Panic gripped the emergency ward of Konoha's Medical Unit, inside and out. The air was thick with disinfectant and the oppressive tension of disrupted chakra.
Three days had passed since Naruto and Konohamaru had both been carried back. Konohamaru had suffered only superficial injuries.
But Naruto had kept his eyes tightly shut the entire time, utterly motionless. Nothing could wake him.
A group of medical jonin took turns examining him and probing his chakra flow. After hours of work, every one of them looked helpless.
A fine sheen of cold sweat covered the lead medical jonin's forehead. His fingertips trembled slightly, his face full of bewilderment.
"Strange... His bodily functions are completely normal."
"His chakra pathways aren't damaged, and there are no lingering effects from chakra disruption or exhaustion. His organs, bones, and flesh are all perfectly intact."
"Physically, he isn't injured at all!"
He took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, but he couldn't hide the frustration in his voice.
"But the patient remains in a deep coma. His consciousness is completely dormant. We can't wake him at all.
"This is too bizarre. It doesn't resemble physical trauma, chakra backlash, or the aftereffects of a rampaging tailed beast.
"It's more like... his mind has been completely locked down, trapped in an endless illusion."
At those words, Kakashi, Might Guy, and Asuma, who were waiting outside the ward, all looked grim.
His body was intact, but his mind was asleep!
In all of Konoha, the only specialist in genjutsu and mental probing was Kurenai Yuhi!
"Should we have Kurenai take a look?"
Kakashi spoke in a low voice.
Before long, Kurenai Yuhi arrived. Without daring to delay, she immediately formed hand seals, her eyes focused as she tried to penetrate Naruto's mental barrier and examine what lay within.
But the next instant, as soon as the chakra at her fingertips touched Naruto's skin, an invisible force knocked it away!
Kurenai Yuhi went pale. She shook her head repeatedly, her expression grave.
"I can't."
She bit her lower lip, a rare tremor in her voice.
"His mental world is completely sealed off.
"This isn't ordinary genjutsu or confinement by ninjutsu. It's... he doesn't want to wake up. He's sealed off his own mind, much like a sealing jutsu.
"I can't get inside at all. I can't see any images from his mind. There's nothing I can do."
Everyone fell silent.
His body wasn't injured, his chakra wasn't disrupted, and the tailed beast's seal appeared stable. Yet he simply wouldn't wake up. His mind was completely trapped!
Asuma's brows knitted tightly. The cigarette between his fingers had already been crushed out of shape. He murmured:
"According to Konohamaru, the only outsider Naruto came into contact with before losing consciousness... was that ordinary villager, Miki Yūya."
At those words, all their hearts lurched.
"That can't be right, can it? I saw him myself. There wasn't the slightest trace of chakra coming from him. He was just an ordinary person!
"He has no ninjutsu, no secret techniques, and no grounding in genjutsu. At most, he's got a vicious mouth and a terrible temper!"
Kakashi also nodded slightly, his gaze deep and wary.
"I examined the lingering traces at the scene up close. There were no remnants of ninjutsu whatsoever.
"A civilian who can't use ninjutsu couldn't possibly create the conditions for this kind of genjutsu."
They weighed the possibilities over and over, repeatedly retracing what had happened.
From beginning to end, Miki Yūya had done nothing but curse, argue his case, and verbally crush them. He hadn't used any ninjutsu. As for hitting someone? That wasn't the issue.
And yet, right after his confrontation with Miki Yūya ended, Naruto's seal had loosened, he had gone berserk and fallen unconscious, and his mind had remained dormant ever since!
The whole affair was utterly bizarre.
"Whatever the case, he's our biggest suspect.
"Bring him here and question him."
Asuma made the final call and sent someone straight to the residential district to summon Miki Yūya.
A short while later, Miki Yūya was brought to the entrance of the medical ward.
His hands were in his pockets, his expression lazy. He showed none of the nervousness one might expect from being summoned. For the past three days, he had wandered around the village, cursing out anyone who annoyed him.
He didn't just curse at ninja; civilians weren't spared either. Of course, because he was always wandering around, Miki Yūya had been bullied himself, called a homeless good-for-nothing and a street loafer.
But Miki Yūya didn't care. That was how Konoha's nasty inhabitants operated. Whether your status was high or low, if they didn't like the look of you, they'd bully you mercilessly.
Arriving outside the ward, Miki Yūya glanced at Might Guy standing by the door and immediately mocked him without a shred of courtesy.
