Inside the special care ward of Konoha Hospital, the early morning sunlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, sliced into fine, shimmering golden threads that danced upon the pristine white bedding.
Kana Uzumaki slowly opened her eyes.
What met her gaze was no longer the dark, damp cell of the Grass Village, filled with the stench of mold and blood, nor the faces of ghouls who bared their fangs in greed.
The air was filled with a faint scent of disinfectant, mixed with the delicate fragrance of gardenias drifting in from outside.
She flinched instinctively, her body curling into a ball as she wrapped her arms around her chest—the place where the bite marks were most dense.
"Awake?"
A gentle, resonant male voice reached her ears.
Kana turned her head in fear. Sitting beside the bed was a young blonde man draped in a white Hokage Cloak. He was holding a bowl of warm white porridge, his eyes as clear as a pristine, undisturbed lake.
Standing beside him was a blonde woman with her arms crossed, watching her with deep concern.
"Where... where is..."
Kana's voice was hoarse. The moment she spoke, her throat felt as if it were being scorched by fire.
"Konoha Hospital."
Minato Namikaze set the porridge bowl down and gently tucked the corners of her quilt. He didn't make any sudden movements to touch her body. "Rest assured, there are no Grass Shinobi here. No one will hurt you or Karin ever again."
At the mention of Karin's name, a spark of light instantly ignited in Kana's dull eyes. She struggled to sit up, only to fall back heavily against the pillow due to her extreme weakness.
"Karin... my child..."
"She's fine."
Tsunade stepped forward and pressed down on Kana's shoulder, her palm glowing with a soft, green Medical Ninjutsu. "She's in the room next door. That child is recovering faster than you are and is sleeping soundly. If you move around and reopen those newly healed wounds, you'll only be causing her more trouble."
Kana felt the warmth radiating from her shoulder. 'That's medical ninjutsu!'
Tears fell from the corners of her eyes without warning.
"Thank you... thank you so much..."
Kana choked up, attempting to rise and bow, but Minato gently held her down.
"There is no need to thank us."
Minato shook his head, his face—usually adorned with a warm smile—now clouded with a trace of undeniable guilt. "Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan have been allies for generations. The crest on your back is the same one on the back of our Konoha Chunin vests. We arrived too late, and for that, I am sorry you had to suffer for so many years."
"Allies..."
Kana murmured to herself. That word felt so distant to her.
During those years in the Grass Village, she had almost forgotten she was a descendant of a prestigious clan; she only remembered being a 'blood bag' who could be sacrificed at any moment.
"Furthermore, there are other members of your clan in this village."
Minato looked at Kana and softly dropped a bombshell. "Kushina Uzumaki. She is my wife, and also the current Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Once she heard news of you, she tried to rush in several times to see you. But because you were too weak, Lady Tsunade kept her away, fearing you might become over-excited."
"Lady Kushina?!"
An unnatural flush appeared on Kana's pale face.
To the Uzumaki survivors scattered across the world, that name represented kinship, a final home, and dignity.
"Is she... is she really here?"
"She's been pacing around the hallway nearby,"
Tsunade interjected, her tone laced with a hint of exasperation. "That girl is impatient. Once your spirit is a bit better tomorrow, I'll arrange for you to meet. For now, you need rest and food."
Minato picked up the porridge bowl, scooped a spoonful, and held it to Kana's lips with a sincere gaze. "Eat something. For Karin's sake, you must survive."
Kana looked at the spoonful of porridge, then at the sunny man in the Hokage Cloak.
In the Grass Village, no one had ever treated her this way.
She opened her mouth and swallowed the porridge along with her tears.
It was the sweetest thing she had ever tasted in her life.
...
Ten minutes later, the door to the ward was gently closed.
In the corridor, the warm atmosphere vanished instantly.
The smile on Minato's face retracted, replaced by the solemnity befitting a Hokage.
