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Sakura Haruno raced across Konoha, taking to the rooftops for a more direct route to the hospital. Emergency medical situations weren’t uncommon in a ninja village, even now, just over two months since the Fourth Great Ninja War came to an end. However, she wasn’t often called in while off duty.
The Medical Division was more than equipped to deal with the wide range of complex injuries often sustained by ninjas, so the fact that they had specifically requested her support indicated exceptional circumstances. Sakura had an affinity for the precise Chakra control required for Medical Ninjutsu. That and the training she had received under the tutelage of the Hokage, Lady Tsunade, made her a valuable resource.
During the rebuilding of Konoha after Akatsuki’s attack, the current but outgoing Hokage, widely considered to be the world’s greatest medical ninja, had even more responsibilities than usual to deal with in her role as village leader. Therefore, she had delegated certain areas to Sakura, her most able disciple.
This included operating the village’s temporary medical facilities while the new hospital was under construction, and then taking on a senior role when it was completed. More recently, Sakura had helped establish an impressive new complex to house and care for the many children left orphaned by the war. Between this, her occasional teaching shifts at the Ninja Academy, and drawing up plans to establish medical clinics in other nations, she was a very busy young woman.
Finding time for a well-earned break had been difficult, but it had been arranged well in advance. People knew how much she had on her plate, especially the hospital staff, so being woken up in the middle of the night like this spelled trouble.
Arriving at the hospital, briefly noting her reflection in the glass panes of the entrance doors, she felt mildly embarrassed by her disheveled pink hair and matching pajamas. Now wasn’t the time to be conceded with appearances, though. “What have we got, Naki?” Sakura demanded as she burst into the reception area.
“Oh, Sakura Sensei, thank goodness you’re here!” cried the on-call trauma doctor, who was awaiting her arrival. “The border patrol brought the patient in fifteen minutes ago. He’s been taken to Operating Room Five. The wounds appear to be recent, but they’re substantial. I’m not sure there’s anything that can be done.”
“OR Five?” Sakura repeated in consternation as the nurse accompanied her to the location. This particular room was specially equipped for treating Chakra burns, which could usually be handled without special assistance. “What’s the patient’s condition?”
“Yes, there wasn’t anything we could do in the ER, so he was taken up right away,” said Naki. “The damage is like nothing I’ve ever seen. He’s covered head to foot with significant Chakra burns, but the wounds are irregular.”
“Irregular?” Sakura probed.
“I’m not certain, but I believe they aren’t the result of an external attack.”
Sakura’s eyebrows rose at this surprising assessment. “You think the damage was sustained internally?”
“I believe so, but it doesn’t make sense.”
“Is there a full diagnostic team available?”
“Yes. As per your policy, a team is here and preparing now.”
Sakura ran through the options in her head. First, she needed to determine the extent of the damage, for which she would need help from those she had mandated were on-call in set shift patterns to allow for specialist treatment. But if Naki was correct, this was going to be a difficult surgery.
Upon reaching the OR, nurses gowned Sakura, and she entered the room with purpose. She didn’t flinch at the sight of the patient, whose skin was cracked and blackened all over. The only undamaged part of him was his hair, which was longer than Neji’s used to be. She was comfortable with seeing wounds by now. The smell, however, was something one never got used to. She couldn’t believe he—a pre-teen boy judging by the size—was still alive.
The patient was laid out on the metallic floor, which was inscribed with a large circular seal pattern. He was being attended to by three medical staffers, who were applying the Mystical Palm Jutsu directly to his head, chest, and abdomen. This was keeping him stable but wasn’t having any real effect.
As others hurriedly prepared strange, wired machinery on one side of the room, Sakura had seen enough to know they had been right to call her. This boy wasn’t going to make it unless she acted quickly.
“Diagnostic team, ready?” Sakura asked.
“Yes,” several voices responded, including a blonde-haired woman who was now wearing a mechanical helmet of sorts.
“Okay, let’s begin!”
“Right!” the voices responded, then a young man with pale eyes and long black bangs over his forehead called out, “Byakugan!” His eyes bulged, and the veins around them popped out.
Next, the woman with the helmet added, “Mind Body Transmission (Shindenshin no) Jutsu!”
A third voice, belonging to a woman with dark glasses, uttered, “Viral Exploration (Kansen Tanken no) Jutsu.”
Thanks to Sakura’s policy of always having medical ninja representatives from three of Konoha’s more specialized ninja clans available, the hospital could gain a new level of insight into the condition of their patients during emergencies.
