Christmas be over.
Heartless be updating.
17
If there was ever a good thing that came of this day, it was the reminder that Ninja politics are really fucking vicious, and that I'd do well not to forget that.
Naruto, unconscious in a hospital bed with his right arm horrifically burnt, couldn't be anything but a good reminder of that.
I looked away from Naruto's arm, glancing towards Shikaku and Hiruzen's silent forms.
I could see the gears grinding inside Shikaku's head, his mind whiring as the situation ran through his head a thousand times over, analyzing every angle and leaving no stone unturned. His eyes stared at Naruto's body, but it was just as blatantly obvious that he wasn't looking at him. Shikaku's mind was the most dangerous thing he wielded, something that a great deal many ninja feared, for good reason.
Hiruzen, naturally, was also thinking about it, as the idea that the Hokage might not be thinking about the security breach was simply inconceivable.
A quick, and entirely too familiar, double knock sounded from the door, permitting a third ninja into the room.
Third?
That... wasn't right.
The sight of the real-world bled away, replaced with the metaphysical sight of Hearts and Darkness.
Naruto's Heart, and 'hidden' beneath it, Kurama's, laying on the bed. Shikaku, sitting near the wall. Hiruzen, right next to him. The new ninja, joining Hiruzen and Shikaku.
And, in the corner of the hospital room, another Heart surrounded by a cloaking veil of Chakra.
Ah.
The world returned, allowing me to catch the tail end of whatever the Ninja had been saying.
"-wiped them completely, leaving the assailant utterly bereft of memories, with the only thing to show for it an unidentified Seal hidden in her hair."
Inoichi's voice.
"Jiraiya-sama is going to have a field day when he gets back. First the Barrier, and now this?"
"Indeed. Were you able to work out how they managed to bypass the Barrier, Inoichi-kun?"
"We're not certain, but we do have an idea, Hokage-sama. The assailant's body is... strange, as it doesn't emit any Chakra. We know she has Chakra, thanks to one of our Hyuuga, but her body simply doesn't emit any."
Hiruzen nodded. "And the Barrier's use is mostly reliant on sensing Chakra, rather than physical disturbances. Thank you, you're dismissed."
Inoichi bowed, before vanishing in a blast of smoke.
With that, the Hokage stood and walked over to Naruto.
He paused only for a single second, before his hands lit up with a faint healthy green glow. With all the care that could only come from years of experience, he carefully raised Naruto's arm, tracing his fingers along the burnt skin.
He pulled his hand away, a section of burnt skin clasped in his fingers. Underneath where it had once laid, a layer of pure, unblemished and pale skin struck a stark contrast to the burnt skin around it.
The burnt section dropped onto a tray -One that had not been there a moment ago-, where it was soon joined by other sections as Hiruzen stripped away at Naruto's arm.
Until this moment, I'd never quite appreciated Naruto's regeneration. What had looked like second to third degree burns had healed with only a few hours, repaired with nary a mark to show it, only clean and smooth skin to hint that something had happened.
The kid was going to need every advantage he could get his hands on, to survive and thrive in a world like this.