Chapter 28: A New Discovery

Naruto sat on a small warm bed, another tired sigh escaped from his lips as he stared at the small light on top of the ceiling.

Nono was standing beside him, and for the past 4 hours she had performed various diagnosis and tests in order to get additional information about his disease, and finding a way to restore his eyesight to full capacity.

He had to hand it to the woman, she really knew her job, and looking over the large number of notes lying around, a little hope lingered in Naruto's heart.

Maybe she could get him back to full strength?

She had also studied Danzo's Mangekyo Sharingan, and was currently observing Naruto's cereluen blue eyes.

"So, what's the situation?" asked Naruto curiously

Nono gave a tired sigh, working continuously for such long hours was indeed very tiring. She wiped some sweat from her forehead, and went to pick up a sheet of paper on which she had written her report on Naruto's condition.

She was happy with some results, but more than that she was worried, there were some big complications too.

Looking at the hopeful look in the young boy's eyes broke her heart, but she resolved herself; she would do whatever it takes to help him, and would not give up.

"What do you want to hear first, the good news or the bad news?" asked Nono flatly

Naruto thought about her question for a moment, what should he hear first?

"Moron, go for the good news." said Kurama irritatingly

Naruto felt a little bad for his partner, he was not talking much with him; and Naruto knew it was his fault.

Kurama had asked him several times whether he was okay or not? But Naruto didn't know what to say, what could he say anyway?

That he was fine? It was far from it.

He had still not forgotten about Sai, his friend was dead all because of him, he still remembered the moment when he watched one of his closest friends die again. And the Operation was affected due to this.

Sai was supposed to help him in spying, they had been assigned different sectors and targets; their job was to gather information and send it to the Hokage as soon as possible, or eliminate the threat on the spot if given the order.

But that task was now not possible, and Naruto knew that. He could use his shadow clones for spying, but in his current condition he didn't want to exert more damage on his already destroyed body.

One thing was clear, he definitely needed reinforcement, or else the success of the mission would just be an illusion.

Nono's voice, snapped him back to reality and he looked at her calmly.

"Now, if you've stopped day dreaming...I have some good news for you," said Nono with a short smile

"I really hope...you have something good for me," said Naruto honestly

"I examined the Mangekyo Sharingan which you brought, and it is really unique. And it seems it has The First Hokage's cells implanted in it," said Nono in surprise

"I know that," said Naruto distastefully, as he remembered Danzo and his abomination.

"Naruto...I won't lie, this eye is one of the best inventions I have ever seen," said Nono seriously

"How so?" asked Naruto curiously

"A few years ago, you had sent me some data of your Mangekyo Sharingan, you had just awakened it; and wanted to know everything you could. You remember that, don't you?" asked Nono quickly

"Where are you getting at?" asked Naruto in confusion

"And now when I examined your Mangekyo, I have found some shocking scientific results about the Mangekyo Sharingan," said Nono firmly

"What's the problem with my eyes?" asked Naruto seriously

"Before I tell you that, you need to learn some things about the human eye, the concept which I'm going to explain applies to every person," said Nono simply

Naruto nodded, and Nono then took out a small picture of the human eye, now the unique thing was it had almost each and every part of the eye mentioned in it.

"The human eye, allows a person to visualize his surroundings, but how does it happen?" asked Nono inquisitively

Naruto frowned in confusion, science was never his cup of tea, and Nono chuckled a little on seeing her surrogate son's cluelessness.

"If you had paid attention in my class on human anatomy...then you wouldn't be so confused right now," scolded Nono playfully,

"Yes, mother" said Naruto with a pout on his face.

Unknown to Naruto, Nono was trying to analyze his psychological condition too; she knew Naruto was an Anbu captain, and as such he could control his emotions better than most of the shinobi; but the condition in which she had found him showed her he must have been through hell.

She was a standard medic, and as such it was her job to ease his pain, and help him stay sane.

But she promised to herself, that she was going to force him to retire from Anbu black ops after this mission; she didn't want him to suffer anymore.

This would be his last mission.

"The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. The cornea, with the anterior chamber and lens, refracts light, with the cornea accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power, the cornea contributes most of the eye's focusing power" explained Nono briefly

To make her point more clear, she showed Naruto the different eye parts with the help of the picture.

Naruto was listening to her explanation very attentively, and somethings had started to make sense his mind.

"I guess the Mangekyo Sharingan affects the cornea very badly," said Naruto suggestively

Nono got a proud smile on her face, and patted Naruto's head gently,

"You are not as dumb as you look,'' said Nono mischievously

"Thanks...hey!" said Naruto loudly

Nono bonked him on the head, and got a smirk on her face. Maybe her small jokes, and therapy would help him maintain his sanity long enough to complete his mission.

"Don't shout...or I'll not explain anything," said Nono with a smirk

"Fine," said Naruto grumpily, but a small part of his heart felt a little happy.

