Upon arriving at the frontline patrol zone, Umino Yoru and Tsunade quickly located Senju Nawaki using sonic radar jutsu.
Nawaki lay on his back in the mud, his posture like that of a sleeping child. His body was still faintly warm, but the explosion tag had torn through his dark green flak jacket, leaving his abdomen completely hollowed out.
"Nawaki!"
Tsunade immediately pressed her palm firmly against Nawaki's chest. At the same time, she summoned a human-sized slug clone in an attempt to heal his wounds.
But then—
"This—"
Tsunade finally realized something was wrong. Beneath the shattered ribcage, his abdominal cavity was empty.
Nawaki's internal organs had been precisely removed. The enemy had even used medical ninjutsu to maintain his blood circulation, ensuring he remained conscious until the moment of death.
"Who did this?!"
Orochimaru, seeing his student endure such agony—his organs excavated while still alive—felt endless killing intent surge in his golden, serpentine eyes.
**"Strength of a Hundred Seal… Release!"**
The purple diamond mark on Tsunade's forehead unfurled, its intricate patterns spreading across her entire body. A torrent of emerald-green chakra erupted, forming a cocoon of light around Nawaki.
Yet, when the healing energy touched the hollow cavity, though it stimulated cell regeneration, it couldn't restore fully functional organs. Nawaki's vital systems had been completely destroyed.
Tsunade suddenly gagged violently, her fingers digging deep into the bloody cavity in Nawaki's chest. Shreds of viscera oozed between her fingers.
As the last warmth faded from Nawaki's body, Tsunade felt something in his stiffened left hand—half of a melted, honey-glazed energy bar. It was the battlefield ration she had secretly slipped into his pouch that morning before his mission.
"It's useless. Stop."
Orochimaru, seeing Tsunade exhausting her own life force in a futile attempt, moved to intervene.
"Shut up!"
Tsunade roared, slamming her fist into the ground. Spiderweb cracks split the earth, stretching all the way to a cliff ten meters away.
Even knowing it was hopeless, she refused to accept the reality of losing Nawaki.
"Let me try."
Umino Yoru, having summoned six shadow clones using Samehada's power, stepped forward. Seeing Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal fail, he volunteered to treat Nawaki.
"Yoru… you can save him, right? Please—you have to save him!"
Tsunade grabbed him with bone-crushing force. Even if the chance was slim, she clung to that hope—even if it was a lie, she needed to believe it.
"Soul-Sealing Technique!"
Umino Yoru swiftly formed hand signs and pressed them against Nawaki's forehead, sealing his soul to buy time for treatment.
"Orochimaru, we're going to my lab."
"Flying Thunder God Technique?"
Orochimaru recognized the spatial formation formed by the surrounding shadow clones.
By the time Sakumo and reinforcements arrived, a ripple of space distorted—
And in an instant, Umino Yoru, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Nawaki's body vanished, reappearing thousands of miles away in the Land of Waves.
"Hiruzen, prepare the spare organs—now!"
The moment they arrived at Laboratory No. 3, Umino Yoru ordered Hiruzen to transplant the highest-quality backup organs into Nawaki.
Though organ transplantation was still experimental, with Tsunade and the slug's assistance, a rough transplant was feasible. Speed was critical—they had to act before Nawaki's cells fully deteriorated. Fortunately, his Senju lineage granted him resilient vitality, and his condition was still stable.
The spare organs, cultivated from White Zetsu cells, had high compatibility. Keeping Nawaki alive—for now—was possible.
This prosthetics lab had originally been established to aid injured Umino squad members. But before its intended use, it had already served an unexpected purpose.
The transplant succeeded. While Hiruzen handled the heart, Tsunade rapidly replaced the other organs.
**"Soul-Sealing Technique… Release!"**
Umino Yoru pressed his hands to Nawaki's forehead, undoing the seal. "Tsunade, now—cardiac stimulation!"
Tsunade's hand plunged into Nawaki's abdomen, gripping his heart like an artificial pacemaker, jumpstarting its rhythm.
As blood transfusions flowed and electrical stimulators activated his nerves, Nawaki stirred—as if awakening from suspended death.
"Nawaki!"
Tears of relief streamed down Tsunade's face.
"Sis… wasn't I dead? Cough—"
"Don't say that! I'll never let you leave me."
She held him tightly, as if he might vanish at any moment.
"Nawaki, tell me—who took your organs?"
"It was—"
He hesitated, then forced a weak smile. "The Hidden Stone."
"Don't lie to me!"
Tsunade knew him too well. Despite his newfound maturity, he couldn't deceive her.
"Sis… just drop it." His voice was frail. "Injuries come with the job. Don't worry."
"They kept you awake while carving you open!" Her rage flared anew. "I will make them pay!"
But Nawaki stayed silent, as if burdened by something unspeakable.
Orochimaru's slit pupils gleamed with realization.
Umino Yoru, observing this, swapped the IV bags. "Nawaki needs rest. Tsunade, prepare anti-rejection meds with Hiruzen."
Once she left, Orochimaru's voice turned icy.
"Nawaki… it was someone from our village, wasn't it?"
"How did you know, Sensei?"
Nawaki's shock confirmed it.
"As I thought."
Orochimaru and Umino Yoru exchanged a glance. They had suspected as much—only Tsunade, unwilling to believe her own village capable of this, had been blind to the truth.