The ANBU police arrive at the scene of the explosion as fast as possible.
The south wing of the hospital, which was under construction, has been blown to bits.
The commander gives the usual instructions to his soldiers.
Control the fire and rescue civilians.
Let the investigation crew sweep the area for potential threats.
Lastly, prioritise extraction of VIP patients out.
"Ehm!!! [Ppppeeeee!!!!]" a voice comes from the soundbox placed on the roof of the hospital.
The commander's mask falls off his face as the next words are uttered by the unknown person behind the microphone.
"This is a hijack," the voice says nonchalantly.
"We have Hinata Hyuga of the Hyuga clan… emm… pregnant lady Yuna of the Nara clan… don't try anything funny…" the voice continues.
"Bring us… Senju Tsunade within four days. We will be chopping off limbs and sending them out in plastic bags every three hours." The voice coughs as if choking on mochi.
"And again… don't try anything funny. I have barriers up and bombs placed inside the facility." Then the mic drops.
#########
The operating theatre felt like a morgue at how cold it was.
The AC was turned all the way down to keep Hiruzen's body cool.
In here, three surgeons are working on Hiruzen's heart.
The seal that had been keeping his heart from going limp.
The surprisingly cooperative doctor—who seemed like a jounin himself—opens up his heart and attempts to repair his chakra networks.
"Doctor Uchiha," one of them calls.
It takes a second for me to realise that I'm with them in the sterile zone, operating on Hiruzen's heart.
What the fuck! He just called me a doctor!!!
"Yes… emm… hold onto his chakra node on the aorta. I will be implanting the pacemaker while simultaneously untwisting his chakra nodes," I hesitantly instruct.
"That's impossible… the chakra networks on the heart are thinner than hair. It's not possible—"
She is hushed before the sentence finishes.
The doctor in front of me looks me in the eye.
"I can do it… with my Sharingan," I make a promise.
He nods.
We will have to do the same for his other organs.
I don't care if I get caught. As long as I can keep Hiruzen alive… and they can bring Tsunade…
All will be okay.
Assuming they won't reveal it is me who is hijacking the hospital, I still have a way to not get killed immediately once all of this is over.
"Focus, ki… doctor," the surgeon brings me back to reality.
I nod and get to work.
######
Hinata puts the microphone down as she massages her throat.
Mimicking voices isn't her specialty, so it took a toll on her larynx.
"I think I made it sound just like Sasuke wanted," the princess thinks to herself.
Using an IV stand as support, she slowly scoots her way to her cabin through the empty hallway.
"What insane genjutsu—even with my Byakugan I doubt I could tell a difference," she chuckles to herself.
To be fair… the elaborate genjutsu that showed every staff member that the hospital was burning down was none other than the Hokage himself.
They ran for their lives like cowards.
Only the brave ones remained to protect the patients.
Medics are taught to prioritise their own survival, after all.
Maintaining the genjutsu took a toll on the old man.
So he was immediately taken to the operating table.
She lies down on her bed as she smiles.
It was scary when Sasuke-kun said those things.
Village politics are scary.
Father would be disappointed in her.
She might even be branded a traitor.
"Naruto will think you are cool."
So she agreed.
Still, that shouldn't have been enough.
She loves Naruto.
But not enough to get above the fear of her father.
The day when Neji hit the floor sideways on the ground, something flipped a switch in her.
It's as if… she had become an unstoppable force.
And all thanks to Naruto.
The guy himself would disagree though.
"It was all your training and hard work," her sunshine would say.
And even the thought of it gives butterflies in her stomach.
It's all in her head though.
There is no certainty if Naruto even cares.
But…
A girl can dream… right?
Maybe helping a potential terrorist might make her seem a bit cooler to Naruto.
A girl can dream…
########
The ECG is going flat.
A constant beep can only be heard across the room.
Hiruzen's heart has stopped beating once I untwisted his chakra nodes.
"Resuscitate," I utter.
"It's impossible. The chakra network on his heart has completely torn. You have failed, Sasuke Uchiha," the doctor says.
I quickly make chakra wires and wrap them around the still heart.
"What are you doing?" he asks as he grabs my hand.
"I'm connecting my heart with his to continue," I explain.
"Are you crazy?? You might die!" he says.
"Doctor, this hospital will blow up if you further interrupt me," I say nonchalantly.
"Bullshit! You are bluffing," he says.
I smack my lips and snap a finger.
