After Yahiko returned to the hideout.
"Shinji, I've brought back everything you asked for."
On the way back, he carefully avoided several patrols from Amegakure and finally made it safely to the hideout. Fortunately, he had managed to gather every single item Shinji had requested, without missing a single one.
He hurried toward the previous resting room, pushed the door open, and was about to share the good news with Shinji.
But as soon as he took half a step inside, he froze. Shinji was slumped sideways on the sofa, a glistening trail of drool at the corner of his mouth, snoring lightly—clearly exhausted.
"..."
Yahiko felt a surge of warmth and emotion. It was because Shinji had pushed himself to the limit to save him, Konan, and Nagato that he was in such a state.
"I'll tell him later."
Yahiko made up his mind, slowly stepped back, and gently closed the door, careful not to disturb him.
Just then, Shinji's eyelids fluttered slightly, picking up on the faint movement in the room.
The next moment, his eyes snapped open. He instantly straightened up, his gaze sharp and alert as it swept across the room, filled with caution.
When his eyes landed on Yahiko at the door, all the tension and wariness melted away. He let out a long sigh of relief, his body gradually relaxing.
"Oh, it's you..."
He awkwardly wiped the corner of his mouth and said,
Yahiko smiled knowingly and handed over a gray cloth bag from behind.
"Everything's in there."
Shinji thought to himself that he must have been too exhausted, falling asleep without even realizing it. When deeply asleep, one's guard is at its lowest—such carelessness was unacceptable. And to think someone had seen him like that.
He asked, "Did you get what I needed?"
Shinji took the bag and opened it. The first things he saw were several bright red medical blood transfusion bags. Besides those, there were daily necessities, spare clothes, and other items.
He took out the transfusion bags, weighed them in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction. Then he gathered the remaining items back into the bag and casually placed it on the sofa.
"I'll go check on the three of them," he said to Yahiko.
Having slept for so long, it was time to examine them again. Especially Fugaku, who had already lost too much blood—the sooner he received a transfusion to stabilize his condition, the better.
With that, Shinji picked up the transfusion bags and hurried toward the makeshift medical room.
Seeing this, Yahiko didn't dare delay and quickly followed.
Shinji walked slowly to the row of beds.
Nagato and Konan lay quietly with their eyes closed. The IV bags hanging from their arms were nearly empty, the nutrient solution almost depleted.
With practiced ease, Shinji replaced the bags with fresh ones, then leaned over to carefully check their vital signs one by one.
Beside him, Yahiko watched the entire process with a tense expression, not even daring to breathe loudly.
"Don't worry, they're fine."
Shinji turned back with a light smile. He had already explained their conditions to Yahiko earlier and understood his concern.
Yahiko nodded firmly, but his gaze remained fixed on Nagato and Konan in their beds.
His expression shifted several times—from tension to relief, then to determination, and finally settling into a complex, unreadable emotion.
No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.
Shinji reached out and patted Yahiko's shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
He then picked up the blood transfusion bag and walked to the leftmost hospital bed. After confirming the bag was properly sealed, he carefully inserted the needle into the vein on Fugaku's hand and secured it in place.
Watching the warm blood drip slowly into Fugaku's body, Shinji nodded with satisfaction.
Having completed these tasks, Shinji took a seat on a chair by the wall of the ward, quietly keeping watch over the three.
Yahiko silently brought over another chair and sat down beside Shinji.
Shinji turned to him and suggested with a smile, "I can handle things here. You've been running around all day and must be exhausted. Go get some rest."
Yahiko had just been through an intense battle and had rushed around to gather supplies. At this moment, he was relying purely on willpower to keep going. With one person already staying in the ward, his presence wouldn't be of much help and would only drain his energy unnecessarily.
But Yahiko gently shook his head, his tone stubborn, "I want to stay and watch over Nagato and Konan."
"Suit yourself."
Seeing his serious expression, Shinji didn't press further.
He understood all too well—even when powerless, the desire to stay by someone's side, to keep watch every moment, was overwhelming. At the very least, it could bring a sliver of comfort to a tormented heart.
After that, the two fell silent, both gazing at the three hospital beds as they quietly awaited the dawn of recovery.
Two days later.
The medical room was dimly lit, its heavy atmosphere making one drowsy.
Shinji, nodding off repeatedly, was on the verge of sleep. For two full nights, he had repeatedly changed the nutrient solutions for the three and monitored their vital signs.
Fortunately, their injuries were steadily improving. It had to be said, the physique of a ninja was remarkable—their recovery speed far surpassed that of ordinary people in his previous life.
Even Fugaku, who had been the most severely injured, was gradually regaining some color in his face, and his breathing was becoming steady.
Suddenly, a faint groan jolted Shinji from his drowsiness.
"Someone's awake?"
Just as he was about to stand up, he saw Yahiko beside him already rushing forward, stopping by Nagato's bed.
His face lit up with barely contained excitement as he leaned down and called softly, "Nagato, Nagato, how are you feeling?"
On the bed, Nagato groaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes. The first thing to hit him was a burning, stinging pain in his lower body. Instinctively, he tried to move his legs, but the slightest tug on his wounds made him gasp sharply.
Once he recognized the familiar face before him, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Yahiko, where is this? And... Konan? Where is she?"
Nagato looked up at the unfamiliar yet vaguely recognizable ceiling as fragmented memories flooded back. He vaguely remembered seeing Yahiko and Konan in danger, and in his desperation, he had summoned the Gedo Statue. After that, his memories abruptly cut off.
"Konan? How is she?"
His pupils contracted as he suddenly snapped back to reality, struggling to sit up.
Yahiko's nose tingled with emotion.
He reached out to restrain the agitated Nagato, soothing him, "Konan is fine, and so am I. She's right beside you."
Nagato hurriedly turned his head and saw Konan lying peacefully, the blanket rising and falling gently with her breathing.
His voice grew even hoarser and more trembling, "Konan is really okay?"
"Lie still and rest. Getting too worked up isn't good for your recovery."
An unfamiliar voice spoke up, and only then did Nagato notice Shinji standing behind Yahiko.
"What are you doing here?" he asked in astonishment.
Nagato recognized this as the medical room of the Akatsuki hideout, but his mind was filled with confusion.
How could this person be inside the hideout? The hideout had always been kept secret from outsiders. Could Yahiko have brought him in? What exactly happened after he lost consciousness? And how many days had he been asleep?
Shinji glanced at him coolly, thinking to himself: As expected of an Uzumaki, their vitality is exceptionally tenacious. Even though Konan's injuries were lighter, Nagato was the first to wake up.
He stepped closer to the bedside.
"Naturally, I had to be here. If I weren't, who would have saved you?"
Nagato looked at Yahiko with confusion, his eyes full of questions.
Yahiko nodded firmly. "It was Shinji who saved us. We're alive because of him."
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