As soon as Mitsuki and Chocho arrived at the hospital, the medics checked Chocho and tested the poison samples that Mitsuki collected with his snakes. Chocho's parent's got to the hospital and went to the waiting room strictly reserved for the families of patients in severe conditions. Mitsuki was sitting there, staring at the floor, and feeling useless while Chocho was fighting for her life. The Akimichis wondered what that young man was doing there.

Sakura came out of the room to give an update. "We are doing our best to slow down the spread of the poison. Unfortunately, we do not have an antidote for it. Our labs are working on it as we speak. We have less than 10 hours to find an antidote; otherwise, we will have to prepare for the worst. Chocho would not survive."

Sakura's diagnosis was like a knife to the heart of the Akimichis and Mitsuki. The Akimichis started crying for their inability to do something for their daughter. As a shinobi, Mitsuki had faced the death of many people. Sometimes he was indifferent, sometimes he was sad. However, thinking about the possibility of Chocho's death was painful. He felt an emptiness inside that made his chest hurt. He did not say anything and ran out of the hospital with tears coming down his eyes. It was the first time that Mitsuki had cried in his life. He did not even notice the tears since he was consumed by the news that he was hours away to lose Chocho.

After his exit, Sakura explained that it was Mitsuki who brought Chocho to the hospital and gave her the first aid. If it were not for him, Chocho would have been already dead.

Mitsuki made it to Orochimaru's hideout and brought with him a sample of the poison.

"Hey man, why are you so agitated? Calm down!" Suigetsu said, intrigued to see Mitsuki's eyes red and puffy as if he had cried.

"Where is my parent? It's urgent!"

Orochimaru made an appearance, "I am right here. What is the matter, my child? Why are you in distress?" Orochimaru had never seen Mitsuki in that estate.

Mitsuki explained the situation to Orochimaru and the limited time frame they had to find an antidote. Luckily for Mitsuki, Orochimaru enjoyed a challenge.

After 7 hours of agonizing wait, Orochimaru came up with an antidote. He said that it should work to stop the poison, but it would not heal Chocho's body. She will have to have other treatments for that. Mitsuki eagerly thanked Orochimaru and ran back to the Leaf hospital.

Orochimaru could see the relief in Mitsuki's eyes. He was beyond surprised by Mitsuki's behavior. In the past, Orochimaru had been fond of his teammates, Jiraiya and Tsunade, but if they were severely hurt in battle, he would not have hesitated to kill them to end their suffering. Mitsuki was in a state of anguish that he never expected from him.

Back at the hospital, Chocho's parents were inconsolable, staring at the clock. Mitsuki looked for Sakura and gave her Orochimaru's antidote. She was honest with Mitsuki and informed him that their lab had not made any progress. Sakura told him that she would analyze the antidote and then speak with the Akimichis to see if they consent to inject it. Mitsuki got upset and yelled at Sakura, "There is no time for that. This antidote will only stop the poison but will not heal her. She needs another treatment. The longer we take, the greater the damage."

"I have to follow the protocol, Mitsuki. I will speak with Chocho's parents as soon as we finish analyzing the antidote."

Mitsuki's face was so full of anger that reminded Sakura of Orochimaru in a battle to the point that gave her chills down her spine. Mitsuki went directly to speak with the Akimichis. "I am sorry for interrupting, but I have the antidote for Chocho. It needs to be injected as soon as possible to avoid more damage. Since my parent, Orochimaru, created it, Mrs. Sakura does not want to inject it before analyzing it."

Sakura did not want to inform Chocho's parents about the antidote to avoid giving them false hopes. "We have to analyze the antidote, Mitsuki. Chocho's parents would not consent to have a substance injected without being tested."

"Please consent to have the antidote injected. There is no time to test." Mitsuki said with teary eyes and anger. "Please, please, please… More than 8 hours have passed. There is no time for testing!"

Chocho's parents were surprised to learn Mitsuki was Orochimaru's son, but it did not matter to them. Chocho was the priority. Karui, Chocho's mom, stopped crying and said, "I consent. Please save my baby girl."

And Choji agreed, "I trust Mitsuki. I have seen enough to know that he cares about Chocho and would never put her in danger. Thank you, Mitsuki."

