Chapter 315: A Repeat Performance
Konoha Hospital, intensive care ward.
This room currently gathered almost all the village's current high-level power holders. However, these important figures' conditions really couldn't be called dignified—even quite miserable.
Four beds were arranged side by side. Though equally battered, their conditions varied. First were the relatively "lightly" injured yet most emotionally agitated, constantly huffing and puffing—two elders, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
Their faces, except for eyes and mouths exposed, had all other parts tightly wrapped in thick white bandages, looking like two talking mummy heads.
Each time they opened their mouths seemed to pull at facial wounds, bringing stinging pain, but this couldn't stop their continuous complaints and questioning at all.
"Hiruzen! Did you hear what we said?!" Koharu Utatane's voice sounded somewhat muffled through bandages, but the fury within was clearly discernible. "This time was simply outrageous! How could you allow the former Nine-Tails jinchuriki to act so wantonly in the Hokage Building?!"
"And precisely during this critical period of post-war reconstruction and power transition! Because of her disturbance, do you know how much time and resources we'll waste handling the aftermath? What excuse will we use to delay and explain the next Hokage's succession ceremony to the outside world?"
"Also!" Homura Mitokado picked up the thread. "Are you planning to just handle Kushina Uzumaki's matter coldly like this? 'Just maintain things as they are'? What kind of attitude is that! Letting a ghost already confirmed dead continue staying in the present world—this is severe blasphemy against life-death order! Breaking such taboos, once news leaks, what level of vigilance and backlash will it cause from other great nations? Have you considered the consequences?!"
On the bed opposite them lay the person with the most miserable appearance in the entire room—Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. His entire person's attire was full of exotic charm. If not for that face exposed outside, written full of exhaustion, one might mistake him for a just-excavated Egyptian mummy.
His four limbs were all firmly fixed by solid plaster, unable to move even slightly. The Professor of Ninjutsu who'd experienced countless Shinobi Wars, faced countless powerful enemies yet never been this disheveled, even receiving medical ninjutsu treatment daily, doctors estimated he'd need at least one month to recover basic mobility.
The Third Hokage lay there silently, not responding to his two old friends and advisors' machine-gun-like condemnations. Actually, when he'd first awakened, he'd already answered most of their questions.
But the answer clearly indicated he had no intention whatsoever of "handling" or forcibly releasing Kushina's current state, which obviously made Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado extremely dissatisfied, so the questioning had continued until now.
Since there was no way to make them shut up, he'd just stay silent himself. The Third thought helplessly, simply closing his eyes—out of sight, out of mind.
Beside the Third Hokage's bed, Jiraiya's condition wasn't much better. One arm and most of his face were similarly wrapped in bandages, but he obviously better understood how to handle himself in this environment—he'd firmly stuffed earplugs in his ears, blocking most noise pollution.
Then with his remaining freely moving hand, he leisurely flipped through a book he'd personally authored, as though everything around him was unrelated.
Originally still struggling about how to apologize for so many years of ignoring Naruto... ended up directly getting beaten by Kushina into this state... Jiraiya smiled bitterly inwardly.
However, strangely, after suffering this physical punishment, that heavy guilt in Jiraiya's heart actually lightened considerably, becoming much more relaxed.
Hopefully next time he saw Kushina... her fury might dissipate somewhat because of this... Jiraiya secretly hoped. After all, regarding taking Naruto as a student, if Naruto's parents were still around, both emotionally and logically he must obtain their consent.
This current "physical communication" method, though somewhat crude, at least counted as a kind of... alternative "notification," right?
"Excuse me, miss, this is the intensive care area. Unrelated personnel cannot enter and exit freely."
Suddenly, a nurse's voice carrying dissuasion came from not far outside the ward door.
"It's fine. I'm an acquaintance of those old geezers inside. Going in to handle some business—leaving right away."
Another female voice carrying undeniable presence rang out. This voice, for certain people in the ward, was simply nightmarishly familiar.
"Old... old geezers?! Please leave here immediately! If you insist on causing trouble, I'll have to call security ninja over!" The nurse's voice obviously grew tense.
"Eh? Wait! What are you doing?! Please don't—!"
BANG!!!!!!
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, that ward's heavy door wasn't pushed open but was smashed into flying fragments by a fist!
The nurse responsible for blocking watched this scene dumbstruck, finally completely realizing this red-haired woman was absolutely no ordinary visitor but possibly an extremely dangerous person!
In the ward, except for the Third Hokage whose neck was fixed and couldn't turn, only able to glimpse toward the doorway with peripheral vision, everyone else was shocked by this sudden violent door-breaking and looked toward the entrance together—
Sure enough, standing amidst the doorway ruins was Kushina Uzumaki, her vivid red hair floating without wind from fury! Her complexion was terrifyingly dark.
"Kushina Uzumaki! What are you doing now?!" Koharu Utatane stared deadly through facial bandages at the intruder with those only exposed eyes. "Isn't the trouble you caused at the Hokage Building enough?! This is a hospital!"
"Kushina..." Jiraiya also hurriedly stuffed the novel under his pillow, somewhat nervously sitting up straight. "What... what happened again? Let's talk calmly..."
"What am I doing?" Kushina's voice was bone-chillingly cold. She walked step by step into the ward, gaze sweeping over the several people on beds. "No, I want to ask you—what exactly did you do?!"
Her voice suddenly rose, carrying incredulous fury and questioning, suddenly directed at the Third Hokage lying in the center bed unable to move.
"Old man... you tell me personally! The Uchiha clan was annihilated—what exactly does this mean?!!"