"It's nothing. You and Nawaki will surely get along even better in the future."
Orochimaru teased the young woman.
"Teacher~"
Misaki hadn't expected she'd get dragged into this too. She lightly stamped her foot, her face flushing red with embarrassment.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop."
Orochimaru grinned happily, his typically gloomy demeanor noticeably softening in Misaki's presence.
The two resumed their busy work, and Orochimaru was nearly done.
"That's it already?"
Kawaki watched as Tsunade finished the procedure surprisingly quickly, taken aback.
He couldn't recall hospital checkups ever being this quick before.
"You wouldn't know,"
Tsunade shot him a look dripping with disdain for "country bumpkins."
"Who are you looking down on?"
"I— I just think we shouldn't be careless."
Kawaki offered a flimsy excuse; even with his head upside down, he knew Tsunade wouldn't gamble with her life.
"Just go chill somewhere else."
Tsunade didn't feel like replying further and quietly waited for the machine results.
If it weren't for the sake of experimental rigor, she honestly wouldn't have bothered with the checkup at all.
Nobody understood her body condition better than herself.
Truthfully, there wasn't a thing wrong with her.
Except since giving birth, she always felt like her chest had grown again.
She couldn't tell if it was real or just in her head.
"How long do we have to wait?"
Kawaki asked casually, grabbing a chair and sitting down with his legs crossed.
"Quickly. Don't talk so much."
Tsunade found his easygoing attitude amusing.
"As you wish."
Kawaki raised his eyebrows and cheerfully agreed.
Not long after, the blood report printed out.
Tsunade walked over, skimmed through several key data points, then relaxed.
Everything was perfectly normal.
"Let's go."
Without even glancing at Kawaki, Tsunade walked toward the door.
"I'm done. Do you want to wait a bit longer or…?"
Orochimaru noticed Tsunade emerge but didn't even bother asking about the results.
"Start directly."
Tsunade had no intention of delaying and placed the blood report aside as she headed straight toward the operating room.
It was the same operating room that Kawaki had used last time, making her only its second user.
"Got it."
Orochimaru nodded without any surprise.
That was exactly how he remembered Tsunade.
He signaled Misaki with a glance, and the young assistant followed Tsunade inside.
Changing clothes and all that—going in just wouldn't be appropriate.
Otherwise, Kawaki might kill him on the spot.
Only after Tsunade disappeared from sight did Kawaki approach Orochimaru.
"Do you have confidence?"
Kawaki dropped the smile from earlier, his tone unreadable—neither clearly nervous nor serious.
At that moment, he just wanted a little reassurance.
"Honestly speaking, there's no hundred percent certainty."
"But as both your brother and husband, trust me and Tsunade."
Orochimaru completely understood Kawaki's feelings and heavily patted his shoulder.
If it were Pakura on the table, he doubted he'd be handling things any better than Kawaki was.
"I understand."
Kawaki replied, then adjusted his emotions and forced a smile onto his face.
"That smile's fake. Try again."
Orochimaru glanced and offered his assessment.
"Like this."
Kawaki abruptly rubbed his face, smirking again.
"Mm, this one feels much more natural."
As soon as Orochimaru finished speaking, the door to the operating room opened.
"Teacher, I can come in now for the injection."
Misaki poked her head in slightly and spoke softly.
"Alright, coming right away."
Picking up the tray containing the syringes, Orochimaru started walking forward with Kawaki close behind.
"Don't worry, I'm quite confident about this fusion result."
As they walked, Orochimaru murmured under his breath.
That's as far as he could go; what happened next was entirely up to Tsunade.
"Mm, I have confidence in you guys."
At this point, Kawaki had no other choice.
Given his successful trial and meticulous in vivo experiments,
as long as nothing unexpected occurred, the outcome would surely be good.
Thinking of this, Kawaki steadied his mind once more.
"Enough stalling already; I was almost asleep."
Tsunade lay on the operating table, wearing surgical attire.
Her expression showed neither sorrow nor joy, betraying no emotion.
As for what she truly felt beneath, only she could know.
"Well, aren't we here now?"
Kawaki leapt past Orochimaru and arrived beside Tsunade. Wires connecting to medical instruments were already attached to her body.
Naruto: Starting from Pursuing Tsunade — Please Bookmark: (m.