A/N: Hello! Welcome back to One Year Early. Sorry for the delay. We missed the monthly schedule that we had set up for this fic. I was busy with some stuff and could not find the time to write. Well, in any case, here we are. We are wrapping up this arc in Taki with this chapter (& the next) and then slowly we will transition to the following arcs, which unfortunately due to Hinata's injury won't be as action heavy as this one. Apologies for that, but gotta be a little realistic don't we?
Anyways, without further ado, lets get on with the chapter.
CHAPTER 15: TREATMENT AND AMENDS….
"Suck on that you ugly motherfucker." Tsunade said in a low tone as she crushed the exploding insect and threw away the remains.
Once the surgery was done, she carefully reattached the ribs and got the bones to join back together using an altered version of the mystic palm jutsu. Slowly but steadily the ribs were back in place. Once that was done, she closed up the opening she had made and applied the stiches. Shikaku raised an eyebrow seeing that despite having given up on being a medic-nin years ago, Tsunade always had a supply of stiches, first-aid and other stuff at hand like a proper medic nin.
'Looks like the legendary medic-nin in her never died.' The Nara thought to himself.
Meanwhile, having completed the surgery, Tsunade panted in sheer exhaustion. Conquering her mental demons and performing such a complex surgery right then and there was really taxing. She closed her eyes and tried to relax her muscles.
"This kid should be okay now." She uttered in between her heavy breaths.
"Thank you…Tsunade-sama." Hinata stated in gratitude with tears in her eyes.
"I will be ever grateful." Shikaku added.
The Senju nodded acknowledging their gratitude and allowed herself to catch her breath. "Where's Shizune?" She asked.
"Keeping watch over Karai with the other Kumo-shinobi, Amai." Shikaku reported.
"Have her prepare for the surgery." The legendary medic ordered.
The Nara clan head nodded and left to carry it out.
Tsunade turned to Ay.
"I hope you won't mind my student carrying out the operation. She is well trained and I can vouch for her skills. Your medic can assist and learn from the experience." She stated.
"As long as you take responsibility for anything wrong happening." The Raikage responded.
"I will. You have my word."
Ay nodded. And the Kumo shinobi all left behind Shikaku as the operation of their comrade was about to start.
Tsunade finally caught her breath and let out a sigh of relief before turning to Hinata.
"You, missy…you are going to be next to go on the operating table. Are you ready?"
"Hai." The Hyuuga girl replied having mentally prepared herself for the complicated surgery.
"Alright. We will do it once Amai's surgery finishes. Which ought to be later today. Now let's carry you two back to the hotel." She turned to Gaara. "Your sand should be able to do it, I presume?" The Senju princess questioned, earning a nod from the redhead who proceeded to let sand leak out of his gourd and then the unconscious Naruto was very carefully lifted up by sand. Having already bandaged the operation opening, Tsunade had ensured that there would be no chances of any sepsis from the sand.
Once that was done, Gaara lifted Hinata up in another sand platform and carried the both of them back to the hotel.
*Meanwhile in Konoha*
"What did you say!?" A frantic Hiashi Hyuuga asked as he slammed his hands on the table, a far cry from his usual stoic persona.
"Yes, it is just as I said, Hinata-chan's leg was fractured during the mission. I am very sorry to inform you of that." The Third Hokage replied in an apologetic but serious tone.
"How did it happen?" The Hyuuga clan head demanded.
"They were attacked by the Ichibi jinchuuriki, who happened to be in the area and lost control and attacked the nearest large chakra source which just so happened to be the jinchuuriki of the Nanabi and the Kyuubi. The kids were relaxing at that moment, having completed all their tasks. They were set to begin the return journey, but they were attacked out of the blue. That is what Shikaku has stated in the interim report he sent from Taki." The Sandaime explained.
"And what was that lazy Nara doing not protecting his students?" Hiashi demanded again.
Hiruzen raised his hand.
"Kindly refrain from passing the blame so quickly Hiashi." The third Hokage reprimanded. "I fully understand your concern, you are a father and your daughter has received a serious injury. But you are also a jonin and a clan head. So, it is unbecoming of you to reach a judgement before listening to everything." Hiruzen stated in a serious tone before continuing.
"Shikaku was sent to negotiate the renewal of our friendship treaty with Taki. He was with the village leader, Shibuki, finalizing the finer details. The kids were allowed to train and relax. It was supposed to be a very low risk C-rank mission after all."
