A few days later, in a special intensive care ward at Konoha Hospital.
The air was thick with the smell of medicine.
Rock Lee and Naruto were both in the ward. Rock Lee himself was uninjured, and Naruto's injuries had been nowhere near as severe as Miki Yūya's. Wrapped in bandages, Naruto was already back to his usual lively self.
On the hospital bed, however, Miki Yūya was encased in thick plaster, his limbs immobilized. Almost every inch of skin from head to toe was damaged. He looked utterly miserable.
Tsunade stood beside the bed with her arms folded and her brow slightly furrowed. Miki Yūya's condition was far more complicated than she had imagined.
After a long silence, Naruto finally couldn't contain his worry any longer and asked softly:
"Lady Tsunade... is there still a chance Yūya will wake up?"
He asked with extreme caution.
Everyone still vividly remembered the brutality of that fight to the death in the sea of sand.
All four of Miki Yūya's limbs had been broken, his flesh pushed beyond its limits. Never mind an "ordinary person"-any ninja would have long since gone cold and stopped breathing.
Tsunade nodded gently, her tone certain, though tinged with surprise:
"He won't die. Getting him to wake up is easy."
"It's just that his body is so badly damaged that all its functions have completely broken down. He'll need a long time to rest and recover."
She paused, her gaze settling on the motionless Miki Yūya, then continued explaining.
"If an ordinary person suffered injuries of this magnitude, even if they survived, they'd already be in a complete vegetative state."
"But Miki Yūya is different."
"His body has long been on the verge of death, but his mind and will are still vigorous.
They're forcibly sustaining his ruined body."
Rock Lee's eyes instantly lit up at Tsunade's words.
"I knew it! Naruto, don't worry. Yūya... has an extraordinarily fiery youth!"
"R-really?"
Naruto wasn't quite convinced.
As he finished speaking, Tsunade casually lifted the thin blanket covering Miki Yūya.
The next second, Naruto and Rock Lee froze.
Encased in plaster and barely able to move, Miki Yūya slightly raised the few fingers he could still control. One perfectly straight middle finger pointed steadily and precisely at Naruto's face.
The gesture was flawless, and so was its aim.
Although he hadn't woken up yet, his hand gesture proved he was in no danger of ending up in a vegetative state.
Looking at Miki Yūya, Naruto felt a wave of relief.
"Lady Tsunade... what... what does he mean by that?"
Tsunade studied Naruto carefully. Once she was sure he genuinely didn't know, she spoke.
"He's insulting you."
The room fell silent.
It didn't take much thought to realize that, even at death's door, this guy still remembered how Naruto's remarks before their departure had landed him in such a miserable state.
So even unconscious and near death, his will of domination could still automatically lock onto an enemy.
"Don't worry."
Tsunade looked away and continued:
"With his mind this active, he'll fully regain consciousness in another few days."
"But the damage to the bones and meridians in his limbs is too severe. He won't be able to stand or walk anytime soon."
"He'll have to use a wheelchair to get around afterward. I've already had a specially designed electric wheelchair prepared to suit his current condition. He can operate it with tiny movements of his fingers."
Seeing Miki Yūya giving him the middle finger from the hospital bed, Naruto finally felt completely at ease.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
Warm sunlight shone over Konoha's bustling streets.
On a clean, spacious main road.
Miki Yūya sat in an electric wheelchair, his casts still in place. Only his fingertips could move, so he used them to steer the wheelchair slowly forward.
Miki Yūya still couldn't speak. The severe injury to his throat hadn't healed, and he couldn't make a sound.
Moreover, Tsunade had deliberately avoided that area while treating him, leaving his throat to recover very slowly.
But that didn't matter. At his current rate of recovery, he would be fully healed in two and a half years at most.
However, as the passing Konoha villagers, chunin, and genin caught sight of Miki Yūya, they turned to stare. Their mocking whispers reached his ears without the slightest attempt at concealment.
"Look, isn't that the bastard?"
"Tsk, tsk. A mere villager, and he actually dared to deliberately sabotage our relationship with Sunagakure!"
"Trash like him who doesn't care about the village at all is just wasting Konoha's medical resources by staying alive."
"Lady Tsunade shouldn't have saved him. An orphan with no parents is nothing but trouble alive. It would've saved everyone the headache if he'd just died out there."
"This guy finally can't bark anymore."
"Heh. A scumbag like him should spend the rest of his life stuck in that wheelchair."
"...!"
[Ding! Observation Haki +6] [Ding! Observation Haki +9]
Cruel remarks rose one after another, grating and cutting.
Some felt regret-Miki Yūya himself, that is-but far more kicked him while he was down, sneering and mocking.
The villagers Miki Yūya had previously snapped at, bullied, and taunted finally got their moment of triumph.
Weren't you so full of yourself?
Now you're stuck in a wheelchair and can't even open your mouth to curse at us. Go on, keep barking! Keep barking!!
A small figure pushed through the front of the crowd.
Konohamaru looked at Miki Yūya, unable to move in his wheelchair, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Finally, finally, this bastard could no longer hit him or curse at him.
His grandpa must have been watching over him all along.
At last, he could mock him loudly without restraint.
"Hmph! Miki Yūya! So this day finally came for you!"
"Now you're a cripple!"
"You don't deserve to be a Konoha villager! All you do is cause trouble!"
"That old woman Tsunade should kick you out and dump you in Sunagakure to fend for yourself!"
[Ding! Observation Haki +5]
Hearing Konohamaru's taunts, Miki Yūya snorted inwardly.
That's it? That's all you've got?
You sound like you're acting cute, sweetheart!
You call that insulting someone?
Sure enough, the village's ninja are useless. They don't even know how to bully someone.
Miki Yūya's dark eyes remained calm and indifferent, without anger, resentment, or embarrassment.
He didn't struggle, didn't try to defend himself, and couldn't even be bothered to look at the mocking crowd around him.
Under everyone's derisive gazes, he moved his fingertips slightly.
Beep-
The electric wheelchair vibrated faintly and slowly turned in place.
The back of the wheelchair faced all the villagers who had gathered to watch and sneer.
Everyone instinctively looked closer.
A sheet of paper had been neatly affixed by hand to the wheelchair's back panel.
The handwriting was brazen, its strokes sharp, its message blunt and glaring.
-[A bunch of useless trash]
Heh. A bunch of third-rate villagers and low-level ninja. Did you really think I couldn't fight back just because I couldn't speak?
Weak. Too weak. Far too weak. I'm a powerhouse with the strongest Conqueror's Haki.
Every taunt, every comment, every sneer stopped abruptly.
The noisy Konoha street instantly became so quiet that a pin drop could have been heard.
Everyone stared dumbstruck at the words on the back of the wheelchair, the smiles on their faces frozen solid.
[Ding! Conqueror's Haki +7]
"You motherfucker...!"
"Get him!!"
"Damn it, this piece of trash still dares to mock us!"
Rotten vegetable leaves and foul eggs flew straight at Miki Yūya.
Before you continue