Chapter 266: The Ame Orphans

One hour later, Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care Unit

Swish—swish—swish.

Looking almost like a skeleton, long white-haired Nagato lay in a hospital bed as the medical equipment emitted steady, rhythmic sounds.

"We let him get away," Namikaze Minato said, his expression still complex even now.

He never would have imagined that once-fiery boy would end up like this.

Tsunade nodded, not too concerned that Obito had once again slipped away. Even Hashirama and her grandfather couldn't stop that punk from fleeing, so chances were the Fourth Hokage couldn't either.

As a doctor, she was more focused on the patient inside. "This guy's body has been overtaxed far too severely. Losing one eye is the least of his worries."

"His legs have been injured so long that they're basically atrophied. Conventional methods can't cure that." As she spoke, she glanced over at Link, who'd come to see what was going on.

Obviously, by "unconventional" treatment methods, she meant Delicate Illness Extraction.

"Leave it to me."

Link stepped forward and used Delicate Illness Extraction. The results were immediate. Tsunade promptly followed up with her Mystical Palm Technique.

They could see Nagato's complexion improve at once. Naturally, his physical shape wouldn't change; his gauntness was due to severe depletion. Delicate Illness Extraction and Mystical Palm cured injuries but couldn't supply nourishment. If he wanted to get back to normal, he'd have to supplement his nutrition over time.

After a while, Tsunade signaled Link with a look to apply Delicate Illness Extraction once more.

Working together—peak-level conventional medical ninjutsu plus an unreasonable mutated ninjutsu that extracted disease and injury—the outcome was strikingly effective.

"That should do it," Tsunade murmured after releasing a huge amount of chakra into her Mystical Palm without so much as losing her breath. "All that's left is long-term recuperation."

Thanks to Link's technique's "illogical" nature, the typical repeated surgeries that would be needed for chronic internal damage or badly twisted limbs were no longer necessary—especially for his legs.

Seeing them finishing up, Minato spoke: "Lord Tobirama's waiting for us."

"Hang on," Link said, not leaving immediately. He walked out of the ICU a few steps.

Konan sat quietly on a bench in the corridor, head lowered, waiting in silence.

Yahiko's spirit hovered nearby, having been summoned via Edo Tensei. Unable to physically comfort anyone, he could only accompany her there.

"Let's go," Link initiated. He was quite surprised that Konan would betray Obito. In the manga, her betrayal was prompted by Nagato entrusting Naruto with his ideals for peace. Only then did Konan decisively turn against Obito.

So what was it now?

Just for Yahiko's sake?

"…All right," Konan replied quietly after a few moments. She knew she had no room to refuse and rose to her feet.

"Let's add them in for the second wave." Link turned and said, "It looks like Uchiha Obito really wants to grab them, and there's still that Rinnegan in Nagato."

"Anyway, Nagato's injuries are pretty much handled. Next, we'll take him along, too."

Minato made no comment. Only Link could power the jutsu, so there was nothing to say.

Konan glanced up at him, somewhat surprised.

"Though the place we're going isn't exactly great," Link said, making eye contact and smiling, "we can at least let you get some rest."

"In the short run, you won't be free to leave, but after a while, it probably won't be a problem."

Konan bore the "Tongue Cursing Seal," the Root-era mark that paralyzed her entire body if she tried to speak anything about Link or his techniques. She couldn't move, couldn't talk.

Seals weren't omnipotent, so it might be undone eventually. They'd send her off to the parallel world, keep watch on her for a time, and once the Edo Tensei reinforcements matured, they could let them go free.

Link genuinely had no intention of killing prisoners. Similarly, Konoha had no tradition of killing captives.

The one with most reason and capability to kill them was Shimura Danzō, but lately he'd been suspiciously well-behaved.

Link's shadow clones carried the barely conscious Nagato out of the ICU, with Konan and Yahiko following behind. The group left the hospital quickly.

Tsunade leaned back against the wall, shaking her head, looking somewhat lost in thought.

Seeing those three kids, how they had grown into who they were now, she remembered Jiraiya. That guy used to vanish frequently, except when war demanded urgent action, trusting in Mount Myōboku's prophecy to the point of obsession.

Perhaps it had something to do with his background.

His clan had contracted with Mount Myōboku for generations, gaining great power but also falling under Mount Myōboku's influence.

She'd always known he had feelings for her beyond friendship, but those feelings came second to the village, and even less than that prophecy. Hence, there was never any chance for them to be together.

She'd known that since they were young.

Entering middle age, alone, with a comrade who left the village, unrequited love, a student dead, so many brutal wars… Jiraiya, outwardly cheerful but gentle at heart, had nowhere else to go.

Aside from "the prophecy," he couldn't think of any path to peace.

His belief that people would eventually understand each other had turned into fantasy with age.

So, he had no choice but to cling to the prophecy as his life's purpose.

With Link's arrival and everything that changed, the prophecy had become muddled. Just this last while, Jiraiya had been going off drinking alone.

"How're you doing right now?" Tsunade sighed softly.

At least she herself had found some happiness now, with her boyfriend, younger brother, and grandfather around.

Orochimaru was having a field day researching Link's jutsu.

But Jiraiya was still alone, with no one to rely on.

[I can't help being a bit worried.]

…

Konoha, in the laboratory—

"You really are quite willful," Senju Tobirama said, rubbing his temple.

This kid Link changed plans out of the blue every time.

Moving the prisoners early—even though security measures on the other side weren't complete. They'd have to deploy people to watch over them, which was a hassle, essentially adding to Tobirama's workload.

"Heh heh…" Link gave a short laugh. "No problem, I'll take responsibility for guarding them."

"Did you explain everything to them?" Tobirama grumbled but dutifully readied the scrolls.

Currently, Funa-tsū no Jutsu was standardized to use scrolls for power, with a special sealing formula to suppress chakra signals—two scrolls had to be overlapped for activation.

All of which served to hide the truth that Link's chakra was at the technique's core.

Link motioned for Konan, Nagato, and resurrected child-form Yahiko to come over.

None of them hesitated—they were prisoners, at anyone's mercy. If someone wanted them dead, they'd have no say in it.

And seeing Yahiko resurrected meant they felt they had even less to lose.

Konan steadied Nagato, Yahiko stepped on a chair, the three pressed their hands on the scroll and exchanged a smile among themselves.

At that moment, even walking together into the afterlife would leave no regrets.

~~~

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