Hiashi nodded but his looks demanded more clarification. The old Hokage continued.
"Shikaku states that for some reason, the three kids of the Kazekage, of which the youngest happens to be the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi, all happened to be in that area with their jonin sensei, Baki. Shikaku reports this about Gaara: the jinchuuriki boy's seal was very unstable and he lost control as soon as he got near Taki and detected the presence of other jinchuuriki in the area and rushed to attack them. And unfortunately, he is far more adept at utilizing the powers of his biju than Naruto and Fu, the Nanabi jinchuuriki. Gaara's other two siblings and the jonin-sensei all joined to defend our kids and restrain Gaara. But he was just too overwhelming. Your daughter performed admirably when faced with those overwhelming odds and sacrificed her leg to save the others, especially Naruto from sure death. It was her own choice."
Hiashi pinched the gap between his eyebrows and let out a sigh.
"I wonder if putting her on a team with Naruto was a mistake. While she has grown far more confident, she has also become very protective of the boy as well it seems, protective enough to put her life on the line for him without hesitation. But as things stand now, as much as my heart breaks seeing her getting injured, I have no power to order her removed from her team or Naruto. I can do nothing to stop her. The only thing I can do as her father is to train her to be strong enough that she will not die while protects her beloved. She is growing to be too much like her mother." The Hyuuga clan head stated looking down.
"Shikaku will be making sure of that too."
"What is he doing right now?" Hiashi asked as he gradually regained his stoic composure.
"He has gone to the Land of Hot springs, to Tsunade. He is seeking to have your daughter treated by her."
"Will Tsunade-sama agree, after all these years of refusing to return to the village?" Hiashi asked in concern.
Hiruzen took a smoke from his pipe. "She declined at first but Naruto made her agree. So, young Hinata might be undergoing surgery as we speak."
"I see. The Uzumaki has my gratitude then." Hiashi spoke.
"I also have a mission for you, Hiashi." Hiruzen added.
"Gaara's unstable seal could be a security threat in the future as well, if left unchecked. So, we need to have Rasa agree to have Jiraiya check on the boy and repair the seal."
Hiashi nodded. "I accept this mission but I must admit that I am afraid he won't agree to it just like that, Hokage-sama." He added.
"Correct. So, we must offer him a deal beneficial to Suna to have him agree to it. Negotiate a new treaty with Suna. Also visit the Wind Capital and inform the Wind Daimyo that we won't be taking any more missions from him, he may assign missions to the ninja village in his own country. Its suspect enough that he was sending those missions our way in the first place."
"While I might have a personal interest in doing such, to make sure that nobody suffers from their jinchuuriki losing control like my daughter has suffered, what does Konoha gain from it and are you sure the council won't become a hassle if we go forward with it?" Hiashi asked again.
"Hmm…Shikaku added in his report that if the current state of affairs between us and Suna were to be allowed to continue, the relations would be jeopardized within two years at most. I trust his judgement. I might have been blind to their financial crisis as the current status-quo favours us quite a lot at their expense, but if we don't take action and allow Suna to become hostile, who can say that Iwa or some other hostile party won't take advantage of this situation? So, we must repair our ties with Suna before it's too late and if we need to make concessions for that, then so be it. The deals should be fair to all parties after all. And if the council has a problem, then I'll make it clear where exactly we were heading. And if they refuse to acknowledge the situation, then it appears that we need some new blood."
"Understood, Hokage-sama." Hiashi acknowledged as Hiruzen handed him a scroll containing their offers. While trying not to panic at the brief rousing of the Second God of Shinobi.
"Unfortunately, with Shikaku's absence and Inoichi's continued requirement to be at the Interrogations division, you are the only one who can be entrusted to carry out such delicate diplomatic ventures."
"I understand, Hokage-sama." 'However, if Hinata returns while I am gone, the elders…they might do something extreme to her…I have to make it back as quickly as possible and have Ko and Tokuma ensure that the elders don't do anything crazy with her.' The Hyuuga clan head thought to himself.
"You may depart in earnest, today if possible." Hiruzen further added.
"Please excuse me then, I must make haste for Suna." Hiashi stated with a bow. Hiruzen allowed him to leave with a nod.