First, a member of the Aburame Clan inserted their microscopic insects into a patient. These could monitor the patient’s vitals and functions to an extent. Then, a member of the Hyuga Clan looked inside the patient’s body using their impressive visual Jutsu, observing the Chakra system and the path of the insects as needed. Then, a member of the Yamanaka Clan connected the minds of the people in the room.
This combination essentially provided Sakura with the power of all three clans, affording her unprecedented insight and the ability to relay information telepathically. In this case, that was going to be very important. Looking through the x-ray eyes of the Byakugan user, she could see that Naki had been right. The damage had originated inside him.
The patient’s entire Chakra system was in crisis. Somehow, it seemed the boy had generated an incredible amount of Chakra, enough to damage his internal organs and circulation to a ridiculous degree and even burn his skin upon release. How he had done so, Sakura couldn’t say. It reminded her of the time Naruto partially transformed into the Nine-Tails.
“The internal damage is beyond anything I’ve ever seen,” said the Hyuga Clan medic. “Is there anything that can be done?”
Sakura remained silent, observing the flow of the viral insects. Their path around the body, through blood or Chakra, was obstructed in many places. The patient needed healing on the molecular level. “Yes,” she finally answered, “but we’re looking at a four-hour surgery here at least. Naki, while we’re working, begin arrangements for a relief team to take over halfway. Call Shizune in to lead it.”
“Yes, Sakura Sensei,” Naki acknowledged before leaving the room.
“Alright, everyone, this is going to be taxing, but we can save him if we go all out from the start. We’re going to be healing the patient from the inside out.”
“From the inside out?” The Yamanaka Clan medic repeated.
“Yes, that’s his only chance. For that, we need…” Sakura paused. She bit down hard on her thumb to draw blood, wiped it on the floor, and then performed the boar, dog, bird, monkey, and ram Hand Seals before slamming her hand down on the floor. “Summoning (Kuchiyose no) Jutsu!”
With a puff of smoke, a large white slug with blue stripes appeared from nowhere, causing the other occupants of the room to flinch with a mixture of alarm and disgust.
“Good morning, Lady Katsuyu. Apologies for disturbing you at this late hour,” said Sakura.
“Not at all, Lady Sakura,” the slug replied just as politely, in a surprisingly sweet voice. “How may I be of assistance?”
“We have a medical emergency that is beyond our standard capabilities. I believe saving the patient is possible, but I’m afraid it will require that Jutsu, and for a prolonged period.”
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“Oh dear,” the slug replied, her antennae drooping. “If it is the only option, then of course I will oblige.” Katsuyu then split in two, and the clone then divided itself for each member of the room and climbed up their bodies to perch on their shoulder. The larger remnant then crawled onto the patient’s blackened chest.
Sakura furrowed her brow in concentration, performed a Hand Seal sequence, and then both she and Katsuyu uttered, “Great Division (Daibunretsu no) Jutsu!”
Immediately, the largest Katsuyu began to crumble. As one of the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest, the summoning creature possessed the ability to divide itself into smaller pieces. However, with the aid of a ninja master—one with expert command of Chakra—she could continue this process down to the molecular level.
With each separation, the clones became smaller and smaller until she covered the surface of the patient’s body, resembling a viscous white puddle. Soon, Katsuyu disappeared entirely, absorbed into the patient’s body through their pores. Around a minute later, the clone on Sakura’s shoulder announced, “I’m ready, Lady Sakura. The damage is quite severe, though.”
“Thank you, Katsuyu, I know this technique is uncomfortable for you,” said Sakura, using the Byakugan to observe the millions of slugs now placed throughout the patient’s body, attached to damaged areas. “We’ll work as fast as we can. Okay, here goes, everyone. Apply Chakra bandages now!”
The cross-legged assistant medics in the room placed scrolls on the floor in front of them and released their seals. Swathes of inscribed cloth shot out from the scrolls and wound their way all around the patient’s body, leaving gaps only for his airway. Another then placed their hand on the bandaged patient, applying an additional seal to insulate the Chakra.
After providing instructions, Sakura ordered, “Okay, commence operation!” The circular floor seal then began to glow green, bathing the room in an eerie light. While the assistant medics focused on healing from the outside, the more experienced doctors and Sakura transmitted their healing Chakra through Katsuyu’s clones and directly into the body via her nano-sized replicants.
***
After Shizune relieved her two hours later, Sakura passed out in an on-call room, happy that she had repaired the majority of the life-threatening damage and confident that her fellow disciple could handle the rest.
