At the Konoha Hospital, Tsunade stood over Rock Lee's bed, her brows tightly furrowed.
She hadn't expected his injuries to be this severe. Though she had mentally prepared herself beforehand, seeing it in person still hit her hard.
Shaking her head slightly, Tsunade turned to Might Guy. "I'm not entirely confident I can treat him."
Guy's voice was urgent. "Hokage-sama, you mean even you can't save him?"
"That's not it," Tsunade replied. "There is a treatment, but the success rate is low. If it fails—he'll die."
Guy's face fell, overcome with helplessness.
Just then, a voice came from the bed.
"Guy-sensei, I choose to go through with it."
"Lee..."
Guy turned to his student, eyes full of pain.
If Lee chose not to undergo surgery, at least he would survive. But if it failed...
Lee's eyes were resolute. "If I can't become a shinobi, I'd rather die."
After a long silence, Guy sighed and looked back at Tsunade. "Please, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade also glanced at Lee, then nodded. "Understood."
She immediately called the medical staff and began arranging for the surgery.
Meanwhile, in another room of the hospital—
Naruto lay in bed, clearly annoyed. He glanced at Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, I'm totally fine. Can't I leave already?"
Kakashi didn't even bother replying. He had heard that same complaint dozens of times already.
"Suck it up, Naruto. You brought this on yourself," Sakura muttered as she shot him a glare.
Naruto pouted, unsure how to argue back, then changed the subject out of curiosity. "Hey, Sakura... where's that smug Sasuke guy? Haven't seen him around."
Sakura shook her head. "I don't know. I haven't seen him either."
She was just as puzzled—Sasuke had been acting strangely lately, and now he was nowhere to be found.
Swish—
"Yo, Kakashi! You're here too, huh?"
Jiraiya suddenly leapt in through the window and casually greeted him.
"Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said, putting down his book and nodding in greeting.
Naruto perked up instantly. "Pervy Sage! You're here! I'm totally fine—let me out already!"
Jiraiya looked him over. "Seems you really are okay... But better stay here for a bit more observation."
Naruto groaned. "Come on, this place is so boring!"
Jiraiya ignored him and looked to Kakashi. "Since you're here, come with me."
"Huh?" Kakashi raised a brow but then nodded. "Alright."
The two said nothing more and leapt out the window again.
Naruto and Sakura were both left stunned.
"I'll come back to visit later," Sakura said, walking out the door.
Now, Naruto was completely alone—and bored out of his mind.
At least earlier there were people to talk to. Now? No one.
But suddenly, he had a thought. His eyes lit up, and he quickly jumped out of bed.
"If they won't let me leave, I'll just sneak out."
He got dressed and tiptoed out of the hospital.
The once lively room was now completely empty.
…
By evening, Naruto was wandering the streets when he unexpectedly ran into Tsunade, who had just finished Rock Lee's surgery and looked exhausted.
"Naruto? What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"
Naruto flinched at her voice and turned around nervously. "Tsunade-baa—uh, I mean, I'm all better now!"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Come with me."
With that, she turned and started walking toward the Hokage office.
Naruto sighed but had no choice but to follow.
Once inside the office, Tsunade stared him down with a disapproving glare.
As a doctor, she hated patients who disobeyed.
She was just about to lecture him—when hurried footsteps approached from outside.
The doors burst open and Nara Shikaku rushed in.
"Hokage-sama, Uchiha Sasuke has defected!"
"What?!"
Naruto cried out instinctively before Tsunade could even react.
Tsunade shot him a glare before turning to Shikaku. "Explain."
"This afternoon, while tracking the foreign shinobi who infiltrated Konoha, we discovered they were working for Orochimaru. Their mission was to help Sasuke defect."
Tsunade's fists clenched. "Orochimaru again... How many shinobi can we still deploy?"
Shikaku gave a bitter smile. "Hokage-sama, we don't have the manpower. After Orochimaru's previous invasion, most of our forces are stretched thin. The only ones available are…"
"Yes?"
"Only the candidates from the recent Chūnin Exams."
Tsunade frowned deeply, falling into silence.
Meanwhile, Naruto stood there, still unable to believe it.
"No… That's not possible. Sasuke would never betray Konoha. I don't believe it! I'm going to find him!"
He turned and started to rush out.
"Stop right there!" Tsunade barked.
Naruto looked back, teeth clenched. "Tsunade-baa... Sasuke wouldn't do this!"
"This isn't about what you think. The fact is—he's already gone."
Tsunade turned to Shikaku. "Get Shikamaru here. And take Naruto back to the hospital."
"No! I'm going to find Sasuke! I want to ask him myself!"
Before Shikaku could move, Naruto had already protested again.
Tsunade sighed at his stubbornness, her head pounding.
But after a long pause, she finally relented.
"Forget it for now. Shikaku, just bring Shikamaru here first."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied, and quickly left the room.
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