He wouldn't say it, but he was glad that she was around.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan severely destroys the tissues around the cornea; the more you use your Mangekyo the more these tissues gets destroyed; which ultimately leads to blindless as the cornea gets totally destroyed," explained Nono briefly

"How can I save my Mangekyo? Should I just implant the Mangekyo Sharingan I have directly, the Uchiha tablet said it would restore my eyesight back to full capacity," suggested Naruto

"It is not that simple, eye transplants are not always successful; it may cause more harm than benefit if something goes wrong. Also in the case of the Mangekyo Sharingan it is important to have the eye of a close sibling or parents, as their genetic structure is similar to your own; which would greatly increase the chances of success," explained Nono seriously

"So, there is very little chance of restoring my vision, since this eye is not of any of my relative," asked Naruto sadly

"No...there is a way, and this eye which you have brought is a clear example of it," said Nono happily

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto curiously

"The owner of this eye, knew the side effects of a Mangekyo Sharingan, and most probably didn't have any siblings to swap his eyes with, in order to stop his blindness, so he found a new way," said Nono intriguingly

"What way?" asked Naruto in confusion

"In order to stop the destruction of the cornea, the person implanted the First Hokage's cells in his eye," said Nono shockingly

"What!" said Naruto in shock, did Danzo really think all of this?

"Idiot, you do remember that old freak and Orochimaru had worked together," said Kurama seriously

"Sorry, I forgot about that," said Naruto embarrassingly

"Hn" said Kurama with a snort

"How does Hashirama Senju's cells help to stop the blindness?" asked Naruto curiously

"Hashirama Senju was the world's greatest medic ever, he could heal any wounds, if he was alive right now; he could have healed you easily. The Senju clan possess great physical power and strength, and Hashirama was the strongest Senju. His cells had amazing strength which allowed him to heal his wounds no matter how serious in an instant, the Mangekyo Sharingan you have has these cells implanted in them; and due to their power they have completely stopped the destruction of the tissues around the cornea, and even if some of them get destroyed by any chance, these cells can regenerate these tissues and won't allow the user to go blind," explained Nono happily

"Amazing," said Naruto in shock,

This was truly a work of a genius, and there was only one man in the world who could achieve such feat.

"Orochimaru..." said Nono sharply

"Hai...I have found some evidence that he was involved with the user of this Mangekyo Sharinga, but for your own safety I cannot reveal anything further. I cannot lose you," said Naruto worriedly

Nono was touched by the strong feelings the boy had for her.

"I understand, I was an Anbu black op too...you can trust me. I can create an clone cornea with the help of the cornea of this Mangekyo Sharingan for both of your eyes or you can try to find the other eye...I can create an artificial cornea, but it will take time, and lots of money and resources, which we don't have," said Nono sadly, she felt helpless right now.

Naruto got a small smile on his face.

"Can you bring the scroll which is on the desk," requested Naruto kindly

Nono nodded, but she was curious as to what was in that scroll. She handed the scroll to Naruto, and he swiped his blood across it.

The scroll opened and Nono's eyes widened in shock, as she saw the stacks of Ryo in it.

"These are 1,00,000 ryo...it'll help you get started. If you need more, just ask," said Naruto calmly

"How do you have so much money? Even if you have saved your mission earnings, these must count to 40% of your money," said Nono in shock

"This is not my money...rather these are the funds which I'm receiving for my mission. Don't worry, I am properly funded," assured Naruto gently

"Naruto...this much amount of money are only assigned to operatives who are assigned SS-rank mission, which in other words are suicidal mission," said Nono in fear

"Yes...that is true," said Naruto hesitantly

He was quite surprised when Nono gave him a hard slap on his face, and grabbed him roughly by his shoulder.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?" yelled Nono angrily

Naruto for his part just looked at the woman calmly, he was expecting this kind of reaction from her.

"It is of great importance Kaa-san...there is no going back now," said Naruto gently

"But you-" said Nono in protest

"Nothing is going to happen to me," assured Naruto warmly

Nono looked him straight in the eye, he was not going to back down...this mission seemed more personal to him.

"Please promise me one thing," said Nono worriedly

"Anything," said Naruto honestly

"You will leave the Anbu black ops after this mission...and you will survive no matter what, or I'll drag you back from hell and kill you myself," said Nono dangerously.

"I promise," said Naruto truthfully, even he wanted to leave Anbu after this mission, he wanted to look after his family.

"I will start the preparations for the operation but it will be at least 4 months before I can create an artificial cornea for your other eye...if you can somehow gain the other Mangekyo Sharingan, then I can perform the operation in 2 months; and your vision would be restored forever," explained Nono briefly

"Understood, I'll try to hold out till then," said Naruto firmly

Nono bit her lip, now came the hard part and she didn't know how it would affect Naruto.

Naruto sensed her hesitation and put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently,

"What's the bad news?" asked Naruto calmly, he was prepared for the worst.

This mission was more important than his life, the survival of his village depended on it; Sai had died for this cause, and he would make sure his sacrifice was not in vain.

Nono looked at him straight in the eye, and told him a few words that were shocking.

"You are dying..."