The room shakes with another explosion in the distance.
He looks me right in the eye.
"You are a madman!" the female medic says.
"I don't care what you think of me! But know this… No one is getting out of here alive… if this man dies," I say with a firm voice.
The anaesthesia specialist sits on his chair.
"You are a disgrace," he spits.
I can only look at him with furrowed eyebrows as I ignore him to do my job.
"I've worked with your father, Fugaku Uchiha. He was the most loyal soldier I've ever seen," he says as he goes on.
Someone put a gag in this guy's mouth.
"He must be rolling in his grave right now, seeing his heir harbouring who knows what criminal!"
"And the First Hokage must be rolling in his," I say while rolling my eyes.
"You dumbasses let a genin hijack a whole hospital," I say with a smirk.
He can only grit his teeth.
"Who is this guy anyway?" the nephrologist asks.
I sigh.
Hiruzen might be looking a bit different from how he usually does, since he lost a lot of weight.
But damn… they can't even recognise their Kage.
The chakra wires are done. All that's left is to connect them with my SA node and shock.
I use a small voltage lightning chakra on his heart.
It starts beating after the third shock.
I can feel his heart draining my chakra.
Well, I'm used to it by now… considering how much chakra my Sharingan drains.
The shock was so powerful that Hiruzen woke up from a seemingly brain-dead state.
He looks at the beating heart on my palm.
Takes a second to process what's happening.
"I want a smoke," he says.
"Not now, Hokage-sama," I say while petting his head with the other hand.
He looks around.
"Oh… Hideo! How's it going?" he asks with his sunken eyes and hoarse voice.
My assistant surgeon almost breaks into tears as he finally recognises the patient.
"Hokage-sama????" he asks with a shaky voice.
"Did that order of morphine from Toka village come in?" he asks.
The doctor takes a minute to process the question. Then he takes a deep breath.
"It did, Hokage-sama! It did," he says while looking at the floor.
"Oh thank god! We lost a chunin on that mission. Medicine routes are getting dangerous these days," he says with a huff.
He is delirious.
That is not something he should be talking about.
"Don't worry, Hokage-sama… we will take good care of it," he says.
I look around the room. Everyone is standing up like ninja waiting for orders.
"Hey… emm… things are complicated," he says as I shove the halogen mask on his face.
"Help this kid however you can. And fill in Tsunade once she gets here," he looks at the surgeon.
"I will be troubling you once again, Hideo," he says with a smile.
The doctor nods.
"I will take care of everything," he says as Hiruzen goes back to sleep.
"I guess he has someone he can trust," I scoff.
The room shifts with an uncomfortable vibe.
"Won't be needing this anymore," I show them the seal that controls the bombs.
The anaesthesia specialist grabs my shoulder.
"Keep it," he says. I raise my eyebrows.
"If the Hokage dies under our watch after all that effort you put in…" he looks around.
"We might as well be dead," he says.
Wow… that is some hardcore medic.
I hear a scream in the distance.
Someone is screaming her head off.
"Looks like Lady Toya broke her water," I make an educated guess.
"She will be fine," says Hideo.
"Do we have a gynaecologist?" I ask.
"No… she fell for your genjutsu," says the nephrologist.
I sigh.
"She looked rather young for someone to be pregnant," I mention.
I hear a distinct splash.
"Her water broke," I mention.
"Maybe you should just focus on keeping Hokage-sama alive? Eh?" the nephrologist scoffs.
"I… understand… but I can check her out if someone brings her here?" I say.
I can almost feel the nephrologist gritting his teeth.
"Don't get cocky, kid," he spits.
Hideo can only sigh.
The door slams open before the sigh could end.
An unconscious woman with a huge tummy enters the room.
She is almost thrown onto the bed as the nurses hook her up to life support.
"She lost too much blood," the nurse says.
The doctors get to work.
A common case of postpartum haemorrhage.
But… she looks a bit serious.
"We need blood," the female doctor says.
"O negative," a nurse notifies.
"We… don't have any reserve," the nephrologist says.
She will die…
Oh well…
I point at my backpack.
"There should be a scroll with pink marks on it. I have blood there," I say.
The nephrologist—I think his name tag says Hotaro—ruffles through my bag and finds the scroll.
Unravelling it, he unseals five bags of blood.
He looks at the row of blood for a straight few seconds like he is mesmerised.
Then he takes them silently and hooks her up with the blood.
