Much to her surprise, Sakura woke up with the sunrise the following day.
Overnight, she had regained the ability to detect light, much like the humble slug… but seeing as her eyes had already made some progress, she decided to pay a visit to Lady Tsunade before she unilaterally stripped her of her shinobi licence for refusing to swap out her eyes as if they were lightbulbs.
"You were almost completely blind yesterday, but your eyes are much more responsive today," said Lady Tsunade in disbelief, flashing a light in Sakura's eyes. "I can't believe it. Medically speaking, this shouldn't even be possible; even my Creation Rebirth's true regeneration shouldn't be able to fix this type of damage."
Though certain parts of the human eye possessed a surprising knack for regeneration, the same could not be said of the cells of the nervous system. For an Iryō-nin, reattaching nerves was certainly challenging, but not impossible… but this was something else. Once destroyed, a human being's retina's photoreceptive rods and colour-sensing cones could never be restored!
"Maybe I'm just built differently," Sakura said modestly. "So, about that operation…"
"Fine, I won't force you if you don't want to," Tsunade sighed. "But I'll be keeping a close eye on your progress. If things keep improving, you can return to field missions once you've passed an eye test."
Sakura cheerfully stepped out of the Hokage Residence's examination room, placing a Mini‑Katsuyu on her shoulder as her seeing‑eye slug, but she barely made it through the doorway before colliding head‑on with Ino… or rather, boob-on, since her bust preceded the rest of her by about twenty-five centimetres.
The flat-chested girl's bony ribcage sank a few centimetres into Sakura's chest before the latter's breasts sprang back with a vengeance like coiled springs, sending Ino toppling onto her backside. Ino massaged her aching butt, grumbling to herself in annoyance.
"Oops, sorry," Sakura said sheepishly, extending a helping hand. "Did I knock you over? I didn't see you, there…"
"Oh, if it isn't Ino," called Tsunade from the examination room at Sakura's back. "How's your cousin?"
"It took all night, but Inoko‑chan gave birth to a healthy baby boy this morning," Ino said with a yawn, taking Sakura's proffered hand as she hauled herself to her feet. "I just came by to tell Lady Tsunade in person that I'd like to cancel today's medical ninjutsu lesson, I'm too tired to concentrate…"
Lady Tsunade waved her off.
"Take the day off, you deserve it," Tsunade said. "You too, Sakura, you need to rest your eyes."
Sakura and Ino bowed slightly and took their leave, leaving Tsunade to her own devices in the examination room. However, Sakura had no intention of going home just yet. It just so happened that she wanted to speak with Shikamaru, and Ino was bound to know where he was, therefore skipping the need to go looking for him!
"So, er… congratulations are in order, I suppose!" said Sakura brightly, searching for something to say. "A new Yamanaka clan member, eh?"
"What happened to your eyes?" Ino said bluntly, ignoring Sakura's congratulations. "Maybe I should think up a new nickname for you… You've already been Billboard Brow and Dairy Cow, so how about…" she snapped her fingers and clapped her hands excitedly. "How about Fish-Head Soup?"
Personally, Sakura couldn't quite see the appeal of having her soup stare back at her while she ate it. It really was quite freaky.
"Ha-ha, very funny," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "By the way, I was wondering if…"
"Wait, I've got an idea!" Ino exclaimed. "You said that to give me my breasts back, you needed to master that Breast Flow thingy, didn't you?"
Sakura nodded.
"And to do that, you need to experience motherhood, right?"
Sakura nodded again. She could see where this was going…
"So why don't you and my cousin switch bodies?" Ino said, eyes bright with excitement. "That way, you could see what it's like to be a mother without having to get a bun in the oven!"
"But Ino," Sakura said innocently. "I don't know the Mind Body Switch Jutsu…"
It was Ino's turn to roll her eyes.
"Oh, come off it, who do you think you're fooling?" she scoffed. "You had your Sharingan open when we were training for the Joint Suna-Konoha Chūnin Exams. Knowing you, I'd wager you recorded all my techniques, and Chōji's too, you smelly bitch."
Sakura grinned sheepishly.
Hiden Jutsu were exactly that: secret techniques. They weren't like Kekkei Genkai, which couldn't be copied no matter how skilled the observer. One only had to look to the Third Hokage, who had once pressured the heads of the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans into teaching him their arts, for an example of outsiders learning secret techniques. All so he could get the bragging rights to say he knew every single ninjutsu the village had to offer!
The only reason Hiden Jutsu weren't being disseminated like common techniques was the fact that they relied on specialised seals distinct from the twelve traditional ones; meaning their accompanying internal chakra circulation patterns were unknown… but the Sharingan could see right through those secrets.
During the Hidden Villages Era, the only reason the Uchiha didn't go bandying about the fact that they could use the Ino–Shika–Chō's techniques at will was because stealing the secrets of one's allies was considered far worse than a mere breach of etiquette.
Still, they weren't above using them in a pinch!
"Okay, you got me," Sakura sighed, throwing her hands in the air in surrender. "You won't tell anyone I copied your techniques if I do this for you, right? Promise? Because I never used your Hiden Jutsu, and technically, you're the one forcing my hand—"
"I won't tell on you, may I swallow a thousand needles if I break my word," Ino said solemnly, shaking Sakura's extended pinky finger with her own. "Now come on, let's go to the hospital! I want my breasts back!"