Ignoring kaoru, who sat silently outside the operating room, Tsunade hurried straight into surgery.
The moment she saw the familiar boy lying on the operating table, her breathing hitched.
There was no time to grieve.
With the nurses' help, Tsunade quickly changed into surgical attire, then turned to the medic maintaining Kyusei's vital signs.
"Tiānshàn," she said sharply. "What's his condition?"
"All over," Yakushi Tiānshàn replied, cold sweat dripping down his temples. "Multiple muscle tears throughout the body. Five ribs fractured. Massive internal bleeding in the chest. Most critically—one bone fragment pierced the heart."
Tsunade clenched her teeth, forcing herself to stay calm.
"I'll take over."
"Tiānshàn, assist me."
"Yes, Lady Tsunade."
She stepped up to the operating table. Just as she was about to take over, her eyes caught sight of the necklace resting on Kyusei's chest—the one she had personally given him—faintly glowing green beneath the surgical lights.
A flicker of sorrow passed through her eyes.
But her hands didn't slow.
Green light—the color of life—flared around her palms as she rapidly assessed Kyusei's condition.
The results were worse than Tiānshàn had reported.
It wasn't just five broken ribs—there were countless tiny bone fragments embedded deep inside his organs.
Every single one of them had to be removed.
Time slipped by, second by second.
Night gradually gave way to dawn. Konoha's villagers began another ordinary day.
Yet outside one operating room in Konoha Hospital, a blond girl remained seated motionless.
She hadn't imagined this.
She hadn't imagined that she would be the one to beat Kyusei into surgery.
Tsunade had been inside for six hours now—with no end in sight.
If Kyusei died because of her…
Her hands clenched tightly around her clothes.
Time had never felt so unbearable.
Her tears were gone—completely dried up.
Footsteps echoed nearby.
But kaoru didn't react. She sat like a puppet, eyes unfocused.
A heavy, aged voice broke the silence.
"kaoru… this time, you really went too far."
The Third Hokage looked at her with helpless exhaustion.
He had prepared himself for the worst—but not this.
That brat Kyusei had really let himself be beaten into critical condition.
Not even resisting…
"Third Hokage…"
kaoru slowly lifted her head, stiff as if rusted.
"…Do you think Kyusei will die?"
"…He won't," Sarutobi said after a pause. "Tsunade is in there."
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
Just then—
Click.
The operating room door opened.
Tsunade stepped out, her face pale with exhaustion. Hours of precision surgery had nearly drained her completely.
"Tsunade, how is he?" Sarutobi asked at once.
Given Kyusei's terrifying endurance, Sarutobi had assumed he could take a beating.
But precisely because he could, kaoru hadn't held back—nearly beating him straight through the gates of death.
Tsunade sat down beside kaoru, studying the girl's blank expression.
"He's out of immediate danger."
"But… a piece of bone pierced his heart."
kaoru's hands clenched instantly.
"H-He… why…?"
Tsunade rubbed her forehead, voice heavy.
"Old man, I need to ask you something."
"Hm?"
Sarutobi had just relaxed, hearing Kyusei was alive.
"What is Kyusei's relationship to Grandma Mito?"
Something flickered in Tsunade's eyes.
What she had seen in Kyusei—
That ability—was almost identical to Uzumaki Mito's.
It wasn't something she could ignore.
"…Kyusei," Sarutobi sighed, "is Noran's grandson."
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly.
Uzumaki Noran—
Mito's younger brother.
Which meant…
Kyusei was her cousin.
She… had a younger brother?
—
When Kyusei finally drifted awake, he found himself lying in a hospital ward, tubes and lines running all over his body.
"Hey… anyone there… can you—"
Before he could finish, a familiar figure dashed out of the room shouting:
"Lady Tsunade!"
"Lady Tsunade!"
"Kyusei's awake!"
…Nao?
Why was Nao here?
Brat, you finally woke up.
Kurama's voice echoed inside him.
Kyusei sank into his inner world, landing weakly atop the Nine-Tails' massive head.
He stared at the golden sealing space, exhausted.
"Little Nine… how long was I out?"
"Four days," Kurama snorted.
He'd thought he'd be picking a respawn point already.
Instead, under kaoru's merciless beating, Kyusei had somehow awakened Uzumaki regenerative vitality—barely surviving.
"You were reckless."
"Even if you didn't want to fight her, couldn't you have run?"
Kyusei weakly stroked the fur beneath him.
"I owed her."
"If I ran… there'd be no future at all."
"Tch. Next time you feel like dying, don't drag me with you."
In Kurama's eyes, this was pure stupidity—letting someone beat you to the brink of death.
What could be dumber?
"Little Nine, we'll talk later," Kyusei muttered. "Someone's calling me outside."
He opened his eyes—
And once again saw Sarutobi's wrinkled old face.
…Why did he think again?
Before he could process that thought, Tsunade snapped irritably:
"Brat, you're only alive because you're lucky."
Kyusei ignored her tone, scanning the room.
Sarutobi.
Tsunade.
Nao.
Only those three.
"…Where's kaoru?"
His voice was faint—barely audible unless you listened closely.
"Oh, that girl?" Tsunade crossed her arms. "She's standing outside."
"Too scared to come in."
Tsunade snorted.
Honestly—if she wanted to beat someone, did she really have to beat them this badly?
She'd never even hit Jiraiya that hard…
"Tsunade-jiejie," Kyusei smiled weakly, "can you ask everyone to step out?"
"I want to see kaoru."
Tsunade paused.
Looking at his smile now, she found it strangely… pleasing.
After all, now that she knew Kyusei was her little brother—
What was the big deal about having another wife?
The Uzumaki clan barely had anyone left.
Expanding the bloodline—
Was that really wrong?
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