'I am also worried about what to do with the Hyuuga. But the matters with Suna must be resolved as soon as possible before a point of no return is reached, who knows if some hostile parties like the Iwa are not already making overtures to them. We can't afford to lose the alliance at any cost. The village will be at great risk if Suna turns hostile.' Hiruzen thought to himself as he took a smoke from his pipe and began writing a letter to his toad summoning student to attend to Gaara, as soon as the Kazekage's approval had been obtained.
Once the letter was written, he had a monkey rush to Jiraiya with it. Having attended to the matter at hand, Hiruzen took another smoke and took the next piece of document awaiting his attention. As usual this was going to be a long day at work.
'When he becomes Hokage, I hope Naruto won't go mad due to all this paperwork…ah well, Hinata is there to look after him, so I might not need to worry too much about that.' The Sandaime thought to himself.
*Back in the Hot Springs country*
Shizune put her focus at the maximum level possible, failure was not an option. Amai was assisting by keeping up the anaesthetic jutsu, so that the injured Karai didn't feel any pain. Just like her shiso had done not an hour ago, she now had reached the exploding insect, happily drawing chakra from the poor Kumo ninja's heart. Very carefully, the black-haired medic began cutting its limbs off with very precise application of chakra, making sure that the bug didn't notice.
Once that was done, she paralyzed the exploding part of it with extreme caution. As soon as that she was done with that, she quickly grabbed the parasite and threw it away.
Ay looked at the beetle and wasted no time in crushing it to dust.
Shizune sighed, the complicated surgery was done. She gave a nod to Amai, who assisted in reattaching the ribs and closing the operation opening. All in all, the procedure was done in 40 minutes. The dark-haired woman sighed in relief once everything was done.
"Let him rest for a night, he will be able to travel tomorrow, though I would suggest avoiding using chakra and any heavy training for a week to allow the body to recover." The medic-nin explained.
"I will make sure of that. Thank you very much Shizue-san. It was an honour working with you and an extremely valuable learning experience." The brown haired Kumo medic-nin stated giving Shizune a bow.
"It's my duty to save people as a medic, you have nothing to thank me for, I am glad that you were able to learn from this experience."
"Hmmm…Tsunade, Shizune, you two have my sincere gratitude for saving my subordinate's life." Ay stated in a heavy tone, lowering his head.
"Think nothing of it…you won the bet after all." Said Tsunade in a bit of grumpy and tired tone.
Shikaku sighed. "I am sure you would have treated him even if you had won, Tsunade-sama." The head Nara mumbled in almost a whisper.
"Did you say something, Shikaku?" Tsunade asked raising her voice a bit.
"Ah…Nothing." 'Troublesome.' The jonin sensei of team-6 answered in a placating tone.
"Anyways, you people are free to leave tomorrow, just tend to what Shizune said and Karai will be fine. He just needs some rest." Tsunade declared, earning a nod from Ay.
The Kumo shinobi gradually retreated to their rooms, relaxed that their comrade was safe and sound.
"Now then, Shizune. Let's get the little girl treated, are you prepared?" The blonde-haired medic asked turning to her assistant.
"Of course, shiso." Shizune responded in a determined tone.
Hinata had already suffered a lot since Taki, she was due for some much-needed relief.
"Let's do it in an hour." Tsunade offered and the collected people all nodded, minus Naruto who was yet to wake up.
An hour passed while Tsunade and Shizune rested themselves and prepared for the upcoming surgery. The bedroom in which Naruto and Hinata were staying was prepared as a makeshift operation theatre. This was going to be a surgery longer than the one performed on Naruto and Karai.
In due time, the anaesthetic jutsu was applied on the Hyuuga girl and she was laid down on the makeshift operation table the adults had prepared using the tables available in the room.
Tsunade took a deep breath and ran a diagnostics jutsu on her patient once more to confirm the nature and seriousness of her injuries. She took a deep breath once she had done that.
"We will have to reattach all the nerves…ready?" She asked her apprentice, who nodded.
And with that the complex procedure started.
*Outside the room*
Naruto was still unconscious but he found himself before the large cage that contained the Kyuubi.
"Hmm…what brings you here now? I would rather like to sleep." Kurama said grumpily with a yawn.
"How am I supposed to know that!? I fell unconsciousness, why don't you make me get up? Lazy kitsune!" Naruto shot back.
"Tsk! Loud brat!" Kurama shot back in full. "Of all the three I have been contained in, you are the most childish and idiotic one…just thought you should know that." The overgrown fox bickered.
