After entering the hotel room, Tsunade's gaze naturally fell upon the bed.
When she saw the girl's face clearly, her brow twitched imperceptibly, and a flash of surprise flickered in her emerald eyes.
It wasn't because the girl's condition was critical; on the contrary, she looked quite normal.
If that were truly the case, it would actually be a bit tricky!
She stepped forward and quickly checked her pulse, pupil color, and body temperature. She flipped open the eyelids and gave the girl's slender arms and calves a squeeze.
Uchiha Hikari waited motionless for Tsunade's examination.
Naruto had already told her beforehand that he would have a doctor check her body for any lingering hidden injuries.
There were no obvious external injuries, no signs of Chakra going haywire or being blocked, no signs of poisoning, and not even any common hidden or old injuries.
In the Ninja world, this wasn't exactly common, but such people did exist.
She was simple—one could even say she was 'clean' to an abnormal degree.
Tsunade withdrew her hand, stood up straight, and turned to look at Naruto, who had been standing silently to the side.
The light in the room was somewhat dim, making her eyes look exceptionally sharp in the shadows, filled with inquiry and unmasked scrutiny.
"Is she from Konoha?" she asked.
Uchiha Hikari was just about to answer when Naruto stopped her.
"No."
Naruto answered very quickly, without any further explanation.
"I picked her up."
"Heh."
Tsunade gave a short laugh. There was no warmth in that laugh; it was full of the implication of, 'Go on, keep making things up.'
She folded her arms, her gaze falling back onto Uchiha Hikari's face. The girl's features were delicate and pretty; even in her haggard state, one could tell she had an excellent foundation.
"Where did you pick up a girl like this? She's quite beautiful. And you're even willing to spend so much money to have me check her over?"
She drew out her words, her tone carrying a hint of mockery.
"Maybe I should go pick one up someday too?"
Naruto met Tsunade's eyes, which clearly read 'I don't believe you,' but he didn't try to defend himself.
He looked away toward a sliver of daylight leaking through a crack in the window, feeling somewhat helpless.
What then?
Was he supposed to tell Tsunade that he dug this girl out of an ancient Seal, and that she was from the era of her great-great-grandfather... or even earlier?
Just thinking about that scene made Naruto himself feel it was absurd.
Once those words were out, Tsunade probably wouldn't just look at him like he was an idiot; she might directly conclude he was under some Advanced Genjutsu.
A living Seal where someone's appearance didn't change even after being sealed for over a hundred years.
Even to Naruto, it was incredible.
Let's put it this way: for Naruto, who was studying Sealing Jutsu, seeing this sealing array was akin to a science geek seeing a hibernation pod in a sci-fi movie.
So Naruto had recorded the distribution and composition of these Seals on the pillars; he would have to study them properly when he got back.
After Tsunade finished checking Uchiha Hikari's condition, she stood up and turned her gaze toward Naruto, who had been keeping watch by the bed.
"You've studied Medical Ninjutsu as well, haven't you?"
She asked, not as a guess, but as a near-certain statement.
She had noticed it during the examination just now.
Naruto nodded and gave a very brief answer: "I've learned a few."
"A few?"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, clearly dissatisfied with such a vague quantifier.
"Which ones?"
Naruto didn't hide anything and listed them directly: "Mystical Palm Technique, Miasma Extraction Technique, and Life-Reducing Regeneration Technique."
When the name of the third technique was clearly uttered by Naruto, Tsunade's emerald eyes, which usually held a hint of lethargy, suddenly narrowed.
Her brow furrowed almost immediately, and her gaze became as sharp as a scalpel, locking tightly onto Naruto's face.
The air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Which one did you use before?"
Her voice dropped an octave, no longer teasing, but serious, with even a faint hint of tension.
Naruto answered truthfully: "Mystical Palm Technique and Miasma Extraction Technique."
Hearing this answer, Tsunade's furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
She let out a soft breath that was almost inaudible in the quiet room, but the tense lines of her shoulders did indeed relax.
"You made the right choice."
Her tone returned to its usual calm.
She turned her gaze back to Uchiha Hikari, her eyes lingering for a moment on her prominent wrist bones and sunken cheeks.
"Although she doesn't look too bad now, her condition must have been poor before..."
Tsunade's voice was steady, yet it carried the cool assessment typical of a Medical Ninja.
"If you had used the Life-Reducing Regeneration Technique, you indeed could have healed her quickly, but she definitely wouldn't have lived much longer."
She paused, seemingly performing a precise mental deduction of the consequences of that 'if'.
"The essence of that technique is to extremely overdraw life force to forcibly stimulate physiological functions in exchange for instantaneous wound healing.
For a body already on the verge of collapse and at the end of its tether, it's no different from drinking poison to quench thirst."
She shook her head.
"Even if the surface injuries were healed, that hollowed-out body of hers would never be able to withstand the intense consumption and backlash that follows. The result would only be a facade of health followed by an accelerated collapse after a period of time."
"Not bad, kid. Who taught you Medical Ninjutsu?"
"Sister Hana taught me."
"Which Sister Hana?"
"Inuzuka Hana."
When Tsunade heard Naruto's answer, her originally somewhat serious expression froze for a moment, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably twice.
Her emerald eyes sized Naruto up once again.
"Inuzuka Hana?"
She repeated the name, her tone thick with the need for confirmation, as if trying to find a trace of a joke on Naruto's face.
Tsunade had encountered Inuzuka Hana during a mission before, and she knew she was a veterinarian for the medical team.
Naruto, however, nodded very frankly: "Yeah, that's her."
Shizune, who had been quietly recording something nearby, was now stunned.
The little pig, Tonton, in her arms also seemed to sense the strange atmosphere.
Hikari was also a bit confused. Was there something wrong with Inuzuka Hana?
And that surname seemed somewhat familiar.
Shizune's gaze toward Naruto was full of shock and confusion. She couldn't help but exclaim softly, her voice filled with disbelief:
"Wait... if I remember correctly, Hana... she, she seems to be..."
Shizune took a deep breath:
"She seems to be a veterinarian, doesn't she?"
Uchiha Hikari:???
She knew that surname was familiar. That should be a fairly large Ninja clan whose Ninjutsu mostly involves cooperating with Ninken.
Tsunade glanced at Shizune.
"Even if she's a veterinarian, Inuzuka Hana should have learned how to treat humans during her residency."
Tsunade knew Konoha's Medical Ninja system and assessment standards all too well. People said Inuzuka Hana was a veterinarian because the patients she treated most often were the Inuzuka Clan's dogs.
But that didn't mean she lacked the ability and experience to treat humans.
To put it bluntly, if someone was about to die in battle, who would care if the person treating them was a veterinarian?
"Alright, take good care of her. Shizune, let's go."
After checking Uchiha Hikari's condition, Tsunade prepared to get up and leave.
She had no intention of asking Naruto's name; whoever wanted to go back to Konoha could go.
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
Shizune also prepared to leave with her.
Seeing Tsunade about to leave, Naruto spoke up unhurriedly.
"Orochimaru used the Edo Tensei technique to summon the First, the Second, and Grandma Mito from the Pure Land. After Orochimaru was subdued, they became free edo tensei bodies.
When I left, the Second told me they want to see you."
Tsunade's footsteps halted, and she turned back in astonishment.