from the floor.

From the Ninja Hound who was little more than skin and bones—

Fuga!