"What was that you overgrown fuzzball!?"
"I am NOT a fuzzball!" Kurama said annoyed.
"You absolutely are a fuzzball! Kurama can take a break…if you call me brat, I call you fuzzball!" Naruto shot back showing his tongue.
And the two tsked at each other.
After some silence…
"So, Kurama…say if I open this cage, would you really get out and attack Hinata-chan and my friends?" The blonde asked in an innocent but curious tone.
Kurama sighed.
"Fifteen days ago, surely…now, I don't think so. I want to see how you deal with the biju and the jinchuuriki, so I am just going to sit back and watch. Besides, you can't open this seal just like that. There is a specific key for that and I have no idea who has this key. If I were to make a guess, it would be Jiraiya, your father's sensei, but that's just a guess, since as far as I remember your father gave the key to a toad of Mount Myoboku and Jiraiya can summon toads so he should have access to the key." Kurama explained.
"I see…well then, I guess I'll seek him out and get the key from him. I will open this seal." Naruto said with a grin and a thumbs-up.
"And why would you do that?" Kurama asked.
"Well, as I have said earlier, this must have been getting lonely in here, who likes to be in a cage anyways, so as long as you don't hurt my precious people, I have no problem in opening this cage. But first I need to obtain the key."
"And make him believe that you are competent and skilled enough to have the key. He won't give it to you just like that." Kurama cautioned.
"Count on me for that!" Naruto showed a thumbs up.
"Anyways, any idea how much time has passed since I was knocked out?" The blonde questioned again.
"From here, it is difficult to know, but if I were to guess maybe three to four hours. That exploding insect that you inhaled from that smoke while you were protecting your vixen, that has been removed. That blonde woman did that, that much I know."
"So, Tsunade baa-chan did it huh? I guess I won't be blowing up then, that's good to know. I gotta thank her for that when I get up…"
"You should be getting up now, I can feel your senses coming back." Kurama stated.
"Huh?" Naruto questioned before he began realizing it as well. His eyes were gradually opening, adjusting to the light. He tried to look around and move his limbs. It proved to be very difficult but he managed somehow.
He found his sensei and the sand siblings there.
"How are you feeling, Naruto?" Shikaku asked as he sat down on a stool by the bed.
"My head hurts and my whole body does as well…but apart from that, all okay." The blonde answered in a low tone with some difficulty.
"That's good to hear…" Shikaku in a tone indicating relaxation.
"Hey… where's Hina-chan?" Naruto asked as his tone became a bit frantic and he tried looking around.
"After finishing your surgery, Tsunade-sama decided to start her treatment immediately, she didn't want to delay it any longer and said that the more we wait the more complicated the surgery will get, so she is being operated on now. It will perhaps take an hour more for the surgery to finish." The head jonin responded.
"What!? Hime is being operated! I gotta be there for her!" The jinchuuriki exclaimed as he forced himself to get up from the bed, with some effort.
"Hold it, Naruto." Shikaku said in a firm tone, grabbing one of the boy's shoulders. "You wouldn't want to disturb the doctors. She is in good hands, trust me." He reassured.
"Alright sensei, if you say so. But still, take me to outside the room where she is being operated."
"You should lie down some more kid." Shikaku advised.
"It's okay sensei. I'll rest once I see that she is alright." The blonde responded. Shikaku knew that there was no way he was going to make this stubborn boy change his mind.
'Two stubborn as rocks, students… I don't think troublesome is enough to describe this team…' The Nara thought to himself as he helped Naruto get up and helped him walk to the door of the room in which the surgery was going on.
"And was the Kumo-nin treated too?" The blonde asked again.
"He was, nothing too troublesome there." Shikaku responded as the teacher and student settled on the floor. The sand siblings followed and chose to stand against the wall.
"Where's Baki-sensei?" Naruto asked.
"Outside, keeping watch, together with one of the Kumo shinobi."
"I see… they won't be targeting Hime again, right?" Naruto asked in a bit of a nervous tone.
Shikaku sighed.
"No, they won't, don't worry about that. The Raikage said that there will be no hostility from their side to us."
"That's good to know."
Time passed by as the group waited. For Naruto, every second felt like a minute and every minute felt like an hour…it was really difficult for him just wait and be able to do nothing as his beloved underwent a critical operation on which her ever being able walk on her two feet depended.