He looked at Tsunade beside him and asked in a low voice, "What is the specific situation?"
Tsunade leaned against the wall, rubbing her brow irritably with a sigh. "Her life is saved, and her external injuries will heal. But her lifespan... it might be significantly impacted."
"What do you mean?"
"Overdrawn life force."
Tsunade gestured in the air. "The vitality of the Uzumaki is indeed tenacious, but even they cannot withstand years of being repeatedly bitten and drained of chakra by those beasts in the Grass Village. Combined with long-term malnutrition and mental torture, her life force has long since been depleted."
"Though we've pulled her back from the brink, her lifespan..."
Tsunade paused, her voice turning low. "I'm afraid it has been cut by more than half. Without special intervention, she will likely only live to be forty, and she will spend the rest of her life plagued by illness."
Minato fell silent.
He thought of the skeletal woman in the ward and the light that lit up in her eyes when she heard Kushina's name.
"Is there a way to cure her?" Minato asked. "No matter what medicinal ingredients or forbidden techniques are required."
"Conventional medical ninjutsu won't work."
Tsunade shook her head, her gaze burning as she stared at Minato. "To compensate for lost life force, she needs an extremely massive and active source of life energy to stimulate her own cells into self-repair."
"For example..."
Tsunade lowered her voice. "The Sage Chakra of Shikkotsu Forest, or... the chakra of that fox."
Minato rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra is indeed violent, but it does contain an astonishing amount of life force. If it's filtered using sealing jutsu..."
Minato's eyes lit up. "I understand. I will arrange this. Once her condition stabilizes a bit, I'll try to use sealing techniques to guide the Nine-Tails' chakra to nourish her body."
"I believe Kushina will be more than willing."
"That's good then."
Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief. "As long as the life force issue is solved, the rest is just a matter of time."
With the business concluded, Minato straightened his Hokage Cloak, and that spring-breeze smile returned to his face.
"Well then, thank you for your hard work, Lady Tsunade."
Minato looked at her, his tone suddenly shifting. "Also, I should congratulate you."
"Congratulate me?"
Tsunade blinked, looking utterly bewildered. "For what? If you're congratulating me for losing every penny at the gambling den earlier, then don't bother."
"No."
Minato pointed at Tsunade's hands, then at the closed door of the operating room behind them, his voice carrying a deeper meaning. "I am congratulating you... on your recovery from hemophobia."
The expression on Tsunade's face instantly froze.
She instinctively looked down at her hands.
Those hands were fair and slender. Although she had just washed them, only a week ago, these same hands had been repeatedly soaked in Kana Uzumaki's blood while performing surgery on that riddled body.
At that time... the smell of blood... the crimson liquid...
Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly as memories came rushing back like a tide.
At the time, her mind had been filled with nothing but rage—hatred for the atrocities of the Grass Village and pity for that poor mother.
Driven by that intense emotion, she had actually forgotten her fear entirely.
She had rushed into the operating room, picked up the scalpel, cut into the skin, and stopped the gushing blood.
During that entire process, her hemophobia had not triggered once!
"I..."
Tsunade opened her mouth, her voice a bit dry.
She looked at her hands as if recognizing them for the first time.
The inner demon that had plagued her for so many years, that had made her run away for so long, and had even cost her her sanity...
Had it actually been broken without her even noticing?
"Sometimes, anger is also a form of medicine,"
Minato said softly. "When the will to protect someone surpasses one's fear, the inner demons naturally crumble. Lady Tsunade, welcome back. Konoha's Medical Department cannot do without you."
After speaking, Minato gave a slight bow and turned to walk toward the end of the corridor.
There, the purple toad, Gamakon, was squatting on the windowsill waiting for him.
Tsunade stood alone in the corridor, staring blankly at her palms.
After a long while, the corners of her mouth curled upward, forming a look of relief mixed with a touch of self-deprecation.
"That brat... it's not your place to lecture me yet."