When she awoke later that morning, she found Shizune, a woman with short black hair, standing over her with dark circles under her eyes. “Morning. Katsuyu wanted to pass on her congratulations, but she needed to rest,” she said.
“I’ll have to thank her later,” said Sakura. “The patient?”
“He’s been moved to recovery,” Shizune assured her, then adjusted her expression to one of concern. “You overdid it, Sakura. You knew I was relieving you, but you still handled the worst of the damage before I arrived. Our team was only in there for another hour.”
“You’re right,” Sakura responded, smiling sheepishly as she got to her feet with a great effort. “I just wanted to be sure he would pull through. His wounds were strange.”
“You’re telling me!” Shizune concurred. “That level of internal Chakra damage…?”
“Did you report to Lady Tsunade yet?”
“No, I saved that lovely job for you.”
Sakura groaned internally. Her master had been mighty tetchy lately, what with Kakashi Sensei shadowing her everywhere, refusing to take over as Hokage until he felt sufficiently ready for the role, or so he said. Personally, she thought he was just procrastinating. “Great,” she said, “I’ll report after I check on the patient.”
The two women made their way to the recovery wing, chatting along the way. When they arrived at the right room, Shizune departed, and Sakura picked up a clipboard from the end of her patient’s bed to review the first post-op recovery report. She then moved to the bed and took her first proper look at the dark-haired boy. His skin was red raw, but at least it wasn’t burned black anymore. He looked human now. He looked…
The clipboard in Sakura’s hands fell to the floor, clattering noisily as a fearful expression came over her face. She stumbled backward. Something wasn’t right here. Propelling herself back into the hallway, she screeched, “SHIZUNE! Shizune, come back!”
At the end of the hall, Shizune turned on her feet in alarm and ran back to the patient’s room. “Sakura? What on Earth’s the matter?”
Sakura shook her head, her eyes wide with fear and confusion. “This boy,” she started. “I-I know him!”
“You do? How?”
“But it doesn’t make sense!” said Sakura, shaking her head again.
“For goodness’ sake, Sakura, what’s wrong?”
“I know him from the academy!”
Shizune frowned. “Okay,” she said, clearly unsure what the issue was and concerned about Sakura’s behavior. Most kids in Konoha attended the Ninja Academy, after all.
“No, you don’t understand,” Sakura explained frantically. “He was at the academy when I was. He was one of my classmates!”
Shizune looked at the boy lying in the bed, then back to Sakura with distrustful eyebrows. “He’s barely a teenager. Maybe it’s a relative of the boy you’re thinking of? A younger brother, perhaps?”
“No, it’s him. I swear it!”
“Sakura, you’re tired, you probab—”
Sakura took a steadying breath. She needed Shizune to believe her. “His name is Reito. I went to school with him for years,” she said more calmly. “After graduation, his team was one of the four that became Genin rookies that year alongside me, Naruto, and Sasuke. When we returned from our first big mission in the Land of Waves, we were told about them.”
“What about them?”
“They were declared missing in action. We never found out what happened to them,” Sakura said wistfully. “Shizune, this boy has been missing for almost five years, and he hasn’t aged a day!”
***
Over the next two days, the boy, positively identified as Reito Tsu by old records and a select few people who remembered him, was relocated to the Intelligence Division, where he was assigned a guard and kept under heavy sedation. Unfortunately, despite belated orders from the Hokage, word of his existence was already circulating.
Even among ninjas and those who lived and worked with them, for whom secrets were a part of everyday life, gossip like this spread like wildfire. A Konoha boy had been found covered in wounds on the village border. He had been missing for almost five years, after disappearing under suspicious circumstances, and it was rumored that he hadn’t aged since then.
The villagers were understandably intrigued. More than that, though, they were concerned. While the official policy for now was one of denial, people were demanding answers, especially those with a vested interest, such as the families of the boy’s missing teammates.
“Tch!” the Hokage expelled with a puff of air as she entered the Intelligence Division, Kakashi and Sakura in tow. “If you would have taken over already, I wouldn’t have this mess to deal with!”
“Apologies, Lady Tsunade,” said the silver-haired Kakashi, his voice muffled by the black mask he wore over his mouth and nose, “but seeing how you handle such an unusual situation will surely be educational for me.”
Sakura eyed the man dubiously.
“Besides, if we’re dealing with a medical condition or a Jutsu that disguises one’s age, you are eminently more qualified than I to handle the matter.”