Naruto was nervous, not knowing what was going on but he stayed put, bringing his knees up and pressing his face against them.
Inside the room, the complicated surgery kept going.
Shizune was in charge first, joining the bones was something she could do, her shiso would be taking over to join the delicate nerves and tissues. Though, Tsunade still joined the initial procedure to ensure that the realignment process wouldn't cause any further damage to the already badly damaged nerves in Hinata's leg. Not only the joint was broken, but all the bones in the leg from the smallest ones in the toes to the largest one in the thigh had been shattered. The leg was shattered in the literal sense. But the medics didn't give up. One after another, they rejoined the fractured bones. It took them quite a while. Once every bone had been realigned, it was time for repairing the nerves and the tissues, an even more delicate process.
By some miracle, the cartilage had managed to survive relatively unscathed. No one was looking to question that bit of good fortune.
Once the bones were all reconnected, Shizune stepped back a bit and let out a deep breath. "You can do it, Shiso…" She encouraged knowing that her master was fighting a mental battle as she was performing the surgery, the process was taking a heavy toll on her, if not physically then definitely mentally.
Tsunade got started and went over the nervous system in her patient's leg very carefully, very diligently and with extreme caution. Her efforts paid off after a whopping 3 hours as all the nerves and tissues were repaired. 'That would be the last…' The legendary medic thought to herself as she repaired the last tissue needing treatment. Throughout the process, Shizune was making sure that no bleeding ever took place due to any kind of error on their parts.
As soon as she had repaired all the tissues, the Senju princess stepped back, letting her assistant take over to close the openings and do the stitching, her hands had already started to tremble, but she had persevered till the end, not messing up her concentration or precision even for a fraction of a second. The surgery demanded the very peak of her chakra control abilities and she had delivered. The closing up and stitching went down without a hitch as Tsunade allowed herself to sit down in a nearby chair. Her hands were trembling at the moment but she could sigh in relief. She had kept her promise. Naruto was going to make the dream her late brother and her late fiancé had, but he would need Hinata's strength, she was the one who would ensure that the dream would come true. Tsunade admired this Hyuuga girl's determination, she was never going to let such a bright potential go to waste if she could help it and she had done it. She had conquered her trauma and had saved three lives in a single day, albeit one indirectly but still.
"Surgery successful, congratulations shiso, you did it! You conquered it! Uncle and Nawaki-kun would be so proud of you!" Shizune stated ecstatically as she finished the stitching.
Tsunade nodded and let out a sigh of relief with a bit of a smile. "I am glad. We might just have saved the future of this world from going to shit. I am glad…glad that these two kids can be happy." The blonde medic as tears of happiness fell down from her eyes for the sake of the young couple as well as satisfaction on herself for being able to deliver when it was needed the most, being able to win over her trauma and save lives. This gave her back the self-confidence she had lost in her skills when she had failed to save Dan, now she had regained that trust by saving Naruto and Hinata. She (hopefully)would not be fidgeting at the prospect of a surgery ever again. "Let them know. They will all be happy."
"Hai…right away!" Shizune acknowledged in a merry tone before rushing to deliver the good news to the rest. (If anyone is wondering where Tonton is all this time, she is well trained to be by herself when her master was busy carrying out operations or other treatment. She was quietly waiting for them in their room.)
The door opening got the attention of everyone waiting outside the room including Baki who had come back from keeping vigil outside the hotel. Naruto jumped up from his sitting position and the rest who had all almost fallen asleep, even though sitting on the floor or standing against the wall, were all woken up.
"Shizune-nee-chan! How is Hina-chan!? Is she going to be okay!?" Naruto frantically asked almost grabbing the dark-haired woman by her shoulders.
Shizune grabbed the blonde's shoulders.
"Worry not, Naruto-kun. Hinata-san is doing fine. The surgery was a success, not a single nerve or tissue on her leg is damaged now. She will be able to walk on her own unaided again."
Naruto was moved to tears of happiness with that.
"Really! You did it! Thank you! Thank you!" Naruto claimed as he jumped in happiness.
"I only assisted, Naruto-kun, Shiso carried out the most delicate parts. So, if you want to thank someone, thank her." Shizune said in a soft smile. Naruto didn't need to told that as he had already rushed into the room, to the blonde-haired member of the Sannin. He hugged the woman.
