"Doctor, how is Toroi-sama's condition?"
A Kumogakure shinobi waiting anxiously outside the tent quickly stepped forward when he saw the medical ninja emerge.
"The patient is in critical condition. The venom has already infiltrated his kidneys. To save his life, we'll have to remove the contaminated kidney."
The medical ninja sighed and removed his mask, his face filled with hesitation.
"Then take it out already!"
The Kumogakure shinobi who had carried Toroi back immediately panicked upon seeing the doctor hesitate.
"I understand you're anxious, but calm down and listen to me first."
After calming the shinobi down, the medic finally explained the reason for his hesitation:
"We were indeed planning to do that. But right before we began the surgery, we discovered that Toroi-sama had already lost one of his kidneys in a previous battle. If we remove this one, he still won't survive for long."
The reminder brought back the memory of Toroi losing a kidney a few months ago to the shinobi.
"Then what do we do now?! Toroi-sama is one of the village's most valuable kekkei genkai users. If he dies, it will be a huge loss for the village!"
Understanding the importance of kekkei genkai to a hidden village, the shinobi grew increasingly agitated.
"We've already sent people to search among the dead for a suitable donor kidney. If we can find one, there's still hope for saving Toroi-sama. For now, we need to wait patiently."
The medical ninja shook his head slightly, then put his mask back on and prepared to return to the tent.
"Then use mine!"
Hearing that a kidney transplant could save Toroi, the shinobi's eyes lit up and he quickly grabbed the doctor's arm.
The medical ninja turned and examined him carefully, then asked the critical question:
"Are you a Magnet Release user?"
"You can't donate a kidney unless you use Magnet Release?"
The shinobi blinked his not-so-bright eyes and questioned in return.
"Of course not. Kekkei genkai users are different from normal shinobi. Their chakra flow and distribution are innately different from ours. Once their internal organs are damaged, unless the medical ninja is extremely skilled, only organ transplants from fellow clan members can heal them."
"The poison in Toroi-sama's system is extremely hard to counter. It spreads quickly and has a high fatality rate. It was clearly crafted by a master."
The medical team had tried to develop an antidote for Toroi ever since his previous injury, analyzing the toxins in his body. But months had passed, and all they had managed was to identify the components—let alone perfect a formula. Creating an antidote was still out of reach.
This particular poison had been concocted by Nono, who had learned the technique from the medical specialist and spy Yamanaka Akira. Among her many espionage skills, poison crafting was her forte.
Across the entire Shinobi World, only Chiyo and Tsunade were capable of unraveling a poison made by her.
"Argh, damn it!"
The shinobi swung his fist at the air in frustration, trying to vent his anger.
The medical ninja, used to scenes like this, simply shook his head and returned to the tent.
...
Two days later, Toroi still died with unwillingness in his eyes.
With more elite jōnin falling in battle and the joint assault of Orochimaru and Jiraiya alongside Minato breaking through the defenses, the Kumogakure forces could no longer hold their ground. They retreated, abandoning the Land of Hot Water to Konoha.
Orochimaru and the others did not pursue them further. After all, any deeper advance would stretch their own supply lines too thin.
More importantly, the main force of Kirigakure had already landed in the Land of Fire.
Confirming that Kumogakure no longer posed an immediate threat, Hiruzen ordered Orochimaru to lead a unit of elite shinobi to reinforce the front against Kirigakure. The rest were placed under the command of Hyūga Hiashi, who led a new group of Hyūga branch family members to the battlefield.
Minato's team and Takeshi's group were granted a brief period of rest back in the village.
Upon returning to the long-missed Konohagakure, Takeshi didn't go to see Hiruzen. Instead, he went directly to the Root base.
After all, he had departed with a mission from Root, so it was only natural to report back to Danzō.
"Welcome back, Takeshi-sama."
As he entered the base, Takeshi exchanged greetings with the Root shinobi. However, he couldn't find any sign of Danzō—nor of Aburame Tatsuma.
"Already gone home at this hour?"
Scratching his head, Takeshi left Yamanaka Akira and Shimura Ikku at the base, then followed the underground passage back to his own home.
As he opened the hidden door and poked his head out, he was met with a pair of large, pitch-black eyes staring straight at him. The shock nearly caused him to slip and fall back down the tunnel.
"You..."
Terrified, Takeshi crawled out of the tunnel and finally got a good look at the owner of those eyes.
With long chestnut hair and wearing white clothing, the child looked no more than four or five years old. Their gender was unclear, and they stood quietly, curiously observing him.
"You are..."
Tilting his head as he studied the child, Takeshi couldn't shake the eerie feeling those black eyes gave him.
"Don't tell me... you're Old Man's second kid?!"
Suddenly struck by a thought, Takeshi pointed at the child in shock.
Mimicking Takeshi's gesture, the child also tilted their head and curiously asked in a soft, sweet voice:
"What does 'second kid' mean?"
Before Takeshi could answer, the sliding door was rudely thrown open, and Danzō appeared in the doorway.
"You ungrateful brat! What nonsense are you spouting now?!"
Seeing the dusty and travel-worn Takeshi, Danzō frowned and scolded him.
"Ahaha, so you're home, Dad! Hehehe..."
Seeing the real Old Man show up, Takeshi quickly put on a fawning smile and ran over to him, standing on tiptoe to give him a shoulder massage.
"Hmph, save that fake sincerity of yours. Take that act and go flatter Hiruzen instead."
Danzo closed his eyes as he spoke, but the relaxed expression on his face betrayed his true feelings.
"Come on, Dad, the Third is just my teacher. You're my real family."
Seeing that Danzo was only putting up a front, Takeshi—who had long since figured out his temperament after years of interaction—pressed the advantage, shamelessly piling on flattery until the old man was completely appeased.
"Alright, let's go to the living room."
Having enjoyed enough, Danzo didn't forget the main matter at hand. He gestured for Takeshi to follow him to the living room for a talk, and also called over the boy.
"You come too."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
Hearing Danzo call him, the boy followed behind, consciously keeping a respectful distance of one step from Takeshi.
...
Kneeling formally on the tatami mat and seeing the newfound determination in Takeshi's expression, Danzo nodded with satisfaction.
"Finally starting to look like a real shinobi."
"That's all thanks to your excellent teaching," Takeshi replied, continuing to pour on the praise.
"Alright, enough of that. You've actually done well lately. Not only did you severely injure the son of the Third Raikage, you also helped Orochimaru blow up Kumogakure's supply warehouse. You even took down the Magnet Release ninja, Toroi."
"In terms of strength alone, you're no weaker than some of the veteran jōnin in the village. But there are still issues in your fighting style. You rely too heavily on ninjutsu, and your thinking lacks flexibility. Most of your battles involve overwhelming your enemies with large-scale ninjutsu. While you've been able to dodge counterattacks thanks to your impressive speed, continuing like this will only lead to habitual patterns in combat."
Thanks to the report sent back by Shimura Ikku, even though Danzo hadn't seen it firsthand, he had a thorough grasp of Takeshi's fighting style.
"Take your fight with the young A for example. If I were you, with the cards you held, you could've easily finished him off completely."
Listening to Danzo, Takeshi nodded with absolute agreement on the surface—but inwardly, he couldn't help but grumble.
You've got so much combat experience, yet you couldn't even manage to stop Sasuke in the end.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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