These past few days, Sasuke had been utterly miserable.
The surgery was his long-held hope, so when he learned it had been postponed, he was overwhelmed with rage and humiliation!
Clearly, the village's measures to maintain stability had infuriated Sasuke.
The reasoning of the village's higher-ups was simple. Danzo, as an elder advisor, had just launched an operation targeting the Uchiha clan.
Though the village had stripped Danzo of his advisor position and imprisoned him, at this sensitive moment, the higher-ups couldn't be certain whether Shinji had regained trust in the village—or whether this incident had sparked other intentions in him.
Thus, to err on the side of caution, Tsunade had no choice but to postpone Sasuke's surgery.
Even Tsunade couldn't guarantee the safety of the First Hokage's cell transplant surgery. If anything happened to Sasuke during the procedure, the village would have no way to explain it to Shinji.
Moreover, the village's higher-ups had another concern about postponing Sasuke's surgery.
A single Uchiha Shinji had already displayed strength that deeply unnerved them. If the surgery succeeded, Sasuke wouldn't just recover his Mangekyo Sharingan's dojutsu power—he'd also gain mastery of Wood Release. By then, controlling these two headstrong young Uchihas would be even harder.
The higher-ups' considerations were thorough, accounting for both the present and potential future risks. But they overlooked one thing: Sasuke's pride.
For a teenage Uchiha prodigy who awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan in his early teens and carried the weight of his clan's blood feud, his dignity and his clan's honor were the last things he could still protect.
The village's backtracking this time was, without a doubt, trampling on the very things he held dear!
Perhaps the higher-ups themselves didn't realize that, due to Sasuke's string of losses, his standing in their eyes had plummeted. The decision to postpone the surgery was a reflection of this mindset.
If Sasuke were strong enough—formidable enough—the higher-ups wouldn't dare break their word so easily.
Tsunade, swamped with village affairs, hadn't clearly grasped this. But Sasuke, lost and adrift, felt it keenly.
He was living through the sting of being disregarded, his wishes ignored!
At the training ground…
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
With the sound of slicing air, several shuriken hit the distant target dead-on.
Sasuke exhaled.
After days of training, he had mitigated much of the reduced perception caused by overexerting his dojutsu power.
Or rather, he had adapted to it.
For shinobi with Bloodline Limit dojutsu, their extraordinary perception was their true advantage. Losing it had plunged Sasuke from supreme confidence to deep insecurity. It took him a while to stabilize his mindset.
From the sidelines, Sakura cheered, "Sasuke, you're amazing!"
Sasuke glanced over. "Why are you here again?"
Sakura said, "Sasuke, tonight Shion invited us for barbecue. Everyone's going—you should come too!"
"Barbecue?" Sasuke's brow furrowed, and he shook his head. "Not interested."
Sakura quickly pressed, "The chunin exams were interrupted, but those of us who participated were allowed to graduate early from the academy. We won't have many chances to gather like this in the future, so everyone's coming tonight. Sasuke, come with us!"
Sasuke paused.
Over the years at the academy, the companionship of his peers had indeed eased the pain of his heart, constantly tormented by vengeance.
But thinking of his current sorry state, he shook his head. "You go. Whether we gather again or not doesn't matter to me."
As if sensing his hesitation, Sakura added, "Shinji's coming tonight too. He's not only an Uchiha like you but also a highly skilled medical shinobi. He might have a way to help with your dojutsu power!"
At the mention of dojutsu power, Sasuke hesitated.
That evening…
At the usual barbecue restaurant, it was quieter than usual since Shion had reserved the place.
On the second floor, in a large private room, the academy peers sat in a circle, chatting lively.
As the organizer, Shion said helplessly, "I don't know what Yakumo and Naruto are up to. I couldn't get in touch with either of them!"
Tenten, sitting nearby, suggested, "Maybe they're off doing some secret training?"
Ino chimed in, "Probably. Yakumo's now the Hokage's disciple—special training's bound to be part of that. And Naruto's a Jinchuriki. With things as tense as they are, if he doesn't train hard, he might not even survive! Right, Shikamaru?"
Shikamaru shook his head. "How would I know?"
Shion asked, "Don't any of you have any news?"
Choji, Lee, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata all shook their heads.
Among their peers, Yakumo was usually the most informed. With her absent, they had no real channel to high-level information.
Shikamaru glanced downstairs and asked, "What about the others? It's not just us, right?"
Shion crossed her arms. "Of course not. If it was just us, I wouldn't have bothered reserving the whole place!"
Shikamaru, curious, asked, "Who else is coming?"
"Oh, plenty!" Shion started counting on her fingers. "Shinji confirmed he's coming with his team. Neji and Kimimaro too. Oh, and Sakura said she and Sasuke will arrive a bit later!"
Ino perked up. "Shinji's coming too?"
Shikamaru, more curious about Shinji's team, asked, "I heard Shinji's squad has someone who didn't come from our academy?"
Kiba jumped in. "Word is, during the hospital battle, Shinji's team stole the show! Haku, Karin, and that mysterious member took down a bunch of senior ANBU. It's all over the village—everyone's guessing who that person is!"
Even Hinata was intrigued. "Who could it be?"
Shion pouted. "Hmph, if I were a Hidden Leaf shinobi, that last spot on Shinji's team would've been mine!"
"What's all the chatter? Sounds lively!"
At that moment, Shinji's voice came from outside the room. The door swung open, and Shinji, Haku, Karin, and Mumei filed in.