Tsunade, a beautiful, buxom blonde woman, whose Chakra-induced youthful appearance concealed her true age, scowled darkly at her would-be successor.
Sakura winced as she noticed the woman absently finger the violet, diamond-shaped marking they both bore on their foreheads. Kakashi Sensei was surely pushing his luck by referencing this. She couldn’t tell if he was flattering the Hokage or insulting her, but either way, she was sure that her master wouldn’t like it, even if he did say it with what she imagined was a smile under his mask.
She considered what the man had suggested, though. Could Reito be employing a Jutsu of some kind to maintain his youth? Could that be what caused his injuries? But what would be the point of a kid using such a Jutsu? Besides, thinking back to their time at the academy, he wasn’t much of a student. That kind of technique would be well beyond him.
“Welcome, Lady Hokage, Lord Kakashi, Sakura,” said Ibiki Mori, Head of the Torture and Interrogation Team, with a deferent nod. He was an imposing man in a black trench coat. His black headband was the bandana type, which Sakura knew to be concealing heavy scarring on his scalp, evidence of his first-hand experience with his specialty.
“Ah, please, Ibiki, I’m not Hokage yet,” said Kakashi bashfully in response to the formal greeting.
“Ibiki,” the Hokage acknowledged. “Anything?”
The man then led them through the building. “As you know, the Medical Division didn’t find anything unusual. As for us, he’s passed all of our initial screening tests without incident,” he explained. “Ino is working on him now. She hasn’t encountered any Genjutsu blocks or mental defenses of any kind. The only thing of consequence is that his memories are…fuzzy.”
“Fuzzy?” Tsunade questioned.
“Ino’s word, not mine,” said Ibiki. “His memories seem to be intact and freely available to us, but Ino believes there’s something odd about them.”
“What’s your assessment?”
“Well, it’s an interesting case for sure, but unless Ino runs into a problem, I can’t justify using extreme measures to produce information. This isn’t an enemy combatant we’re dealing with. As far as the various teams who have assessed him can tell, physically and mentally, he’s just a twelve-year-old boy, the same twelve-year-old boy who went missing five years ago.”
“Tch!” Tsunade muttered, biting the nail of her thumb. “So, after Ino’s mind scan, we’re out of options. The only thing left will be to wake him up?”
“That would be my recommendation,” Ibiki concluded, leading them into a room with thick metal doors.
The large room was empty but for a dome-like metallic device at its center, where Ino stood, and a row of machinery behind it, which was being operated by three members of Ibiki’s team. As the group approached, Sakura cringed at what she was seeing. Reito Tsu’s dark-haired head was poking out of the top of the device, which was a chamber of sorts that was holding him in place.
“It’s a Mind Reading Amplifier,” Ibiki explained for Sakura’s benefit. “The equipment subdues the occupant with Chakra and allows the Yamanka Clan’s mind-reading techniques to be used at their most powerful.”
Ino Yamanaka had one hand placed on Reito Tsu’s lolling head, and her eyes closed tightly in concentration as she combed through his memories.
Sakura couldn’t help wondering how long her former classmate and rival was going to grow out her platinum blonde locks, which reached down past the waistband of her purple skirt now. She had once grown her hair out, but ever since cutting it to shoulder length, she couldn’t imagine the hassle of having it long again, especially on missions.
“Lady Tsunade,” said Ino with a bow after removing her hand and turning to face the group. “Still nothing out of the ordinary, apart from the fuzziness. Since there are no blocks, the information is easily scanned. If you like, I can connect you?”
“Hmm,” Tsunade considered. “We need to be getting back. I just wanted to review the progress in case I’m badgered about it by the elders, but since you and Sakura both knew the boy, I’d like for her to stay.”
“Of course,” said Ino obligingly. When Tsunade, Kakashi, and Ibiki left the room, she added, “This is weird, huh? I’ve done this a bunch of times now, but never on someone I know, especially someone I thought was dead.”
“I still can’t believe it’s him,” Sakura agreed. “We weren’t really friends, but I always wondered what happened to him and the rest of Team Four.”
“I think it’s time we found out, don’t you?”
Sakura nodded determinedly.
“Okay, well, I’ve isolated his memories of our last days at the academy. It’s probably a good place for us to start, so we can look out for any inconsistencies that might suggest outside interference,” Ino explained, placing her right hand back on Reito’s head and her left on Sakura’s shoulder. “Ready? Here goes. Psycho Mind Transmission (Saiko Denshin no) Jutsu!”