"Third Hokage?"
The ward door opened.
The one who walked in was Hiruzen Sarutobi, and behind him followed an unfamiliar old woman.
Hearing the surprise in Ryuji Hyuga's voice, Hiruzen Sarutobi gave him a gentle smile and then looked at the old woman behind him with a sigh. "Sorry to trouble you, Koharu."
"All right, all right. This old woman is only good for this much anyway."
Koharu Utatane shot him an annoyed look as she complained, then lifted her foot and walked toward Tangdong Akimichi.
Tangdong Akimichi had moderate burns to his respiratory tract, already affecting the trachea and main bronchi.
It was like swallowing a mouthful of scorching sand, with every breath scraping his throat, a metallic smell filling his nose, as if feathers were scratching his airway again and again until the more he coughed, the worse it became.
"Cough, cough! Cough!"
At that moment, Tangdong Akimichi looked as if he were about to cough his lungs out. His hoarse coughing was harsher than the wind outside the window, and the black phlegm he spat up was mixed with blood-streaked mucus like coal dust.
Treating this kind of burn usually required lavage and removal of necrotic mucosa and soot, or even emergency intubation or a tracheotomy to prevent swelling from sealing the airway.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed completely at ease with Koharu Utatane and did not even call in other Medical-nin in a hurry.
Although Koharu Utatane often seemed to sway between Danzo Shimura and Hiruzen Sarutobi, in her younger days she had been a member of an elite guard unit under the Second Hokage.
That alone was enough to explain Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust.
With a soft hiss, Koharu Utatane first made an incision with a scalpel, then extended her palm in front of Tangdong Akimichi's chest.
As fine streams of Chakra flowed into the wound, black and purple necrotic tissue and pus were drawn out.
Fine Affliction Extraction Technique was a B-rank medical Ninjutsu. By sensing the chaotic Chakra inside the body, it could identify the subtle sources of toxins and pathogens that harmed the human body, extracting them while also treating the damaged area.
Even among medical Ninjutsu, which were generally difficult, this technique was considered high level.
Ryuji Hyuga stared intently at Koharu Utatane's movements and even openly activated Byakugan to study them, though Hiruzen Sarutobi simply assumed it was out of concern.
"Don't worry," Hiruzen Sarutobi said as he placed the Hokage Hat on the coat rack and sat down on another chair. "In all of Konoha, aside from Tsunade, it's hard to find a Medical-nin with more experience than this grandmother."
"Third Hokage…"
Only then did Ryuji Hyuga seem to relax and look away. Noticing Hiruzen Sarutobi's gentle gaze, guilt and dejection surfaced on his face.
He was about to stand up from his chair, but Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped him, resting a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Just sit. I already understand what happened, and both Tangdong and I know this wasn't your fault."
"The doctors said you were injured too. How are you feeling now?"
Pressed gently back into his seat, Ryuji Hyuga felt the warmth on his shoulder and placed his hands awkwardly on his knees, his face slightly flushed with nervous excitement.
The difference in their positions was vast, and they should never have been sitting so close and speaking like this. For that reason, Hiruzen Sarutobi was quite satisfied with how Ryuji behaved.
"Thank you for your concern. Thanks to Tangdong, I only have some minor injuries," Ryuji Hyuga replied humbly and sincerely, meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes with gratitude.
"That was no minor injury," Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed. "Aside from Tangdong, you were the closest to the blast. If it were anyone else, they would be dead or crippled."
Hearing the unspoken meaning, Ryuji Hyuga's face paled slightly. "Third Hokage, I, I didn't mean to steal Kaiten. I just…"
"Ryuji, I'm not blaming you," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile, cutting him off. "If you and Tangdong hadn't been in front, the escort's casualties would have been much worse."
"I just didn't expect your progress to be this great, or your performance to be this outstanding."
Hearing his continued gentle tone, Ryuji Hyuga relaxed further and hesitated before speaking. "I, I don't really know why either. Ever since I activated Byakugan three months ago, my control over my body and Chakra seems stronger."
Seeing the confusion in Ryuji Hyuga's eyes and noticing nothing overtly wrong, Hiruzen Sarutobi narrowed his eyes slightly and formed his own suspicions.
Changes that appeared only after activating Byakugan three months ago, or rather, after Orochimaru defected?
It seemed Orochimaru had indeed done something to this child. No wonder he had tried to take him along when he fled. For now, nothing obvious could be seen, so keeping the child close for observation would be best.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had even forgiven and accepted people like Kakashi Hatake and Yamato, who had once tried to assassinate him and their companions, bringing them directly into ANBU as personal guards. With Ryuji Hyuga, who clearly held the Will of Fire, there was even less reason to push him away.
At least for now, Ryuji Hyuga's character and loyalty were sound, and his strength and talent seemed to have improved through misfortune, perhaps completed by Orochimaru.
With that thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi let go of his last trace of doubt and stopped probing. His expression turned serious as he asked, "Ryuji, Tangdong and the others said that before leaving, you used Byakugan and saw what happened afterward, correct?"
"I want to know what you encountered, who you met, and what exactly happened in the end."
The concern and testing were done. It was time to address the real matter.
As if recalling that terrifying scene again, fear appeared on Ryuji Hyuga's face.
"They're dead. All of them," he said, his voice trembling. "That thing, that Root member, wasn't human. That kind of power isn't something a human should have."
At the same time, on the border of the Land of Hot Water, four figures stood in silence under the night sky.
"Whew…" Samui let out a long breath, as if exhaling the chill in her chest and steadying her lingering fear.
Standing there and looking around, the terrain of the area was clearly visible.
It was like the cap of a mushroom, with their position at the highest point and the surrounding ground lower on all sides.
Aside from where they stood, the ground everywhere else was carved with savage trenches stretching all the way to the distant end a kilometer away. The devastation spoke plainly of the violence and terror that had passed through here.
Just looking at those marks, one could almost feel a sharp edge.
Samui closed her eyes and pictured what had happened.
A single person stood at the center, releasing a tornado-like Wind Release Ninjutsu that shredded everything ahead into dust, leaving behind a bare, desolate stretch of land.
Not only that, the person had even controlled the tornado to turn in a full circle, sweeping and destroying everything around like clearing trash.
Such a force, enough to be called a natural disaster, was wielded as easily as moving an arm, while people and objects that tried to block it with flesh and bone were reduced to dust, their blood, flesh, and bones buried in the soil.
This kind of power was beyond ordinary measure.