"Baa-chan…I can never thank you enough… I will do anything you ask me to." He said cried in happiness burying his face into Tsunade's thighs. The slug princess smiled affectionately as she patted Naruto's head.
"Just be yourself and keep giving your best. I don't need much apart from that. Besides, that girl has the potential to be both a great person and a great ninja, she absolutely can't be allowed to remain crippled like that." The Senju princess said in an affectionate tone.
"But still baa-chan. Thank you…really. I can never really thank you enough for this. You gave my Hime her hope back…thank you…thank you."
By that time, Shikaku had walked in as well.
"I knew I could entrust my student's health to you. Thank you very much Tsunade-sama. I will be ever grateful to you. You saved both my students. I can never thank you enough…" The Nara said respectfully bowing down.
Tsunade raised her hand. "Don't get too emotional, Shikaku. I just did my job. It is actually a bit awkward but had this situation not arisen, I might never have used my medic skills again, I had lost faith my own skills completely, doing what I did today gave me that trust in my skills back. I can go back to saving lives now. So, in a way, I am grateful to you for putting your trust in me, despite knowing that I had not practiced my skills in years and my present state. Thank you very much for believing in me and giving me this chance to find a purpose in life again." Tsunade said with a smile as she patted Naruto's head again.
"Now then, let's move our cute patient to a comfortable bed, she needs a lot of rest after all." Tsunade ordered and the order was immediately carried out.
Hinata would be waking up the next day at the soonest. Mental and physical exhaustion took its toll on Naruto and he fell asleep while sitting next to his love and holding her hand.
*Next day at dawn*
At first it was blurry but gradually she could make out the ceiling. The leg still felt a bit numb. And then Hinata remembered that she had gotten her surgery. She felt like there was some weight on her hand and upon turning her head a bit, she found her beloved asleep holding it while sitting on the ground.
'Why didn't you just get into the bed?' The Hyuuga thought to herself in concern, but he had a calm look on his face, he really looked cute. 'But you should not be sleeping like that, your body will ache all over…let's get you up onto the bed'
Before trying to wake her boyfriend up though, Hinata decided to see for herself how the surgery had gone. Her leg still felt a bit numb, perhaps the anaesthetic jutsu took a bit of time to fully wear off. But she could still feel it, so she tried to move it very carefully. And it responded! Her foot could move slightly, so could her knee. It was no longer fractured. She could walk! She was just too happy to know that. Even if Naruto-kun and sensei had made it clear that they didn't see her as a burden, she still felt guilty, but now she could be at peace about it.
She ran her fingers through her boyfriend's spiky blonde hair.
"Hey Naru-kun…get up…" She said as she caressed his head
The boy purred at first, making Hinata remember that time when they were on their way to Taki, she had run her fingers over his whisker marks, making him purr. Smiling to herself, she did that again.
"Get up dear, get into the bed…" She said again. Running her fingers continuously brought Naruto out of his sleep…he yawned as his eyes gradually adjusted to the light.
"H-Hina-chan you're up!" He exclaimed as he saw her looking at him affectionately.
"Yeah…just now. Why were you sleeping like that though? Get into the bed." Hinata urged. And like an obedient child, Naruto complied without objecting.
"I thought that since you just had a surgery, it might affect your leg adversely if I slept here." Naruto justified
"Silly. It never did when it was broken and you slept in my arms, why now?" Hinata admonished.
"Sorry…I was just worried. How does it feel now though?" Naruto asked pointing to the bandaged leg.
"Still a bit numb but I can move it."
"I am so glad." Naruto said with a smile but it was soon followed by a yawn.
"See…you still need to sleep… your body must have been tired being in that position for so long." The Hyuuga said softly as she began pulling her boyfriend into her chest.
"Come here…it's still too early to get up." Hinata said affectionately, wrapping her arms around Naruto's head. The lovebirds were asleep again rather quickly.
*Outside the hotel*
The Kumo group was getting ready to leave. Shikaku and Baki were up to see them off, the rest were still asleep due to the extreme exhaustion of the previous day.
"Please convey my thanks to Tsunade. I am grateful that she and Shizune saved my subordinate." Ay said in his usual heavy tone.
"Of course." Shikaku responded in a laidback tone.
"Before I left, I wanted to ask, the Hyuuga here, is it the same one that was involved in the incident 10 years ago?" The Raikage asked again, making the Nara clan head raise his eyebrows.