A reluctant Sakura agreed to the antidote, and thankfully, it worked. However, just as Mitsuki explained, Chocho still needed treatment. It was vital for her recovery to come out of the coma as soon as possible.

Her parents were comforted to hear that she was out of danger but were concerned about the long recovery journey. At some point during the night, Chocho's parents left her room to get something to eat. Choji did not want to go, but he had to eat; otherwise, he would end up in the hospital as well. Mitsuki used the opportunity to see Chocho in her room.

Mitsuki admired how peaceful Chocho looked while sleeping. No one could tell that she was hours from dying just seeing her now. He sat on a chair next to her bed and held her hand.

"Ms. Akimichi, you are out of danger now; please wake up. There are so many things we have to do. You said you were going to take me shopping because my wardrobe sucks. And… I still have to take you on a date."

Outside of the room, two people were observing the scene. They were Shikamaru and Sai. They went to the hospital to get more information about the poison used by the rogue shinobi.

"Doesn't it remind you of someone?" Shikamaru teased Sai. He referred to when Sai stayed by Ino's side while unconscious in a hospital room for days after a battle. With a discrete smile, Sai said, "I was just trying to finish my drawing."

Mitsuki was exhausted from the stressful day he had and fell asleep while holding Chocho's hand. When her parents came back, they decided to let them be since Mitsuki was as worried about her safety as they were. It was only fair for him to have the chance to be with Chocho too.

When the morning arrived, Mitsuki was woken up by Chocho's voice, "Where am I?"

"You are awake, finally," Mitsuki told her with a smile. "You are at the hospital. Your parents should be outside. I will call them."

"What happened?" a disoriented Chocho asked.

"You were poisoned, but you are fine now." He left to call Chocho's parents.

Mitsuki decided to go home after having the certainty that Chocho was stable. On his way out, he ran into Shinki. He was carrying a colorful floral arrangement, chocolates, and a teddy bear. With some embarrassment, he asked, "Good morning, may I ask about Chocho's state?"

The combative looks that they gave each other in the past disappeared. Shinki looked humble and sincerely grateful to Mitsuki. On the other hand, Mitsuki did his best to control his feelings.

"She is stable and just came out of the coma. Ms. Sakura can give you more details."

"Thank you for saving her," Shinki said, bowing his head to Mitsuki.

His words felt sincere and made Mitsuki shift his attitude. "I apologize for my words back in the forest. I know they were harsh. I was too affected by Chocho's condition. I felt like I needed to find someone to blame. You didn't know the magnitude of her injury."

"Please don't apologize. You were right. I should have never left her."

After the brief conversation, Mitsuki went home. For some reason, he did not have that gloomy feeling after knowing that Shinki was visiting Chocho with flowers. He was so relieved knowing that Chocho was out of danger that nothing could affect his spirit.

In Chocho's room, her parents updated her with everything that happened with additional details the Boruto gave them. Chocho's parents stepped out of the room to speak with Sakura when Shinki arrived.

"Good morning, Chocho." She did not look like her usual self, full of life, and self-confidence. She seemed very weak and had difficulty speaking due to the lack of energy.

"These are for you." Shinki showed her the gifts he brought and put them in a place where she could see them.

"Thank you," Chocho replied with a small but kind smile.

"I am glad you are okay." he looked at the floor because he felt embarrassed to look at her directly. "I am very sorry I took so long to come back for you… I should have taken more precautions. I promise to be a better leader and a better friend."

As cool as Chocho could sound lying in a hospital bed, she replied, "Don't sweat it. I had them, so I let my guard down. I am fine."

"I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed working with you and your company outside of work" He looked at her in the eyes and said, "I have to go back to the Sand Village immediately, but would you like to have dinner with me next time I visit the Leaf?" Although he had planned to invite her to the Sand Village, he knew her rehabilitation would be long, so he decided to come to visit her.

She was blushing and was not sure how to respond. She liked Shinki but could not ignore how she felt about Mitsuki. After learning that Mitsuki saved her and he was by her side while unconscious, her feelings about Mitsuki intensify.

Chocho replied, "Sure, it will be lovely to have dinner with everyone. Shikadai and I enjoyed our mission with you. And I am sure Metal would love to join too."

Shinki did not clarify that he meant only the two of them because he was afraid that it might have been a rejection and preferred to leave it in a gray area, so he could have the chance to ask her out again.