Konoha Hospital, inside the intensive care ward.
The room currently gathered almost all the Village's high-ranking power holders; however, the condition of these important figures could hardly be called decent; in fact, it was quite miserable.
Four hospital beds were arranged side by side. Although equally battered, their appearances varied. First were the two elders whose injuries were "relatively light" but whose emotions were the most agitated, constantly nagging with a fierce Aura: Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado.
Except for their eyes and mouths, the rest of their faces were tightly wrapped in thick white bandages, making them look like two talking mummy heads.
Every time they spoke, it seemed to pull at the wounds on their faces, causing a sharp pain, but this did not stop their continuous complaints and accusations.
"Hiruzen! Did you hear what we said?!" Utatane Koharu's voice sounded muffled through the bandages, but the anger was clearly discernible. "This time was sheer recklessness! How could you allow the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to act so wantonly inside the Hokage Building?!"
"And especially during this crucial period of post-war reconstruction and power transition! Because of her outburst, do you know how much time and resources we have to waste on cleanup? What excuse are we supposed to use to delay and explain the next Hokage's succession ceremony to the outside world?"
"Furthermore!" Homura Mitokado took over. "Are you really planning to just give Uzumaki Kushina's matter the cold shoulder? 'Just maintain the current state'? What kind of attitude is that! Allowing a spirit confirmed dead to remain in the living world is a severe desecration of the order of life and death! Breaking this taboo—if word gets out, what kind of vigilance and backlash will it provoke from the other great nations? Have you considered the consequences?!"
Lying on the bed opposite them was the most miserable-looking person in the entire room: the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi.
His entire appearance was filled with exotic flair; if one didn't look at the exposed, tired old face, one might mistake him for a newly excavated Egyptian mummy.
All his limbs were firmly fixed in sturdy casts, unable to move even slightly.
The Professor of Ninjutsu, who had gone through countless Ninja World Wars and faced innumerable powerful enemies without ever being this battered, was now estimated by doctors to need at least a month to recover basic mobility, even with daily Medical Ninjutsu treatment.
The Third Hokage lay there silently, not responding to the machine-gun barrage of condemnation from his two old friends and Advisors across the room.
In fact, when he first woke up, he had already answered most of their questions.
However, his answers explicitly stated that he had no intention of "dealing with" or forcibly dissolving Kushina's current state, which clearly left Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado extremely dissatisfied, so the questioning had continued until now.
Since he couldn't make them shut up, he might as well maintain his own silence. The Third Hokage thought helplessly, and simply closed his eyes, adopting an 'out of sight, out of mind' approach.
Next to the Third Hokage's bed, Jiraiya's condition was not much better.
One of his arms and half his face were also covered in bandages, but he clearly knew better how to handle this environment—he had firmly plugged his ears with earplugs, isolating most of the noise pollution.
Then, with the one remaining hand he could move freely, he leisurely flipped through a book he had personally authored, acting as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.
He had originally been agonizing over how to apologize for neglecting Naruto all these years... and ended up being beaten into this state by Kushina... Jiraiya smiled wryly in his heart.
Strangely, after Jiraiya endured this physical suffering, the heavy sense of guilt in his heart had lessened considerably, making him feel much lighter.
He hoped that the next time he saw Kushina... her anger might have dissipated a bit because of this... Jiraiya secretly wished.
After all, regarding taking Naruto as an apprentice, if Naruto's parents were still alive, it would be necessary, both emotionally and rationally, to get their consent.
Now, this method of "physical communication," although a bit rough, could at least be considered... an alternative form of "notification," right?
"Excuse me, Young Miss, this is the intensive care area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter freely."
Suddenly, the voice of a nurse attempting to dissuade someone came from not far outside the ward door.
"It's fine. I'm an acquaintance of those stinky old men inside. I'm just going in to take care of something, and I'll leave right away."
Another female voice, carrying an undeniable Aura, followed. For some people inside the ward, this voice was frighteningly familiar.
"Stinky... stinky old men?! Please leave immediately! If you insist on causing trouble, I will have to call the Guard Ninja over!" The nurse's voice was clearly strained.
"Eh? Wait! What are you doing?! Please don't—!"
"BANG!!!!!!!!"
Accompanied by a deafening crash, the ward's heavy door was not pushed open, but was instead utterly smashed into flying fragments by a single fist!
The nurse who had been trying to block the way stared dumbfounded at the scene before her, finally realizing completely that this red-haired woman was absolutely not an ordinary visitor, but likely an extremely dangerous individual!
Inside the ward, everyone except the Third Hokage, whose neck was fixed and couldn't turn, and who could only glance toward the door out of the corner of his eye, was startled by the sudden violent entry and looked toward the doorway—
Sure enough, standing amidst the ruins of the doorway was Uzumaki Kushina, her vivid red hair floating around her from sheer anger, and her expression terrifyingly grim.
"Uzumaki Kushina! What are you doing now?!" Utatane Koharu glared fiercely at the intruder through the bandages on her face, using the only exposed parts of her eyes. "Haven't you caused enough trouble at the Hokage Building?! This is a Hospital!"
"Kushina..." Jiraiya hurriedly shoved the novel he was holding under his pillow and sat up nervously. "What... what happened now? Let's talk this out..."
"What am I doing?" Kushina's voice was chillingly cold. She walked step by step into the ward, her gaze sweeping over the people in the beds. "No, I want to ask you—what exactly did you do?!"
Her voice suddenly rose, carrying unbelievable fury and accusation, and she abruptly directed it toward the Third Hokage, who lay immobile in the center bed.
"Stinky old man... you tell me yourself! The Uchiha Clan was annihilated—what exactly does that mean?!!!"
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