"Indeed. She is the one. That was one troublesome affair. Though, I would really like to not open it up again." The head jonin responded.
"I can understand. Though, truth be told, I never ordered to have the highest ranked Hyuuga possible taken." Ay stated.
"Huh?" Shikaku questioned.
"Firstly, it was the Daimyo who wanted to have the Byakugan in Kumo, not me. It should not be a surprise to you that we had never shown that much interest in bloodlines. Secret techniques are one thing, but bloodlines, we never really had any real interest in that. Too many people relying on it like crutches and then you have a mess on your hands like the one in Kiri where they blame all their problems on bloodlines." The Raikage explained.
"That is indeed true. So, it was the daimyo that forced your hand?" The Nara asked earning a nod from the Kumo leader.
"I ordered to scout an orphan, who would not be missed by the clan and take them. But I have no idea why our shinobi went for the clan head's daughter instead. And I had no idea until later that it was the clan head that had killed him. We only knew that a main branch Hyuuga had killed him when we demanded his head. The Daimyo saw it as an opportunity to get the Byakugan anyways when he learned that an unsealed Hyuuga was the culprit. Only later when we saw the dead body of the clan head's twin brother that we understood what exactly had happened." The Raikage explained.
"And you had no idea about the storm you had raised in Konoha and in the Hyuuga clan because of that. Such a troublesome affair." Shikaku said sighing and shaking his head. "But why tell me all this now?"
Ay didn't really want to answer that question, but still….
"Seeing that girl, I felt like letting it out. Though, those kids are still too young to understand these political things."
"Yes, too troublesome for them." Shikaku agreed.
"Well then Nara, I hope that our next meeting won't be a hostile one." Ay stated.
"Of course, though if you won't mind sending a team or two to the next chunin exams in Konoha, then maybe we can finally get this mess put behind us." Shikaku offered with a smile.
Ay was intrigued with the proposal.
"Hmm…I will give it some thought. And I must admit, your students do seem to have some potential, I will look forward to their future." The Raikage stated before turning to leave with the rest of his men. Amai and Karai bowed in gratitude again and requested to have their thanks conveyed to Tsunade and Shizune. Yoroi gave a bow in apology for the hassle his subordinate caused to the Konoha genins. The apology was accepted and the Kumo group left.
Shikaku sighed. "So much for just a scroll delivery."
Baki couldn't help chuckle at the remark.
Just then two shinobi appeared before them, an ANBU and another a jonin wearing a sash with the symbol of the Twelve Guardian ninja on it and a lit cigarette in his mouth, which was making the ANBU cough.
"You asked for reinforcements, Shikaku-sama?" The bearded man asked.
Shikaku and Baki looked at each other and sighed.
"That I did, but you arrived after everything was over…the Kumo nin just left." The Nara responded making the newcomers sweatdrop.
"Did any conflict happen?" The ANBU asked.
"The situation was tense as one would expect. Those Nokizaru idiots tried to make this troublesome situation even more troublesome but cooler heads still prevailed and we were able to stay clear of any hostilities all though one Kumo ninja really tried to be an ass but the Raikage punished him plenty so we managed, we might have even taken steps towards normalization of ties." Shikaku explained.
"That's certainly good news. Better than most would expect from being told they showed up late." Asuma stated letting out a bit of smoke.
"Anyways, since you two are here, would you mind keeping watch. Yesterday was really troublesome, so I need some sleep urgently." The Nara said in his lazy tone.
"Affirmative." The ANBU acknowledged.
"Thanks, please excuse us then." Shikaku and Baki went into the inn to take some much-needed rest as Asuma and the ANBU captain Tenzo took over keeping watch for the time being.
Thus, the curtain finally began drawing to a close on the tale of Team Shikaku's first C-rank mission.
A/N: And that's a wrap for the chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Had I been a doctor, I might have been able to expand on the procedures of the surgery to make it a little more engaging. For a medic-nin, complex surgeries would be like having a major fight with a serious foe. Unfortunately, I didn't even take biology in high school, so the medical field remains distant from me. Had to manage with what little I know. Anyone among the readers who is in this field, you are all most welcome to share your suggestions on such scenes.
That would be all for today. Thank you all once again for all the love and support for my work. See ya'll in the next chapter.
Cheers and peace.
RaNK001 out.