"Thank you…" he says.
"Don't mention it… you have to go through this… unfortunate situation for my incompetence anyway," I simply shrug.
I feel my head getting heavier.
"Please, Doctor Hideo. Could you fix me a bed with a Hartmann's IV?" I request.
He chuckles.
"You don't have to ask me for this… just order a nurse," he says.
I look at the four nurses who are undoubtedly seasoned chunin.
But they get moving, and I am finally able to lie down.
"We have to keep the heart like this for another five hours. Once we transplant a pacemaker, we should be able to close him up," I say.
I then look at the nephrologist. He is undoubtedly a jounin.
Someone who fought alongside Father.
Hiruzen should be safe with him.
I think.
If he wanted to kill us… or capture us… he would've done it already.
"Hotaro-sama," I call.
He bobs his head in response.
"I'm very sorry for the inconvenience I have caused. So, if you have anyone with ninth-percentile chakra control… I can transfer the wires to them. Then I will turn myself in," I say.
The room falls silent.
"Please… protect the Hokage at all cost," I say with a sigh.
That's the best course of action for now.
People might be losing their lives every second I'm occupying the hospital.
Hotaro chews on a senbon.
"We can't," he says.
????!!!!!???? What????
I look at him with confusion.
"The Hokage's last words were 'help this kid however you can'. That means you are the principal," he points the senbon at me.
Hideo chuckles.
"By the order of the Hokage… we can't let you come to any harm," he says.
"Even if we did turn you in, we can never maintain this type of connection for five hours… that's impossible. Only you can do it… Sasuke Uchiha," he says with a smile.
"But… I need Tsunade to wake him up again," I try to be realistic.
"Yeah…" Hideo huffs.
"That'll be a problem," Hotaro says.
"Don't worry… I have people working on it," I reassure them.
And after all that commotion… word should've reached the Toad Sannin's ears by now.
I hope Sakura contacted Naruto on this.
I wonder if others will help.
I wonder if Kakashi-sensei will help.
Shit… I feel so…
Hopeful…
"Hey!? You good?" Hotaro asks with concern.
"No… I mean… yes… I'm completely fine," I say with a smile.
"You are crying, kid," the nurse pats my head.
The lady nurse with the name [Saya] gently pets my head.
"I feel so… relieved to finally find people who are actually helping me…" I say with a shaky voice.
"Don't get too comfortable," Hotaro cuts in.
"You have to get your ass out of here once Hokage-sama's condition stabilises," he reminds me.
"You know any place where they can hide?" Hideo asks.
Hotaro shakes his head. Nope.
"Don't worry," I again smile ear to ear.
"You got people working on it?" Saya asks with a smile.
"Yes… they are wonderful people… my best friends… but I can't mention them… it's not like I don't trust you guys or anything…" I say with a stutter.
"It's okay, kid… this is how ninja work anyway," Hotaro lights up a cigarette.
The smoke swirls in the air and accumulates on the ceiling like some cloud.
"Wow!! How are you doing this?" I can't help but smile at the trick.
"Neat trick, ain't it?" he makes more clouds. "Wanna learn it?" he asks.
"Sure! But… I don't smoke," I smile wryly.
"Oh!? No shit! You know, me and your dad used to burn a joint in the middle of the battlefield," he takes a short drag.
"Really? I never knew he smoked," I widen my eyes.
"No shit! He smoked like a chimney," he smiles.
But that's a sad smile.
"I guess you let go of things when you become the clan leader," I try to cheer him up.
"But… how can you stop smoking just like that? It's like stopping breathing," he almost sounds like whining.
Hideo-san fixes his glasses.
"The Uchihas feel emotions stronger than other ninja. Guess… something happened," he looks at Hotaro.
Guess he hit the bull's eye.
I better change the subject.
"Uchihas weren't some crazy hipsters, Dr. Hideo. We feel emotions like other normal people do," I say with a chuckle.
"That's racist on your part," I add.
"Ha ha ha ha… my bad, kid!" he laughs.
"Yeah! All Uchihas use genjutsu! All Uchihas use fire element! All Uchihas have long hair! Some racist shit I'm telling you! Some of us go bald like other ninja," I say with an upturned nose.
Hotaro points his cigarette at me.
"Hey! The last one was a lie! I've never seen a bald Uchiha my entire life as a vet!" he says with a serious face.
Hideo laughs while holding his stomach.
Hotaro-san shakes silently.