The patient grimaced at her with a twisted arm.

"Naruto, what happened now?" Sakura frowned at the patient she saw the most at work.

Naruto rambled on with all sorts of emotions playing across his face. "I was teaching Boruto this cool move that I wasn't supposed to teach him yet…well, Hinata found out and twisted my arm…a bit too much." He showed her his arm hanging limply in the air.

Sakura clutched his arm and put it back in place as if it were nothing. "Next time, don't do anything Hinata would disapprove of."

"I swear one day she'll kill me." He said and locked his eyes as the pain ran through this arms like fireworks.

That was foreseen. "I think so too."

"So if I die, you know who did it."

"And why did she do it too? It'll probably be your fault. You taught your son that stupid stunt; he could have hurt himself."

Naruto huffed and felt like he was being scolded as if he were a child. "It's cool!"

As she straightened up the room for the next patient, she kept chatting to him, "Idiot. If I ever hear Sasuke teach Sarada anything stupid, I'll do it too."

He's been on her mind a lot recently.

Or perhaps forever.

Had she not realized what she had said? He waited for her to digest her words, but the silence was tearing him apart. "Sakura?"

"Here go, you're done, and next time listen to your wife." She pressed a bag containing painkillers in his arms.

Naruto knew she had let out his name by mistake, and every time it happened, she would hide her tear-stained face and push him away.

So he left and on his way out, saw an injured person on a bed. At first, he didn't think of it much; it's a hospital after all, but something in him made him look back again, and it was...oh, God.

Sasuke.

Despite the discomfort in his arm and the hatred for this man, he jogged towards the nurse and pointed at Sasuke, "That man. What's he in for? What happened to him?"

The nurse went into shock and blinked. "Hokage…yes…he." After grabbing a hold of himself, he continued more professionally this time. "He was found in an alley, and he needs to be taken to the surgery immediately."

"Make sure Dr. Haruna doesn't see him. Get him another doctor." Naruto frantically scanned around and requested.

This was a weird request, and everyone listening to him was puzzled. "Yes... but Hokage, he's severely injured, so we thought our finest doctor should treat him."

Naruto was terrified for many reasons. "Severely injured? I...Okay...Please get Dr. Haruna on this, then."

"As you say, Hokage." Everyone was even more confused. First, the Hokage said not to tell one particular doctor, and now quite the opposite.

Perhaps it was because no one truly knew who this man was or his history. Mostly because his face was covered in bruises and blood, making it impossible for anyone to recognize him.

But Naruto did.

Because of the scar on his chest, the long mark that vertically went from his shoulder to his side.

He had gotten that when they got wounded at a crime scene. How could he forget that?

A voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he brushed away his tears quickly in embarrassment. "Yes, I was paged. What's the patient's name, and what happened?" She didn't peek at the patient and questioned the nurse.

The nurse filled her in on the patient. "He is unidentified. He has rib fractures, a punctured lung, brain bleeds, a ruptured spleen, and internal organ damage."

Sakura being the brilliant medic she was, put it together quickly. "So he got hit by a car? Those are the common injuries resulting from a car accident."

"Yes, that is one possible explanation, but we cannot confirm it at this time."

"Get the OR ready," Sakura said, her face filled with concern and sympathy. That's what made her such a great doctor; she felt all of her patients' pain and sympathized with them.

Naruto grasped her hand, and she stopped mid-stride. "Sakura, I need to talk to you."

"Naruto, I just treated you. Don't tell me you ended up in the hospital again." Teasingly she rolled her eyes

"No, it's not-"

"Then I need to leave. I need to treat the patient, and worst case scenario, he is unidentified. Maybe you, the Hakoge, can help us with it."

Naruto bit his tongue sharply. "I do know him," he said, glancing at Sasuke. "And so do you."

Sakura sighed and clapped her hands in gratitude. "Oh, thank goodness," she said as she walked behind the desk to access the computer. Her hands hovered over the keyboard. "Tell me the name. I can look up his medical history; it will help."

"Sakura, listen-"

"Naruto, I don't have time. Tell me."

"I want you to be strong."

"I am! Spell the name."

"S"

"Yeah"

"A"

"Hmm"

"S"

She had gone silent now.

"U, K and-"

She looked up at him with blurry eyes. "E?" Her trembling finger itching to tap it.

With his eyebrows drawn together, he nodded. "It's Sasuke."

"Uchiha? My Sasuke?" Her emotions were so raw. She fell to the floor behind the desk, out of sight from anyone else.

She was crying not because she loved him or hated him.

She was sobbing because he had returned.

Naruto sat by her side, both invisible to all the eyes around them. "Yes, Sasuke Uchiha. Your Sasuke."

It hit her right away. "What happened to him? Why him?" All her previous emotions of hatred were replaced with perplexity.

This was not what Naruto had expected. "I don't know. I'll get it looked into by detectives. I don't think he got hit by a car, as you guessed. It sounds like a murder attempt."

"That's what he deserves." Her heart was turned into a rock because of him...for him.

"Sakura." Naruto gasped. No matter what had happened, this was just too cruel.

Standing up, Sakura wiped her tears with her sleeve and hit the 'E' of his name and then the last name to bring out his previous records. "Another doctor will handle this. I can't treat him."

Naruto placed his hand on her shoulder. "You are the best we have."

This was unprofessional. Refusing to perform surgery just because of some unresolved feelings toward a patient was unprofessional. "I'll do it. But not because I care about him. It's unprofessional, and he needs to be treated like any other patient."

"That's the Sakura I know." Naruto patted her back in encouragement.

