Ninja Hospital.
After handing the flying fortress over to Sasori, Kankurō, and the others, Teizawa went straight to the hospital.
Amaru had been placed here for treatment.
He was somewhat interested in this vessel of the Zero-Tails.
When he pushed open the door to Amaru's hospital room, the place was in complete chaos.
The girl was standing on the bed in an ill-fitting striped hospital gown.
Her short, pale blue hair stuck up in messy tufts.
She was barefoot, hands planted on her hips, looking as if she were ready to fight someone to the death.
There was still medical tape on her cheek and a bandage wrapped around her forehead as she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"I want to see Shinnō-sama! Where is Shinnō-sama?"
"Where did you lock him up? Let me go… you bad people!"
Two medical ninja were holding her by the arms, one on each side.
She twisted and struggled like a live fish, wrinkling the bedsheets into a heap and sending the pillow flying into the corner.
Teizawa leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.
Expressionless, he watched the scene unfold.
Amaru…
A tool Shinnō had used as the Zero-Tails' vessel.
And yet she still felt grateful to that old man.
She had even developed a warped kind of dependence on him.
In the original plot, after Naruto saved her, she quickly shifted her obsession with Shinnō onto Naruto instead.
Her values were certainly twisted.
But she was also highly malleable, an uncut jade waiting to be shaped by his hand.
"Where is Shinnō-sama?"
Amaru shouted, her eyes red, her voice thick with tears.
"Why won't you let me save him… why…"
Teizawa sighed.
Now he finally understood why Tsunade had such a headache dealing with Naruto in the original story.
These single-minded, hot-blooded fools were truly frustrating.
And yet, somehow, they also made people want to protect them.
He stepped into the hospital room.
When the two medical ninja saw him, they quickly let go and bowed.
Amaru lost her support and stumbled.
She nearly fell off the bed before dropping onto the edge of it.
She raised her head and looked at the unfamiliar man through tear-blurred eyes.
"Shinnō is dead."
Teizawa's voice was not loud.
But every word landed with heavy force, slamming into Amaru's ears.
Amaru's pupils shrank violently.
Her entire body went still, as if a paralysis jutsu had been cast on her.
Her lips trembled, her face turning pale as paper. Her voice was rough, as if her mouth were full of sand.
"You… you're lying to me…"
Teizawa said nothing.
He simply took a sealing scroll from his robes and tossed it in front of her.
The scroll unfurled, revealing a photograph of Shinnō after his capture.
Amaru stared at the picture.
At the old man wrapped head to toe in sealing chains, barely clinging to life.
The tears finally spilled from her eyes.
Her face twisted in pain.
Then it became a sob.
The sobs became loud, uncontrollable weeping.
She collapsed onto the bed and buried her face in the pillow.
Her shoulders trembled violently.
The hospital room fell quiet.
Only Amaru's broken sobs remained.
Like a dull knife cutting into the heart, one stroke at a time.
Teizawa did not comfort her.
Not because he was cold-blooded.
Because there was no need.
What he wanted was not Amaru's loyalty to Shinnō.
What he wanted was Amaru's obedience to him.
The former was an obstacle and had to be removed.
The latter was the objective and had to be achieved.
He turned and looked toward the door.
"Karin."
Karin walked in from the corridor.
She wore a white coat and glasses.
Her long red hair had been neatly tied behind her head.
She stopped in front of Teizawa.
Her head lowered slightly, and her eyes flickered.
Now that she had changed into a clean uniform, her complexion looked much better than before.
But there was still a trace of nervousness on her face.
Her fingers twisted the hem of her white coat.
Teizawa took a petri dish from inside his robes.
The transparent glass walls held pale green nutrient fluid.
Suspended within the liquid was a scarlet eye.
Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"This eye is called Kotoamatsukami."
Teizawa's voice was soft, yet it entered Karin's ears with perfect clarity.
"The strongest genjutsu. It can implant thoughts and alter a person's will without the target noticing."
"I will give this eye to you. I want you to use its power to make Amaru recognize me as her master."
Karin's pupils shrank violently.
Her fingers froze, and her lips trembled.
Behind her lenses, her eyes were filled with confusion and fear.
Alter someone's will.
Implant thoughts…
She had never done anything like that.
"I…" Her voice was rough, as if her mouth were full of sand. "I'm afraid I won't do it well."
"You can."
Teizawa's voice was very calm, but it carried unquestionable certainty.
"You are a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan. Your vitality is strong, and your chakra reserves are abundant. You can endure the burden of the Sharingan."
"I'll arrange the best doctors for you and give you the most complete postoperative care. The success rate is at least ninety percent."
Karin was silent for a long time.
She knew she had no choice.
She had understood that from the day she was sent to Sunagakure.
But now, looking into Teizawa's deep eyes, and then at the scarlet eye floating in the petri dish, a strange feeling suddenly rose inside her.
It was not fear.
It was not resentment.
It was an indescribable sense of expectation.
She suddenly remembered the closeness between them, and her cheeks reddened for no reason.
Then a thought rose in her heart.
She wanted to become the person this man trusted most.
She wanted to prove that she was not a useless tool.
Not a mobile blood pack whose only value was healing others when they bit her arm.
"All right."
Her voice was soft, but every word landed with force.
Teizawa smiled.
He did not rush to say the next line aloud.
One could never be too careful.
During the moments when Karin's guard was down around him, he had already planted an electromagnetic bomb deep in her mind without her noticing.
If she ever formed any thought of harming him, that electromagnetic charge would detonate.
In an instant, it would destroy Karin's consciousness and turn her into a vegetable.
Of course, that was only a backup plan.
He would decide how to use it depending on the situation.
He hoped the bomb would never have to explode.
The surgery was scheduled for that afternoon.
Teizawa found the best medical ninja in Sunagakure to perform it.
When Karin was wheeled into the operating room, her palms were covered in sweat.
Teizawa stood outside the operating room.
Through the glass window, he watched the busy figures inside.
He watched Karin lie on the operating table, an oxygen mask placed over her face as anesthetic was injected into her body.
He did not leave.
He stood there for four full hours.
Motionless.
His gaze never once leaving that pale face.
The operating room lights went out.
The lead surgeon pushed the door open and removed his mask.
"Kazekage-sama, the surgery was successful."
"The patient's condition is stable. The Sharingan has fully fused with her optic nerve, and there is no sign of rejection."
"After a few days of rest, she should be able to use it normally."
Teizawa nodded and walked into the operating room.
Karin had not woken yet.
She lay on the bed, her face pale as paper.
A bandage was wrapped around her forehead, and beneath it, a faint trace of scarlet could be seen.
That Mangekyō Sharingan now slept quietly in her left eye socket.
Waiting for the day it would awaken.
He reached out and gently held her hand.
Her fingertips were cold, but her pulse was steady.
"Well done."
Teizawa's voice was very soft.
(End of Chapter)
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