Konoha Hospital, located on the east side of the village, sits right next to the residential quarters of past Hokages and the Konoha News Building. Just one wall separates it from Konoha's Ninja Cemetery.
Third floor, Orthopedic Ward.
This is a two-person premium ward. Might Duy lies on the bed nearest the door, receiving IV treatment with one leg suspended in traction, completely immobilized.
The aftermath of the Eight Gates has left him with widespread fractures throughout his body. Although Heiyan has already healed the external wounds, internal injuries can't be rushed — they must heal gradually over time.
It takes a hundred days for bones to heal properly.
Might Duy trains relentlessly in Taijutsu all year round, building a physique that's far beyond that of an average person. Still, optimistically speaking, he needs at least one month to recover.
When boredom strikes—
"Knock knock!"
Two crisp knocks echo through the room. Immediately showing a delighted expression, Might watches as Maruboshi Kosuke and Heiyan enter together to visit him.
They didn't come empty-handed either, carrying lots of items in their hands — steaming bone soup, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, milk, and various nutritional supplements.
"Heiyan... Senior Kosuke..."
Might feels his nose tingling, tears welling up easily in his expressive eyes.
What a wonderful feeling — having friends.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Kosuke lets out a soft exclamation, directing his surprised gaze toward the other hospital bed by the window.
A figure lies sideways on that bed, facing away from the three visitors.
At 185cm tall, Might already qualifies as extremely tall. But this person dwarfs even Might — standing at least 190cm high, his massive frame barely fitting onto the hospital cot.
Besides his physique, this man's most striking feature remains his thick, long white hair, resembling a lion's wild mane.
"Jiraiya-sama?"
Maruboshi Kosuke cautiously calls out.
He'd once completed missions with Jiraiya. As the student of the Third Hokage, the latter had impressed Kosuke deeply — both for his bold, unrestrained personality, and his immense power.
Still, after Kosuke spoke, the figure remained motionless, seemingly asleep.
Kosuke quietly steps forward, deciding to walk closer for a better look at this person's face.
"Cough cough..."
Just then, the giant let out two dramatic coughs, then slowly turned over on his bed, revealing an awkward and sheepish look.
Underneath his eyes run two prominent red markings — unmistakably visible.
It truly is Jiraiya.
"Kosuke, so it's you. Long time no see."
Jiraiya forces a weak smile, though the act backfires immediately. The movement strains his injuries, causing him to grimace painfully — his attempt at a smile twisted into something more pained than cheerful.
"Jiraiya-sama, what exactly happened to you?"
After clearly seeing Jiraiya's injuries, Kosuke's expression turns deeply shocked.
Might's wounds already qualify as severe. Yet compared to Might, Jiraiya's condition proves even worse.
At minimum, six ribs fracture, along with both wrists broken. A large surgical scar marks his chest — clearly indicating serious internal organ damage.
"Sigh... During a top-secret S-rank mission earlier, I got ambushed and injured by enemies."
Jiraiya sighs heavily, his brows furrowing with lingering fear.
"A powerful enemy, is it..."
Kosuke sighed upon hearing that, instinctively recalling Sanshobo Hanzo.
Heiyan stood quietly nearby, listening to their conversation. A barely noticeable frown flickered across his face.
According to the original canon, Jiraiya had completed 138 S-rank missions and 614 A-rank missions throughout his life. If lower-ranked missions were included, the total approached an astonishing 2,000 missions.
One could say most of Jiraiya's life was spent either carrying out missions or traveling toward mission locations—a true workhorse of the ninja world, a mission-obsessed maniac.
From this perspective, it wasn't surprising he had sustained severe injuries while performing dangerous tasks.
However, Heiyan clearly remembered something from the original storyline:
Jiraiya himself once said he'd only come close to dying twice in his life. The second was when he was struck in the chest by Naruto while he was transformed into the Four-Tails. The first happened during his youth—when he got caught peeping into the women's bath and received a full-power punch from Tsunade with her monstrous strength.
So... Was this battered condition of Jiraiya actually caused by Tsunade?
A sudden realization struck Heiyan.
At this moment, a familiar image surfaced in his mind—a beautiful, approachable older sister-type figure with a stunning figure and long blonde hair, a dedicated doctor.
Heiyan almost forgot about Tsunade's other side—how violently terrifying she could be.
"Gu-gu..."
The smell of delicious bone soup drifted in from the next room, and Jiraiya's stomach rumbled loudly.
Sigh... What a lonely guy I am. Not even a single visitor.
This thought crossed his mind.
Creak!
Just then, the infirmary door opened again, as a young man with long black hair entered holding a lunchbox.
Dressed in a purple-collared coat over black mesh undergarments, his pale face featured golden snake-like pupils, purple eyeshadow extending to his nose wings, plus a pair of light-blue earrings shaped like magatama. His whole appearance exuded a sinister aura.
"Orochimaru!"
Though feeling down, Jiraiya lifted his head and saw his friend, eyes immediately lighting up.
"Jiraiya, Tsunade asked me to visit you on her behalf. Though she didn't say anything outright, she seemed quite apologetic..."
Placing the lunchbox beside Jiraiya's bed, Orochimaru's serpentine eyes carried subtle mockery.
"Cough-cough."
Jiraiya quickly coughed twice, interrupting Orochimaru, looking embarrassed and uneasy.
Actually, he felt incredibly frustrated inside—getting beaten up by Tsunade was bad enough; worse still, he hadn't even gotten a peek—what a shame.
"Oh? So this is Young Master Heiyan?"
Orochimaru noticed Heiyan, showing interest. "Tsunade told me she healed your illness. Must say, you really resemble the Second Hokage."
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was Orochimaru's idol. For this reason alone, he naturally felt some goodwill toward Heiyan despite their first meeting.
Hearing this, Heiyan politely and modestly responded with appropriate words, accepting Orochimaru's compliment.
Meanwhile, he subtly scrutinized the newcomer in return.
Orochimaru, in his youth, had not yet become psychologically twisted nor engaged in cruel human experiments. At this time, he was the Third Hokage's most favored disciple and held great prestige and reputation within the village.
A few minutes later.
After reminding the two patients to rest well, Master-Apprentice duo Kosuke Maruboshi and Heiyan, along with Orochimaru, left the ward one after another.
"Hey, how did you end up like this? Who injured you?" Jiraiya casually asked while glancing at Might Duy's injuries.
Upon hearing this, Might Duy scratched his head hesitantly. "Uh… I just overtrained during my taijutsu practice and accidentally damaged my body."
He didn't bring up his fight with Hanzo—the matter they'd all agreed to keep quiet. After all, no one would believe that three Konoha genin could actually hold their own against a semi-godlike figure in the ninja world; they would only be ridiculed for bragging.
As for Hanzo himself, upon returning to Amegakure, there was no way he would publicize what happened. Defeating Hanzo's Shadow Clone wasn't exactly something honorable for him.
"You're *something*, all right," Jiraiya remarked sarcastically but didn't press further.
So, these two patients chatted on and off, gradually becoming friends.
Back in Konoha, Heiyan's life once again settled into peace.
Two weeks passed like this.
Spring faded into summer.
One evening in summer, red clouds blazed across the sky as a cool breeze whispered gently through the air.
Deep in the forest behind Konoha's hills, two figures were practicing ninjutsu. The setting sun stretched their shadows long across the ground.
"Heiyan, ready?" Kosuke Maruboshi asked.
"Ready." Heiyan nodded solemnly, his expression serious.
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