A golden light flashed, and Minato and Yūto appeared at the entrance to Konoha Hospital, along with Rin, who was maintaining her Medical Ninjutsu.
Not long before, Minato had made a point of placing a Flying Thunder God Technique formula here at Konoha Hospital.
Perhaps Kushina really had scared him with that stabbing. She had opened an enormous hole in his body, an injury even worse than Yūto's current one.
Minato had nearly died at his own girlfriend's hands, so he had left a Flying Thunder God formula at Konoha Hospital.
As they rushed through the entrance with Yūto, Rin's little face was flushed red with strain. After maintaining her Medical Ninjutsu for so long, she simply did not have enough chakra left to keep going.
She shouted to everyone inside the hospital:
"Someone, hurry! He's dying! I can't hold on any longer!"
To raise money for the orphanage, Nonō came to work at Konoha Hospital almost every day.
When Rin and Minato carried Yūto into the hospital, she happened to be working in the first-floor lobby.
When Nonō saw that the injured patient was Yūto, her pupils contracted sharply.
Yūto had actually gotten himself hurt again, and this badly! All her earlier advice had been wasted!
He was still pushing himself so recklessly!
She hurried over to Yūto and took over the Medical Ninjutsu just as Rin was about to reach her limit.
"Jōnin Minato, give me a hand. Carry Yūto into the operating room!"
Minato immediately nodded, picked Yūto up, and rushed into the operating room.
In the hospital lobby, Rin finally breathed a sigh of relief. With her chakra depleted, she nearly collapsed onto the floor.
"I hope Mr. Yūto will be all right..."
When Yūto woke again, he closed his eyes in anguish.
Above him was a familiar ceiling. He had seen this kind of ceiling many times, always after getting injured.
In other words, someone had saved him.
Bastard! Which bastard had stuck their nose in his business?!
He had worked so hard, yet he still hadn't managed to scam his way into that compensation!
Coupled with the searing pain from his wounds, it left Yūto utterly despondent.
It hurt. It hurt so much!
What did I have to do to get back to Blue Star?!
Without his noticing, a strange surge of chakra emerged from the depths of his eyes, flowing along his optic nerves into his eyeballs.
If Yūto had had a mirror in front of him, he would certainly have seen that his eyes had become Sharingan-and two-tomoe ones at that.
"Damn it..."
Yūto could not help cursing in a hoarse voice, waking Tsukimi beside him.
Ever since returning to the village, Tsukimi had stayed by Yūto's side. Even when Nonō offered to bandage her wounds, the girl had refused to leave.
Now, bandages were wrapped around Tsukimi's left arm and lower leg, and her head rested on her arms.
Hearing Yūto's voice, she first blinked in confusion, then exclaimed in delight:
"Yūto, you're awake!"
After the delight came the lingering fear.
Tears immediately welled up in Tsukimi's large eyes, and she sobbed:
"Idiot! I thought I'd never see you again!"
Yūto composed himself and forced a smile onto his face.
He struggled to lift his bandaged hand, wanting to wipe the tears from Tsukimi's face, but the movement pulled at his wounds, making him suck in a sharp breath.
Seeing this, Tsukimi quickly pressed his arm back down. Tears spilled out again despite herself, and she said in distress:
"Just lie still, idiot."
Yūto said hoarsely:
"What are you crying for... aren't I still alive?"
Tsukimi refused to let it go. "If you ever dare do that again... I'll burn all your novel drafts with Fire Release!"
Yūto's pupils shrank, and his wounds suddenly hurt even more. When had she found them?!
He had clearly hidden all his novel drafts, so why had she discovered them?!
Yūto wanted to kill himself right then. Someone had discovered him writing that stuff-this was social death!
Thank goodness he hadn't died, or his reputation in the Shinobi World would have been ruined!
After Tsukimi returned to Konoha, she had gone to Yūto's home at Nonō's instruction to bring him some changes of clothes.
She had stumbled across Yūto's drafts by chance and taken a curious look, only to discover that he was secretly writing such strange things.
She had originally wanted to burn them outright, but she was afraid Yūto would be upset, so she could only endure her embarrassment and keep them safe for him.
Those drafts were still sitting safely in the drawer of Yūto's desk at home.
After his shock passed, a question suddenly occurred to Yūto. He had been so badly injured before-which expert had saved him?
So he turned to Tsukimi and asked:
"Senior Tsukimi..."
Before he could finish, Tsukimi interrupted him, sounding a little displeased. "Idiot, why are you being so formal? Just call me by my name."
Tsukimi turned her head slightly, avoiding Yūto's eyes. "For example, you could... you could call me Tsukimi-chan..."
"All right, Tsukimi..."
Tsukimi puffed up her cheeks and glared at him. This clueless guy! How obvious did she have to make it before he understood?!
"Tsukimi, who exactly treated me? I felt like I was about to die back then."
Tsukimi was just about to speak when the hospital room door opened from outside, and someone familiar to Yūto appeared.
"Yūto-kun, seeing you awake puts my mind at ease."
The newcomer was Yakushi Nonō, carrying an insulated lunch box. She had come specifically to bring Tsukimi a meal; after all, Tsukimi was her patient now too.
Besides, Tsukimi had stubbornly stayed beside Yūto, refusing to leave at all. Nonō was afraid she would go hungry because of it, so she brought food at every mealtime.
Yūto should have realized sooner. Nonō must have been the one who saved him.
In his previous life, he had heard it said that Yakushi Nonō's skill in Medical Ninjutsu was second only to Tsunade's.
If not for the orphanage's lack of funds, she would have become a rich woman long ago.
Even now, she still lived in poverty.
Yūto believed, however, that her impoverished life must have started after she reached adulthood. Otherwise, that swaying could never have been so breathtaking.
Raising the little bedside table, Nonō placed the insulated lunch box on it. "I didn't expect you to wake up so soon. I thought you wouldn't wake until tomorrow."
"I only brought enough food for one person, so you two will have to make do and share this meal."
"Once I finish work later, I'll go out and buy you some more food."
Hearing Nonō say this, Tsukimi hurriedly waved her hands. She already owed Nonō an enormous favor for saving Yūto's life. How could she possibly let Nonō buy them more food?
"Doctor Nonō, please don't trouble yourself. I'm not hungry yet. Just let Yūto have this food."
Afraid Nonō would insist on buying more, Tsukimi quickly opened the insulated lunch box, picked up the chopsticks, and began pushing food into Yūto's mouth.
What could Yūto do? He could only obediently open his mouth and eat.
His entire body was wrapped in bandages now, and the slightest movement sent unbearable pain through him.
After chewing a couple of times, Yūto immediately frowned.
"Big Sis Nonō, don't buy food from that place next time. This tastes awful."
"If I could sit up right now, I'd definitely spit it out."
At his words, several large throbbing veins appeared on Nonō's forehead.
"I'm terribly sorry my cooking doesn't suit your palate, Lord Yūto!"
Before you continue