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Itachi hurried to the medical department, asking if a child had been brought in injured. The response he received was that Lady Tsunade was currently performing surgery on the child.
Upon hearing this, Itachi immediately knew the injured child was Naruto.
An ordinary child's injuries wouldn't warrant the attention of a medical ninja of Tsunade's caliber. Her involvement could only mean two things: First, Naruto held a special position in the village—he was the orphaned son of the Fourth Hokage. No matter how one looked at it, the village would prioritize ensuring his survival.
The second reason, perhaps even more critical, was the Nine-Tails sealed within Naruto. If Naruto were to die, the chaos of the "Nine-Tails' Rampage" might repeat itself. Even if it didn't, the village would struggle to find a suitable replacement jinchūriki in a short time.
All these factors forced Tsunade to take Naruto's injuries seriously.
In this regard, Itachi and Tsunade shared the same hope—neither wanted Naruto's life to be in danger.
On one hand, Itachi didn't want to see another "Nine-Tails' Rampage." On the other, Naruto might have witnessed the person who had taken Sasuke—something Itachi cared deeply about now.
He had initially expected the surgery to last only an hour or two, but it dragged on until dawn before an exhausted Tsunade finally emerged from the operating room.
During that time, Fugaku Uchiha had also stopped by.
Just one night had passed, yet Itachi could clearly see the weariness etched into his father's face.
Despite his usual strictness toward Sasuke, Fugaku was no less devastated by his disappearance.
After briefly patting Itachi's shoulder and muttering, "I'll leave this to you," Fugaku left the medical department.
The previous day had been filled with inexplicable events—the Chunin Exams being interrupted, Sasuke's abduction, the burning of Danzo's residence—all of which left Fugaku physically and mentally drained.
Itachi understood his father's feelings. He wished he could be the one drowning in work, letting exhaustion numb his mind so he wouldn't have the energy to dwell on Sasuke's fate. But he couldn't afford to lose himself in confusion.
He wanted to save his brother.
Itachi waited anxiously outside the operating room until Tsunade finally appeared.
When Tsunade saw Itachi, she paused in surprise before turning to glance back at the operating room, where medical staff were preparing to wheel Naruto out.
"Lady Tsunade," Itachi bowed deeply. "How is Naruto?"
"He'll live," Tsunade licked her lips.
After a night of intense work, a flask of sake would have been nice.
"Do you drink?" she asked.
Itachi shook his head.
He didn't drink, and right now, he had no mood for it.
"Don't be so rigid. There might come a time when you wish you could drink, but won't have the chance," Tsunade sighed.
"Lady Tsunade, I—"
"I know why you're here. My advice is to wait until he wakes up. But don't get your hopes up too much."
"Why?"
"You have to consider the possibility of memory loss. A child witnessing death is traumatic enough, let alone being severely injured himself…" Tsunade stuffed her hands into the pockets of her white coat and walked past Itachi. "If you want to know more, bring some sake to my place."
"You know something?" Itachi pressed.
"I know nothing. But I suspect someone else does."
"Who?" Itachi asked urgently.
Tsunade waved her hand dismissively and said nothing more.
Itachi scratched his head.
Sake? Should he bring snacks too?
His mind was a mess.
If possible, he wanted to find out Sasuke's whereabouts immediately.
With a flask of sake and a tender roasted chicken in hand, Itachi knocked on Tsunade's door, only to find her cheeks slightly flushed, the strong scent of alcohol clinging to her.
"Good… come in," Tsunade led him into the living room.
Itachi set the sake and chicken on the table, then noticed Shizune lying unconscious in the corner.
"Is she… alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. Just exhausted. And after being locked in a dungeon for so long, her eyes need time to adjust to the outside world… That bastard was too rough." Tsunade clenched her fist.
Whether it was throwing Shizune into a dungeon or dragging her straight to the Forest of Death, Orochimaru's methods were nothing short of brutal.
"I envy her…" Itachi murmured.
It sounded strange, but to Itachi, despite everything Shizune had suffered, she had at least survived. Meanwhile, Sasuke's fate remained unknown.
The thought made his heart ache even more.
To locate Shizune, the village had mobilized all available resources, yet they had found nothing. Had she not suddenly appeared in the Forest of Death, Tsunade might never have discovered her whereabouts before it was too late.
Thinking of Sasuke's situation in the same light filled Itachi with despair.
"She almost died too, if not for someone saving her," Tsunade poured sake into a cup.
"Someone saved her? Who?" Itachi asked quickly.
"You really forgot? When you fought Orochimaru, there was a masked man guiding you, wasn't there?"
"Wait—you're saying Orochimaru was the one who imprisoned Shizune?" Itachi's eyes widened.
"Yes. And the one who saved her was that masked man."
"But why would he save Shizune?" Itachi frowned.
"Who knows? But do you know who that masked man is?" Tsunade countered.
Itachi shook his head.
"Asachi Midorima."
"What?!" Itachi was stunned.
He had been searching for Midorima's whereabouts, but it had never crossed his mind that he was still in Konoha.
"That's right. If you're willing to wait, he might show up," Tsunade explained.
"He'll come here?" Itachi asked.
"I think so," Tsunade nodded.
"But what does this have to do with Sasuke?" Itachi pressed.
"I don't know. But if Orochimaru is involved, Midorima might know something. What do you think?" Tsunade poured another cup. "By the way, Shizune told me some things about Midorima. Interested in hearing them?"
With Sasuke's whereabouts still unknown, Itachi struggled to focus. But with no other leads—and even Naruto still unconscious—he had no choice but to listen as Tsunade recounted Shizune's experience in the Forest of Death.
"So, after the ninja chasing them appeared, Shizune and Midorima separated?" Itachi asked.
"Yes."
"Then how can you be sure he'll come?"
"A guess. After his fallout with Orochimaru, he can't stay with him. And given Konoha's current state, unless he has a way to leave, finding a safe place won't be easy," Tsunade reasoned.
Just then, the window burst open as a figure leaped inside.
Tsunade turned, her drowsy eyes sharpening at the sight of the intruder.
"See? What did I tell you? Asachi Midorima—he came, didn't he?"
Midorima blinked.
He had come to see Tsunade. Why was Itachi here?
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