Since her father was still alive, whether she could return to the Uchiha clan had become uncertain.
And the answer was most likely no.Fujimoto Kai was far from an ordinary man; though only a chunin on record, he was in truth a member of the Senju clan, one of those ordered by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, to change their names and live in secrecy.
No one expected that a hidden Senju would end up marrying an Uchiha woman. Though she was just a civilian, it still counted—however faintly—as a union between Senju and Uchiha.
Perhaps it was precisely because of this bloodline combination that their daughter, Izumi, possessed such remarkable potential.
If Izumi had not lacked proper guidance, she might not have fallen short of Itachi at all…And so, Haruno Sho made his decision.
"What an adorable little loli."
"We can't let such talent go to waste…"
The next day, Haruno Sho found the medical file of a patient named Fujimoto Kai in Konoha Hospital. The records described his condition in grim detail: both lower limbs had been crushed under a collapsing structure, resulting in catastrophic injuries that required amputation.
Other minor limb losses did not threaten his life. After the bleeding was stopped, he was placed under conservative treatment.
"Mrs. Fujimoto, Izumi—we meet again."
In one of the overcrowded shared ICU wards, where bed after bed was separated only by thin white sheets, Haruno Sho encountered the Fujimoto family once more.
"Oh! Lord Haruno, thank you so much for your help back then. If not for you, my husband wouldn't have made it to the hospital…"
"We truly owe you our lives!"
Though Fujimoto Hazuki carried the Uchiha name, she was, in the end, a civilian. And so, upon seeing Sho, she immediately pulled her daughter forward and bowed deeply in gratitude.
As she bent down, the loose folds of her kimono shifted, revealing a strikingly elegant silhouette beneath the fabric.
Graceful, dignified—clearly a lady born of a prestigious clan.Good thing Kai was still unconscious; if he were awake to see his wife bowing so fervently to another man, jealousy alone might have worsened his condition.
"Ahem… I was simply fulfilling my duty."
"Izumi already thanked me."
Sho smiled at the little girl, then stepped toward the unconscious chunin and began a full medical examination.
It didn't take long before his gaze softened with sympathy.Only twenty-four, a young man in his prime—yet after the Nine-Tails' attack, he had lost so many parts of himself.
What would become of his wife and daughter?
"Lord Haruno… how is my husband's condition?"
Sho's thoughts were tangled, his expression heavy. Hazuki saw this and felt her heart sink—was there something even worse?
"Ah… I believe you've already grasped the situation. To be frank, Fujimoto-chunin's condition is extremely severe."
"Mrs. Fujimoto… you don't want your husband to spend the rest of his life like this, do you?"
After a brief moment of silent mourning, Sho devised a way to "help" the family.
The amputated legs could be fitted with prosthetics.The missing right hand could be replaced with a custom limb or a hook.As for the lighter tissue damage… he truly had no way to help with that now.
White Zetsu was troublesome.And with his current abilities, Sho had no desire to draw the attention of Obito. If Obito marked him, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"L-Lord Haruno, please… save my husband!"
"In his state, he'll never be a shinobi again. That would destroy him…"
Hazuki already knew her husband's condition. She remembered clearly—after the surgery, when the medics explained everything, she felt her world collapsing around her.
She was just a frail civilian woman.How was she supposed to support a young daughter—and a husband who…Oh, Sage of Six Paths… why must you test our family like this…?
"My medical ninjutsu is quite refined. I can treat him for free and speed up his recovery…"
"And my prosthetic craftsmanship is excellent. I can personally design specialized limbs for him in the future."
"With his abilities as a chunin… he may eventually live like an ordinary man again."
"At the very least… he won't become a burden to your family."
"Although… the price may be a little high."
Sho smiled gently at the mother and daughter and explained his treatment plan.
Heh. Free things were always the most expensive.And this Fujimoto… turned out to carry Senju blood.
Once he received treatment, he would inevitably leave behind something, wouldn't he?Blood samples… cellular tissue… hardly rare commodities.
"T-Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
"Thank you so much, Lord Haruno!"
Hazuki immediately grabbed Izumi and bowed again, deeper than before, causing a small commotion around the ward. Her eyes reddened as she began describing the hardships the Fujimoto family was facing…