"The cells of the lobar bronchus are repairing themselves just fine now. The cardiac notches are strengthening. It will take three more months for them to be fully healed, but they will. You do not need to worry anymore. Take it a bit easy for this week, as the increase in potency of the serum I crafted needs to be adapted by your body. Continue the third-tier chakra control exercise for this week. You will be fine."

The cool, soft voice reverberated around the white room. If Itachi was truthful to himself, he had grown a certain fondness for this room, under Kenshin Kagehoshi's watchful eyes and treatment. Besides, his current condition was one that lifted his mind by several degrees since that incident—he closed that train of thought immediately, not wanting his mind to wander into that.

A naturally happy and grateful smile lit up his face as he bowed deeply to the man sitting in front of him .

"Thank you very much for everything, Kenshin-san. You have done more for me than I can ever repay. I am forever grateful to you."

A single calloused hand gently gripped his left shoulder, and Itachi was broken out of his bow by the healer. "You don't need to thank me every time, Itachi. You are always welcome. I will do everything to help you always. Both Naruto and Satsuki need you in their lives, and I am not taking any chances for them to lose more than they already have," spoke the sage solemnly, before a proud smirk spread across his face. "And I have to maintain my record too, you know," he finished with a wink.

Itachi nodded, understanding the sentiment very well. He understood the responsibilities upon him. The entire future of the village and his sister both lay on him, along with what remained of his clan.

For a long time, Itachi had felt he alone had to shoulder that duty. For that very reason, he was granted extraordinary prowess in life. When his father had shown him the river of blood and the absolute brutality of war, he had questioned himself again and again why humans did such things. The three people who had become constants in his life had given different answers. All of that had shaped him into what he was right now.

Just how many people were there who had a natural affinity and talent for everything, alongside one of the three great Dōjutsus? With such power came great responsibilities. While there were not many, a few people understood it. They guided him, helped him, even on that bloody night.

The Uchiha massacre had occurred three years ago when he was 13 years old, serving as an active member of Hō-Fen Alpha 01, the single ANBU squad that consisted of some of the deadliest members of ANBU and undertook the highest number of A and S rank missions. Led by none other than the Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake, he and Shisui both had served there for only two years. But it had given him a wealth of experience that not only rivaled but surpassed most of the elite Jonins of Konohagakure. But on that night, his power had grown exponentially, for that was the Curse of Uchiha. Pain, grief, and suffering were what propelled their growth.

(In the deepest confines of his heart, sometimes he would thank Amaterasu Ōmikami for not passing that very curse to Satsuki. But the pain and unfairness she faced every moment since her birth would shame him into destroying that thought immediately.)

There were people who would help him again and again on that path. Like the man standing in front of him, like the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, like his captain Kakashi.

"How is Satsuki's training coming along?" Itachi questioned, changing both his mind and the topic of conversation. His dear little sister Satsuki Uchiha was a little spitfire (literally, considering her obsession with Katon techniques to such an extent that she developed a secondary affinity out of sheer pride and stubbornness).

Satsuki Uchiha had entered this world shrouded in perpetual darkness, never having glimpsed the light of day. She was born blind, meaning she would never acquire the Sharingan. It would have been a literal end for her Shinobi career, and she would have needed extensive protection all her life for her ancestry. Except she had been born with an active Chakra Pathway system and always active and extremely potent sensory skills. That was what compensated for her lack of vision. The only other person who had been born with such a thing was Uzumaki Naruto himself, because of the entire development of his body being in the presence of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and his potent Uzumaki heritage.

It was for that reason the best sensor in the village, coincidentally his healer, Kagehoshi Kenshin, had been responsible for her development and training in sensory skills.

The man in front of him furrowed his brows a little. "As of right now, she can differentiate between metals in alloys within six kilometers. And her overall range for identifying and distinguishing shinobi and civilian chakra signatures and levels has increased by 500 meters more."

"It's quite amazing, you know. I consider her sensing skills to be... divine. Her blindness may have been a handicap, and she will not awaken your clan's dōjutsu, but honestly? It doesn't matter," the man finished with a small smile on his face, and Itachi could feel the pride, just as much as he himself felt.

Itachi Uchiha was a genius. He had taken to learning Shinobi techniques, Taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, Ninjutsu, elemental techniques, everything at an extremely fast pace. Being part of the deadliest squad of ANBU at the age of 13 proved that.

However, even that paled in comparison to his little sister's. He, along with his parents, had theorized that because of her sensory skills, her brain had developed much faster and stronger to avoid sensory overload and brain damage. It was one of the reasons for why Satsuki, from her very childhood, had spent a long time alongside Kenshin, not only because this man was the best sensor in Konoha but also to make sure she avoided the derision and shunning she would have faced if she had always remained within the Uchiha clan compound.

"Thank you again, Kenshin-san. My apologies, I have to leave soon as Hiruzen-sama has called for me to be present at the Sarutobi compound. I will check up on Naruto and Satsuki in the evening today," he bowed.

Kenshin grinned. "Hiruzen-sama has been running you ragged nowadays, hasn't he? Off you go then. I myself have some more research to do. Be careful," the man replied before standing up from his chair and going out of the room. Itachi soon followed suit. None of them had much time to waste, after all.