As the grandson of the First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki, Nawaki did not inherit any bloodline limits, yet his recovery ability was exceptional
By the time Uchiha Hayashi arrived at the hospital tent, Nawaki was already out of danger
However, due to the anesthesia, he had yet to regain consciousness
After sending Minato and Mikoto back to rest, Hayashi also sought treatment from a medical ninja
After all, he himself had sustained several minor injuries during the battle
As a result, early the next morning, while he was still asleep on a hospital bed, an ANBU operative arrived and informed him that the commanders wished to see him
That meant Orochimaru and Tsunade
"Tsunade sama, were you looking for me?"
Stepping into the central command tent, Hayashi saw Tsunade seated at the main position, with Orochimaru sitting quietly to the side
Orochimaru looked as calm as ever, but Tsunade clearly had just returned from the battlefield
The bloodstains on her clothes had not fully dried, and the lingering killing intent around her had yet to fade
Only her face appeared noticeably pale
"Sit down first," Tsunade said without lifting her head, her eyes fixed on the scroll in her hands
"What's going on?" Hayashi asked quietly as he took a seat beside Orochimaru
Orochimaru glanced cautiously at Tsunade, then shook his head slightly
"It's just that time of the month
Don't worry"
Despite his words, Hayashi could tell that Orochimaru sounded far less confident than usual
If it was truly nothing, he should have said it openly
The constant eye signals were not very convincing
After a while, Tsunade pressed a hand to her forehead, still holding the scroll, her expression showing clear fatigue
"Are you alright?" Orochimaru asked, leaning forward slightly
"I'm fine," Tsunade replied
"You released too much chakra from the Strength of a Hundred Seal at once," Orochimaru said, shaking his head
"Even for you, that puts a heavy burden on your chakra pathways
You should rest
I'll handle things here"
"I know," Tsunade replied, nodding, though she still did not move
Nawaki's injury had clearly shaken her
Orochimaru did not continue pressing the matter
Although his persuasion skills were impressive, they were usually reserved for recruiting talented children
In situations like this, all he could do was observe quietly
After all, not everyone could solve problems with words alone
"The casualty report from last night has been compiled," Tsunade continued
"We lost a total of fifty-eight shinobi of chuunin rank and above
That includes forty-three chuunin, nine special jounin, and six jounin"
"..."
The number hung heavily in the air
Tsunade continued, unaware of Hayashi's brief pause
"The losses are too high
Under normal circumstances, a small-scale clash with Sunagakure forces should not have resulted in even half of this"
"But Sunagakure's losses were greater," Orochimaru added calmly
"Yes," Tsunade replied
"Based on the bodies left on the battlefield, Sunagakure lost over seventy ninja
Around forty were chuunin, and at least thirty were elite jounin, special jounin, or full jounin"
"Because they retrieved some key bodies, we can't determine the exact number
This is only an estimate"
"Sixty of them were confirmed kills by the Konoha rescue team
As for the rest, we examined Hayashi's battle area and found ten additional bodies"
"Ten?" Orochimaru repeated, unsurprised
"Yes," Hayashi said calmly, nodding once
Tsunade had not summoned him to discuss strategy
This was clearly about confirming battle contributions for records and post-war arrangements
"What about the enemy ranks?" Orochimaru asked
Tsunade sealed a sheet of densely written paper into a scroll and handed it to a slug waiting beside her
"The details will be recorded in your mission file," she said
"If there are urgent assignments, someone will notify you"
With that, she lowered her head again and returned to reviewing reports
Hayashi stood and prepared to leave
"Hayashi," Tsunade said suddenly
"Thank you for saving Nawaki"
Hayashi smiled slightly, lifted the tent flap, and stepped outside
...
The weather outside was pleasant
A gentle breeze passed through the camp, rustling leaves and carrying a refreshing coolness
Nawaki should be awake by now
With that thought, Hayashi headed toward the medical area
Conditions in the frontline medical tents were far worse than in the command area, but given the circumstances, that was only to be expected
As he approached the tent, Nawaki's voice drifted out
"Ah, that hurts
Don't use so much force
Be gentle"
Hayashi froze
Something felt off
He paused and listened more carefully
"Minato, use your hand to rub it for me"
This is bad
I definitely heard something I shouldn't have
Hayashi immediately pushed open the tent and walked inside
The scene was far more innocent than he expected
Nawaki was half-reclined on the bed while Minato carefully changed his bandages
Because the Sand Village poison had spread throughout Nawaki's body, the medical ninja had used the Chakra Scalpel and extraction techniques to cleanse his blood
He barely had the strength to sit up on his own
If Minato had not been there, this task would likely have fallen to Hayashi
"Hayashi, you're back," Minato said
"Yeah, carry on," Hayashi replied
Minato nodded, then tilted his head
"Why is your face so red?"
"It's nothing," Hayashi replied awkwardly
"The weather outside is a bit hot"
He walked over and sat beside Nawaki's bed
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Nawaki said
"The medical ninja said I should be able to get out of bed in a few days"
"Good"
"Thanks for yesterday"
"No need to say that between us," Hayashi replied, then suddenly stiffened
"What are you doing?"
Nawaki had taken off the necklace hanging around his neck
Cold sweat immediately formed on Hayashi's forehead
He had heard Mikoto mention Nawaki's strange obsession with fate and destiny
Jokes aside, could a normal person really withstand that necklace
In the original history, Nawaki had not lived long
If he kept wearing it, even Shisui might never have been born
That would be disastrous in more ways than one
"Why are you so nervous?" Nawaki asked
"I'm not dead, so I'm definitely not giving it to you"
He carefully wiped the pendant
"I told you it's a good luck charm, but you never believed me
See, I survived"
Hayashi said nothing
"Don't look at it like that," Nawaki continued
"This thing is worth a lot of money"
"It's only a few decades old," Hayashi replied
"It's not some ancient artifact
How valuable could it be?"
Nawaki lowered his voice and leaned closer
"After my grandfather passed away, a mysterious merchant once offered my grandmother three hundred million ryo for it"
"..."
Hayashi mentally calculated how many lifetimes of missions that would take
His gaze toward the pendant immediately changed
Minato, having finished the bandaging, asked
"Are there really people that rich in the shinobi world?"
"Yes," Nawaki replied
"Some families that survived since the Warring States period have wealth like that"
"I asked my grandmother about it, but she avoided the question"
"That's impossible," Hayashi said
"That's what I thought," Nawaki continued
"So I figured it must have been a love rival
My grandfather was the God of Shinobi after all
Plenty of people must have admired him"
Nawaki smiled confidently, as if he had uncovered the truth of the world
"Spending that much money on a useless pendant," he said
"That has to be true love"
"Definitely true love," Minato echoed seriously
...