Winning the Friendship of the Inuzuka Clan

"Surgery... would leave me useless..."

"Living... would be pointless anyway..."

"Yuri... let me... take this gamble..."

Fuga's words shook Yuri Inuzuka to her core.

She closed her eyes, her face twitching with pain.

When she opened them again, tears still glistened there, but so did resolve.

She nodded firmly.

"I... I respect your choice! Lady Tsunade, please... do as Fuga wishes!"

Tsunade looked at the two partners, moved, and gave a slight nod.

"I understand. Clan Chief Yuri, did any live worms come out when you tried to deworm him before?"

"I need to study them before I can make the right 'medicine.'"

"Yes! We have some!"

Yuri Inuzuka reacted at once and called to a clansman.

"Quick! Bring the live worm samples we got out with medicine!"

Before long, someone brought over a sealed glass petri dish.

Inside, dozens of thin, dark-red worms writhed without pause.

The sight was nauseating.

Tsunade took the dish and examined it closely.

The worms were remarkably hardy and resistant to ordinary deworming drugs.

She had a fair idea of what she was dealing with.

"Good. I'll take these."

Tsunade set the dish aside.

Her expression turned grave as she instructed Yuri Inuzuka and the veterinarians caring for Fuga.

"Starting today, give Fuga no food or water for the next three days."

She crouched beside the weakened Fuga and met his eyes.

"Fuga, you'll be terribly hungry and miserable for these three days, but you must endure it."

"You'll be hungry, but the greedy worms inside you will be hungrier."

"Only when they're starving will the 'medicine' work at full strength."

"Can you do that?"

Fuga struggled to raise his head. A low but clear whine came from his throat.

Then he gave a firm nod.

The resolve in his eyes was stronger than that of many humans.

Tsunade said no more.

Given Fuga's condition, three days was the longest she calculated he could go without food.

Any longer, and his weakened body might give out.

He might starve before she could treat him.

Tsunade then took over the Inuzuka clan's Veterinary Clinic.

She began preparing the medicine.

She called it research, but the process was simple enough.

She fed the worms different poisons in different doses.

Then she watched which killed them fastest and most thoroughly.

She also recorded the lowest effective lethal dose.

Tsunade's knowledge of pharmacology was formidable, thanks to the original Tsunade's solid foundation as a medical ninja.

Besides, making poison was easier than making an antidote.

Killing was far easier than saving a life.

Three days passed in a blink.

Tsunade emerged carrying a "pill" the size of a fist.

She had made it using the optimal formula and dosage determined through repeated tests.

It was potent enough to kill the ravenous parasites.

"The medicine's ready," Tsunade told the anxiously waiting Yuri Inuzuka.

"I'll administer it myself. None of you are to interfere."

She hadn't forgotten a case she'd read about in her previous life.

Wen Sankai had prescribed a poisonous medicine, but the patient's husband, afraid the full dose would kill her, had split it into two feedings.

As a result, only half the worms died.

Startled and irritated by the poison, the survivors had thrashed wildly inside the patient.

Together with the remaining toxins, they killed her.

Tsunade would never allow such a basic mistake.

Fuga lay on the ground, so hungry he barely had the strength to lift his head.

Only the faint rise and fall of his belly showed that he was breathing.

Tsunade put on sterile gloves and went to his side.

She lifted Fuga's chin and pried open his mouth.

She pushed the pill deep into his throat, then pressed and stroked his neck.

Her movements were brisk, even a little rough.

Gulp.

The pill went straight into his stomach.

"Fuga!"

Yuri Inuzuka cried out softly, pained to see her beloved hound treated that way.

"Stay back! And be quiet!"

Tsunade barked without turning around.

"This is the critical moment. Any interruption could ruin everything!"

Yuri Inuzuka clapped a hand over her mouth and froze, hardly daring to breathe.

The other Inuzuka clan members watching held their breath too.

Tsunade pressed her palm against Fuga's bony abdomen.

Her Chakra seeped in slowly, sensing every change within.

Seconds ticked by.

The room was so quiet they could hear their own heartbeats.

Suddenly, Tsunade's eyes lit up.

"They're coming out!"

She could clearly "see" them.

The hungry parasites lurking in Fuga's liver, spleen, and even along the edges of his lungs

sensed "food" in his stomach and began wriggling and burrowing toward it in a frenzy!