She glanced through his files, and all the memories came rushing back. The moment when she had cried and tended to his wounds after the scene he had witnessed. All the files were there.

The printer went on, and papers started printing. "Can I ask you for a favour?"

Naruto passed a genuine smile. "Anything."

"Sarada," she couldn't take her daughter with her today. These emotions were too much.

"She'll stay over for the night, or however long you want her to. Don't worry; she'll be safe with her favourite uncle." Naruto knew what she was going to say.

It was a blessing to have such incredible friends. "Say that to Itachi," she poked his chest.

Naruto inhaled deeply and looked seriously offended. "I am Sarada's favourite. Now go and perform surgery on that fool." He nudged her, and she grabbed the printed papers from the clipboard and headed toward the OR.

Naruto exited the hospital and drove towards his house. His arm was fine now, or even if it wasn't, he had too much going on in his mind to care about the pain.

He parked the car and unlocked the door to greet his family. Seeing Sakura always made him feel thankful for Hinata. What if Hinata had left him like Sasuke? He wouldn't have survived.

"Papa!" Boruto ran towards him with Sarada on his back. "Uncle Ruto!"

What's with this girl and not using full names?

He enveloped them both in a hug and carried them to the kitchen where he greeted his wife. "Hey, love, you look extra gorgeous today."

"Don't use flattery on me, mister! I haven't forgiven you for teaching our son that ridiculous 'walk on the rope' move!" Hinata glared daggers at him.

Naruto gently placed the children on the floor and gulped, gradually stepping towards her. "I promise I won't. I'm sorry. I just got excited."

Hinata sighed, understanding his impatience. "I know, darling, but he's still young. Wait a few years to teach him, and then you can have your martial arts buddy."

"Hmm," Naruto hugged her, and his muscles relaxed when she hugged him back.

"What's the matter, Naruto? You look sad." She ran her fingers through his golden locks and kissed him.

A very acquainted voice yelled at them, primarily focusing on Naruto. "Yuck! Can you guys make out in your room and not in the kitchen? In front of me and the kids!"

Naruto released his wife and scowled, "Kakashi, you dropped Sarada. Your job is done; go home now."

The man noticed the despair he was disguising, so he put away the taunting and asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto collapsed onto the couch. "Sasuke is injured, and Sakura's operating on him."

Kakashi and Hinata jerked their heads, glancing into each other's eyes before looking back at Naruto. "What?"

"Yeah"

"I only punched him twice." Kakashi raised his hands in defence.

Hinata gasped, and Naruto exclaimed, "You knew he was back?!"

Kakashi nodded. "I saw him two hours ago when I was on my way here. I punched him twice, and don't ask me to apologize. Anyways, he was fine afterwards. So, how the hell is he in the hospital?"

Naruto brushed his hand down his face and grunted, "Oh... Well, we're not sure what exactly happened. But he looked bad; he was severely injured and had blood all over his body."

Hinata inhaled loudly and quickly took the kids out of the room, leaving them alone to chat. It was not something for young ears. A part of her...an old part of her...felt devastated for her friend Sasuke.

"No one is after him, and It doesn't sound like Sasuke, but again we haven't seen him for five years and don't know how many enemies he's made."

"Kakashi, I have a hunch it might be a murder attempt, and I've put my best detectives on this case." He paused. "Now that you're here, I was wondering if you'd like to lead the case. You're with the most experience."

He was speedy to respond, "No. I have retired, and I am not getting involved in anything related to Sasuke."

Moving his limbs around, Naruto whined, "Kakashi, if you could-"

"I said no, Naruto!"

"Okay, okay, okay. Please don't get mad at me. It was just an option." Naruto put up his hands and backed up.

Something inside Kakashi yearned to ask more questions. "Let's say it was a murder attempt. Who do you think would be behind it?"

Naruto whispered faintly, "Itcahi."

Painfully Flabbergasted was Kakashi, "He isn't like that...anymore...he isn't...Naruto, you can't think that." It was unlike Kakashi to stammer.

It hurt him to think like that too. "I know he isn't...what he was...but I can't think of anyone else. Sasuke doesn't have any haters. But Itachi once wanted to kill every Uchiha."

"He was ordered to! I think you're wrong, very wrong!" They recently found that.

Naruto uttered with a very heart; it was breaking him to say these words, "I hope I am, but right now, as a Hokage, I have to take all precautions. Because what if Itachi is ordered to do it again." His voice cracked. "Sarada will stay here. I can't let her out of my sight."

"Naruto!" Kakashi stood straight and towered over him. "Nothing will happen to Sarada." His overprotectiveness came over him, and he was trembling with outrage, or god knows what.

"I hope so too. But we have to be cautious." Right now, even Naruto couldn't understand the situation, but he was trying his best to keep himself calm.

They understood it was not fair to think like that since Itachi had started his new life now. He's a great uncle and husband. But the worry nagged them because the only threat to Sasuke in the whole village was Itachi, as he once was to the Uchiha clan.

Their village was defended, so no one from outside could enter. Therefore, Itachi was the only option.

If Sarada was in danger, so was Izumi.

Naruto maintained darting at the floor. "If it's not Itachi, maybe some of our old enemies have returned, but they're all dead. Perhaps someone new? I am very lost."

"That's what I was thinking about." Kakashi surprised himself and Naruto both. "Put me on the case. I need to keep Sarada safe, and I'll prove Itachi's innocence. It is unjust to blame him when he has started a new life. He still can't be dealt with as a criminal."

The Hokage grinned and bowed. "Thank you, Sensei."

"Hmm."