In the Isolation Zone on the top floor of Konoha Hospital, the air stood still. One could have heard a pin drop.
A vein bulged faintly at Tsunade's temple, and sweat soaked the ends of her hair. She poured every ounce of her will and chakra into her fingertips, into the exquisitely precise, reverse-running Yin Seal: Reverse Evacuation. Emerald-green Chakra Threads, like living tendrils of light, reached deep into Uchiha Itachi's body. She was performing the final and most dangerous step-extracting the dark core's "main root," which had burrowed deep into the vessels around his heart.
"Katsuyu, keep the barrier at maximum strength! Its final counterattack is coming!" Tsunade's voice was low and taut, allowing no room for distraction.
"Understood, Lady Tsunade." Katsuyu's clone answered. Azure senjutsu chakra suffused with golden light formed an unyielding net, tightly binding the restless mass of purplish-black energy and cutting off its last attempts to drain and sense its host.
The extraction had reached its most critical moment. That "main root" had all but fused with Itachi's life force. Every slight tug sent violent spasms through his unconscious body, while the vital-sign traces on the monitors fluctuated wildly, hovering on the brink.
Outside the room, Kakashi, Ling, and the others held their breath, their attention fixed. Even through the specially constructed walls and seals, they could clearly feel the unsettling clash of energies spilling outward and the oppressive sense of a life nearing its end. Ling had fully extended his senjutsu perception, his expression grave. He could "see" the dark core gathering its last reserves of strength like a dying venomous snake.
Just as Tsunade guided the Chakra Threads to sever the final connection-
In the next room, Sasuke Uchiha, who had remained unconscious all this time, suddenly opened his eyes after his lashes