"What, has Konoha run out of jonin? You sent a freak in skintight green long johns with a bowl cut to stand guard here?"
The corner of Might Guy's mouth twitched. His whole body tensed with anger beneath his green outfit, and his hot-blooded pose froze in place. Veins throbbed on his forehead as he forcibly swallowed his anger, forgetting even to argue back.
The insult was brutally blunt and nasty!
Asuma's expression chilled. Suppressing his anger, he said:
"Kid, watch your mouth. This is Konoha's medical district. Show some respect."
Miki Yūya glanced at him and sneered, refusing to indulge him in the slightest.
"Respect?"
"Someone from the Sarutobi Clan thinks he has the right to lecture me about respect?"
"The Third Hokage already killed himself out of guilt. Your Sarutobi Clan is useless against outsiders, but you sure hit hard at home. You're pretty good at bullying civilians, aren't you?"
"When the top is crooked, everything beneath it follows. Runs in the family, all right."
Those words struck the Sarutobi Clan right where it hurt!
Asuma's face instantly turned livid. His chest heaved, fury surging through him!
His knuckles whitened around his cigarette. He wanted to lash out, but every word cut to the heart of the matter, leaving him unable to find a single word in rebuttal. After all, the Third's death had indeed been officially classified as suicide.
Quite a few of Konoha's lower-ranking ninja were also denouncing the Third. As for the higher-ups, there was no need to say it; everyone understood without speaking.
Just as the atmosphere was about to explode, a cool hand silently settled on Miki Yūya's shoulder.
It was Kakashi.
His Sharingan quietly opened, its three tomoe slowly revolving, his gaze razor-sharp.
He intended to use physical contact to thoroughly examine Miki Yūya's body and determine whether he was concealing any ninjutsu or special chakra.
The instant he touched Miki Yūya, Kakashi's pupil contracted slightly, disbelief filling his face.
Empty.
Completely clean. Utterly blank!
From head to toe, there wasn't a trace of chakra. He truly was an ordinary villager through and through!
Yet that only made it more unnerving.
Before Kakashi could withdraw his hand, Miki Yūya lost patience. He shoved Kakashi's arm away, swept his gaze over everyone, and launched an all-out barrage of verbal bullying with a cold sneer!
"What are you staring at?"
"Find anything amazing after all that poking around?"
"A bunch of Konoha jonin drawing fat salaries, enjoying special privileges, and sitting in positions of power."
"The village was smashed to pieces, civilians lost their homes and families, and you still have the nerve to gather here?"
"You're getting better and better at bullying powerless villagers!"
"And that brat actually attacked me, a Konoha villager, in public a few days ago, claiming I'd said something wrong. So now we get oppressed for telling the truth?
"A criminal's grandson is still a criminal's grandson. With a grandfather like that, you'd be better off an orphan."
Miki Yūya spoke at breakneck speed, every sentence cutting to the bone as he ruthlessly overwhelmed everyone present!
"You... My grandpa wasn't a criminal!!!"
Covered in bandages, Konohamaru spoke through gritted teeth.
"I'll prove it. Grandpa wasn't a criminal."
[Ding! Conqueror's Haki +2!] [Ding! Conqueror's Haki +4!] [Ding! Conqueror's Haki +1!]
System notifications flooded in!
Strands of domineering presence continued to settle within Miki Yūya. Though seemingly faint, they accumulated little by little, growing ever stronger!
Proof? Miki Yūya couldn't care less about proof. He had come here purely to unleash verbal abuse and farm Haki points.
Outside the ward, the jonin's faces alternated between livid and pale under his onslaught. Not one of them could muster a word in rebuttal.
Their arguments were lost, their momentum shattered, their positions demolished!
Miki Yūya couldn't be bothered to waste any more time on these hypocritical ninja. He cast one final glance at Konohamaru, lying motionless on the bed under thick bandages, and curled his lips in cold mockery.
"A criminal's grandson, playing dead after one beating."
"With nerves that weak, you still want to defend your so-called honor? Ridiculous. Even if you wanted to defend it, you'd need to have some first!"
Without waiting for anyone to erupt, he turned away, leaving the thoroughly humiliated Konoha High Command behind. He strolled off at an easy pace without looking back.
Arrogant from start to finish, crushing them from start to finish, unbeatable from start to finish!
He left behind a roomful of livid Konoha jonin, so frustrated they could burst, standing there blankly and utterly helpless.
They had summoned him over, only to get a thorough verbal thrashing themselves.
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