The violent movement inside him sent Fuga into uncontrollable spasms and tremors.

A pained whine escaped his throat.

"Fuga!" Yuri Inuzuka tried to rush forward again.

"I said, don't move!"

Tsunade stopped her sharply.

With one hand, she held the convulsing Fuga steady.

Her other hand remained pressed to his abdomen, sensing what was happening inside.

Tsunade's commanding tone stopped Yuri Inuzuka in her tracks.

Her nails dug deep into her palms as she forced herself to stay put.

She could only watch her beloved hound suffer.

About ten minutes passed.

When Tsunade sensed that every worm had entered his stomach,

she moved!

The hand on Fuga's abdomen lifted instantly.

Chakra concentrated at her fingertips, forming a razor-sharp, pale-blue blade of light.

Chakra Scalpel!

Slice!

The blade cut precisely through Fuga's abdomen!

Blood poured out.

"Ah!"

Several young Inuzuka clan members cried out.

Tsunade's expression never wavered. She moved like lightning.

After opening his abdomen, she formed another Chakra Scalpel in her other hand.

She found the right spot and slashed open the exposed stomach!

The stomach wall split.

No gastric acid or food scraps spilled out.

Instead, a dense, tangled mass of dark-red worms came spilling out!

There were so many they had nearly filled his stomach.

The sight made scalps prickle and stomachs churn.

"Urgh..."

Someone couldn't help retching.

None of them had imagined

that so many horrific parasites could hide inside a single Ninja Hound!

"Now!"

Tsunade spoke under her breath.

Without the slightest hesitation, she reached in with a gloved hand and grabbed the revolting mass of worms.

She yanked it out of Fuga

and threw it into a bucket prepared nearby, lined with Quicklime.

Then she immediately pressed both hands against Fuga's bloody wound.

The rich green glow of the Mystical Palm Technique flared!

She repaired the torn stomach wall, closed the cut muscles and skin, stopped the bleeding, and stimulated cell regeneration...

Tsunade focused completely, and fine beads of sweat soon covered her forehead.

Yuri Inuzuka and her clansmen watched with pounding hearts and rising hope.

They barely dared to breathe.

The process lasted a full twenty minutes.

At last, Tsunade withdrew her hands and let out a long breath.

The wound on Fuga's abdomen had healed completely.

"Lady Tsunade..."

Yuri Inuzuka's voice trembled as she spoke.

Tsunade waved a hand and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"He's fine. Every worm is gone."

"Give him some nutrient solution, then feed him liquids for a while. Nothing greasy."

"Take good care of him, and in less than a month, I promise you'll have your lively Ninja Hound back!"

At those words, Yuri Inuzuka's tears spilled over.

She wasn't someone who cried easily.

But she couldn't hold back her emotions now.

She stepped before Tsunade and bowed deeply.

"Lady Tsunade... thank you!"

"I, Yuri Inuzuka, owe you a life!"

"If you ever need anything from the Inuzuka clan, just say the word!"

It was a weighty promise.

Yet not one Inuzuka clan member present looked surprised.

Instead, they followed their clan chief and bowed solemnly to Tsunade.

Only the Inuzuka clan truly knew

what their Ninja Hound partners meant to them.

They were more than tools for battle.

They were family, their other halves.

Saving Fuga was as good as saving half of Yuri Inuzuka's life.

The entire Inuzuka clan acknowledged that debt.

Tsunade looked at the crowd bowing in unison before her. She was exhausted, but it still felt pretty damn good.

She broke into a grin and waved them off.

"Enough, enough. Spare me the formalities. Just treat me to a good meal sometime."

She stretched.

"I'm dead tired. I'm going back to catch up on sleep."

"Remember what I told you: keep up the IV fluids and stick to light food. I'll come check on Fuga again in a few days."

With that, she lingered no longer and ambled out.

Only after Tsunade had left did the Inuzuka clan members burst into chatter.

"That was incredible! There were so many bugs, but she really lured them all out and killed them..."

"She cut Fuga open and healed the wound that quickly? So that's Lady Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu?"

"Lady Tsunade's such a good person. She put so much effort into saving Lord Fuga."

"Yeah. She's an amazing healer and a good person, too. She doesn't put on airs at all."

"..."

At that moment, the entire Inuzuka clan's regard for Tsunade

shot straight to the top!